Antique shops think they're Ebay now.
There's a large antique fair near my area twice per year; hundreds of vendors set up shop for a weekend. While I did find a few good razors and got a satisfying deal on them, I was actually amused at some of the laughably ridiculous prices being asked by some of the dealers now. Much higher than six months ago. Crappy razors some with large chunks of blade missing and "big whoop" scales for $75-100. The highest I saw was a razor in a display case for $150 that due to it's rusted condition wouldn't fetch $10 on Ebay. I did not even bother talking to those dealers.
There were a few that had a few nice but overpriced razors. I saw the same razors from those same dealers six months ago at the same prices. A decent but in no way NOS or even mint vintage Dovo and a Kibitz; both were labeled at or a bit above $150.
Anyway, when I talk to these dealers I'm hearing more and more of the "These sell for "XXX" on Ebay". "I saw a similar razor on Ebay sell for "XXX" last week (never mind that "similar razor was NOS or mint in YOURS is pitted, has rust or even broken scales)". It's not worth talking to those people since they don't know jack about razors and they're already pricing too high to even negotiate a reasonable price.
There's a philosophically different viewpoint here. I view antique stores as bargain shops. Although one can get great deals on razors on Ebay, one can also pay top dollar. I would never consider paying "top Ebay dollar" for a razor at an antique store. I can't really say why I think there's a difference there, but to me there is. Maybe it's because Ebay can be a worldwide market whereas I'm ONE GUY with money in hand when I'm in an antique store and I may just buy something from that dealer there and then. And the next guy that may be interested in razors may very well not walk into that shop for months. Don't talk to me about what that razor allegedly goes for on Ebay.
Well, enough of my rant.
Chris L
Antique shops think they're Ebay now.
I get a lot of my razors from the Antique fairs in England. A good proportion of dealers just want to make a fair profit on the things they buy. For most of these dealers, razors are just pin money £5 - £10 each
Some dealers want top £££ for everything on their stall, obviously some people are paying it or they wouldn’t be there year after year. But I’m not one of them!
Luckily Those that want a silly price usually have the worst razor stock so I wouldn’t buy them any way.
I think there are enough decent dealers out there for me to make a crust.