Buying From Ebay

[Wombat ESQ]

For $400 I would expect Miss World to deliver the razor in person, and then shave me with it. Given that my wife would not approve of that, together with the fact that I have never cared for the 195 Adjustable, it is a no from me.

For $400 I would expect Miss World to deliver the razor in person, with no clothes on and then shave me with it, in the same attire. Given that me no have wife!

Opinion only:-

I like to call them a Flatboy, just to be difficult !! They seem to be highly sought after just because 'flatboy' is the words on the lips of people?

A flatboy may reach that price? but it better be good, no "Perfect"! no marks in the case, the cellophane needs look genuine? the razor numbers paint need look genuine, the black ring under the number dial has no obvious join in it < some restorers use pin stripe vinyl and it is obvious! the dial spring needs to look correct, red ones are obvious if repainted, the end crimp in the handle needs appear un-tampered with. One, all, or none of the above may be obvious? I never do ebray on a small screen!

A boxed Executive flatboy ... I might pay that figure?

Internet ink is cheap, words are even cheaper, 'rare' being the cheapest word you can print. "Great condition for its age" is another cheap printing phrase.
Descriptions leave me cold, words are cheap, photos and the sixth sense intuition, blow both up on a big screen. Even then pictures can be deceiving?

Bottom Dials are in the realm of Serious big $ collectors, last two sold over 4K! there is no comparison between less than X available to fifty million of the flatboy.

A couple other items from the seller seem 'exorbitantly' priced? on BIN ... sellers hate low ball offers, I would have no qualms offering a low ball offer to be counter offered hopefully to end up round my preferred price ? or be rejected and move on, flatboys of all conditions are out there, another one or ten will be along soon.

 

[Wombat ESQ]

last two sold over 4K!

E&OE

sorry, that's AUD

 

[DesertIguana]

Currently there's a FatBoy for sale - 1959 Gillette FatBoy NOS 195 offered by 1549 Jack - $397.88 or best offer
returns not accepted although a PayPal "looking" banner appears saying there's protection available if item not
as described - the 195 I've read refers to the original price of $1.95 .

There's a lengthy description that includes words like "modified item" and "Lustrous Nickel Plating" - I have an E4
FatBoy that I bought several years ago for I think around $80 which I thought was high at that time - I'm not a
collector but I'm guessing many members here are - what I'm wondering from the collectors here or just those on
this forum with knowledge is this - are there things in the description that set off alarm bells or even on the flip
side , bells of joy - and not for just this razor but in general for any older collectible vintage razor - and FWIW it's
been on Ebay for a week or two now .

Will be interested in getting your thoughts .

First off is your desire for a Fatboy to shave with or have as collection piece as mint object to be center of a collection. NOS, or New Fatboy are not like going to super market and buy five pound bag of sugar, many brand, reasonable prices. You are going to have to put out bucks.

If you want a Fatboy to shave with and have a few buck to blow buy one from Razor Emporium in Nickel, Radium, Gold, Combo call Prospectors Model.

If you want a Fatboy to just shave with you should be able to get nice non restored on under $100.00.

 

[Joezamboni]

Don’t think it’s worth it. I’ve picked up some decent deals on NOS/near NOS pieces.

I look at sellers to see if they do it as a gig. It’s easy enough to pull out a $30 harbor freight buffing wheel, get out the rouge and clean up a razor (in the right hands it can do minimal plating removal and make them look like new). I’ve also bought one here where the plating was burnt though. You can also use the buffing wheel on the case plastic to clean it up too.

If the razor is in good shape with no damage backroadsgold “tune up” service can bring the plating to near impossible to distinguish from NOS as well. Definitely a good investment. I have

You’re never going to get the same return on investment. A good replate is likely to be a better value.

The BRGAS (Back Roads Gold Appreciation Society)

Alright, time to check out what I received! A tuned up Fatboy, a mirror nickel Fatboy, a Milord converted to a ranger and a ”factory fresh” Slim. First thing to note, Chris’s tune up service is amazing if the plating is in good shape without deep marks. It really brought a Fatboy that was bent...

www.badgerandblade.com

 

[Guido75]

The bay can have listings that are highly overpriced just to see who will bite. And then there are the listings that are petty cash for something amazing. I have bought off of eBay, but always with a cap in mind on my willingness to invest. I have been very lucky on a number of my buys. $400 is way beyond my cap I will tell you that. Then again, I personally have no specific need for a Fat Boy.

 

[DonN]

Thanks for all your great replies ! can't justify that price myself !! - and BTW just read that after more than a 100 years Gillette is stopping production from its' South Boston plant .

 

[shavepunx]

i picked up my fatboy on feebay within the last few months for a little over 30 bones and it works great. i used my intuition and made sure to assess photos carefully before bidding, point being its definitely currently possible to pick up a fully functional fatty for a decent price if you do some hunting. probably even less if you find one in an antique store. ive got mine in at back roads gold now for a full service and im still less than a hundred all in for a like-new piece. granted, i dont have any original packaging, but id still echo the sentiment that 400 bucks is steep regardless of whether its a re-plate or not. glad to see you decided against it.

 

[pathologist]

If one keeps an eye out, and knows when/how to look, it's possible to still find one in excellent condition with an intact case for less than $100.

Make sure you inspect the razor before using it, the adjustment mechanism should free fall when lifted for example. As well inspect the gap to see if it is even on both sides. If one doesn't feel comfortable to fix it themselves, it's possible to return the item even if the seller doesn't accept returns.

I received an absolutely beautiful Slim before I got my equally beautiful Fatboy. The adjustment mechanism didn't work correctly for the Slim, I was able to get it to work, but no free fall and the gap was uneven. It's hard to know even from photos at times.