Thread: Why the crazy markups?

I think the numbers of people sending razors to Lynn, etc....for honing easily shows that most think $15-25 to be a very fair price.
Not ever razor is honed in 15 minutes, some can take twice that, some require a few sessions.

So what is your time worth that would make you sit all evening honing razors for other vs. spending time with your family or maybe doing another activity with billable time?

There are plenty of services out there I would not spend a nickle on but that does not mean they are charging too much.

Tony

I'm afraid I have to agree with the others, razors in the BST here tend to go for a little too much money for my blood... But I don't consider them overpriced. I buy vintage razors at flea markets and antique stores and fix them up myself for use. I know I'm going to get burned for the price of a razor eventually... plus everyone of my razors has a good amount of blood, sweat and tears equity. I would not sell them for even double what I paid for them.

Also, I agree they are a finite resource. I'm lucky enough to live in an area with three towns within a twenty minute drive that were all big going concerns already in 1850 or earlier. Also, it appears some local buisiness or salesman once dealt exclusively in H. Boker razors, I've seen twenty or more for sale and every razor box I have ever gotten has always been a Boker box. Even so, however, between me and one other fellow I've never met (I have about five antique shops/flea markets I hit, I sometimes hear about his purchases) have managed to fairly pick clean the razors that don't need new scales.

So, would I sell a razor I bought for 15 dollars? No, because I may not be able to find another to replace it that doesn't require a larger investment of money to put in to my rotation. It's like commodity pricing, like gas, it's not only what you paid to get the commodity but the cost of replacing it as well. That's why the same gas that was in the stations tank yesterday at 1.10 a liter may cost 1.15 today, they need to adjust the price to ensure they can buy the gas back without losing their profits (which, by the way, for the gas station it's self is pretty meager, here it's around two cents a liter pumped).

So, long story short... You're paying not just for the fact that the person selling took a risk, or for their efforts but also for the increasing rarity and increasing price of razors themselves.

And this is from someone with a bad case of RAD. :P

[quote=stupidyank;212669]sorry but I respectfully disagree,

I think that honing is not something that should cost 15-20 dollars per razor, in some exceptional cases it should cost this. From what I've seen it takes about 15 minutes for an experienced honer to set a bevel and bring up an average Ebay razor to shaving sharp, and I doubt the average SRP member is making $80.00 per hour.


I'm sorry but that is just wrong, 15 minutes ????? you shave with it, not I, nor any razor I would put my reputation behind... I just honed up a C-MON this morning, which I considered a fairly straight forward honing, and that took just over 1 1/2 hours from start to finish... If you add a warp of any little bit, that can double the time... Just to qualify "Shave Ready" I mean honed, polished and stropped, to a point that I would put that blade on my face and shave.... JMHO of course and quite a few satisfied faces including my own..... then again perhaps, I am the one who is wrong, and I take way to much time to make sure that the edge is as perfect as I can make it... But when somebody pays me to hone a razor for them, I am going to do the best job that I can possibly accomplish, and I am not going to be watching the clock.....