I've gone both routes in my shaving journey -- my first razor was a Ralf Aust from SRD. It's a great, no-frills, solid shaver. I also bought a few sight-unseen razors from Whipped Dog. I was able to 'test drive' different types of razors for a relatively small outlay of cash. The thing I liked about Whipped Dog is I knew I was getting a truly shave ready razor for a low cost. The same could be said of the classifieds here as the sellers are putting their reputations on the line. Anything on eBay is buyer beware and most newbies don't have the experience to know what to avoid.