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I would like to know how some of the members here "negotiate" at Antique stores. I have purchased 2 straight razors from and antique store that were not shave ready and needed some TLC. At the time I felt good with the price I paid, but now that I have been reading more and more here and looking through the classifieds, I need to understand if there is "antique shop etiquette" that needs to be followed.
Thanks.
m-
It depends on the article and the shop. I have paid outright without any discussion and I have negotiated.
It is not unreasonable to make an offer in my opinion.
But I view them kind of like permanent estate/ yard sales.
Most of the crap you see in antique places is marked up 4 times over cost,you want X$$ for that razor?? am willing to give you XX,thats my one and only offer or I walk.
Many times I am dealing with people who own booths at a store. Generally those people are not there so I cannot haggle. I just walk away if the price is not right. If it is the owner I will attempt to haggle, politely with them. If I think it is overpriced I will let them know. I will also let them know that just because a razor goes for such and such on ebay does not mean I will pay that price. Most of the time they do not even know what they have. Or what they have is not worth as much as they think. Well, at least what I think. There are a lot of razors out there so eventually I will get the one I want for the right price. In the end, if you walk away happy you have made a good deal.
A law or principle of economics says that if you are willing to pay nothing is too expensive. Now prices on antiques fluctuates with the demand and supply for example I have not paid over 50 dollars for a razor that need restoring and over 80 a used one that only might need honing, but if a saw a Palmera 7/8-8/8 I might be willing to offer $200. Antique store pricing might also change from city to city and how knowledgeable the seller is. A store might get away with charging me more, because I can do a closer hand evaluation.
I can get the feel for the place once I walk in and say hello to the person working there. Im pretty darn good at getting bargains and deals. Its part of the rush and addiction I guess. On the same note I was in the bay area a week and a half ago, there are two amazing antique stores within a block of each other.(both 3 floors) I went into the first store and looked at his straight razors and the owner said he was a bit flexible on the prices(clue one), he had about 5 descent razors, some chips on the blades edges and a bit of wear but not much.(this site has educated me SOOOO much in such a short time...so thanks everyone)Scales were nice, most had the metal leaf on them and such, like the Golden edge but all needed tlc. So I got happy again, he is flexible, razors are nice.....the price ok ok ill get on with it. One of the razors was $150 and it was the worst of the bunch(still nice but nothing to jump up and down about), and the other four were $299 each. All of which I have seen in AMAZING condition shave ready on the classifieds here. It wasnt even worth the haggle, but I went a few doors down to the other where they had 6 DE Gilette Fat Boys and wanted $30 each, and I was able to get two of them(one actually a slim adjustable)for $15 each.
Respectfully,
Christian
I was in this store one time, spotted a razor in the first booth. The scales looked frilly so I already raised an eyebrow. They wanted 100 for bent scales and a blade with a big chip in it. So I surmised that it must be for the collector. In a booth all the way in the back of the store I found another razor in decent shape for $20.
Another time, I guy had a bunch of straights in a booth for a fair price but they were pretty beat up. There was only one that was savable. He noticed that I was staring at that one so he asked me to name a price. He liked what I offered and I walked out happy. He said he'd rather make a sale than have someone walk away.
Anyway, sometimes you got to keep on looking. It takes awhile to get a good one but you can.
I've done that and walked!Quote:
Originally Posted by pixelfixed
Only to come back to tell him "OK, you win!". :)
It helps if they know that you know what you're looking for. Take a hand lens--a good 10x--and inspect the edge very closely. If it looks even a tiny bit like Swiss cheese, don't buy it, unless you can get it for $5. Take that one home, have another close magnified look at it, then practice bevel setting on it. Maybe you'll get lucky and hone past the Swiss cheese (aka devil's spit).
Also look for hone wear, evidenced by wide flattenening along the spine, for a honed-out heel or toe, and don't buy a blade that has been honed into the stabilisers. Avoid frowning blades. While some can be resurrected, it takes some honing and razor-quality experience to know if it'll be worth the effort.
Any terminology you don't understand in this post is explained in the Library entry on straight razors--just click and explore.
Our own Classifieds are a good barometer of razor values, I think. Better than Ebay, because our sellers and our buyers are a pretty well-informed bunch. Bear in mind that almost everything in the Classifieds is shave-ready, as is almost nothing at an antique store. A pro honing will add to your antique store cost. You can see how much in the Services section of the Classifieds.
Those are my little bits o' shopping wisdom. Good luck and caveat emptor!
I feel it out and if its someone I've never dealt with before I don't let them know I know anything about razors at all. Some times ill even play into it a bit for a response to know where they stand on knowledge and price. Ill say something like this looks pretty neat, I've always wondered about a razor like this..... How much for something in this condition? If its a nice piece and they know the value they will let you know. If they say something like that's an old Sheffield blade and the scales are real ivory, see the collarless pins? If this is the case be prepared for battler because the next words out of their mouth is about to be how much that one on eBay went for 3 months ago and how another one this nice hasn't come up since. At this point you will have to show you know a thing or two or be prepared to pay top dollar.
Then again on the flip side if you ask the same question as the guy says something like "$35 bucks, it even comes with the original box" this is some one you can haggle. Try saying its nice you'd jut feel better paying $20. When the guy tells you the box makes it worth more and that the cheap replacement celluloid handles are the original ones made of bone, you can tell him what your about do with both the box and the scales and offer him $15. He will take the $20. Then if there more then one that you want bundle it and try to save a few more bucks. Say alright so were doing $20 a piece how bout we do all 5 for $80. This will usually work.
Most impotently I never put my pride and or negotiation on between me and something I am honest to god interested in buying and need to have. Yes everything has a top dollar price ones willing to pay, but if the asking price is with in reason I wouldn't chance blowing a deal over nickels and dimes, but hey that just me, ymmv!
I will first look at the price to see if it is even near the range of what I usually like to pay (< $20) because unless the seller is feeling extremely generous, I've never negotiated more than a 40% discount. Once you get past the starting price, inspect the razor to make sure it is something that is at least salvageable. If the price and condition stipulations are met then you can being negotiating.
First ask the seller what they would take for it. Usually they will ask you what the tag says and then knock off a few bucks. Then you can counter offer "Ah that's a little out of my budget, will you take X.XX for it?". Your starting amount can't be so low that they think you're just trying to walk out without paying them but you should give enough room where they can counter and reach an amount between the two that you feel comfortable paying. Here's an example: Let's say it's a 5/8 heavy grind Sheffield razor with some rust spots on the spine and tang, but the manufacturer stamp is still intact (not a W&B hyped manufacturer) and the edge is clear of pitting. The scales are probably horn and have some bites out of them but aren't cracked. The price tag says $30. After asking for the price the seller knocks it down to $25. You counter with $17 because it does have some ugly rust, will need some experienced restoration on the scales, and to be repinned after being taken down. The seller offers an even $20 and you've just negotiated a 33% discount. I can honestly say this is how the vast majority of my completed sales have gone down at flea markets and individually owned antique stores. If the seller's counter ($20 example) is too high or they completely scoff at my offer, I will immediately say thank you and walk away.
As was mentioned before, antique malls where the item owner is not present (or may have given a 15% discount to all the items in their booth already) it will be very hard to negotiate. I have had instances where the antique mall owners called the booth owner to do a little haggling, but it usually didn't result in much of a discount. There will also definitely be times when you find someone who is a "collector" and not a "salesman", at which point, negotiation may result in a couple bucks off but they value their items much higher because of the intrinsic value it holds for them. Try not to deal with these people unless they have your holy grail of straight razors sitting in their cabinet in very good condition.
I also use the bulk discount tactic sometimes as long as the average price for all of the items comes out to something I am willing to pay for each. A $20 strop in dirty but uncut/nicked condition was discounted to $15 immediately. Throw in two razors originally priced at $16 for the pair, and suddenly the total price is $25. Wonky math right?
I find negotiating to be almost as fun as hunting for the shaving gear in the first place.
It works both ways with me. I am not averse to making an offer, OTOH, depends on what it is , and how bad I want it. Whatever it is, I keep my cards close to my vest and never exhibit excitement.
I made that mistake once. The guy had me. I knew it. But I still walked out of there with some money left. In the end he really gave me a decent price.Quote:
Originally Posted by JimmyHAD
I say " I'll give ya 20" . If not, I walk away and I mean it! . Most I see are not worth much more!
I've only ever tried to haggle over one razor, and the guy who owned the razor and the antique store wasn't having it. He was convinced that the razor in question was worth far more than I was willing to pay. It had some rust on the bevel and I wasn't going to be able to be sure how much grinding it would take to fix it until I got home with it. I tried to explain that I wasn't buying it to turn around and resell it, and that I wanted it to use it, but I wasn't going to pay what he wanted because it wasn't worth it to me. Long story short, I walked away and as far as I know the razor is still in his case.