Saw this on another forum... Apparently, an inexpensive clone of the Merkur progress is now available from Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07T93T1YQ/?tag=thshde-20

I'm assuming that this is the same as the Indian-made one on AliBaba.

And, yes, I ordered myself one as a birthday present.

Interesting, but it is not advertised, as an adjustable, which is the main attraction of the Merkur Progress. It's just a look a like!

It is not like Merkur manufactures this razor in house anymore. More likely the actual manufacturer is selling their non branded version.

I seek out the fine print when I'm looking at advertisement. The Amazon page says, "Like its sister company Dovo, the Jajjay philosophy is excellence in craftsmanship". A search lead me to Jajjay Surgical. They are located in Pakistan. Not making any judgement on the tool or it's quality. Seems the neighborhood has several medical instrument makers.

Might explain this listing on AliBaba.com: https://www.alibaba.com/product-det...e-Progress-Adjustable-Safety_62008265862.html

Looks like a Merkur. If it shaves like one, they could be the supplier. Online merch from China has figured out how to skip the retailers, Pakistan manufacturers deserve to be in The Game, too. Not like we, the Consumers, have been at the mercy of the mark-up. No one has to buy the products. If you choose to shopping from the maker cuts your end user cost.

Here's another razor that looks like a Merkur product that isn't;
Zeva Thinning Barber Comb (Zeepk Pro)

They're also going after Muhle.

The only comment on Amazon says the razor is not what's pictured so we really have no idea what the story is here.

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Now it's getting really weird... I have a package due by 2100 today but, if I go to the page for the item, I get a "page not found" error.

It will be interesting to see what shows up.

My apologies to all.

I think the seller underestimated the speed data flows in shave forums. Glad you brought us the information John! It's up to each buyer to make a decision and assess risk VS. reward.

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Merkur/Dovo manufactures all their products IN Germany at their strictly controlled facility. They have absolutely NO outside producers.

This is truly a false advertising sham!

I am very surprised and very disappointed, that AMAZON would ever allow something so obvious!!!

The link wouldn't work. for me

Not disputing anyone's claims since I have no first hand information. American Made autos are "assembled" in the USA, too.

Glad I captured that line from the web page.

It does throw doubt on the whole deal. Maybe Dovo caught wind? Either made them remove a false claim of association, or didn't want the secret out.

Ditto

The page originally worked for me, but now it doesn't.

Which may explain why the page for the item has ben completely removed.

Now, for the moment that we've all been waiting for... When I got home from work, an Amazon box was waiting on the doorstep. In typical Amazon fashion, the box was ridiculously oversized for the contents which consisted of lots of air pouches and this:




Treet CS blades... hmm... not off to the greatest start. So, what's inside the package?
Well, it's clearly not a Progress clone. I suppose there's a bit of a resemblance if you squint a lot. It's a heavy handle.


The engraved cap and case are a nice touch, I suppose.


Definitely not an adjustable razor.


Nope, just your basic crappy Pakistani head.


So, there you have it. Needless to say, I'm disappointed; I'd really hoped that someone had brought that Pakistani Progress clone to the US the same way that the Chinese did with the Futur clone. Ironically I had considered buying a handle just like this one has a while ago. I'll probably end up checking out my return options though, if it's going to cost me too much, then I'll probably toss the head and just keep the handle and case.

I'll let you all know the final decision.

Amazon has a full refund policy if the item is not as described.

Which is exactly what I did. All I have to do is drop it off at a UPS location (one near my house and another near work). I don't even need to pack it.