This Ever Happen to You?

Yesterday morning I got up early and decided to do a quick walk through of one of the local flea markets to see what I can see. It wasn't one of the better flea markets for razor hunting but it is real close to the house. I have had some great razor finds there in the past (nice C.V. Heljestrand for $8, 1960 Fatboy for $4, to name a few.) More often than not though, I get skunked at this place.

So I'm wandering through the booths looking for straights and or old Gillettes when I see 5 or so old straight razors in a glass case. Even though initial indications weren't good, I asked the guy to open the case so I could have a look. Now, I'm very familiar with the "new to me" razor, they're not often pretty and I'm OK with that. Often all they need is a little TLC and a good home and they're off and running. This gentleman obviously didn't have the slightest clue about the concept of a restorable razor. Turns out all five were absolute garbage (large portions of the edge completely gone, spine wear, pointed razors, 6/8" at the heel and 1/16" of an inch at the toe, scale rot, etc.) In short there wasn't enough restorable metal on all of the five to make ONE restorable razor! I doubt I would have paid $5 for the lot but the cheapest one was $28!


Cheese and Crackers! It's bad enough the guy is selling complete garbage but asking exhorbitant prices for it is quite another issue. Of course when I lost interest (to add insult to injury) he was very keen to sell me a Pakistani Letter Opener for $70 or so. What a Gomer! The whole episode kinda gave me a case of the red ass. I probably would have felt better if I'd just done my walk through, not seen a razor and left with no joy in Mudville.

I choose to believe that guys like that are simply ignorant, rather than evil. Makes me feel a little better about it; don't really care if I'm wrong.

And I've seen far worse than what you describe, in terms of condition and price, too. Then again, I've had better steals than you as well; it all evens out.

I was in an antique store in a small town not too far from here a few weeks ago. They had a number of straights, mostly pretty generic Solingen and a couple of early 20th century Sheffields. They were *massively* overpriced, but when I talked to the owner the reason was clear. They are priced according to what his customers pay. One was listed at over $100 complete with chipped edge, active rust aplenty, and warped scales (albeit with nice inlays). The reason? Apparently there's a guy who comes in every few months who goes crazy over scales with inlays. So the owner knows how much that guy is willing to pay and prices his razors accordingly.

He's a decent guy trying to make a living in a hard market, so I don't really hold his prices against him. But I will certainly never buy much from him! :) He doesn't know much of anything about razors, but he *does* know his customers.

I used to visit an antique store regularly as they seemed to come acros the odd nice razor. I would buy what they had if it was a good one, but I would always leave the garbage behind. I started to notice that the stuff I left was always still there, and new stuff was priced higher than the average $10-15 they had charged previously. I also noticed that prices on the stuff that had been left behind had gone up marginally.
When I struck up a conversation during the process of having the display cabinet open to look at a latest acquisition, I found out that, "...cut-throats have become fairly popular of late. It's had to keep up with the demand...". After a few more visits, it dawned on me that I was my own worst enemy. The prices had hiked up because I was the silly bugger buying all the good stuff I could get.


Mick

Markets are markets, and supply being somewhat limited, demand does have its effect. We have met the enemy, and he is us.

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Originally Posted by MickR

I used to visit an antique store regularly as they seemed to come acros the odd nice razor. I would buy what they had if it was a good one, but I would always leave the garbage behind. I started to notice that the stuff I left was always still there, and new stuff was priced higher than the average $10-15 they had charged previously. I also noticed that prices on the stuff that had been left behind had gone up marginally.
When I struck up a conversation during the process of having the display cabinet open to look at a latest acquisition, I found out that, "...cut-throats have become fairly popular of late. It's had to keep up with the demand...". After a few more visits, it dawned on me that I was my own worst enemy. The prices had hiked up because I was the silly bugger buying all the good stuff I could get.

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I'm likely guilty of the same thing. I have several sources locally and I too get the impression that I have fished these places out and for the most part, the only thing left is garbage and Pakastani letter openers (neither of which I will abide). Fishin' DaBay is, of course an alternative but I really do prefer to go to a brick and mortar source.

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Originally Posted by 1OldGI

I'm likely guilty of the same thing. I have several sources locally and I too get the impression that I have fished these places out and for the most part, the only thing left is garbage and Pakastani letter openers (neither of which I will abide). Fishin' DaBay is, of course an alternative but I really do prefer to go to a brick and mortar source.

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Yeah, it is great to see things in the flesh. I just wish there were more antique stores/flea markets around here that had some kind of selection. Until they restock, I'm pretty much stuck with shopping online when it comes to scratching the RAD itch.

I agree with you both. I like to see and handle my purchase so that I know exactly what I'm getting and the only blame for a bad purchase is squarely on my own shoulders.
Antique stores of any worth are few and far between and flea market razors just don't seem to exist in these parts.

Mick