that what they have isn't worth nearly what they're asking for it?
Vintage Straight Razor
Printable View
that what they have isn't worth nearly what they're asking for it?
Vintage Straight Razor
I'm often tempted, but I don't think it's worth my time.
The "Market" should punish them for asking too much. Then again, there are buyers out there with more dollars than sense. :)
Nah, I gave up on that after enough of those kinds of conversations at overpriced antique shops.
I know where Rosemount, MN is. It's about 1 1/2 hours from me. Much too far and the price much too high for me to have any desire to check anything like that out.
Chris L
I tried at a couple of antique dealers but it pretty much fell on deaf ears. As far as they were concerned, it didn't matter if the blade had a crack (depth of the bevel), the scales were cracked or worm bitten to the point of swiss cheese. As far as they were concerned, if it was old that was all that mattered and it instantly meant it was worth big bucks.
Heck, I even saw a chipped blade marked firmly at $200 just because the blade had a goldwash etched design on it and they thought the scales were ivory (when they were clearly faux ivory).
I still try now and then. But, if they give me the slightest hint of an incredulous look when I make just a slight, initial mention of some of what'll need to be fixed on it to make it usable or restored, I stop right there, wish them luck, and walk away without wasting any more time.
I was tempted to PM this guy. :)
AMAZING ONE DAY AUCTION 7 RARE BOXES AND 2 RARE BLADES - eBay (item 150410068867 end time Jan-31-10 22:16:04 PST)
Never. The one above me is interesting. No Reserve, just an opening bid. Unusual selling tactic.
It doesn't hurt me one bit to tell them what a razor is worth as I walk out of their store. Just yesterday i walked out of a junktique store after offering $15 for a razor they had marked for $18. It wasn't anything special & had some silver celluloid scales that didn't fit & blade was hitting wedge. He "had" to have $18 because he liked celluloid. You could see that it aggrivated him a bit when I told him he could keep the celluloid scales that didn't belong & I'd give him $10. Moral of this story is that I really didn't have to have this razor & he lost a sale.
I had the same thing at an antique store on Portbello Road here in London. A shop was selling what they claimed was a Sheffield razor, but it was so rusted you couldnt see the markings..!
The scales were battered to Hell and back and, needless to say, what wasnt covered in rust was totally dull.
They wanted.... wait for it.... £275. Errm... I dont think so! I told them that in that condition it was probably worth about £20 as it needed major restoration, a rescaling and honing, but they were adamant that this was a fair price.
I did point out that this was approaching custom prices, and was the same as top of the line new production items, but it wasnt what they wanted to hear. Ah well...!
Wow. Apparently if you put RARE and VERY RARE in your ad enough, things become worth a lot more...Quote:
Originally Posted by Sandcounty
I don't usually bother. Price and value are very subjective matters. Occasionally have I recommended vendors to correct false information in their listings.
:dropjaw: FOR REAL?Quote:
Originally Posted by Sandcounty
Now, I know *nothing* about restoration. Nothing at all. I've never even honed a razor. Even my stropping is amateur at best.
But even someone as clueless as me took one look at that first razor and all I could think was "HOLY HONE WEAR, BATMAN!"
Even if they were in reasonable shape, $200 bucks would be a touch ambitious. But like that? Seriously, I'm not even sure a couple of those could be saved. WTF.
I haven't really searched Ebay for razors - I'm happy with what I got for now. But some of the links you guys put up... geez. Who the hell in their right mind would see razors that look like that, with that price tag, and think "Yeah, that sounds fair?" Even if they knew *nothing* about razors, it doesn't take a genius to see when a given object has some serious problems.
Well, probably some of the idiot (no offense) Sweeney Todd fans. I'll fully admit I am a fan, but have taken the time to research and learn. Some of the other ones I've met really have no idea about the art of a straight razor and will pay outrageous fees for some of the items. At one convention I attended I was offered nearly three hundred dollars for my Electric Cutlery Co razor.Quote:
Originally Posted by MistressNomad
I know with the razors I'm selling I just slap ten dollars on and hope it's a fair starting price.
"THIS BOX IS VERY NICE
A FOR CUTLERY CO BOX IN POOR CONDITION" :rofl2::roflmao
I've never seen Sweeney Todd. It looks really interesting, and I can appreciate the bro-mance that Depp and Burton have going on in their collaborations.
But why is it that the fandom of so many movies melts the brains of many of their fans? Strange phenomenon...
You can get a mock prop razor for, what, $10-$20? Sure, it'll never shave, but neither will a lot of the junk razors people are buying for stupid amounts of money. Somehow I think shave-ability isn't really at the forefront of the mind of someone buying a razor that looks like that.
I think these silly eBay prices come about for a few reasons.
- People milking the success of movies like Sweeney Todd and thinking people will pay silly prices, and then asking some daft reserve price.
- People seeing what some good quality razors are going for and thinking that their rusted no name butter knife will sell for the same price as a Filly.
- People thinking "Old = $$$", whereas its actually "Old + good condition = $$$" and setting a silly reserve price
- Hype of a particular make.
- People getting caught up in the excitement of winning an auction and over paying.
- People not doing their homework and over paying.
A corollary of this is sellers not knowing anything about razors and describing things as being in good nick when they're not, or just plain dodgy dealing and hoping to make a few quid by hocking junk to a clueless buyer.
Just my two cents..! :)
It's a good movie in my opinion, shot well, good singing, just a generally good movie. I appreciate the fact Sasha Baron Cohen got lessons from his barber about shaving with a straight. Though to be honest I just watch for Helena Bonham Carter... mmmm... sorry getting of topic.Quote:
Originally Posted by MistressNomad
I don't know it is a strange but interesting phenomenon. Some of these fandoms litterally eat peoples souls.
I'm kind of on the fence with that being in the fandom myself. Some of the people I know have bought some under the assumption the line about "the closest shave you ever got" as it being shave ready. Either way it seems the movie has been both a blessing and a curse to people who truly appreciate straight razors.
A couple of weeks before Christmas I was in Carlsbad, NM.
First I broke into an old ladys car, then I walked in to the store right next to it and told the owner that the razor behind her dest was more like $10 than $40. I walked out from the store with a nice $10 razor.
The whole story is a bit less criminal than it sounds, the owner had an old lady visiting her, the old lady locked her keys in the car, I helped her, the owner gave me a discount because she wanted to give me something back.
But regardless: I got it for less than asking price :)
It does all come done to the fact that we all buy users here, and to most of us a razors value is based on performance. sure rarity is a part of it, but as near as I can tell you guys with Red Injuns get better shaves than I do with my Sanssouci. Mine may well be the more rare one, but it will only have a high value to a collector who wants that razor. I've looked at a lot of 25$ razors that may well have been worth the cost, but to me, heavy hone wear and edge chips made them worth less to me, so I didn't buy them. when someone wants the razor for the collectible sake the 15$ faux ivory with Minneapolis Min. on the scale would be worth much more. But as a razor, it stayed in the dealers cabinet.
meh, I'm happy with what I have, and some day if I have the coin in my pocket and I see a razor I like, I'll buy it, but right now they are shave tools, and I have enough.
In reply to the original thread . . Yes, I sometimes do it when the seller is way off on their description because of lack of knowledge on the subject. I figure they probably don't want to look foolish and can change their write-up to make a more accurate description. For instance, I just emailed this guy to
let him know his write-up was all wrong. I try to be nice about it and they generally thank me for setting them straight.
Regards - Walt
personally, i do believe that the gentleman posting that item, while he was typing rare and verrrry rare, was vvvveeeerrrrryyyyy high.Quote:
Originally Posted by MistressNomad
and i dont mean you mistress nomad, so please dont be offended, was only using your post as a tie in.Quote:
Originally Posted by wvloony
No, not any more. While not straight razors, here are two contrasting responses to basically the same input. The good one first, although no changes have been made in the listing.
GILLETTE ROCKET SAFETY RAZOR NICE CONDITION MADE IN USA - eBay (item 330391324926 end time Mar-01-10 13:00:48 PST)
Then the typical response:
RARE GILLETTE BLUE TIP FLARE ROCKET SS SAFETY RAZOR - eBay (item 230419115297 end time Mar-02-10 23:01:21 PST)
Hawkeye - Wow. That second response is amazing.
Basically what this dude is saying is that the actual item doesn't matter - you can call it whatever you want.
Well, I got a bridge in Brooklyn to sell this guy. Though it's actually for a model train set. I wonder if he'd be ****ed off when he found out.