Thread: The Wall Of Shame

It does create a false value and market bubble so to speak. I really do hope people start doing homework before throwing money at stuff that isn't worth it. A lot of the razors posted on here are going for silly amounts even if they were in decent condition. But unfortunately, we are stuck with the situation. I do like the old razors because once cleaned up they really are great shavers but perhaps it's time to invest in a new one or a custom one (Tim has some really nice stuff) if the money permits. SWMBO can be convinced from time to time that I really need stuff

Butchers over 8/8 in a meaningful way aren't the most common 1"+ sheffields at all. You will come across a gb, Rodgers, el and co, wostenholm at least before you see a butcher. Not greaves or marshes scarce but scarce enough given the popularity of the maker to create dumb prices.

I think this one went too high just in the sense that I personally don't consider a stabilizer model of a huge Sheffield anywhere near on the same level as a proper near wedge. There was a lot of brand factor going on there... Too much

The W&B FBU is a fine razor to be sure, but things have gotten a bit out of hand.

Remember the Chronik?

Originally Posted by entropy1049

The W&B FBU is a fine razor to be sure, but things have gotten a bit out of hand.

Remember the Chronik?

JimmyHad posted a photo of one recently, what was the story there entropy?

Originally Posted by Grazor

JimmyHad posted a photo of one recently, what was the story there entropy?

Kind of controversial.

A noted straight razor guy proclaimed his newly acquired, somewhat obscure "Chronik" straight to be the finest straight razor he'd ever shaved with, bar none, head and shoulders above all, like being kissed by angels. Suddenly they became the Flavor of the Week, and people were loosing their minds trying to find these and paying CRAZY amounts of money for the few that turned up.

Those who managed to find these after paying the super inflated prices suddenly said "Hey, these are nothing special...even kind of substandard craftsmanship for a Solingen straight, certainly no better than any other...what gives?". Many came to suspect "what gave" was clever marketing.

So some VERY knowledgeable folks conducted a pretty detailed analysis of these Chronik razors from some samples loaned for this purpose by some other folks who'd recently paid way too much for them as a result of the hype. They determined that what they had was basically a Solingen straight of questionable finishing quality.

The noted straight razor guy maintained his position that his was the Greatest Straight Razor on Earth (which it may well have been for whatever reason as a singular anomaly), and everybody else got stuck with lemons.

It became a bit of an embarrassment, and Chronik Fever died a quiet, ignoble death.

The point in my mentioning this, is that to get caught up in Flavor of the Week hype frequently results only in burning through cash muy pronto.

This being said, in the interest of full disclosure, I did just buy a W&B FBU .

I don't buy any razor until I hold it in my hand, I guess that leaves E-bay out, too many times the sellers on there will only show you one side of the blade.

Originally Posted by THORandODIN

I don't buy any razor until I hold it in my hand, I guess that leaves E-bay out, too many times the sellers on there will only show you one side of the blade.

Buy it . Evaluate it. Chit?? Send it back and give Negative feedback. Send E bay lots of messages asking why they allow such poor incompetent sellers.
I always ask for reversal of fees for myself because of pain an suffering. I call E bay and complain. My monthly selling fees disappear.

Originally Posted by mainaman

Gents, this thread is to discuss razors in misrepresented condition and help educate newbies what to look for when buying a razor from eBay/ antique store.
The above discussed two auctions are not relevant to the thread as far as I can tell. We know that sometimes eBay can be a weird place and trying to decipher bidding wars is a speculation at best. Let's get back to discussing misrepresented razors that are clearly junk and should not be offered for sale/bidding anywhere on the planet.

Perhaps we need another forum/thread? I don't think it hurts to discuss what you mention. As Jimmy said in the OP, this is not a vendor bashing forum but in truth, the point entropy made means that vendors can indeed be unscrupulous at times. While I think that issues with vendors do need to be settled in private in the first instances, public shaming does have a place if that person is dishonourable.

Are the sellers we encoutner on eBay dishonourable? Maybe. Uneducated? Likely. Will they take feedback? Doubtful.

Are the vendors on SRP like that? Probably not.