Thread: Why Romania?

Yes he is based out of Romania according to the bay. Thats where the shipment is originating from.

He has been or I should say his razors have been the topic of several discussions on here for various reasons. But they are mostly 8/8s that have been cleaned, some over polished and restored.

I don't know which seller your talking about, but Romania is an untapped source for razors, as is many Eastern Block countries.
Why,,, well,, this is a guess,,,1. The vintage straight razor market is/was not well known. 2. Collectors there are few & far between.
So, who is going to supply the rest of us with vintage straights that are just lying in drawers all over Eastern Europe?

I compare the situation to vintage radios. In 2000 I was in Romania & found myself staring at one of the nicest RCA console radios I had ever seen. The kind that our parents used to sit in front of & listen too, before T.V.s were the norm. When I expressed my love for it, I was laughed at & told, "Those junk radios are in every house & barn." I asked what she thought it was worth. She gave me a price of about $10.00 , if I remember correctly. That radio, after a power change/adapter, would have easily brought over $300.00.

Maybe Romania has produced a collector who monitors the market.

I think that there are pockets of undiscovered gems of all kinds all over the world. If you can read and write in English that gives you an advantage. Apparently razors in Europe are quite a bit cheaper and more plentiful than they are in North America and Australia. So those few that know about eBay and are proficient likely have a huge leg up in the market. There are tons coming out of Japan too. Who knew that such a tiny country would have heaps of vintage German blades, and there seems to be no end there either.

I think as competition with new collectors in Romania emerge, his prices will have to drop.

Originally Posted by RezDog

I think that there are pockets of undiscovered gems of all kinds all over the world. If you can read and write in English that gives you an advantage. Apparently razors in Europe are quite a bit cheaper and more plentiful than they are in North America and Australia. So those few that know about eBay and are proficient likely have a huge leg up in the market. There are tons coming out of Japan too. Who knew that such a tiny country would have heaps of vintage German blades, and there seems to be no end there either.

Absolutely ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

We can get restored Wade & Butchers here for a lot less & done by the best. His prices will have to drop.

I watched him for a while. In the start of his FBU sales he did auctions. Most rapidly climbed to the 1k mark. Now he changed his approach and lists them for a 1k BIN.

As someone with some ties to Romania I would think that any Western produced razors like English, French to some extent even German were most likely acquired pre or during WW2. After that it was pretty much Russian and Polish and yes even Chinese makers. I had my brother in law look out for such pre Iron Curtain treasures and so far hes come up dry but then again hes not like us If I were there my self Id sniff them out hehehe. Plenty of Wapiencas and Russian razors around though barbers are pretty much like here they use shavettes for their job and couldn't be bothered with all the maintenance. I have to consider another sourcing probability which may make more sense in todays world. Romanians do travel and work through out the EU and thus an enthusiast has nothing preventing him or her from acquiring razors from even the country of origin. i know that pretty much destroys my previous theory but its seemed to me more plausible that these type of razors would be found easier out of country.

Originally Posted by Hirlau

I don't know which seller your talking about, but Romania is an untapped source for razors, as is many Eastern Block countries.
Why,,, well,, this is a guess,,,1. The vintage straight razor market is/was not well known. 2. Collectors there are few & far between.
So, who is going to supply the rest of us with vintage straights that are just lying in drawers all over Eastern Europe?

I compare the situation to vintage radios. In 2000 I was in Romania & found myself staring at one of the nicest RCA console radios I had ever seen. The kind that our parents used to sit in front of & listen too, before T.V.s were the norm. When I expressed my love for it, I was laughed at & told, "Those junk radios are in every house & barn." I asked what she thought it was worth. She gave me a price of about $10.00 , if I remember correctly. That radio, after a power change/adapter, would have easily brought over $300.00.

Maybe Romania has produced a collector who monitors the market.

I'm sure that's the case given his prices are between $500-1000 for restored FBUs...

I was thinking it was a distributor route back in the day but what you said makes better sense.