Merkur Progress Long Handle now $50.29 on Amazon.com

Amazon.com has the Merkur Progress Long Handle for $50.29 right now. There was a thread here a few weeks ago that had it listed for $45 from a 3rd party reseller. This one is sold directly by Amazon. According to Camel, this is just about the lowest that Amazon has ever listed this razor. The model # stated on the page is 051 but it's actually 90 510 001 in the Merkur catalog. This qualifies for free shipping on Amazon as it's above their new $49 free shipping policy:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0047Z7RNM

There's also a 3rd party reseller called Beauty_Supplies which was just added to Amazon that's selling it for an amazing $37.64 + $4.50 shipping. Personally, I would rather pay the additional $8 and purchase it direct from Amazon. They had 4 left in stock 30 minutes ago and now there's only 1 left here:

http://www.amazon.com/Merkur-Razor-Progress-Handle-Adjustable-Safety/dp/B0047Z7RNM/


I couldn't delete this post so I'm updating it:

In the last 5 minutes while I was typing the above, Amazon increased their price to $58.78 and the 3rd party retailer increased their price to $49.72 + shipping. What might have happened is that Amazon lowered their Merkur Progress until the 3rd party reseller sold out the quantity they desired to sell at a lower price, because not that reseller has more long handles at the higher price.

I ordered one Merkur Progress from that new 3rd party seller "Beauty_Supplies" for $37.64 + $4.50 shipping. It is arriving on Monday, will post how it goes. But some buyers who already got theirs posted their feedback on Amazon - the seller is legit, and the item is the real thing. So real nice deal.

They also had the Merkur 39C Slant for $29.99 + shipping. I waited too long trying to decide and they raised the price back up. I'll definitely get one if the price drops again.

I bought mine on Monday for $58.78 from Amazon.

Got mine today. Razor is new in box, great deal for $42. Had the first shave today with a new blade and the dial at 3, got a real smooth shave (DFS). I was very careful and deliberate (didn't go ATG), but there wasn't any need to worry - it shaved nice and easy just like the Merkur 38 Barber-pole. Will try it at '4' tomorrow.

arkaaya said:

Got mine today. Razor is new in box, great deal for $42. Had the first shave today with a new blade and the dial at 3, got a real smooth shave (DFS). I was very careful and deliberate (didn't go ATG), but there wasn't any need to worry - it shaved nice and easy just like the Merkur 38 Barber-pole. Will try it at '4' tomorrow.

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kennedjt said:

I bought mine on Monday for $58.78 from Amazon.

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Can you perform a very close inspection of your razor and tell me if your razor has any imperfections on the top cap or the sides of the head under the cap? I'm talking about very, very slight dings or minute and very minor scratches that are only visible upon very, very close inspection. Try to hold it up under a light. I've ordered two from Amazon and there are extremely minor scratches that won't affect the use of the razor but are annoying. Their packing is very poor, no leaflet is included and the razor box must take plenty of bumping when thrown around during shipping.

Were leaflets with instructions on the use and care of the razor included and was your Merkur box sealed before you opened it?

Shaveathon said:

Can you perform a very close inspection of your razor and tell me if your razor has any imperfections on the top cap or the sides of the head under the cap? I'm talking about very, very slight dings or minute and very minor scratches that are only visible upon very, very close inspection. Try to hold it up under a light. I've ordered two from Amazon and there are extremely minor scratches that won't affect the use of the razor but are annoying. Their packing is very poor, no leaflet is included and the razor box must take plenty of bumping when thrown around during shipping.

Were leaflets with instructions on the use and care of the razor included and was your Merkur box sealed before you opened it?

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There's no such thing as a 'sealed' Merkur box, and if one's standard for any Merkur razor is to best the notion of "very, very slight dings or minute and very minor scratches that are only visible upon very, very close inspection" one will be refusing about 95% of them (not that it should detract from the practical use of these to anyone). They're well engineered practical users, nothing more...surely they could make them to such a standard, but at what additional overhead paid by all?

Progress IS supposed to come with a small paper in German that indicates the top cap having a mark which you align with one side of the razor body, and one free blade, with a little slip of paper that extolls the benefits of the brand of blade. These things could inadvertently fall out of an individual carton, doesn't mean that one was sold a used item.

For our shop we were quite aware of the internal packing issues w/ the brand, and back in the days that people actually bought these Merkurs from authorized resellers (of which Amazon.com as the 'ships and sold by' seller certainly is NOT, goodness only knows how they acquire the inventory), we filled all the void spaces of the razor's inner carton to best prevent self-mutilation during shipping, and fully tightened the razors to hope their caps didn't unscrew and cause marring between screw and body (but often they can fully unscrew during transit in any case from sustained vibrations at a consistent frequency)...of course on the impersonal big river people might suspect one's selling a secondhand item in that case, so some risk of the parcel's innards harming itself during transit is inevitable, and indeed we'd even received the occasional packet from Germany itself where these things have happened.

There's no such thing to my knowledge as any Merkur razor with any factory seal, or at least I've never seen or heard of such in seven years.

The Superior Shave said:

There's no such thing as a 'sealed' Merkur box, and if one's standard for any Merkur razor is to best the notion of "very, very slight dings or minute and very minor scratches that are only visible upon very, very close inspection" one will be refusing about 95% of them (not that it should detract from the practical use of these to anyone). They're well engineered practical users, nothing more...surely they could make them to such a standard, but at what additional overhead paid by all?

Progress IS supposed to come with a small paper in German that indicates the top cap having a mark which you align with one side of the razor body, and one free blade, with a little slip of paper that extolls the benefits of the brand of blade. These things could inadvertently fall out of an individual carton, doesn't mean that one was sold a used item.

For our shop we were quite aware of the internal packing issues w/ the brand, and back in the days that people actually bought these Merkurs from authorized resellers (of which Amazon.com as the 'ships and sold by' seller certainly is NOT, goodness only knows how they acquire the inventory), we filled all the void spaces of the razor's inner carton to best prevent self-mutilation during shipping, and fully tightened the razors to hope their caps didn't unscrew and cause marring between screw and body (but often they can fully unscrew during transit in any case from sustained vibrations at a consistent frequency)...of course on the impersonal big river people might suspect one's selling a secondhand item in that case, so some risk of the parcel's innards harming itself during transit is inevitable, and indeed we'd even received the occasional packet from Germany itself where these things have happened.

There's no such thing to my knowledge as any Merkur razor with any factory seal, or at least I've never seen or heard of such in seven years.

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Thanks for the detailed reply. I gather from what you're saying is that Merkur's quality control isn't as precise as Edwin Jagger, although the Merkur is a fine razor. I'd like to post a picture, but the very minor chrome imperfection wouldn't be clear. The little ding in the middle of the side of the top cap would appear, though (unless that's supposed to be there). There's also a several little scratches in the middle of the handle.

It's just that I'd like to have a pristine instrument right out of the box and whatever scratches appear are because of my own clumsiness from the inevitable dropping of the razor on the floor or into the sink over the years.

Is it your opinion that the Merkur's that Amazon sells directly and shipped from Amazon might be grey market?
The is the 2nd one they shipped me without a leaflet. The first one had tape on the top cover and this one didn't. Both appear to be brand new. Last year I brought a Futur polished chrome via a Massdrop deal and the razor arrived in pristine condition and was packed beautifully. It came with a leaflet written in German, but the photos made it simple to understand. Both Merkur Progress' I've ordered from Amazon were packed with some plastic that wasn't nearly enough to cushion the Merkur Progress box, which should have been wrapped with a load of newspaper or bubble wrap. I had even asked them to ensure there was plenty of cushioning n the box but apparently they didn't listen.

I've also read that these razors ship with one Merkur blade. That also was missing from the box.

Shaveathon said:

I gather from what you're saying is that Merkur's quality control isn't as precise as Edwin Jagger, although the Merkur is a fine razor.

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Indeed, but not just Jagger-there's many other firms with better plating control. But not better engineering, in this opinion...save for the 'wire comb' Muhle-Pinsel head, which was a positively brilliant quantum leap of DE engineering for these razors and came well after any new Merkur ideas.

Shaveathon said:

I'd like to post a picture, but the very minor chrome imperfection wouldn't be clear.

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Doesn't sound like a problem to me, but just keep buying and returning them to Amazon, I guess, until you're happy? They got your back. Good luck.

Shaveathon said:

The little ding in the middle of the side of the top cap would appear, though (unless that's supposed to be there).

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There's supposed to be a mark denoting which way to put on the head, as mentioned above, along w/ a paper explaining it.

Shaveathon said:

There's also a several little scratches in the middle of the handle.

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Little is a relative term.

Shaveathon said:

It's just that I'd like to have a pristine instrument right out of the box and whatever scratches appear are because of my own clumsiness from the inevitable dropping of the razor on the floor or into the sink over the years.

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There's plenty of razors with inferior engineering, higher prices, or alternatively far cheaper places of manufacture than Germany which can please you here. Do note that none of those offer adjustment of angle of incidence.

Shaveathon said:

Is it your opinion that the Merkur's that Amazon sells directly and shipped from Amazon might be grey market?

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Not a chance in the world! They'd never do that. Amazon's approaching authorized sellers (either going out of business or sitting on inventory that they're selling for losses to Amazon just to regain capital), or the small shops approach Amazon. They're not getting stock from any direct distribution. Not that the market much cares; you've voted repeatedly with your dollars already, as you've said. Amazon cares only of long term market share as the path to dominance and will endure any short term losses (impossible for a small shop such as us to endure) to get it, and has made it a very serious goal since 2015 to break into the beauty category as much as possible (I know they've a team approaching as many shops as possible with wares that Amazon can never get due to the makers/distributors disdain for their approach). Do you think Massdrop cares at all about any long term existence of a brand, or do they only care about how quickly they can turn the inventory they buy and for how much profit and then on to the next manufacturer/distributor they can successfully approach?

I'm sure with most goods the Amazon way wins in the end; it obviously has changed the landscape of the USA and the notable reduction in physical bookstores, for but one example. But in this case they don't understand that there's not going to be a market for them to dominate after they're done doing what they're doing; skilled Western Europeans will NOT reduce what they expect to earn on their work output, and at the prices Amazon's now established (we check often, and sometimes see prices so low they simply have to be being sold at net losses after commissions), when all legitimate resellers lose interest in the brand(s), the Western Europeans could sell to Amazon directly and still not be happy with what they make. If they don't think those people will choose to do something else, well,...Amazon knows infinitely more of commerce, and yet obviously has far less experience dealing with adorably immobile Germans as does our shoestring shop!

I don't see a future for the esteemed, decades-old Merkur marque for shops like ours, very very sad to say, and am stubbornly assured internally that all others like us realize (with Amazon's offers and those voting with their dollars how they want the outcome) what's done's done. So goes the world of big boy business, where none care for your tears; we'll have to seek out other items legitimately made in Germany, or heavens forbid you-know-where. Even if they really wished to turn this tide, what could the German manufacturers possibly do here beyond putting serial numbers or something inside every box to track distribution? One may as well take a sponge to the seashore and try and soak up the water. There's no practical solution that doesn't involve greatly increasing already quite high manufacturing expenses which would only further exacerbate the problem.

Shaveathon said:

The is the 2nd one they shipped me without a leaflet. The first one had tape on the top cover and this one didn't. Both appear to be brand new.

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In 7 years I've never seen any factory box have tape upon it. Leaflets can fall out, easily. Wouldn't worry of that; info easily obtained here and many other places.

Shaveathon said:

Last year I brought a Futur polished chrome via a Massdrop deal and the razor arrived in pristine condition and was packed beautifully. It came with a leaflet written in German, but the photos made it simple to understand. Both Merkur Progress' I've ordered from Amazon were packed with some plastic that wasn't nearly enough to cushion the Merkur Progress box, which should have been wrapped with a load of newspaper or bubble wrap. I had even asked them to ensure there was plenty of cushioning n the box but apparently they didn't listen.

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Relative to the prices paid goes the service and caring for customers' minor quibbles; very very easy to find a replacement buyer when selling for too low. May those selling for a loss at least preclude Massdrop's deals ever again.

Shaveathon said:

I've also read that these razors ship with one Merkur blade. That also was missing from the box.

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Falls out easily, not to worry, but a reseller committed to the brand would likely have double-checked these things for you. Still made out like a bandit, no? What's a blade and a scrap of paper worth?

Shaveathon said:

Can you perform a very close inspection of your razor and tell me if your razor has any imperfections on the top cap or the sides of the head under the cap? I'm talking about very, very slight dings or minute and very minor scratches that are only visible upon very, very close inspection. Try to hold it up under a light. I've ordered two from Amazon and there are extremely minor scratches that won't affect the use of the razor but are annoying. Their packing is very poor, no leaflet is included and the razor box must take plenty of bumping when thrown around during shipping.

Were leaflets with instructions on the use and care of the razor included and was your Merkur box sealed before you opened it?

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- No, the Merkur Progress box was not sealed. I don't think Merkur seals the boxes, I bought a 38C and a 23C recently and they didn't come in a sealed box either.
- The box was in good condition. Not pristine, it looked like a new box that had been handled a few times for shipping etc. I have no complaints.
- There was a blade in the box. When I opened my package, the blade was half out of the box (slid under the flap) - so I guess it is perfectly possible for the blade to have fallen out completely at some point during handling.
- There were two pieces of paper inside the box. These were inside the "inner box" - I had to pull out the inner box-like insert that supports the razor to get the pieces out. One is printed in blue, has the picture of the blade on it and says "Sample Blade" underneath. On the back there are some blade care instructions in 5 languages. The other piece has only the picture of the razor and shows the proper alignment of the notch on the side of the top-plate with triangular mark on the base plate, no other words except "Important" in Red color. If you want, I can post a picture of both.
- And finally, the condition of the razor met my expectations. I didn't do a super-close inspection at that time, but did one now after reading your post. I found no dings anywhere on the head or the body (except for the notch and triangle for alignment). There are couple of very tiny scratches on the top, but I've been using it for a while now, so can't say if they were there when new or I put caused them during use. On the underside of the top-cap I noticed a couple of imperfections on the chroming, not a big deal for me. And I was aware that Merkur razors don't have the best finish anyway, so it is acceptable to me.
- Over all, I am pretty satisfied with the razor and the seller. I also just ordered the Merkur 39C Slant razor from the same seller.

Hope I helped.

arkaaya said:

There was a blade in the box. When I opened my package, the blade was half out of the box (slid under the flap) - so I guess it is perfectly possible for the blade to have fallen out completely at some point during handling.
- There were two pieces of paper inside the box. These were inside the "inner box" - I had to pull out the inner box-like insert that supports the razor to get the pieces out. One is printed in blue, has the picture of the blade on it and says "Sample Blade" underneath. On the back there are some blade care instructions in 5 languages. The other piece has only the picture of the razor and shows the proper alignment of the notch on the side of the top-plate with triangular mark on the base plate, no other words except "Important" in Red color. If you want, I can post a picture of both.

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Thanks for responding and examining your razor. My handle has a few small dings, either thanks to the jostling the box took during shipment because of the poor cushioning, or because this item may have been a display item somewhere and was constantly taken out of its box (if The Superior Shave is right and Amazon is getting their merchandise from closeouts). If the razor box isn't wrapped with plenty of bubblewrap or alot of newspaper, how can the razor be in pristine condition if the postman drops the box from about four feet off the floor in front of the door when delivering. I'm sure the razor and box must have bounced inside the box based on the way it was packed.

When I pulled out the cardboard from the box I actually did find a blade in a generic wrapper but no leaflet with instructions. Here's a photo of the top plate. Are you telling me that the sort of half moon notch (with the arrow) is standard and needed for alignment?


I'm probably going to ask for another exchange and this time, before I return my current one, I'm going to compare the two and just settle for the best. I'm also going to try to find the email addresses of some Amazon buyers and see if I can somehow get an exchange to be packed properly and with an inserted leaflet.

Shaveathon said:

When I pulled out the cardboard from the box I actually did find a blade in a generic wrapper but no leaflet with instructions. Here's a photo of the top plate. Are you telling me that the sort of half moon notch (with the arrow) is standard and needed for alignment?

I'm probably going to ask for another exchange and this time, before I return my current one, I'm going to compare the two and just settle for the best. I'm also going to try to find the email addresses of some Amazon buyers and see if I can somehow get an exchange to be packed properly and with an inserted leaflet.

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Ok, that doesn't look right. The top notch on mine is a straight line (though a bit crooked) and the bottom triangle is completely different. I couldn't take a picture of mine, but I found this on the net which is what mine looks like.


Did you see mantic59's video on the progress? It has very detailed views of the razor.

I do not know if you got a new design or a fake or something else, but if you are not happy with the purchase go ahead and exhange or refund it. Amazon is usually pretty good with these things. Good luck.

Shaveathon; don't worry so much. Your mark looks put by intent from Merkur to me. They really don't worry so much for its uniformity, only that the pragmatic user of the practical (non-collector) tool knows which way is which. A quantity of two observed is not a statistically significant sample size from which to make a determination of abnormality or 'foul play'; I've seen this head cap countless hundreds of times, and its little mark's position and appearance have always been varied. Whether from closeout, diverted inventory, etc., whatever, what's the chances Merkur knew its destiny during manufacture? They were all being made the exact same way.

While I didn't think of amazon's offerings as grey market in the historical sense I had for that word, I suppose that's what it is; from other industries I'm familiar to the grey market gear was bought from retailers in other parts of the world whom had less overhead in the form of the local support than does the distribution of the country the grey market seller's operating, so as that's still just being bought from another reseller buying from the makers, we can fairly call amazon such. No specified difference to the product, all its nominal variances germane to its production standards and processes remain.

arkaaya said:

Ok, that doesn't look right. The top notch on mine is a straight line (though a bit crooked) and the bottom triangle is completely different. I couldn't take a picture of mine, but I found this on the net which is what mine looks like.

Did you see mantic59's video on the progress? It has very detailed views of the razor. I do not know if you got a new design or a fake or something else, but if you are not happy with the purchase go ahead and exhange or refund it. Amazon is usually pretty good with these things. Good luck.

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I was going to post Mantic's video, but it seems every time I mention something that is deemed to "have similar content or advice" to B&B, I get a PM from a moderator. I'm going to have to email Merkur with these photos.
This is the 2nd Progress I've received (returned the first one and they received it a day and half later). Returning is exceptionally easy with Amazon, but their overseas customer support probably loses something with the distance from support to warehouse. Unlike Costco's which is based in the USA and easy to reach by phone, Amazon is mostly web based. You can use phone, but something seems to be lost in the explanation. It's better to write Amazon via email or live chat.

Froggy said:

I agree with arkaaya, that doesn't look normal or like my two Progress razors. Mine are just like the photo he posted. I wonder if Merkur has reworked the Progress just like they did with the 37C last year?

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I'm going to have to send my photo and these photos to Amazon. Maybe someone replaced the top head before Amazon picked up the razor at a closeout? There's got to be a reason that there's a day or two delay before shipping on some products that are sold directly from Amazon. If the item is in the warehouse, it should be shipped the same day. Here I thought I was not tempting fate by ordering from Amazon for $8 more than what Beauty Supplies, a new 3rd party reseller was selling it for, and all I've had are questions for Amazon now for 2 weeks, and from the photos you're posting, it doesn't even look like the normal Progress bass plate and top cap.

I just wanted to update the recent Merkur threads for the information I received from Merkur today. I was told via email that the old molds for the Progress were worn out and they replaced them last year and redesigned the head.

I received a replacement razor today from Amazon and while it's in pristine condition, the calibration is off. When tightened, it stops at a little past setting 5. Any suggestions? I've also noticed that the razor head and top caps have different numbers than the previous Progress I was sent, and when I tried tightening the top cap from the old Progress (being returned) on the new one, it stopped at setting 2! I'm not sure what's going on with the calibration of these razors, but I'm spending an incredible amount of time doing everything BUT shaving!

each head's calibrated individually to each base, u can't just swap them out like that, and the #s mean very little beyond a basis for reference on further shaves on any individual unit (same as w/ VISION)

The Superior Shave said:

each head's calibrated individually to each base, u can't just swap them out like that, and the #s mean very little beyond a basis for reference on further shaves on any individual unit (same as w/ VISION)

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If they're calibrated individually, then how do they package a razor that's not calibrated to the #1 setting, and how do you purchase a replacement top cap if one is needed a few years from now?

Were you surprised that Merkur didn't give their authorized dealers a heads up that they were changing the head design of the Progress due to the molds of the old head wearing out?

Shaveathon said:

If they're calibrated individually, then how do they package a razor that's not calibrated to the #1 setting, and how do you purchase a replacement top cap if one is needed a few years from now?

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Those sound like great questions for your dealer, you should go ask them! While I can't speak for other resellers, it is our philosophy to service what WE sell. And as we are certainly being effectively put out of business from these unauthorized/grey market resellers and your choice to support them (instead of any authorized resellers, that you even noted upon the official Dovo list in a link!), your concern's queries should be directed toward the experts from whom you voted with your dollars to support.

We're selling these razors at the minimum price allowed for authorized resellers rounded to the nearest whole dollar, and I note the many hundreds of views of this page during this past week or whatever and we've sold exactly 0 units of this model; so all the enthusiasts here sharing their purchases have all voted with their dollars for the way they want things to be (no experts, just commodities, no retail stores).

You've shown to be fastidious enough to want everything that really only an expert would know from the transaction, but are also wholly unwilling to buy from any such experts; perhaps someday in some point of life, if you lose your profession due to factors beyond your control imparted by those with zero concern for your field, you'll understand my perspective upon the matter.

The Superior Shave said:

You've shown to be fastidious enough to want everything that really only an expert would know from the transaction, but are also wholly unwilling to buy from any such experts; perhaps someday in some point of life, if you lose your profession due to factors beyond your control imparted by those with zero concern for your field, you'll understand my perspective upon the matter.

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I've given you plenty of credit and plugs in other posts in several threads and as for the latter part of your comment, I was a financial professional for many years and my industry completely collapsed in the prime of my life, during the years which should have been my maximum earning potential. Like many other Americans who were highly educated, moving into middle age and beyond, only to see an economy and job market collapse after we attained a certain level, we now find ourselves comparison shopping to the max. When we spend our forever shrinking disposable income, it better be on something we're satisfied with. As a capitalist engaged in his own business, you're worried about cost of goods sold percentages, profit margins, and your 1120s or your 1065 K-1 forms. I'm more concerned with whether I'm getting a perfect item for my money and whether I should keep a razor with a chip on a baseplate that I didn't cause and one doesn't even see on a 50 year old Gillette razor.

This little hobby is one of my few enjoyments. I haven't taken a vacation in several decades and I rarely enter into restaurants anymore as I approach my sixties. My one extravagance recently has become expanding my aftershave and cologne collection, so I really don't have time to worry about your future. If you have something constructive to suggest, please contribute, but enough with your complaints about competition.

Now for the rest of you, would you mind this little ding on your baseplate (see arrow)? I know it's small, but it's an imperfection on a brand new, never used razor that isn't calibrated properly and something one wouldn't see on an Edwin Jagger.

Shaveathon said:

I'm more concerned with whether I'm getting a perfect item for my money and whether I should keep a razor with a chip on a baseplate that I didn't cause and one doesn't even see on a 50 year old Gillette razor.

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Respectfully, sir, that is NOT your only concern; you're also asking us directly for answers to expert information, after buying for wherever you could find the lowest price, and I think it fair to highlight that duality here, on the private for-profit forum which you've used to seek the expert information (about the alignment/# query and what to do in need of replacement), a private for-profit forum that we have financially subsidized and which, I greatly suspect, Amazon.com has not.

In the spirit of capitalism, for all others reading this and considering buying these things; go find the lowest Amazon shipped prices you can find, and then call or email us or any other AUTHORIZED resellers. We can all probably BEAT those prices excluding pre-paid-annually shipping offers because the Amazon sellers at least have an extra overhead we don't have, and if they're selling for a loss (which I suspect greatly that they only can be) than we all likely have plenty of the items sitting on our shelves. It couldn't hurt to ask.

From the looks of your pictures, quality control is certainly not a priority in the Progress razors manufacture. I was going to order one to supplement my Muhle R89 Twist and my Ikon OSS, but that ain't going to happen after seeing the scarred and otherwise blemished Progress razors that have been shipped as new. Frankly, I think my two razors, even though they are inanimate might be offended.