Aliexpress has a similar buyer protection as eBay. https://sale.aliexpress.com/buyerprotection-en.htm Also if you use a credit card you're not responsible for any fraudulent charges. But if eBay provides you with more comfort then, by all means, shop with them. Just passing along the info.
Don't have a problem with AliExpress. Just only have two cards that would work. One debit on my main account, and one that's being paid off. The last card is Discover, and they don't take that. So, I'd need to get a pre-paid mastercard or visa. I won't use my main bank account for overseas transactions - I need it to stay usable, and not have to fight with the bank.
I have a Merkur Futur I don't use much, but I don't think I can resist that low price. 3 for less than $10 they would make good gifts. Amazing how low the price has gotten on them.
I noticed that the cheap sellers had a limited number of them. The 'expensive' ones had a lot more. I suspect loss leaders.
I'm not so sure... I noticed that one of them had <10, sold out, and them magically had more. I suspect that some sellers list a small quantity to generate a sense of scarcity.
I've sorta been lured by these nice looking razors. Then they all seem to have glowing reviews. I thought maybe for gifts. BUT, at the end of the day. If I want to shave with a Futur, then I'd like a Futur. Not a Futor, or a Fujur wanna be. And further, ifI were to gift one of my kids one, and they were to become aficionados of this. I wouldn't like to be the dad who had the real McCoy, but gave a knockoff. Then, why should knockoff companies benefit from the Futur's good name. So I'll just stay with the real thing, just my two cents worth.
I found Derby blades are the best for me in my adjustables It could be because of they way they're honed and the angle of the bevels. Blades in an adjustable are bent and it could be some blades just perform better when bent -- but this is just a thought not based in any fact or testing.
Y'know, I haven't read any of these sellers pushing it as a Futur anything, really. I picked up three, because they _can_ be gifts, and if someone decides they don't like them, they weren't expensive enough to hurt my pocketbook. If the person _does_ like it, then they can decide if they want to buy a Futur, or something else that costs $260.
If it's a quality product, patent expired, where Dovo-Merkur chose not to improve the original so as to enhance the Futur's appeal and be eligible for additional patent, why should Ming Shi not, just as Merkur benefited from expired Gillette patents and unpatented Apollo designs for the Progress. Sent from my Nexus 5X using Tapatalk
(and the Futur name is not used, we're not talking about a counterfeiting issue) Sent from my Nexus 5X using Tapatalk
I understand, and I'm not condemning . Like I said, I'm tempted. But I have a Futur, if i give one, it'll be a Futur. I really like the black one I saw. But it's to close to having two of the same. I said how i feel, I'm not downing anyone who felt differently. It was not my intention, just my position.
Understood. Part of me thinks Merkur needs the kick in the butt, the 60-something year old Progress and 30-something year old Futur could certainly use some tweaks that go beyond changing fonts on base plates and the like.. I think the black clone was the NT Vigour I believe, a different manufacturer and perhaps not as good a copy from the comments I recall. Sent from my Nexus 5X using Tapatalk
Hey. Shaved with my Futur this morning and it's the 4th shave with the Voskhod Teflon Coated blade. I wanted to give feedback. The first two shaves with the Voskhod were not very comfortable and seemed like it had a tad of drag/resistance during those shaves. But now on the 4th shave it was very smooth and my resulting outcome was BBS despite the soap not really having much quality on the lather. So, it seems to me, regardless of the setting of this razor, that less-sharp blades perform better (I don't mean dull blades). For instance the Derby blade I originally used was perfect on the first shave and it's not known to be a super-sharp blade, while as the Voskhod is known to be sharper than average (but not the sharpest). After 3 shaves the Voskhod is performing a tad better than the Derby and the in-shave experience is much smoother and more comfortable for me. Just wanted to give my observations to the collective on this. It seems that certain blades perform better on that first shave, and it seems like it's the blades that I read people trashing like Derby. I myself was ready to not continue the use of Derby....until I ran into this rather curious situation. I will continue to test other blades though before ordering any Derby's, but right now Derby is the right blade for the Futur at the moment. But that could change.
Merkur futur clones can be found on eBay for $2.96 If anyone is looking for one, or a backup or 3...I recommend going there now.
Did it last night. Ordered two for under $6. Couldn't say no to that price. It'll be interesting to see how they compare to my Merker Futur. Hopefully they will shave just as well. All of the reviews I have seen on Youtube or read on the forums have been favorable, so I couldn't say no at that price.
Supposedly my package has shipped. The Mingshi, (quantity 3) however, has no tracking number, while the Baili TTO has a tracking number
Well darn, wish I had seen this earlier. I just ordered a Futur type clone on Amazon for $19 with prime shipping. Might be returning it once it arrives now though and ordering one of these.
