Men's and Women's razors have become the finished product resulting from a refined and optimized art and science of razor design and consumer behavior. This effort has not been in vain, nor gone to waste, but rather allowed the heightened possibility of increased product yield to feed the starved material objectives demanded by corporate shareholders. However, these razors do not necessarily save money.
So what does that actually mean? Razors are created first for profit and second for actual functionality. This has never been more obvious than with the large, 5 blade razors now on the market. These razors are allegedly 'better', smoother, softer and therefore cost more, a lot more than the less functional older razors.
Think again. Those 5 bladed beasts can't be resharpened with the “Save a Blade" because it only fits the smaller traditional blades. However, products such as "Razor Shield" allegedly do prolong the life of all types of razor blades. Look out though, as getting hair out of the 5 bladers is tough; the tightly bound blades are hair nets that inhibit the functional life of the razor even if it still is sharp. In other words, newer isn't necessarily better unless you're keeping an old blade new.
Old out of stock razor blades are a gold mine of inexpensive shaving and help save money on razor blades. These blades are no longer 'valuable' from a marketing and statistical sales perspective and are consequently more likely to be sold on the cheap. After that they are all gone so looking around in clearance bins, discount overstock retailers, and anywhere else classic shaving products are offered can save money on razor blades. For example, on April 29, 2011 10 Gillette Sensor blades cost $12.95 on Amazon but 4 Gillette Fusion Pro-Glide cartridges cost $14.24 at Amazon.
Then there's classic blades replicas like the Sweeney Todd Straight Razor listed on 'Google Products'. This razor started at $6.99 on the day of this blog post and can last a literal lifetime if they're cared for and manually resharpened with a sharpening stone also available for under $10. These were eliminated from mass marketing probably for the same reason 5 blade cartridges replaced the two and three blade razors. The fact is classic blades work and cost less and can also save money on razor blades. They may look scary, but men especially should be able to get over that fear.
For men and women not looking to go classical, coupons and bulk are another way to go to save money on razor blades. A warehouse retailer like BJs discounts bulk and accepts double coupons. For example, if BJs has a razor special and a manufacturer's coupon came in the mail, that's two more price reducing opportunities. Granted this does take a little effort, but once it's over a decent supply of razors at a lower cost does inevitably save time shopping and money spent. Also, don't forget the dollar shops just because they sell razors and blades for around a dollar!
:.
0 comments:
Post a Comment