New DE shaver from New Zealand diving in head first! Any shop recommendations?

[Souza]

Gentlemen! I've made it to the Badger and Blade forums and the journey was as enjoyable as it was inevitable.

I was initially considering changing my method of shaving from an electric razor (the ugly) and I was humming and harring about what direction to go in. I was carousing the supermarkets and considering going back to a mach-3 set-up (the bad) but their whole business model seemed to be a not-so-subtle screw you to the customer. Then along comes the dollarshaveclub's viral video to the front page of Reddit. I watch that and I'm ready to pounce so I went to their website only to run into a brick wall, U.S. customers only. So I headed back to the Reddit article and started reading through the comments, lo and behold someone linked to r/Wicked_edge. After a little research I made a purchase and happily picked up an Edwin Jagger DE89 (the good) and found myself hooked on tips, titbits and purchasing advice. Yada yada yada... Welcome to Badger and Blade.

My current set-up consists of :

• An Edwin Jagger DE89 2012 with a chrome handle (I initially regretted not getting a fluted handle for grip reasons but this problem has since slipped of my radar and I prefer the Chrome aesthetically)
• A Vulfix something Shaving Brush (adequate for the moment but I'm looking to try an Omega)
• Edwin Jagger Sandalwood Shaving Cream and a 200g tub of Wahl Cream (fine for now until I run out)
• Derby and Astra Premium Blades (I prefer the Derby at the moment, very happy with those)
• An improvised mug for building lather (not ideal)
• And an inexperienced human trying to learn

I've also made a few orders online and currently have en route:

• Taylor of Old Bond Street classic shaving cream (looking to try Almond, Avocade and Rose creams in the future)
• Thayers Rose Petal Alcohol Free Witch Hazel Toner
• 100 Derby Blades

But far and above my biggest problem so far has been finding good retailers for someone living in New Zealand. I was actually lucky enough to find that I have a brick and mortar barber shop down the road but their range is a little lacking. I got a decent brush and some Wahl Cream at a good price but I think the answers will come from online shopping. Here is what I've found so far:

• http://www.theenglishshavingcompany.com/ I got my Edwin Jagger from here at a great price with cheap shipping to boot, but slightly limited product range.
• http://www.goodfella.co.nz/ Local store with good prices, range limited but I got my TOSB cream and Derby razors here at a good price.
• Mancave.co.nz Another local store with more range, I expect I'll grab some things from here soon.
• Connaughtshaving.com Looks very promising for range, price and shipping prices to NZ.

Many of the other online stores I looked at have had good range and pricing but they tend to really screw you over when shipping to NZ. I was about to get the Thayers Toner from Amazon when they hit me with a ridiculous NZD $56 shipping! Absurd! I hope there are some fellow kiwi's out there, are there any stores that I've missed or overlooked?

Thank you for creating this community, for the amazing database of knowledge and for any advice to come.

[_dom_]

Hello Souza. BTW its generally bad ettiquette to swear on forums
If you live in Welly you could try Kirks. They don't have a large range but sell TOBS Sandlewood, prorasa and Tabac and Omega. There is also the dry cleaners/barbers/gentlemans shop on Featherston near the Shell garage but I suspect her prices are a bit high. I have used Mancave and he provides speedy service. I've also been recommended Connaught but not tried them yet.
Cheers

[Apoc220]

Hey man,

Welcome to the boards. I'm on the same boat as you living in Australia. Three VERY cheap sites that I have found are

http://www.thesuperiorshave.com/ (overall great selection of items with reasonable shipping costs from the states)
http://www.bestshave.net/ (turkish site with cheap items and cheap shipping)
https://www.himage.com.au/ - Free postage to Australia and New Zealand

Don't forget about ebay. If you look hard enough you can score some nice deals on stuff.

[Just+Ice]

Welcome. Sounds like you have a pretty good set-up already.

[Giant Kiwi]

Welcome,
good to see another Kiwi on the forums.
try shaving.ie Chris' shipping is reasonable.
He has another site that is the same but I can't remember what it is sorry.

[Mad Man]

Greetings Souza,

+1 to apoc. I've purchased from 2 of those 3. Thumbs up 'bro!

You could also try

Www.pureman.com.au
www.mensbiz.com.au

Enjoy!

[Sledgehammer39]

Welcome Aboard!

[NickCutlip]

Welcome to the forum !!

[kiwi_Tom]

Hello and welcome to B&B, I have had good luck with the following sites, The shipping is cheap to New Zealand and the goods have usually arrived in a few weeks:
http://www.bestshave.net/
http://connaughtshaving.com/
http://www.traditionalshaving.co.uk/
http://www.theshaveshed.com.au/

[cleanshaved]

Welcome to B&B
there are 3 online shops in NZ. Mancave and Goodfellas you have listed. Also http://www.shavershop.co.nz/index.shtml he is a old shop in Auckland.
http://connaughtshaving.com/ as is with all UK sites no VAT but is also with great shipping rates. approx a week from order to door. Also sample of AF etc.
http://www.traditionalshaving.co.uk/
Also good http://www.theenglishshavingcompany.com/ They have free shipping until the 17th June. They done this around Christmas as well.
http://thesuperiorshave.com/index.html can not be overlooked.
There are so many sites I have not listed but this is a good start point.
do register on the sites as you will get e-mails re deals.

[Souza]

Awesome, thanks for all help and welcomes.

I also poked around here a bit and found the NZ Suppliers on the wiki, the B&B Vendor Discounts and a thread about NZ vendors. I imagine that will all be pretty useful in the future including the ones listed above. It's funny one of the main reasons I was looking for a shaving alternative was pricing and ironically I've spent more on shaving in the past month or so than in my entire life previously. Oh well call it a hobby and all is well.

I was thinking about buying a stand to hold my brush but I got bored today and I improvised:

I saw that one of you linked to Globalsoap and I was thinking about getting their Soap, Dish and Brush combo. The Brush looks like an Omega 10275, the soap sounds nice and a bowl and carry box is a nice bonus. Has anyone tried any of that out?

[Whilliam]

Welcome and enjoy!

[mol81]

Welcome to b&B!! Also you may want to purchase a blade sample pack. There are better ones than thode derbys waiting to be discovered!

[GDCarrington]

Welcome aboard the good ship B&B. Take a stroll on the promenade deck and enjoy the voyage.

Always remember, relax but be vigilant when you shave!

[Uncle Brian]

Welcome mate,

there are a few Kiwis on here and you might want to be part of this

http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthr...travelling-box

I'm last on the list and would be happy to pass it on to another Kiwi

Cheers,

brian

[Vivasanti]

Sup :)