Where do you get your DE blades? Since getting my safety razor I've been checking every store I go in to see if they have blades. Only one of my local grocery stores and one K-Mart have had blades. Are online retailers the best/only places to get blades?
If you want a sample pack a good place is Ebay, and there's sites already mentioned. Locally check drug stores. I can get DE's at both Rite Aid and Walgreens. Their prices are ridiculous compared to online though. Like a buck a blade. I've read that Walmart carries blades now too.
I have not had to buy any DE Blades for a long time. CVS Pharmacy carries a Generic Blade with their label on he package. When I got my Weber 3pc. They sent me Astra Blades with the razor. I go a couple of Gillette Razors off the E-Bay and each time I got a razor they included a package of sample blades. When I got my ATT 7pc. Set You would think for what they charge you for this set up you would think that they would send you at least one package of 5 razor blades.
You can buy any kind of blade in just about any quantity you want on ebay for as good a price as any. That's one of the few bargains on the bay
YES online dealers are the only places, that I'm aware of, that will offer you a LARGE variety of blades. I usually check ebay and amazon first for availability and to get a price and then compare against other sites. Also as Mark has said it's a VERY good idea in the beginning to get a large blade sampler pack. TSD offer a good one right here. The more different blades you can try, especially in the beginning, the better for finding the blade/blades that work BEST for your face and technique. Another good reason for a sample pack is keeping a small variety of blades on hand is useful as many times different safety razors perform differently(for better or worse) with different blades..
Three really good shaving vendors that you should take a look at. http://www.razorbladesandmore.com/ David is great to deal with. http://www.shoeboxshaveshop.com/ Gary is great to deal with. http://www.connaughtshaving.com/ Paul is great to deal with. Notice I called out the owners by their first names because I have dealt with each one numerous times. They have a great reputation in the traditional shaving community and are the pros at providing shaving products. They stick to their area expertise ... shaving products. Always check them for selection and service. Blade sale at Shoebox 11/8/2014 see below. http://theshaveden.com/forums/threads/blade-sales.41251/
Maggard Razors. Instead of a sample pak, my advice would be to look through the forums and try to identify to 10 or so blades that seem to be most popular, and spend $15 or so on individual tucks of those specific blades. For me a lot of the sample paks have a lot of the same blades in them, and some of them are blades that a lot of us would not recommend. MHO.
West Coast Shaving. I don't trust the vendors on Amazon to send what they advertise and I never deal with Ebay.
