How have your razor/shave purchases changed due to tariffs concerns?

To be honest, I generally buy shave soaps and cremes from the EU region as I find them to be very good and affordable too. For my razors, I have both EU and Chinese options in my shave den.

For the time being, my purchases of "out of production" legacy razor copies in China are sidelined due to outrageous costs right now. With the 50% EU-tariff being sidelined until July 9th right now, the question is whether I buy a Lambda Razor or possibly a stainless Muhle R89.

How has the current Political/Economic environment impacted your purchases from outside the USA? FWIW, I'm not looking for political discussions but, how the new policies have affected your PURCHASES!

 

Can not worry about Tariff's, the World is changing daily. there is zero I can do about it. USA is a large customer for many countries. Hope people wake up to the positives of selling to USA.

 

Yup

 

I have been stocking up on shave stuff for more than a decade so I currently have enough for a village of shavers.

 

Same here. I have enough blades, and soap for a lifetime. I also use Straight Razors, so I'm set.

 

Tariffs are charged on the (extremely low) price to the wholesaler bringing the stuff into the country in bulk, not on the retail price to the end consumer. For the 5-cents-per-blade (retail) options, any tariff shouldn't have more than, what, a tenth of a penny per blade impact on actual cost to the importer? Consequently, those retail prices shouldn't change at all (though something in me suspects they might). It won't make the blades expensive enough to cause any additional manufacturing capacity to be built in the USA, though, and in any event we no longer manufacture the intermediate products necessary for full vertical integration. It'll just be an extra tax the Congress did not levy, but somehow got imposed anyway.

Soaps will be impacted a bit more, of course, particularly the spectacularly-high-price-per-ounce options (note that this is NOT a comment on value rec'd; that's a totally separate topic). I'm not very happy about that, as I (thus far) slightly prefer the hard pucks over the semi-soft soaps (I refer to those with a consistency similar to Stirling or Moon, for example). I doubt any of the small American soapmakers is going to buy the milling equipment to make hard pucks, though I can wish for them to!

I don't plan to 'stock up' on this stuff, though. Enough of you have far more soap than you will ever use in your lifetimes, apparently, so I plan to offer to receive any excess you wish to shed in future years!

 

I love having extra stuff on hand. I like sharing with my friends, and I'm gifted with stuff all the time too.

I have no current plans to purchase anything, but if I see something I want in the short-term, I'd probably get it.

Costs for consumables like blades and soaps would have to skyrocket (not likely) in order to significantly impact the cost per shave. I enjoy my peaceful traditional shaving routine for just a few pennies a day. If push comes to shove, it would be worth another nickel or two. I stand ready to pack my lunch or skip my morning coffee at Fourbucks if I need to make room in the budget for lower blood pressure, a happier disposition, baby smoothness and glorious stankiness.

Even a "costly" razor could be considered a decent value if you consider that it provides decades of service in addition to the joy of ownership. (Why anyone might need a dozen or more of them right this very minute is another story. )

 

Skip the morning coffee at Fourbucks.

Besides vintage shave stuff I also have a "modest" collection of vintage coffee makers.
Another fine vintage addition to the morning rituals.

 

when one spends $35 up for a tub of artisan soap a few pennies more won't matter,unless the product quality goes downhill.i stopped buying U.S stuff a long time back when the shipping costs exploded,which wasn't tariff related..as for razors ?,covered..if i want modern ones i have Karve and Razorock gamechangers at my disposal ..blades covered,chinese KCG are excellent and longer lasting than the russian ones..aftreshave? way too many choices in drawers..

 

Mind if I get in on this actionnnnn(HAAAAH, long lung breath). Oh right, you did send me some nice things(Kent combs, Regiment and Ukraine-made shave soaps).

 

Wow. Collecting vintage coffee makers sounds like a fun hobby. I'd enjoy seeing some photos of your gear. All mine are simple and modern...pour over (mostly), percolator, and mocha pot. Peet's Major Dickason's Blend (or whatever is within reach) is my favorite brand of coffee.

I grew up watching my Dad make "cowboy coffee" by bringing water and coffee grounds to a rolling boil on the stove. I was surprised to see that this is still a thing with some YouTubers.

I haven't been to Fourbucks in ages. Too expensive, coffee tastes burnt, and I don't know what "Venti" means.

OK, back on topic. Time to go buy some shave soap.

 

Hmm. You do bring to mind the point that I quite like my Edwin Jagger razor...
Well, I think the UK and USA just made (or are about to make?) a 'deal' on this, so at least the prices ought to be fairly stable for me going forward.
...of course, razors last quite a long time, so by the time I need a new EJ, things may be entirely different...
(-:

 

It's "CharBucks" around here. Because the beans they use always seem burnt, aka over roasted.

 

Here’s my latest addition. I already have three other stovetop vacuum pots but none with a lid/stand. This is the smaller 4-6 cup size pot. My other ones are larger.

 

,my thoughts exactly,nasty burnt taste..i gave up my 3 shot $5.00 coffee a day a long time ago..

 

i use a good rotation of vintage gillette razors,so modern choices are not really required.the EJ razors are nice as well.i had an 89 in the beginningthere are no tariffs between Canada and the U.K.

 

I used an old …er, ‘vintage’… razor decades ago for a while. It was a butterfly type of my grandpa’s. No idea what brand, age, or anything, but I’d suppose it was likely made long before that.

I read a lot that old razors were better. I wouldn’t know. I cannot recall that old razor’s results with any clarity at all.

It seems I’ve side-tracked, so to bring my post back on-point, I am one who WOULD change his buying habits if tariffs were high and persistent. One must do what one must do. Hopefully (likely, is my guess) that won’t be the reality.

 

I don't buy Chinese razors. Prefer vintage and classic designs. And I have enough blades and soap to last me well over a decade. So I guess I am not changing my buying habit just yet...

 

I have enough good razors to last my lifetime.
I'm only halfway through a 12-can case of Barbasol Cool Menthol bought in 2008.
I should be all set on brushes and soap for the next 10 years.
I've got enough blades and aftershave lotion for the next 3-5 years.

I've found blades that work great at US$7 for a 100-pack. If the price on those doubles...no worries. Fine, Stirling, and Velva after shave lotions are domestic products, so no tariff worries there.

By the time I need to buy more blades, reasonable and prudent tariff policies will have hopefully replaced the chaos we have now in the USA.

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Glad to see I'm not the only one who thinks Starbucks tastes burnt. My SO loves the stuff, though, so that's what we brew at home and buy when out and about.