Thread: 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

Chris

I agree with you 100%


I went to an antique shop with 45 different dealers in there this past week end .

1 lady had a Torrey with Great pink scales but half an inch of the blade was broken off
a price tag of $200 on it . I told her that the razor is not even worth $15 in the condition it is in and the only reason someone may pay that much was for the scales and they would trash the blade she laughed and thought I was trying to bargain with her . I walked away of course . I go to another guy that had a 5/8 puma with case and in pretty good condition he wanted $20 for it I talked him down to $12 . I then walked back to the lady and showed her my $12 puma and said your pricing is out of whack she laughed and said well on ebay I could get my asking price for it . I told her I was a collector and if she was able to sell that Torrey for $200 on ebay I would give her $1000 .


People are crazy these days . everyone wants to believe they have the rarest razor in their hand and it will make them rich



Nick

They are clueless....antiques are about craftsmanship, rarity, and condition. They are just trying to make a buck. I wouldn't buy anything from such people without some serious investigation...be it a chair, a book, or a razor. Everything has its own set of rules for restoration and preservation...cleaning the rust off of a razor may enhance the value, while taking the patina off of a Philadelphia Chippendale pie-crust tilt-top table would make many collectors cry.....

Antiques and the Arts Online - Christie’s Beefs Up Its October Sale With Record $6.76 Million Piecrust Table

A lot of dealers expect people to pay waht they want...but it's not what they want that is the value...it's what you are willing to pay that sets the market.

Unless you know the razor is a unique collector's piece or it is in Mint condition....keep you $$$$. You'll find dealers who want to make the long-term dollar by building a clientele that trusts them to give them a square deal.

Originally Posted by papasmurf

People are crazy these days . everyone wants to believe they have the rarest razor in their hand and it will make them rich

Sounds like how some people act with their kids...

Chinese saying: There is only 1 perfect child in the world...and every mother has it.

Originally Posted by papasmurf

Chris

I agree with you 100%


I went to an antique shop with 45 different dealers in there this past week end .

1 lady had a Torrey with Great pink scales but half an inch of the blade was broken off
a price tag of $200 on it . I told her that the razor is not even worth $15 in the condition it is in and the only reason someone may pay that much was for the scales and they would trash the blade she laughed and thought I was trying to bargain with her . I walked away of course . I go to another guy that had a 5/8 puma with case and in pretty good condition he wanted $20 for it I talked him down to $12 . I then walked back to the lady and showed her my $12 puma and said your pricing is out of whack she laughed and said well on ebay I could get my asking price for it . I told her I was a collector and if she was able to sell that Torrey for $200 on ebay I would give her $1000 .


People are crazy these days . everyone wants to believe they have the rarest razor in their hand and it will make them rich



Nick

i just bought a torrey "our best beauty" off ebay for 15 shipped...it looks to be in EXCELLENT condition...i'll see when it gets here but still! I have only had one run in with straights at antique stores and it was a Bismark for 80 bucks...scales were BEAUTIFUL but the blade had about a 1.5in chunk missing...i turned and walked away

...
As soon as people are prepared to pay crazy amounts of money for something, other people will start to ask crazy amounts of money for such objects.
Welcome to the greed driven society.
Just turn on the radio and listen to the news.

In my limited experience with straights, that is becoming more apparent even on ebay. I guess they are trying to capitalize on the staight razor rennaisance. Hey that's capitalism to a tee. However, most are so ignorant of what they are selling that they are going to be short lived anyway. I saw a razor that initally looked nice, but on closer exmination looked to have a fairly large rust spot on the edge. I emailed the seller asking about that spot. He was honest enough to say he didn't know if it was rust or not.

It's funny you should mention this: there is a little antique shop by my house, and I used to go in there and root through the lady's razors and stones...it's where I got my combo coticule for less than $20!

Anyhow, a few months ago, I was talking with her and made mention that her prices were reasonable and fair, considering the condition of razor X,Y,Z etc. as compared to ebay.

I went back recently, and those same razors were twice as expensive!! I guess "fair/reasonable" wasn't good enough for that greedy cow. pfft.

I still go in there, since she is clueless about hones and I hope lightning will strike twice for me, but MAN... I will be damned if I will share info about that particular topic!

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.

Originally Posted by papasmurf

I then walked back to the lady and showed her my $12 puma and said your pricing is out of whack she laughed and said well on ebay I could get my asking price for it . I told her I was a collector and if she was able to sell that Torrey for $200 on ebay I would give her $1000 .

Nice, Nick! I wonder if she put the razor on eBay after you saying that to her?
The same thing happens here too. The prices some people put on so rotten razors are so high that I wonder if anyone buys them. I usually find razors well beyond salvation, but the vendors think someone might think it should be nice looking like that and buy it.
One other thing I noticed is that the price span is small for the razors market. For example, a vendor might tag a rotten and broken razor with 10 Euros and have a nice good razor electible to a restoration project for that price also or only 5 Euros more.
I don't get it...