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Saturday, April 01, 2006

eBay and Economical Razor Blades

Adam from San Francisco sent me an email that I'm sure many of you will find interesting.

I want to share a technique that's working well for me in buying razor blades.

Buying blades on eBay is by far the most economical way to buy razor blades with anything from Gillette Mach 3, Mach 3 Turbo, Mach 3 Power (m3power), Fusion, Schick Quatto, Quattro Power, etc.

There are always many factory sealed blades being sold on eBay.

Before I was purchasing blades on eBay, I was buying through razorsdirect.com . While razorsdirect.com offers competitive prices and offers free shipping, one can save between 25% to 50% using eBay, including the addded shipping expense.

The process is as follows:

1) Compare price to Razorsdirect.com

Suppose you wish to purchase 24 Mach 3 Turbo blades.

Razors Direct sells 24 Mach 3 Blades for $38.99 (say $39).

2) Multiply the price above by 0.75 (to enable a 25% minimum discount).

39 x 0.75 = $29.25

3) Find someone selling 24 Mach 3 Turbo blades on eBay.

4) Determine the "Maximum Bid" price.

Subtract the shipping cost from the 25% discounted price (since razorsdirect.com offers free shipping and eBay generally does now).

Suppose shipping is $4.99:

$29.25 - $4.99 = $24.26 = Maximum Bid

5) Enter the Maximum Bid (which will be kept private from both the seller and other potential buyers) for the item and wait.

You can usually find some pretty good deals well below the Maximum Bid price.

Using this method, I recently purchased, including shipping costs:

16 Quattro Power cartriges for $19.01 (including shipping)
(42% savings over razorsdirct)

24 Shick Quattro cartriges for $20.08 (including shipping)
(47% savings over razorsdirct)

If you get out-bid, over the calculated Maximum Bid price, that simply means the winner paid too much for the blades and bid on the next item.

Be careful and wait for one auction to close before bidding on another or you may be stuck with winning more than you desire.

For non-exact number of blades, go up to the next largest quantity and calculate the unit cost per blade. For example, if someone is selling 20 blades, find the cost on razorsdirect for 24, divide the razorsdirect by 24, and multiply by 20. Subtract the shipping cost on the eBay item to calculate the Maximum Bid.

Normally, I search on eBay first for a good deal. Next, I compare the price to razorsdirect. Finally, I calculate the Maximum Bid to be entered.

Using this method, most blades can be purchased between a 25% to 50% discount over razorsdirect.

It may be a good idea to enter the maximum bid during the last hour of the auction, or as close to the end as possible. In many cases, the razors will be purchased well below your maximum bid.

That's a very well-thought-out plan for economical razor acquisition if I've ever read one. Razor blades are pretty expensive these days, especially if you're picking them up from your local supermarket (as I usually do); Adam's technique sounds like it would be a great way to consistently save a good amount of cash on one of a headshaver's most common purchases.

Thanks, Adam!

Sunday, February 12, 2006

Gillette Fusion - first impressions

The Gillette Fusion razor was recently released (to great hype, of course), and early reviews are popping up in various places. I picked mine up a couple of days ago, and thought I'd share some quick initial impressions, based on 2 shaves.

As I tend to expect from Gillette products, I've gotten really good, close shaves. There's an area around my adam's apple which is very difficult to get smooth, but the Fusion has managed to get it smooth without too much hassle, and that impresses me. It's an area that other razors haven't been able to do much with, so I'm very happy with that result.

Irritation is similar to the Mach 3, with no noticeable improvements. That's very good, but I was hoping for some improvement. The commercials talk about the Fusion applying less pressure (since it's spreading out the pressure over more blades) and that this would result in less irritation, but I'm not feeling it so far.

The handle feels heavier than the Mach 3, and I like it. The pivot point of the blade head seems better positioned, moving closer to center than the Mach 3.

Overall, excellent initial results. I'll keep using it for a while and see if I continue to like it.

Is it worth the price, though? Replacement blade cartridges are very expensive. As I write, Drugstore.com has a pack of 8 going for $22, and that's with $5 off. That'll get you 12 Mach 3 cartridges and some change. I don't think the Fusion is 50% better than the Mach 3, not from what I've seen so far.

Thursday, February 09, 2006

Mailbag: Double-Edge headshaving

I received the following email from Herbert recently:

Hello, I am thinking of shaving my head, mainly because of a very dry scalp which no shampoo seems to be able to fix. I currently use a straight razor and Double Edge razor for my face shave (Straight with the grain and the double edge against). The after shave balms and moiterizers I use really give my skin a softness and sheen I never had using the usual shaving products.

I never liked ever using a multi-blade system and shaving my head with a straight razor sounds a little dangerous. But I thought a Doubled Edge razor might work. I have two Murker razors, but niether have a pivoting head. I saw a beautiful DE at classic shaving called "Vision"
that looks like it may work very well for a head shave. What are your thoughts on head-shaving with a DE razor?

I have tried shaving with a DE razor (specifically, the Merkur "classic" Safety Razor), and didn't have great results with it. I posted a blog entry about it back in May, in case you want to read about my initial impressions.
I'm used to modern cartridge razor systems, like the Schick Extreme III or the Gillette Mach 3, but I used the Merkur Classic for several weeks last year. Results on my face were decent, but shaving my scalp proved less than satisfactory.

The biggest problem seems to be the lack of flexibility of the blade. Cartridge razors have a bit of flex to them and can adjust to the countours of the scalp to some degree. The Merkur Classic's blade is very rigid. A rigid blade works fine for the face, since that area is fairly malleable and will adjust to the blade, but the scalp doesn't have nearly so much give and it doesn't adjust to the blade at all.

As a result, shaving took much longer (approximately twice as long in most cases), and even then I couldn't achieve the same quality of shave as with a cartridge razor. I would frequently miss some small spots, and skin irritation levels were higher than I like.

I only shaved with the Merkur for a few weeks, so it is possible that I just don't have sufficient practice to get a good shave with a DE razor. As a long-time DE user, perhaps Herbert would have more success than I did.

In general, though, I don't recommend using a DE razor on the scalp. Based on my experience (and some comments I've read from other DE shavers), I think it's harder than it needs to be, and results with a cartridge razor are better and easier to achieve.

Monday, February 06, 2006

Gambling on baldness

So what does it take to get your head shaved in Malaysia? Apparently, all you have to do is sit around and play Mahjong in a public place.

There has been widespread public indignation over the action by Kajang police to shave bald 10 senior citizens caught playing mahjong on the second day of the Chinese New Year.

The 10 men claimed trial in a Kajang magistrateâ€™s court yesterday to a charge of illegal gambling at a public place.

A 31-year-old coffeeshop owner, who was also shaved bald, pleaded not guilty to allowing the 10 to gamble at his Hulu Langat shop.

The incident has sparked a probe to determine if police were abusing their power. It's not necessarily clear-cut, either, as it is apparently standard practice.

"I appeal to the Selangor chief police officer to see if the police officers had gone overboard and abused their power," he said at a press conference yesterday.

"It is true that shaving a detainee's head is part of the procedure. But with the majority of the men detained being senior citizens, was it necessary?" he said.

Involuntary headshaving has been used for thousands of years as a way of humiliating others, and the outrage expressed by many people in Malaysia certainly seems justified.

Thursday, October 06, 2005

Mailbag: electric shavers vs blades

I just re-started shaving my head again. I use a gillete sensor on my head every other morning. The sensor is nice but I get tired of putting shave cream all over my head and going over it with a razor. I am now thinking about getting an electric razor. My question to you is do electric shavers work well on the head? How do they compare to a standard blade w/ shaving cream?

The only electric razor I've used on my scalp is a small travel shaver that I use every once in a while when I don't feel like doing a full wet shave. With that razor, I don't get a terribly good shave, but it does smooth things out in many areas and give me another day before I feel the need to shave again.

I haven't used any of the better electric shavers on my scalp, so I can't comment on them directly. I have gotten feedback from others, though, and the impression I get is that you can get a decent shave with an electric, but it won't be as close and smooth as you get with a full wet shave.

In particular, electrics seem to have a problem getting close in areas where the scalp surface isn't entirely even. The face is generally malleable and bends with the razor, but the scalp doesn't have the same amount of soft tissue underneath; as a result, it's much easier to miss some spots.

Still, the comments I've received from people who use electrics are generally positive. It's not as close as a blade, generally speaking, but it's enough for many people.

Sunday, September 25, 2005

Mailbag: Art of Shaving Lavendar Scented Shave Cream

Reader Sonny La Roma sent along this review of the "Art of Shaving" Lavendar Scented Shave Cream.

The Art of Shaving is a full service salon for men located in NYC as well as a few other cities including Las Vegas. The market their own skin and haircare products that are sold via their salons and thru Barney's as well.

I have been using their Lavendar Scented Shave Cream for the last 5 years and love it.

Major pros: High emolient content makes for a smooth and effortless shave. No drag at all on scalp. No nicks because of terrific glide factor. Lavendar scent is great.

Cons: A bit pricey. Standard tub is $22

Sounds nice.

Monday, September 19, 2005

Snarking the Fusion

In case my previous post on the Gillette Fusion wasn't snarky enough, the Independent chimes in with their own comments about the newly-announced razor system.

I don't know how much R & D went into Fusion, and P & G wishes it probably didn't. But I am sure it was a cast of thousands of highly trained razor boffins, and I am sure they examined every possible permutation of razor and chin before coming up with the genius idea: add another blade!

I have the feeling there will be many more cynical comments about the 5-blade Fusion soon.

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