MONITORING PRICES: W&B for barber's use/only

Between January and May 2009 average prices jumped from $90 to $250. :hmmm: I wonder how things were before I started, 5 months ago. What were considered common ebay prices for those blades? What about posting here some examples of date+price from your experience? Then I'll prepare a graph for your pleasure. Probably who payed 300$ won't post (he's welcome!!), but even so we could trace an accurate enough description of the market. Some simple rules:

1. To avoid invalid entries, we should indicate just what we bought, otherwise we could find 20 times the same razor sold two days ago for 275$. Shipping excluded.
2. Minimum size to post is 15/16.
3. Post only W&Bs "for barber's use" or "for barbers only".
4. No pics required. If you want, you can also describe razor conditions (exact size, scales, etc.).

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I'll start:

feb'09 > 105$ (8/8 original scales and pins in great conditions; pic at #1 of the page in my signature)

boo, mine's 6/8, the way I like it. original scales. for barbers use. but i don't make the cut :(

edit: OP, you have an amazing collection of WB!!

I can remember a few years ago a barber's use/only 8/8 usually referred to in the ad as a meat chopper went for between $90 and maybe $200 if it was exceptional. Not much different then the recent past. Tommy razor sold one for $300 about a year ago on the bay.

I got lucky and picked up a Celebrated barber's use (etched on the blade) in a buy it now for $15.00. An anomaly for sure. That was a few months ago. Around the same time I got a barber's use on the tang for $81.00 on the bay. Both of these have their original scales, barbers notch 8/8 blades and are in nice shape but with the usual patina on the blades and chips on the edges of the horn scales here and there.

If the future is anything like the past IME the prices will ebb and flow. There will be bargains to be had once in awhile with poor descriptions and photos hiding a diamond in the rough. For the items of exceptional size or condition and well photographed and described the big $$ will be gotten.

@ Ichinichi: OK, for this time we can include your 6/8! :D

@JimmyHAD: the range you mention (90-200$) is not so distant from the present one; in this case, I'd say that prices increased of the 50% (now 120-300$).

Quote:

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Originally Posted by clavichord

@ Ichinichi: OK, for this time we can include your 6/8! :D

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YES! :rock:

I haven't been following them long, but from my observations, the 8/8+ for barber's use in good to great condition have been fetching $225 to $300, $180-$225 in mediocre condition, and in fair condition, $100-$120.

The ones with "celebrated hollow ground" etched on the blade without the for barber's use, sized between 7/8 and 15/16 or so, in good condition have been fetching around +/- $100 but seem to be dependent on advertising. In mediocre or fair condition, these almost seem to slip through the radar and you can generally snag them for <$40 and sometimes much less.

Unfortunately I haven't been able to snag a for barber's use due to the prices, but I have a few of the celebrated hollow grounds.

I don't know why everyone gets worked up about the prices for these razors. They are what they are. People are bidding back and forth and some are willing to pay more than others. Finding these razors in good condition with original parts seems to be only a few a month tops, and everyone seems to love or at least want the choppers, so you have a lot of demand for something in short supply. Of course the prices will be high :shrug:

Sure, pjrage, I completely agree! For me it's OK if prices will grow and grow, or simply "flow"; this is the market. The idea is just to take a picture of what is happening following this particular "indicator" represented, in this case, by W&B 8/8 for barber's use. No moral message! ;)

Man, I should have started with this straight razor stuff 1 or 2 years earlier when I look at those prices this month :rant:
When I started last summer, I didn't even know what an 8/8 W&B is :D
But 200$ ist just too much for me.

I got my FH "For Barber's Use" a few weeks ago. Pictures were bad, the auction didn't say what was stamped on the blade. It was about $55. Here's the ebay picture.

Thanks for providing a dip for our graph!! :D

I have two W&B Barber's razors, both purchased in 2006. One is a restored 8/8 that says "The Celebrated Hollow Ground Razor for Barber's Use" on the blade and cost ~ $180, and another is a restored 7/8 "Barber's Rattler" that cost me ~$100.

Prices on ebay fluctuate wildly and without much rhyme or reason. Guys have been complaining about the prices (and "recent price increases") of the big choppers for years now - this isn't some recent phenomenon. What I've seen happen is a handful of guys here will get a major itch and will start buying them all, but eventually they'll get satiated and some will start slipping through the cracks. The best advice I can give is to just put in the bid you're willing to pay, on a bunch of razors, and eventually you'll get one. You just have to have a bit of patience.

I once bought, within weeks of each other, two razors of the same make and model, one was near mint with french ivory scales for $55, the other near mint with genuine ivory scales for $10.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by holli4pirating

Pictures were bad, the auction didn't say what was stamped on the blade.

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Holli, I remember that blade! I thought she was a point-less and didn't bid. So she's in great shape, right?

Also, I forgot my second Barbers' Use (and I don't know how this is possible :D): 8/8 and original scales/pins. March'09 > $82. Free shipping! :p

Here's the ebay picture.

I'm noticing that some of you are posting razors that don't have the etching on the blade. From what I've seen on the bay, this significantly reduces the going rate. It also reduces the rate if the etching isn't that deep. The deep etched ones go for way more. That's why that one went for $180 the other day even with broken scales. The blade was in great shape...

I'm going to list mine tonight on the bay... I'll post a link to it and eventually edit this post with the price it goes for.

Heres the auction listing

Mine is just a touch under your size requirement, but we seem to be fudging that on several here.
Light etching, no scales, in pretty good shape- $75 shipped in...February? Glen claims this is one of only 2 WBs he's seen that's not warped.

Last night, my Razor sold for $291.00

Crazy.

..yes! I was looking.. Just looking! :D

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Undream

Last night, my Razor sold for $291.00

Crazy.

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Wow, that was a gorgeous example of a W&B barber's use too. I can't imagine they get much better than that.

Either way, that's a lot of money, but seems worth it for such a gorgeous specimen, IMHO. Must have been hard to sell, but also hard not to I guess for that kind of money.

wow

I've suddenly become motivated to sell a couple I've been hording.

I'm assuming you only want Ebay buys, right? If anything goes, then I've got a serious dip for your graph.

:confused: Do you mean one more?? You, dip collector!

Nah, I was just going to post the one I got for $5 into this thread. I haven't found a third one... yet.

mmmhh.. :hmmm: ..this will compel me to change the ordinate scale..

I have two purchased for less than $5 each.
One for $80
One for $114

Thanks for your contribution, gratewhitehuntr! Do you remember when you bought them?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by holli4pirating

Nah, I was just going to post the one I got for $5 into this thread. I haven't found a third one... yet.

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I've seen Holli's $5 special. It was a STEAL!

I've got a few I paid just a little more than Holli did but they didn't come from EBay. You can find them in the Butcher Shop. Sorry, I don't have the time to repost them here right now and my home PC is down.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by clavichord

Thanks for your contribution, gratewhitehuntr! Do you remember when you bought them?

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um
$114 ($108+postage) about 2 weeks ago
$80 about 2 years ago
2 for $10 .... maybe 1 1/2 years ago

Oh, I got one for $20 in a box of stuff on Ebay too
someone put a kickass oak one pin handle on it !! (that'll be coming off;) )
sorry about the quality, I just snapped them quick on the wrong setting
http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/m...epinoak003.jpg
http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/m...epinoak009.jpg

Great, thanks! And congrats: that blade looks really nice. [PS: Are you specializing in ebay-stile pics? :D]