Thread: Was I a cheapskate?

Have the day off so I went for a drive today looking in antique stores.

Managed to find a store out in the country that had 3 straights and lots of empty boxes.

One just looked and ffelt cheap, broken scales, not markings of any kind so I put it back.

The other 2 were Bokers. There was a model name etched on the blads but rust and dirt covered the names.

Both were in poor shape cosmetically but look like they can be restored with a little bit of effort. Scales in bad shape with one of the two broken off the scales completely (scales and blade put together in the box) Edges had no major nicks or gouges (although I spent a lot of time investigating and frowning for the benefit of the shopkeeper)

They wanted $25 each. I tried to haggle, citing the amount of work to correct the blades and that both needed new scales, pins etc. That blades of similar disrepair fetch only $10-$20 on eBay etc

I offered $40 for both and the lady refused to budge. So I walked.

I have never been in any kind of second hand store where they wont haggle to some degree.

Was I a cheapskate?


Be honest.

I'd say you were generous, actually.

I should mention that I did pick up a 1932 brass DE for $1 for my troubles at the final antique store I visited.

Not that I will use it, but for $1 and some elbow grease it will look nice in a display case.

Hard to say without photos, bro. Unfortunately, $25 per unrestored razor is EITHER entirely reasonable OR completely ludicrous depending on what was in front of you.

I don't restore these myself, but I know how much it costs to have someone with the time and skill to do it for me ($40 to $60 per razor), and so what I try to do is add the price of the blade to the price of the restoration and see if the resulting razor could even be worth the amount of money that I'm planning on spending.

In your case, a Boker is a brand that gets sold here pretty often, and a nicely restored Red Injun could be worth $80 or $100, so it might be that the cruddy, unrestored versions made sense at $25 per blade.

Originally Posted by Desdinova

They wanted $25 each. I tried to haggle, citing the amount of work to correct the blades and that both needed new scales, pins etc. That blades of similar disrepair fetch only $10-$20 on eBay etc

I offered $40 for both and the lady refused to budge. So I walked.

I have never been in any kind of second hand store where they wont haggle to some degree.

Was I a cheapskate?


Be honest.

I would have walked ,too . The seller has no idea what the razors are worth . They most likely got their prices from ebay . They most likely found the razors in a box lot of junk they got at an auction , for $5 or $10 . The bottom line is ... straight razors don't take up very much space , and they can let them sit until some sucker comes in , and pays them what they want . IMHO you did the right thing .

Originally Posted by JeffE

Hard to say without photos, bro. Unfortunately, $25 per unrestored razor is EITHER entirely reasonable OR completely ludicrous depending on what was in front of you.
......

+1 on that.

But you also have to look at what $25 buys you for
other forms of entertainment. Not to deprive
you and your SO from a night at the movies but
two tickets and popcorn?... You do the math.

If you are one to buy lottery tickets then this is
a better bet. A much better bet if you are looking
for a worthy shaver.

In an antique shop you can run your thumb nail under
the blade and feel as well as look for cracks that are
all but impossible to see on E-bray.

I have some good shavers that have only been refreshed
with 2K wet and dry before a trip to the hones. One with
barely serviceable scales may get more attention in
the next six months or so.

I think walking was a wise decision. It isn't only the initial cost of a razor such as you've described but the labor involved if it can be restored. Once you've got it if you have the skills it will take time to do the restore and if you don't have the skills you'd end up spending more than it would have been worth mint NOS to have it restored by someone with the skills. Just IMHO.

Yep, I'd have walked as well.

I remember going to an antique shop here in London and they had a straight razor. It was a Sheffield, but was too rusted to see the name. All you could read was the word Sheffield.

The blade was pretty rusted up and patina'd, but the scales were Ok. A bit bashed around, but still servicable, but the razor would have required LOADS of work to get it back to good condition.

And they wanted... wait for it... £275.

I did tell them that I could get a razor in much better condition for 10% of that on eBay, and £275 was top of the line TI prices, and rapidly approaching custom razor territory but they refused any discount and refused to accept that it may have been a little over-priced.

So I left.

Some sellers get caught up in the notion of "old=$" whereas its actually a case of "old+good condition=$".

Just have in your mind the maximum that you are prepared to pay for an item and dont go above that. I've lost so many eBay auctions that way, but I've been lucky to snag a few things that have snuck under the radar. Remember, even if the item you have spotted is grabbed by someone else (or crazily priced), there will always be another one along soon after!

Good luck for your search!

Originally Posted by Stubear

Some sellers get caught up in the notion of "old=$" whereas its actually a case of "old+good condition=$".

In Canada, all too often some seem to think old = antique. Most of these items are just old crap, and nothing special.

But our definition of old isn't quite the same as in Europe.

Originally Posted by Proraso Man

i think that you should have got them- how big were they?

probably 5/8, approx 3" blade length