Thread: Best way to sell restorations?

Over the last few months, I've acquired over 50 ebay razors. I'll keep a few, but I expect to restore and sell the rest. Some just require a cleanup and honing; others will need new scales.

What's the best way to sell these once I've restored them? Here on SRP? Resell on ebay?

It seems to me that prices have really gone up on ebay in the last six months. Would I get a good price on restorations or are most ebay buyers uneducated and would not recognize the value of a restored, shave-ready razor?

Thanks,
Tom

PS: the sale of these razors will finance the purchase of a new fly rod and reel

It depends on your level of skill and how much work you want to do.

I would check out what altima gets for shave-ready "no name" razors but its generally between $30 and $40 (although prices have gond up a little bit). Joshearl gets around $35 for nice shave-ready razors and is developing his ability and reputation as a "honemeister".

Joe Chandler and Lynn sell refurbished razors starting around $45 - and their ability to get a blade shaving sharp is unquestioned.

So, where does that leave you?

The reality is that, until you get some feedback (either here or on e-bay), you will likely get a little less than someone who's established a good reputation.

I think between $30 and $40 is the right ballpark for a generic refurbished, shave-ready razor - obviously if you have something special, you can charge more. If you want to get $100's for your run-of the-mill dubl duck, you'd have better luck on e-bay.

Also, I think its probably less hassle to sell here than e-bay and you don't have to pay a cut to somebody.

So, not sure if this helps or not, but the answer is that it depends on what you've got to sell and whether you're looking for a fair price or to start a bidding war - which really doesn't tend to happen unless the razor's special in some way (i.e., well-known maker, really good condition, fancy scales, large blade, unusual grind, etc.).

I think if you're looking to sell decent razors at decent prices without too much hassle, you'll do just as well here as on e-bay.

That's my very long $0.02.

The term 'Shave-Ready' probably carries more weight (ie. $$$$) here than on eBay.




...just my $.000000001

-whatever

-Lou

The possibilities are endless........lol. Classified Section here, Buy/Sell/Trade Section here, Ebay and other forums. I usually charge based on the brand of razor and the shape it's in trying to be as fair to the members as I can. You really never make up the amount of time you spend on them. I still come up with some $25-$35 razors, but tend to give those away more than sell them. I see alot of reputations based on skill and popularity contests, but the main thing is that if you get them shave ready, you should do well as word will get around. There are alot more people selling razors these days than even a year ago and that is a great thing as our population is really growing and will always be in need of shave ready razors. We also have some people who make razors and who can regrind a totally nasty razor making them look near new. Tis a bootiful thing. Let me know if I can help you in any way.

Best of Luck.

Lynn

Tom,

You might want to check out Joe Chandler's website as he posts more razors. (It's in his sig.)

I ask $25 to $40 for my shave-ready blades, but most of them aren't really "restored" per se. I polish them up with MAAS and clean them, but if there's pitting on the blade I don't worry about it. My goal is just to get razors shaving and sell them at a price newbies can afford.

Truely restored razors can, and should, command a higher price. If you're doing custom scales, regrinding or sanding blades, you should definitely be getting more money for them.

I'd recommend posting them here first, and if they don't sell, going to eBay. Or do a test and sell a few each way.

Good luck,
Josh

What you may find on ebay would be people new to shaving (not a razor forum member) taking advantage of a shave ready razor which are not common. This may give your razors an added premium.
But it seems to me that there are more straight razor Collectors than users. Collectors would be less interested in it been shave ready and possibly against it being re-scaled.
SRP members would appreciate the work you have done & pay accordingly.
As other members have said it is your choice.
I have sold over 500 straights and still cant price them so I sell on ebay.
Tony H

I usually just throw a post in the buy/sell/trade forum with whatever I'm offering. My razors are usually full restorations with custom scales though, not as though that makes a big difference if you're just looking to sell them. I just find dealing with SRP members is by and large much better than most other people too.

The ones I sell are handsanded restorations with the original scales most of the time anyway. I fetch somewhere in between $25 and$120 depending on the razor really. There's no real uniform price. It all depends on brand, state of the blade and how much work I poured into it.

If you're just thinning out your inventory, then just sell them off here, piecemeal. If you want to get into the biz, find a niche, get comfortable with it and eventually think about branching out, but only if you'd like the additional challenge.