A decline in interest?

Discussion in 'General Shaving Talk' started by swarden43, Aug 1, 2022.

  1. Mike-R41

    Mike-R41 Well-Known Member

    Yeah i downsized big time. I went from over 50+ razors to a modest 13 ish, not counting my Shavettes or straight razors. Yes I will admit it was more fun in the beginning but I have so many friends in this hobby, there’s always a giveaway on YouTube, instagram, and Facebook , and on the Facebook groups a lot of ppl respect my reviews and look Foward to them. Many people have told me I should make a YouTube channel. I’m thinking about it. I just love being apart of the discussion
     
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  2. Mike-R41

    Mike-R41 Well-Known Member

    Yeah these a new one called the WetShaving store and the razor company. The guy Andy from the wetshaving store it’s just him and his wife. Seems like anybody can be a vendor now. You’re basically just the middleman.
     
    Last edited: Aug 21, 2022
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  3. awk-m4

    awk-m4 Well-Known Member

    Yes definitely! My den clearing is a ongoing and will be taking a more minimalist approach. It doesn't mean that my interest is diminishing. Actually, my interest in this hobby is stronger than ever. I know what I like and will be using the same products for the foreseeable future. Looking at my inventory, the only item that I need to replenish this calendar year is my alum block.

    Paul
     
    Last edited: Aug 21, 2022
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  4. Mike-R41

    Mike-R41 Well-Known Member

    That being said I almost never use the same thing 2 shaves in a row. But I would like to practice more with my Friodur because I’m not really used to the face fell off Stainless Steel blades

    So I might Contribute in the 30 day rule
     
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  5. brit

    brit in a box

    i thoroughly enjoy the wetshaving experience.like many,i acquired near every vintage gillette,good to best soap base and a hoard of blades,brushes and post shave products.i was a frag collector before i started this endeavor also.after seeing a room filled with stuff i got overwhelmed and decided to thin it all out.i still buy a good soap once in a while,based on what base i like and mostly by scent,the odd gillette razor to fill a gap-techs mainly-with years worth of stuff to use still,it's hard to part with the $$ these days.i have awesome shaves daily with what i have..grass is always greener right?;)
     
  6. brit

    brit in a box

    canadian drug stores have decent shave product areas,de blades ,gillette or wilkinson,proraso products,a brush or 2 ,omega mostly,bulldog ,cremo ,nivea products,pacific shave co..a few aftershaves-old spice,aqua velva,stetson,adidas,and the usual goops and carts section.way more choices than 10 years ago..oh and 3 de razors..
     
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  7. Bird Lives

    Bird Lives Future Root Beer King of Turkey

    Yo Stingy....Are you still married to that R41 was it? I remember that razor took your whiskers like Grant took Richmond and made an honest shaver out of you! Ha ha!
     
    Last edited: Dec 7, 2022
  8. Paul Turner

    Paul Turner outside the quote(s) now

    I'm glad they have goops in there(AAAHHHH-long lung breath).
     
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  9. Bird Lives

    Bird Lives Future Root Beer King of Turkey

    I'm not sure...But I think one thing here in Turkey that contributes to lack of niche shave inventory is that every man in the country other than me and four or five others have beards or get a barber shave once every two weeks. Look at the movies...US and Europe included.That "unkempt" look seems to be having a renaisance back to the 1500's...And dressing aswell...Don't get me started!!!
     
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  10. Old School

    Old School *$&%@#~

    Supporting Vendor
    I'm still here, though not as active as I'd like to be. Tsd will always be my home. Between work, spenceandbo.com which is becoming more work than hobby, and my MBA program I just don't get into the boards as much as I'd like to anymore :(

    Sent from my SM-S908U using Tapatalk
     
  11. wristwatchb

    wristwatchb wristwatch "danger" b

    The vendor I checked was Maggard's, Paul.
     
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  12. Paul Turner

    Paul Turner outside the quote(s) now

    Are the Maggard Meet-ups always in the same place?
     
  13. SterFry

    SterFry Well-Known Member

    For me it's more a refining of my preferences and standards than interest loss.

    For example, the first non Barbasol lather I experienced was Proraso, which, of course, blew me away with it's performance when compared to Barbasol as did any other decent soap. However, now that I've tried B&M, M&M, Stirling, SV and so forth, Proraso no longer impresses me. This applies to razors and brushes as well. I'd imagine it's perfectly natural to go through the initial exploratory phase and just as natural to develope core preferences that you eventually zero in on afterwards, resulting in less purchases outside of that core, and not needing as many within said core due many of us simply having accumulated so much by that time. This is one part of it.

    The other part, I'd wager, is saturation. I don't doubt for a minute that the amount of wetshavers worldwide is growing. That growth is simply being outpaced by market saturation.
     
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  14. Primotenore

    Primotenore missed opera tunity

    Article Team
    From the hoarder's viewpoint...JK, market saturation resembles my shave den, and probably a great many of us who've been posting for 8-10 years. Facial hair is back in and the three-day beard---well-trimmed, is very in. The generation of shavers looking for a great tallow shave soap, or a titanium razor is finite.
     
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  15. John Beeman

    John Beeman Little chicken in hot water

    Yes
     
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  16. gorgo2

    gorgo2 geezerhood

    It's the economy, or what's left of it.
     
  17. ShaversRUs

    ShaversRUs Well-Known Member

    I doubt anyone who successfully learns how to wet shave would go back to paying stick-up prices for carts. If they lose interest, it is as others said -- they found what they like and no longer have RAD.

    Although in the past year I did use carts again for a period, I used stock that I had already bought. And I had found a much more economical way to use carts -- much less than a buck a cart -- which I know is still much more than DE blades. Secret: bought on eBay the store brands which are rebranded Personnas or Dorcos.

    One thing that surprises me when I peruse the shave aisle at RiteAid or Walgreens is the aftershaves. Luckily, the old standards like Old Spice, Clubman, Aqua Velva, Brut, and Skin Bracer are still there, but other than Gillette Cool Wave, and sometimes Nivea (splash), I don't see any new brands of splashes. For some reason, RiteAid is charging around 12 bucks for Old Spice - I think the 4.something ounce version! Less at Walgreens, though. I bought 4 or 5 bottles a few years ago via Walgreens on-line with in-store pickup for a lot less. Will hold me for awhile, particularly since I have way too many other aftershaves!

    I can't remember the last time I saw anyone even looking at the shaving supplies, which is odd. Maybe most are buying online like we do. I just like to look in the store and laugh internally -- 35 - 50 bucks for a pack of Gillette Fusions, lol.
     
    Last edited: Mar 9, 2023
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  18. SHAVEWIZARD420

    SHAVEWIZARD420 Well-Known Member

    Although some of us may not be fans of Williams or VDH, the fact that these soaps were pretty much the only "local" options here in the US and were around for years speaks volumes. If the public masses do not see these products on store shelves they would have to make a conscience effort to seek out different shaving products they never knew existed otherwise.


    Williams & VDH were gateway soaps that could lead to the wet shaving rabbit hole that many of us discovered on the journey. With these products no longer available would mean even less people even knowing "shaving soap" is a real thing. Nowadays most people use canned goo because they are unfamiliar with shaving soap and the old school ways of wet shaving.
     
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  19. Shaver X

    Shaver X Well-Known Member

    There is only so much shelf space, so the stores go with what sells best. Relatively inexpensive, reasonably good smelling, and heavily advertised usually does the trick.

    Aqua Velva - Introduced in 1917
    Mennen Skin Bracer - Introduced in 1931
    Old Spice - Introduced in 1937
    Pinaud Clubman - Introduced in the 1940s
    Brut - Introduced in 1964

    These old standbys have been around forever, and will likely be around long into the future.

    Shoplifting by organized criminal gangs is rampant where I live. The result is that most of the razor cartridges, as well as the razors, are in locked displays. This greatly discourages purchases, so it is no surprise people go online.
     
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  20. ShaversRUs

    ShaversRUs Well-Known Member

    I'm glad they're still around. I don't see them advertised anywhere, though. Old Spice doesn't even have Old Spice listed on their own website, lol. Of course I mean the After Shave, since to me that's what Old Spice is. I checked again a few days ago and I saw the cologne listed though. I once emailed them in shock about not showing the After Shave -- I asked why? They never responded.

    Not sure why RiteAid is price gouging Old Spice, though. That's just going to drive people away. They should just stop carrying it then. I bought a bottle of the original Shulton a couple of years ago for just a bit more than that.

    For some reason, this has been in the news a lot lately, but it is not a new thing. I noticed it at least 20 years ago, and probably more. Within the last 20 years, I remember having to get blades at the checkout counter, too.

    I go to 2 Walmarts occasionally. One has the shaving stuff locked up, the other does not. It's weird that they even lock up their Equate $1 shaving cream. The one that doesn't lock them up has a video monitor where you see yourself and it's flashing "you're being watched!" Big Brother lives! Next is the "thought police", lol.

    Don't those things that beep as you leave the store with something you didn't pay for work anymore?

    I like to call it the "Adam and Eve Effect." A small % of the people ruin it for everyone else. But the world has always been like that, I guess.
     
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