Prestige Pricing and the effect on Wet Shaving...

Good morning all,
I recently made some comments on another thread, regarding a particular shave product with an exorbitant price. $125 for 5oz of post-shave serum and $375 for the same product in an "artisan" bottle. There were some rave reviews from the members known for their high-end collections.
My comments were to two posters, the first who said that the product wasn't worth it and the second, saying that he caught it on sale for $75 and thought for the sale price it was good, but he wouldn't have paid retail.
I said to the first poster: "Thank you for saving me a lot of money". I was met with the response: "Are you so easily swayed by one comment, when there is over-whelming comments to the contrary?" (Over-whelming was his term, when in actuality, there were about 3 such comments). I said: "After 5 years of this hobby and spending thousands of dollars, YES, I am easily swayed, especially when it comes to such an expensive product". To the second poster I responded (and this is the crux of this thread), (I am paraphrasing, because the thread has been closed, not due to my comments) "This type of pricing really irks me". To set a price of $125.00 and then put it on sale for $75 is suspect at best. It tells me that this manufacturer has chosen "Prestige Pricing", "whereby an artificially high price is set to exploit the tendency of buyers to assume that expensive items enjoy an exceptional reputation or represent exceptional quality and distinction." Before I concluded my post, I made the disclaimer that I had no problem with what anyone does with their money. Period. Again, I was met with pushback from the members with large, disposable incomes.
I am interested in your opinions on this pricing strategy and how you think it has negatively effected (or not) our hobby?

 

...to be blunt ,let the rich pay their high prices, they deserve to feel special..if a product is so great and is a miracle cure{and most are not},the masses will find a way to acquire it..most high end cars break down more than more common ones..i get a giggle seeing some prat's high end jag or merc on the back of a tow truck, a shiny diamond studded tow truck of course..luckily most of us here know the difference between a unique top shelf product and a highly priced one..sure there is rare and sought after stuff that commands high pricing, like toggles and bottom dials,but do they shave better?,generally not.i was a hard working rich guy once, most high end stuff is for show..i like the trenches better, a little more real.and like most of us on shaving forums ,we don't need queen victoria's mothers milk in our shave balm..as for damage to our hobby, we all chase the latest and greatest to a degree,but figure it out eventually..technique trumps tools,simple is good..less is more..a fool and his money are soon parted..

 

If one has never lived in a mansion, a double wide seems like a palace.

 

I've left other shave sites when the aristocrats ran the site; they felt they were slumming to talk to anyone that wouldn't shop in their price range.


I have to go to work now, but will be back.

 

I get a good laugh out of people that try to say there hi priced stuff is somehow better. For the most part it is not. There is no way a person who prices high and then gives a deep sale price cut is honest. Something is worth what the next dummy will pay.

 

I saw a review of Clubman Origanl A.S. that was along this line. It said "Companies with higher-priced aftershaves try to match the positive popularity of Clubman, but they just can't do it. "(The review was words to that effect).

 

Very philosophical statement.

 

This puts it into perspective. Expensive is not alway better. A lot of the "fluff" is perceived value.

Williams Mug Soap vs. Martin de Candre

https://sharpologist.com/2018/03/shave-test-rolls-royce-versus-toyota-yaris-shave-soaps.html

 

LOVE it. I wish that I had been armed with this link...

 

bravo keith..

 

can

can't get one past this crew..

 

I wouldn't call it dishonesty. Many retailers offer huge savings from their regular MSRP. It's a marketing ploy to trick less bright buyers into thinking "Look how much I saved!!" If I spent my hard earned at a shop then saw it half off the next day, I'd assume the sales clerk knew there was a sale fixing to happen.


I've taught my children to do side by side comparisons of generic or store brand products and national brands. Canned corn is canned corn every day of the week. Packaging with a little more water can affect the actual value just like the difference between shave cream in cans or tubes and triple milled soap pucks. The proof is in the pudding. If I like the pudding I might pay a little more, and watch for coupons in the newspaper.

 

An interesting topic that I have given some time considering not just as it relates to shaving, but also many products. For the amount of money I've spent on old Gillette razors I could easily buy one of these high dollar machined stainless artisan DEs that require a window of opportunity to acquire. But I prefer to have a larger selection of the oldies. That said, I do own an ASD2. It's as perfect as any of the other "elite" razors I've seen, but you'll read countless posts from the folks who deride it's injection molded construction. They perceive more value in having a lathe or router bit carve their item from a block of steel. I do not.

I'm unsure as to whether I can point to elite pricing being negative or not. As an example, I've been a bassist since the early seventies. Since then the major manufacturers have created licencing to have almost all of their products made offshore. There is a definite difference between a guitar you purchase at a bigbox store that comes with an amp, strap, gigbag, tuner, and cable for $129.99 vs one from the F***** Custom Shop that costs $4500.00 and up. So does the sale of entry level product maintain the availability of the custom shop for those that can afford the high level? And in this instance I'm the opposite from my interest in razors. I prefer having two basses made by Rickenbacker than to own twenty offshore basses.

I think elite products and their pricing negatively effect the hobby when those that value them seek to demean the folks that don't value them. I don't try to convince someone else that unless they own an ASD2 they won't ever know what a truly great shave is. But I've read an awful lot of posts from proponents of high-end razors (and other products) that do that very thing. In other words, the only way they can value their choice of product, is to try and take away the value of someone else's. That's the negative effect. It's not the product or it's pricing.....it's the human ego.

 

Well said...one thing I like about TSD is the civility that everyone has on this forum. We have people that shave with inexpensive vintage razors all the way up to the Wolfmans. The most I have every spent on a razor was $54.00 for a used Rockwell 6s and the most I have spent on shaving soap was around $15.00. I gravitate toward used, cheap vintage razors. I like the fact that we all get along and support each other with a little of enabling thrown in for good measures. Remember.......it is all about the shave. I have never heard one negative thing said about anyone's gear on this forum. This is a great group to be involved with!

 

That's what keeps me here at TSD. I've been to other forums where brand names and high end are the norm. I'm not white collar, or blue collar. I've spent my working decades in a tee shirt (that's "no collar") in residential construction. No disrespect to those that can afford the newest, latest gear. I'm living vicariously through their The Haul post & biding my time. Lots of those New Things hit the resale market at reduced prices.

For the newbies that join us and other forums that $1000 set up of the latest SS DE, exotic material brush handle and unicorn fur knot, Himalayan beaver milk soap, and what ever fragrance is being pushed by the latest Hollywood star doesn't need praise for spending coin. He needs what hooked me here at TSD; instruction (Go 30 DC!), honest discussion and reviews of products, and a friendly environment.

 

It's a fairly common strategy in many markets and plays on both egos and ignorance. I don't fall prey to it, and occasionally I may feel a touch of sympathy for the ignorant, but for the most part it seems to make me feel better about my thrift store bargains.

This thread reminded me that just yesterday I stopped at a retail establishment and noticed a young lady and her male friend getting assistance from others who were providing a jump start to her very worn vehicle. While the car was in rough shape I didn't fail to notice that the woman's designer handbag looked positively expensive.

Has it negatively influenced the hobby or produced negative results? Probably no more than any other market segment (IMHO). That being said, allow me to add that while I do not think a $375 post shave serum (in an artisan bottle) has much of an influence on the market, I do think that FatBoy pricing is a little inflated. But then again, my thrift store haunts have netted me not one but two pristine FatBoys for only $10 each (and I feel very good about that).

 

i do get that with the fatboy/ vintage razor pricing going up. in the 80s, 1970 dodge darts and dusters couldn't be given away, today they command a big price, even for rusty examples. as things get rarer and interest goes up, as do prices.mass produced items of the past -ie vintage razors, have gone up even in my short 2 year interest in them .the $200 fatboys are a little extreme..alot of new ss razors are pricey due to labor costs compared to mass production, i get that too. no problem i charge $108 per hour to set carburetors and rebuild engines and the like..
when i first started this endeavor i thought i should get xpec, castle forbes and mdc to get the best shaves. ah, not so , but its great to try stuff..as for a $375 artisan bottle of something .....i am glad as a shaver on this forum we learn the real deal here..without judgement..

 

Love it Paul!! Thanks for posting that.

 

I am not influenced (the way the seller intends) by "prestige pricing". On the contrary, I avoid shopping under this pretext. I have a local grocery store that uses the same guise. I don't think this kind of strategy will negatively affect our hobby though. I think most people will buy products in what I would call a normal range; for example, shave soaps and aftershaves in the $8-25 range. Brushes are a whole different cat though and high end prices are sometimes warranted and viewed as a treat to the consumer - though I would say that high end brushes are sometimes not performing at their high cost relative to lower cost over-achievers like the Omega 10005 beechwood boar that I used this morning (what a winner). To the discerning consumer the prestige pricing strategy only sours the buyer’s opinion of the seller. My opinion.