There are still razors I've never tried....I've tried most styles but...for instance, I've been wet shaving since the mid '60's and I've still never tried an Old Style open comb...or a Schick Repeater...So although the library is invaluable for noobs it's also quite nice for us geez'es aswell... Although I don't expect to see too many "Repeaters" finding their way into the library, It does look like at least one "Old Style" will be in the first wave of borrowables...
I don't want to exclude noobs too easily, after all I'm a noob. But the 50 post limit should be fairly easy for anyone to hit. After all this is my 31st post in what 5 days. OMG... I post alot...
1 . Take Credit Cards and run them for a dollar to see if it is legit 2. Minimum post requirement 3. Minimum Liked post requirement 4. Minimum membership length. I can get the mechant service web link and the borrower will complete the info check a box that the card will be billed for x amount ughtnot returned in the required timeframe or returned damaged. Thoughts?
We have a similar thing running on a UK forum, the razors are shaver grade but fully functional so have a low(ish) value. I think that you have to realistic expectations of what people will lend out. The way it works is that the person who wants to try out a razor contacts the owner and he gets to loan it for 2 weeks. After this he contacts the owner who sends him a new address to send it to and the process starts again. This has worked for quite a few months now. The rules are similar to what you propose i.e. 50 posts or more (no +1 or great razor etc) active members only. The razors are posted tracked/insured at the cost of the lender. Not sure if this is the sort of idea you guys are after?
So now that this thread has had a few posts... and realizing that the razor lending library is a great idea... I have also realized that I am not in a position to promote and/or maintain a razor lending library. Therefore, I will ship all of the razors I included in my original post to The TSD Store and allow The Queen Of Blades to operate the library. Long Live TSD!
Late to the show here and admittedly, I didn't read ALL the posts in this thread, but I do like the idea. Sadly I don't have a big enough inventory to offer anything to the effort, but there are loads of razors I have read about that I would like to try either to decide if I want to buy or just to say I used one... Regarding the participation requirements, I would think a minimum post limit, and more importantly a membership time would be a good idea. It takes most folks a fair amount of time to acquire technique such that they have a pleasurable shave.. that would be a prerequisite to being able identify the characteristics of different razors. Otherwise, all razors can deliver a bad shave equally well and who knows how/if they differ..
I too, think this minimum is an excellent idea and a great starting point! As a newbie myself, I would participate in this venture wholeheartedly!
Just to offer another variation on this lending theme, there is this model: The MacNichol guitar store/forum has "Road Trips" of some of their carbon fiber guitars when a new model comes out. To test a guitar for a week, I paid $35, which includes shipping both ways and a new set of strings. I wonder whether there could be "Road Trips" of razors. We could vote on which razor to test. If there were enough votes/deposits, it could be purchased by the store and sent to the first person on the list. The emailed printable (PDF?) outbound label would ship it to the next person in the list. There could be a review thread to discuss each person's experience with that razor. Optionally, after the road trip is over, it could be sold by the store to help support the forum. This may be a way for us to test some razors that we would not risk buying ourselves just to test. To reduce risk, some of the other mentioned requirements could be used. This aspect reminds me of a mechanism used by the Delcamp classical guitar forum. Post counts let you join group levels. Higher group levels are used to access different levels of benefits (MP3s, sheet music, etc.). In this case, a higher group level access would allow joining a higher priced razor road trip, EJ89L vs Feather Stainless, etc. Just a thought...
To address my vote on this poll: I'm not sure how to vote. As I already have a couple of razors that work well for me (EJ89L, 37C), I have less interest in testing similar razors. However, I would love a chance to test some of the more expensive razors, those I am reluctant to buy myself just to see if I like them or not. But, those are much less likely to be donated to the library.
Being a new member, new wet shaver, and already addicted to the hobby makes me want this idea. There are some set backs. If you use paypal, to put a "deposit" down and then a refund, don't you still get charged? Therefore there is a loss. The postage, depending on location can also be a bit heavy on your wallet if you try 2 or 3 razors a month. Trust system is always a concern as I am sure most people on this forum, don't REALLY know each other. Let's face it, we all know how the Postal service is... If you put "fragile" on a box, they will purposely drop it from the top of a building to make sure the sender packed it correctly. I remember awaiting shipments in Iraq for weeks or even months because they "lost" the mail. There are a lot of faults with this library thing, while I believe in such a thing, I feel that maybe an individual system should be offered. All those who are willing to lend out razors, send a designated TSD member (Queen?) a list where a master list can be formed, and the borrowed can "look up" what razor he/she wishes to try out, contact the lender and work their own borrowing/returning idea. That way, if someone believe you need to be a TSD member for a year, and have had 2,500 posts, 500 likes, and active member, THEN they will lend, while another person may lend you the shaver because it's no problem. Some people may want to have a deposit. Either way, the lending idea is great, but in order for everyone (including newbies) to enjoy it, the decision to whom to part a razor to should be up to the lender, and the lender should have their OWN form of determining who gets, who's worthy, what stipulations are necessary to get specified razor. This fixes the problem with vintage and expensive razors as some have sentimental value or are priceless to some. Just my two cents.
No. If a refund is issued, so are the PP fees. Priority Mail Flat Rate Padded Envelope is $4.75 to anywhere in the US, territories and APO/FPO - and includes free delivery confirmation if printed via USPS.com or PayPal. Put the razors in a USPS Flat Rate Small Priority Mail box for protection, put that box inside the envelope, seal it and it mails for $4.75 - I do this often. This isn't a free-for-all lend out. The razors are being donated to TSD to keep in its library to lend out. 1 owner: TSD. First come, first served.
Okay, wasn't sure on the PayPal technicalities. But if it's $4.75 one way, wouldn't that be $9.50 for a round-trip? I am assuming in this case the borrower would pay for there and back, correct? If that is the case every razor you wish to borrow runs approximately $10. A lot of razors are $30-60 with of course several exceptions. So, for a Merkur that's worth $35, spending $10 to test it out may not be worth it, as it's 30% of the cost of the actual razor. In other cases that may be different such as the Feather SS worth ~$200. So the original owner is not just lending his/her razor to another member with the idea of getting it back, but rather donating it to the 'TSD Library' where it will see the rest of its days being passed around? Would I be able to get my razor back if I wanted to allow someone to benefit from lending it? Jody, by no means am I against the idea, I am all for it. I am just posting concerns. Working as a military police soldier for 5 years I've seen what borrowing items to friends can do to friendship. Lending money is the worst. So I suppose the razors that have no price value or high sentimental value to their owners, should not be considered for the library, correct?
Testing 3, 4 razors out for 10 bucks seems reasonable to me. The razors being donated to the library are mostly shaver grade. I can't imagine anyone donating a mint, NOS razor but they are more than welcome to of course. So if you have sentimental value on a razor, no, you shouldn't donate it to the library. People are aware that there are unscrupulous people out there looking to take advantage of others. Between the membership/posting requirements and the yet to be determined deposit, the library won't be out anything. If someone keeps the razor, the deposit is kept so in a sense it would be as if it were sold to the user and a replacement will be secured with the deposit money, if need be.
Jody, I like the idea of a deposit. Would be nice if the library could be a rent-to-own type as well. The deposit is to encourage honesty and return, but maybe a sale price can be negotiated so that way it's done professionally, respectfully, and the person can try another loaner, the library isn't being robbed and so forth. Good idea no?
We aren't trying to make it anymore complicated than need be. Since JoAnna will be the one handling the library, through the TSD store, it's above and beyond to also ask her to keep up with rent-to-own payments and with when something is finally paid off or not. It's just a simple try-before-you-buy-your-own loaner program. If she wants to make it more than that, I'll support it of course. I just don't think that's part of the goal that was with this idea. Jeff could speak more to his idea of course.
