Shaving Samples for Sale

I’ve finally got everything prepared to start offering cream samples for sale. I was also going to offer QED soap samples, but I’ve found that currently it’s too difficult for me to slice a tub up into decent samples. IF I find a way to do this, I’ll post an update.

About my creams – I use all of my creams by scooping them out with a stainless steel butterknife, no scooping out w/fingers or dipping into a tub with a brush. The only creams I have that I’ve found to be somewhat inconsistent (compared to other creams of the same brand) are Vulfix lavender, Salters Rose and Taylors Avocado. I think it may be from the TX heat when I ordered them, or inconsistencies from the manufacturer, but these three scents are a little thinner than their brand counterparts. Although they still shave just as well, I wanted to note this before I had any possibly unhappy buyers.

I have setup separate tiers to allow for the highend shave cream user, as well as the budget shaver. Based on my cost of shaving creams, tier 1 creams are the cheapest (Arko, Toms of Maine, etc), tiers 2&3 are “midrange” (eg, Taylors, Salters, etc) and tier 4 creams are the most expensive (Castle Forbes, J Peterman, etc).

All of my samples are .35ozs, or the same size as scotto used to sell. All creams are shipped via priority mail with Delivery Confirmation, and prices are ConUS only (International purchases please email me before ordering and we’ll figure out a shipping option for you). Domestic first class really isn’t much cheaper than priority, the cost of Delivery confirmation is higher on first class than priority, and I have to provide all shipping material for first class shipments. So once you net all the extra costs out, priority is only like $1 more, so priority is the only way I’ll send shipments.

Ordering Process
I only accept paypal and I will only ship to the address provided by paypal, so make sure it’s correct.

Standard Orders - VERY IMPORTANT
To order a standard 6 sample package as outlined below, email me (not PM, but email) for my paypal address.
Once you receive my paypal address, send the correct payment to me via paypal.
In the Subject line of the payment section on paypal, please put in your forum user ID and which forum you are a member of (for those w/multiple forum memberships, put in the forum that you’d like me to contact you through).
In the message section, provide me with the names of the 6 creams you’re ordering PLUS an alternate sample selection, AND your email address. I have a pretty good supply of shaving creams for each scent, but if for some reason I’m out of one of your choices, the alternate will be sent. And you’re providing your email address so that I can email you the delivery confirmation # of your shipment.

NonStandard Orders
To calculate the cost for nonstandard packages, like a blend of different tier samples (say 3 tier 4’s and 3 tier 3’s) take the per sample cost of each cream, add $5.25 for shipping, and then subtract $1.25 for the group discount. Once you've calculated how much your order will cost, complete the rest of ordering process through paypal as outlined above.

About # of samples per order
Ordering less than six really isn’t cost effective from a shipping standpoint, but you can save a bit by ordering more than six at a time. Email me if your order will fall in this category.

Shipping/Customer Service Expectations
Please keep in mind that this is not my day job, technically this isn’t even my night job, and is definitely not a full time deal for me. I am not making much of a profit, and will be putting most of the cash back into replenishing creams and/or expanding the selection for everyone.

I will do my best to get your order out as soon as possible, but the reality is that I have a very time intensive day job, coming home very late some evenings. Because of this, I cannot commit to a 24/48 hour turnaround on your order. I will do my best to get your order out quickly, but the most I can guarantee is getting orders shipped out every Saturday. Orders will most likely be shipped out earlier, but I am in no way making any guarantees that it will.

I can guarantee that you will be notified when your order is shipped (via email from paypal) that your samples will come safely packaged, cleanly marked, filled to the rim of every container, and sealed to prevent leaking. IF for some reason the USPS loses your order (and is ID'd in that manner via the DCN), please contact me and we'll work out a set of replacement samples for you.

IF you have any questions AT ALL, please email me before placing an order and I'll try to answer you in a timely manner. I'd ALSO like to hear from members as to what other creams they'd like to see added for availability.


My inventory of creams for sample
Tier 1 Creams - $2 each + $5.25 shipping or 6 for $16 including priority shipping & discount
Alba
Mango Vanilla (brushless)
Arko
Sensitive
Citrus
Normal
Lemon
Commando
Barbasol*
Barbasol Brushless (lilac scent)
Derby
Menthol
Lemon
H20+
Marine Brushless
Kiss My Face
Mint
Peaceful Patchouli
Unscented
The Real Shaving Co.
Cooling (very light cucumber scent, almost unscented)*
Toms of Maine
Calendula
Mint


Tier 2 Creams - $3 each + $5.25 shipping or 6 for $22 including priority shipping & discount
Erasmic
Erasmic
European Palmolive
European Palmolive
Florena
Regular
Sensitive
Ingram
Ingram (strong cooling sensation)
Musgo Real
Musgo
Nancy Boy
Signature (lavender/rosemary/peppermint)
Replenishing (cucumber)
Proraso
Red
Green
Taylors of Old Bond Street
Sandalwood
Shaving Shop
St James
Lavender
Avocado
Vulfix
Sandalwood
Lavender

Tier 3 Creams - $3.50 each + $5.25 shipping or 6 for $25 including priority shipping & discount
1600 For Men
Power Shave
Art of Shaving
Lavender
Crabtree & Evelyn
Sandalwood
Sweet Almond oil*
Sienna
Nomad
Cyril Salter
Indian Sandalwood
Mint
Citrus
Lime
Wild Rose
Geo F. Trumpers
Violet
Coconut
JM Frasers
JM Frasers (lemony scent)
Mama Bear
Bay Rum
Patchouli/Menthol (custom blend)*
Saint Charles
Lavender (OUT)
Shea & Avocado (OUT)
Truefitt & Hill
Ultimate Comfort (very light lavender scent)



Tier 4 Creams - $4 each + $5.25 shipping or 6 for $28 including priority shipping & discount
Castle Forbes
Lime
Coates of England
Lime*
Eshave
White Tea
Citrus
J Peterman
1903
*’s means that once they’re gone, they’ll no longer be available (most likely)

Is Vulfix Tier 2 or 3?

Vulfix is listed as Tier 2

jramire2 said:

Vulfix is listed as Tier 2

Click to expand...

Indeed, but it is also listed as Tier 3.

My bad, good catch.

But yes, they're tier 2 shaving creams, and the list has been corrected.

For the QED, I suggest melting gently and pouring into a mould that you can easily remove the hardened "mini pucks" out of.

Something as simple as an ice cube tray with the right sized cubes might work.

As for unmoulding, either lining the mould with something (perhaps olive oil or something similar) or running a little warm water over the bottom of the mould might work.

Might be more of a PIA that its worth - just a suggestion.

Suzuki said:

For the QED, I suggest melting gently and pouring into a mould that you can easily remove the hardened "mini pucks" out of.

Something as simple as an ice cube tray with the right sized cubes might work.

As for unmoulding, either lining the mould with something (perhaps olive oil or something similar) or running a little warm water over the bottom of the mould might work.

Might be more of a PIA that its worth - just a suggestion.

Click to expand...

I was going to melt them and make 1/2 oz mini shave sticks, but Charles felt that while melting them wouldn't change the performance of the soap, it might affect the scent. So I'll only be providing soap samples if I can find an easy means of splitting up a soap puck w/out having to melt it. I thought of maybe a cheese slicer, but it didn't work.

Melting gently over a double boiler or something similar shouldn't hurt the scent (which is a risk if you use the microwave).

As for cutting - its going to be hard to get an exact weight/volume.

Is the "cheese slicer" you're speaking of one of the wire jobs? My experience is that they don't even cut cheese that well.

I've cut blocks of Savon de Marseille with a heavy chef's knife and this would likely work on a soft glycerine soap.

Other alternatives include a piece of wire with a handle on it - I've seen lots of cheese vendors use something like this - one end is fixed to the backside of the cutting board or otherwise secured and the free end has the handle and is used sort of like a garrote - the key difference between the cheese slicer with the wire is that you can both use a heavier wire and put more tension on it.

The other suggestion is to use a very thin-bladed knife and heat it - hot knife through butter type of thing. This likely wouldn't impact the scent.

Anyhow, just a few thoughts.

I think heating a blade might help, you might run into some heavy resistance once the whole blade is embedded in the soap though.

Awesome!

Thanks, Joshua. What with the high prices of checking out new scents, this is a great help.

Take this up guys!

bjrn said:

I think heating a blade might help, you might run into some heavy resistance once the whole blade is embedded in the soap though.

Click to expand...

Actually, they sell heated knives for between $70 and $100 (or less), but you might also be able to make due with a hot knife attachment for a soldering iron or woodburning kit - these would be much less expensive, but probably wouldn't work as well as a proper heated knife.

In the end, unless you could find a cheap one, this seems to be a lot of $ to spend for this type of thing.

Wow! For anyone wondering, Joshua know how to do it right!

I recieved my package today and it was above and beyone what I expected:

-Much larger containers than any other samples I've got thus far
-Printed labels help out and make it nice
-Shrink wrapped eek containers mean no nasty leaks (damn that was unexpected)
-Filled to the brim, almost too much!

Joshua, thank you kindly for such a great offer. I already know I'll be buying at least two of these so far, so you've been a great help. If anyone else was thinking about having a go, DO IT! Especially the newbies!

Professional all the way!

I can't seem to be able to update my first post but just to let everyone know.


I'M OUT OF MAMA BEARS BAY RUM SHAVING CREAM.


Are any members looking to try a specific scent of her shaving creams, as I'll soon be placing an order w/her to replace the bay rum w/another scent. I'll be ordering two creams at a minimum to leverage shipping costs. Let me know your vote!

Options are;
Attar of Roses
Early Grey Tea
Rosemay - Mint
Sandalwood Vanilla
Cadebury Moss
Tassi Lavender
Irish Glen
Veldfire
Unscented

jramire2 said:

Options are;
Attar of Roses
Early Grey Tea
Rosemay - Mint
Sandalwood Vanilla
Cadebury Moss
Tassi Lavender
Irish Glen
Veldfire
Unscented

Click to expand...

Veldfire!
Tassi Lavender

-benjy

Just picked up a tube of Derby Lavender, which will be a Tier 1 cream along w/the rest of the Derby creams I have.

Running low on Taylors St James, but I should have enough for a few more samples.

Still out of MB Bay Rum.

After several shaves w/it, I've decided that the shaving cream, 1600 for men is such a poor performer that I'm clearancing it out.

This stuff should not be advertised that it can be used w/a brush.

The post shave feeling from this cream is pretty good, those w/dry skin might benefit from it. But it lathers worse than caswell massey creams.

It's currently a tier 3 cream, I'll knock it down to a tier 1, so $2 now instead of $3.50.

Joshua,

Thanks for the fast shipment. I received my samples today and this is a first rate operation. Very professional and I look forward to trying more samples soon.

The jars are shrink wrapped and have printed labels on the top so I know what I'm trying.

If you are a newbie and looking to try out different products before buying them (or an experienced wet shaver looking for that perfect cream), take a look at Joshua's samples... You won't be disappointed.

Best Wishes,
Steve

Got my samples Friday Joshua. Thanks! Great packaging job. Already tried the Shaving Shop and 1903.

Groundhog said:

Got my samples Friday Joshua. Thanks! Great packaging job. Already tried the Shaving Shop and 1903.

Click to expand...

Glad they arrived safely. What's your first impression of the 1903? It's one of my favorite creams, really good stuf IMO.

I got my samples today Joshua. Very impressive service. I can't wait to try one tomorrow.