An exercise in rationalizing this hobby. I'm not buying any soaps right now, except for good opportunities on vintage ones. If vintage Williams, Colgate Cup Soap, or Old Spice becomes available, you have to get it while you can. Still, I won't pay just anything. How to decide on a reasonable price? A couple of recent discussions on Palmolive shave sticks brought it into focus. I'm not a big fan, mostly because of the artificial detergent smell that it has. Still, it works perfectly well, and is not terribly expensive. Actually, I understand that it's pretty cheap in the UK, but in the US, my two favorite online vendors charge $3.75 and $4.00 (and unless you order at least $80 worth of stuff, you also pay for shipping). A Palmolive stick is 50g, or 1.76 oz. So if it's worth $4.00, then a 1.75 oz. puck of vintage Williams or Colgate, which I like much better, must be worth at least $4.00 as well. Say I might go as high as $5.00. Now I just need some rationalization to decide how much to pay for a vintage puck of Old Spice, assuming I can ever find another one.
I paid $6 for a puck of vtg Williams....I've walked by a few Old Spice pucks for less.....I find myself really wanting to pick some of it up now so since I have the Jones for it, I'd probably pay 6 or 8 bucks for it, and I'm taking you guys' word that it is good. If I ever get back to those antique shops I'm grabbing them though. Sorry dude, wish I could give you better insight.
I rationalize the price by what I pay for TSD soaps, so I have no issues with paying the same for vintage. I have four vintage Williams on the way for $ 25.00 Shipped.
I have Old Spice , bought an unused boxed mug of it on ebay some years back on Easter Sunday for 12.50, the forum desperados must have been in church repenting as they missed that one. OS is one vintage soap worth getting, I would pay $12 for another puck and then I would be finished , I can ration it, I don't have to use some everyday.
Old Spice soap is very desirable. (Some seem to believe it's priceless) It usually draws a pretty penny on the bay. As for Vintage Williams and Colgate my limit is around the 5$ for a puck. But If you happen to come across OS at those prices, I'd snag it in a heartbeat.
Paid $6 total for two pucks of vintage Old Spice at an antique store. Passed on a vintage puck of Williams for $6, only because I'm not crazy about Williams.
I might have included more detail. I've bought several pucks of vintage Williams, and one of the Colgate Cup Soap (better than their later Mug Soap, which is also pretty good). The most I paid for one by itself was $7, but in a couple of other cases it was harder to say because the deal also included shaving mugs. My one puck of vintage OS came in the original mug, and cost a little over $20, as I recall. I was just thinking about what I'd pay for more of these in the future. They are all great soaps, and no longer made, which makes it a sellers market if the seller knows what he has. Still, there are limits.
good question. I really like Colgate Mug Soap. I've never tried the cup variety. Most I've paid is $14 for two pucks. I've been working on one puck for close to three months. I'd say the price was worth it. I have tried some of the Colgate Mug pucks that were made just before production ended. They didn't last as long as these older pucks. So again, I'd say the price is worth it.
I've paid ~$5/ounce for a few of my soaps and they're worth the price to me (I think only MWF and DR Harris cost me the full $5/ounce). I'd pay the same for vintage soaps know to be really good. I did pick up a vintage puck of Williams for $4 but haven't tried it yet. I'm actually debating trying it or trading it off to a real Williams fan. But, my biggest complaints on Williams (scent, time to build lather) are supposed to be better with the vintage (scent if only due to loss of said scent). OK, I decided ... I'll try it. If I see another puck that cheap, I'll buy it but base my decision on what to do with it from how I like this puck.
You won't even recognize that the vintage and the modern stuff are the same product. Other than the general size/shape of the puck and the name, they have nothing in common. The vintage stuff is certainly very usable/good shave soap with thick STABLE lather, even if it's not the slickest kid on the block.
Yes, I've used it twice now and completely agree. That's all it took to make me a fan of vintage Williams. Still not a fan of the modern version, but it's still better than something out of a can for me.
The most I remember paying is $5 for a puck of Colgate Cup, and about the same for a puck vintage Williams, most I've been able to get for $2-4. I have enough vintage Williams, Old Spice, Barbershop, Surrey and Colgate stockpiled that I won't need to buy any soap for 10 years at least.
