Why antique shops shouldn't charge "Ebay prices"...

In the few years that I've been bitten by the straight razor bug I've been fortunate enough with business travel by car over a fairly wide portion of my state to be able to easily stop in antique stores for frenzied and singular (Ok, razors and hones) passes through the stores. I also frequent large antique shows from time to time where hundreds of antique dealers gather. Numerous times I've heard directly and overheard things like this:

• "I looked on Ebay last week and a razor that looked like that sold for $150."

• "My son looks on Ebay for prices of things and a razor like that with MOP sold for $200."
• "I just checked this morning and the exact same [fill in the blank] went for [think of any ridiculous overpriced dollar amount]."

You get the idea.

I think using Ebay as a market price comparator when in [fill in the blank with any antique shop in anywhere USA or the world for that matter] is B.S. and I've told a few dealers that. Why?....

Ebay is open to a worldwide audience. Depending on the item, there could be hundreds if not thousands of like minded collectors wanting those things. Out of that worldwide group, clearly at least one and more often several individuals willing to fight it out to pay what they're willing to pay to get something and they have the money to do it. Hey Mr. Antique dealer in Anywhere, USA population 2,500, when was the last time you had someone else ask to see the straight razors in those glass cases? Why didn't they buy them? You've got me here now with cash in hand and I'd entertain a reasonable price. Ebay, huh? See ya.

I'm Mr. Analogy, or Mr. Bad Analogy depending on who you probably ask, but here's an analogy to support my point:

How much business would a local small town newspaper get if they told potential advertisers that the New York Times gets [$$$] for ads that are placed so they're justified in even charging half that amount?

I thought about this kind of thing on the drive home today after being in the car for eight hours. I'm going to start asking veteran antique dealers if they're seeing a decrease in shoppers and buyers moreso than a decade ago. I think antique dealers are shooting themselves in the feet by jacking up items to big city or Ebay prices and ultimately selling less.

Yes, you can still get a good deal occasionally if you look hard enough and you're in the right place at the right time, but even in the last few years I've seen razor prices at shows and in antique stores go to laughable levels.

Chris L

Good point! But where I live I cant even find razor blades anymore.A lot of Antique dealers are shutting down due to rent for their buildings are on the rise.Most of them claim they cant compete with Ebay,which many sellers are turning to.Its cheaper to pay Ebay fees than to rent a space.Oh well good luck on the hunt!

Good points, Al. I could see antique dealers devoted to taking the time and tedious effort to list their store inventory on Ebay making out better than waiting for foot traffic to come in. IMO they would deserve the profits then.

I've been inclined to almost say to some of the dealers I've talked to who have mentioned Ebay prices: "So why don't you sell it on Ebay then?".

Chris L

I know exacly what your saying and there seems to be two kinds of dealers the ones with ebay and the ones with out it/or dont care about razors. And all the ones with ebay think that any off-named razor be it 3/8 wide and honed to death or not is worth 30-40 bucks. I just shake my head and tell them thank's anyway!

Prime example of the "dont know dont care" was te DD Goldedge blade stock beval a friend got me for 10.80$. The rare ocasions like that keep us looking. You can get some great deals at estate sales somtimes too. But im with you Chris some people dont know what they have......good or bad. And there is always more bad then good.

I hate it too. The worst was when I saw one with chipped boring scales and a massive bit of blade missing (im talking 2/3 of the edge) of some random brand and they wanted $85!!!!

what did they say when I asked.... 'other straights sell for for much more on ebay' :thinking:

Besides the world wide buyers EBay has it also has two things the Antique shops can't provide. 1) On EBay you have a world wide selection to find the razor you may find interesting. 2) The time and cost to travel to EBay is zero if you consider our ISP cost spread out over all your internet use.

If I have to drive x number of miles and hunt x number of antique shops to find a razor I find interesting I am not going to pay EBay prices. My time has value too. If all straight razor prices at antique shops had EBay prices I would skip the shops and hit EBay. I always tell antique dealers that 'for that price the razor would look best where it is, in your case.

Not all antique shops think they can get EBay prices for their straights. Those shops will survive. The others will fall away.

Antique shops by us have witnessed a great demand for straights so the prices in the fair shops have gone up. The razors w/ EBay prices have been in the shop cases since I've been hunting.

Great points, Chris. I think your analogy is great, btw.

If they want ebay prices for their razors, they should put them on ebay :confused:

And besides that, if I wanted to pay ebay prices, I wouldn't have hunted down your shop, Mr antique dealer. I would have went to ebay.com and had my pick of just about any razor/hone I could want. I'm here to support your business and find a reasonable bargain, not to avoid shipping times on ebay!

Excellent points, and I have had similar experiences. But, just try to SELL an antique store a straight razor! Their buyer looks on e-bay and tells you that they go for 4.99, and offers that price to you as a favor, to take a useless and probably unsaleable item off your hands! The last time that happened, I had to hold my breath, count ten, politely say "no thanks!" and walk out.

Another thing is that the ebay prices are only from select sellers or superb examples of that particular razor. Most of the time the antique shop does not have either. The razor isn't shave ready, not cleaned up, probably has some rust on it, etc etc.