Thread: Grinds my Gears: "Antique Stores."

Recently I've been searching Antique stores for vintage razors and what a headache that can be. Recently on a trip home to Kansas I was out at a local Abilene, Ks thrift Shop. They had one (razor I forgot the name of the brand) it was nothing special. Price tag? $65.00!! Told her I couldn't pay that much thanked her and went across the street to the next one. Can you take a guess what was there?? The exact same razor!! Price tag?? $284.00!! Ay Yi Yi! Came back to where I currently live in Tennessee hoping and praying they would know a little more about what they were selling, but boy was I mistaken. Came across a Sheffield 6/8 with great scales. I opened the razor to see how the blade was and there sat a 1/2inch chunk out of the middle of the blade. It was beyond repair. Asked the man how much it was, because I wanted to atleast use the scales. He responds with a heart crushing $70.00 dollars.

Just like anything else old some peoples perception is......"It's vintage and antique, it's worth alot of money".

I too have ran into this situation many times. Best advice, gently put the overpriced unusable and unrestorable face scraper down and kindly say "no thank you" and continue your search elsewhere.

The other side of the coin is how many times have you stumbled onto a gem and heard "give me $5" and couldn't peel the money out of your pocket fast enough? That has also happened to me a few times. Hey, it's half the fun of looking IMO. KEEP SEARCHIN'

I keep looking but only find DE razors it seems. When I find a straight its always way over priced or damaged. So I keep buying my straights from here an DE's when they come along at the stores.

I agree with DTrain17. Keep looking. Possibly check the same stores with the silly prices, too.

At least around here, the stores rent out space to independent sellers, so just because a razor in one cabinet is priced on the 'and I'd like a MILLLLLLLLLLLION dollars!' model, doesn't mean they all will be.

I've found good a good, usable razor for $20 in the same store that had a broken Rolls Razor for $100. The antique store trawl requires patience and some familiarity with the way things work.

Originally Posted by dtrain17

The other side of the coin is how many times have you stumbled onto a gem and heard "give me $5" and couldn't peel the money out of your pocket fast enough? That has also happened to me a few times. Hey, it's half the fun of looking IMO. KEEP SEARCHIN'

To add to this, antique stores and flea markets are the only places you'll find deals like these. The likelihood of getting a steal on E-bay is one in a million... whereas a smoking deal in antique stores is more like 1 in a dozen.

Originally Posted by TwistedOak

To add to this, antique stores and flea markets are the only places you'll find deals like these. The likelihood of getting a steal on E-bay is one in a million... whereas a smoking deal in antique stores is more like 1 in a dozen.

I wouldn't say eBay is quite as bad as that, once you know what to look for. I got a first generation 8/8 filly for $125, and a heljestrand mk30 in genuine tortoise for ~$100 too. It takes a lot of patientence, and you have to sift through a lot of junk, but good deals can definitely be found.

Well I am looking forward to yard sales and estate sales once the snow melts around Michigan. I watch the obituaries over the winter and stop by the yard sale in the spring. Kids cleaning out the house and getting rid of what they call useless.

I have the same issue with the antique stores around here. There are 2 that I can actually deal with. If you get frustrated with the people who want to charge 500x's over retail of a piece of junk try this. If you are on Facebook check out the different local classifies groups. For example we have about 10 around here and one is specifically for man cave type of antiques and collectibles. I put a wanted to buy ad in there the other day and ended up with an old old wade and butcher for 10 bucks. I will post an add usually once a week and my responses are generally from folks who got the stuff from deceased spouses grandparents. Give it a try and see what you come up with! It won't be gold every time but I have gotten everything from parts to extremely rare and very old works of shaving art. I have never spent more than 15$ either! Good luck.

Originally Posted by Amenrab

I wouldn't say eBay is quite as bad as that, once you know what to look for. I got a first generation 8/8 filly for $125, and a heljestrand mk30 in genuine tortoise for ~$100 too. It takes a lot of patientence, and you have to sift through a lot of junk, but good deals can definitely be found.

Haha, I guess my pockets aren't as deep as yours for this hobby, because $100-125 for a razor is not a steal to me. Yes I understand those brands you listed are sought after, but I'm sure some of my $20 blades shave just as well. my $.02

Originally Posted by TwistedOak

Haha, I guess my pockets aren't as deep as yours for this hobby, because $100-125 for a razor is not a steal to me. Yes I understand those brands you listed are sought after, but I'm sure some of my $20 blades shave just as well. my $.02

Amenrab is right, but that may not have been the best example.

I regularly find very good razors on sale from eBay with very low BINs. My brain hasn't caught up to the market, so I don't like spending more than $30 on anything, but I still find things that I buy, and often for less than $30. It's a time investment though, and that can be the more expensive part.