Prices for German razors have gone through the roof

Chaps,

As you may or may not know, I recently traded some razors with Paul, aka Sharp&Shiny. Part of the trade was a Dovo Bergischer Löwe (referred to by the barbarians as Begrisher Lowe, or worse).

Now then, I had a discussion with another member on #srp this morning. He is considering buying a Bergischer Löwe. A couple of observations I'd like to share with you:

1. New razors are not immune from scale warping. The scales on my BL warped literally over night.
2. While the BL is a great shaver (as are all new, i.e. younger than 3 years, Dovos I had the pleasure of trying), it does not knock me off my feet like this Herder (EUR 30 at an auction site) or this Sellers wedge (also from Paul). It's excellent, but not out of this world.
3. Which brings me to the subject matter: prices. I knew the BL was pricey. But I checked current prices for the guy on #srp. And lo! prices in Germany have completely gone through the roof. Case in point: US price: $243.99. Equally reputable German dealer with good prices: 222.00 Euro aka $312.93.

Bottom line: If you really want any of these new razors, get them outside Germany while they are still relatively affordable. I am glad I have mine (not least because Paul honed it very well), but I would never buy one new, not at that price. Remember: Excellent vintage razors in excellent or mint condition can be had for 1/3 that price, and chances are they will shave even better.

Mind you, this post is not meant as a reason to discuss any specific vendor's prices.

It's also worth considering the import duties if you're based outside the States & buying from a US based dealer. This no doubt applies the other way round too, so that $312.93 would actually be even more by the time you get your first shave out of it!
You guys are fairly spoilt with reasonable prices compared to us European based members!

So, you foresee the prices going up in the US as well? Because Dovo is one of the most affordable razors on the market today, I think that's one of the reasons for it's popularity. They are excellent shavers, and lookers, but rising prices isn't going to help sell them, that for sure....I did not buy the BL, I bought a Dovo Bismarck, which is a nice looking razor, and a bit less pricey...I have never heard about scale warping in Dovo until now....

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Originally Posted by zib

So, you foresee the prices going up in the US as well?

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I would think so. I think what you're seeing is the last cheap ones being sold. But that is speculation only.

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Originally Posted by zib

Because Dovo is one of the most affordable razors on the market today, I think that's one of the reasons for it's popularity. They are excellent shavers, and lookers, but rising prices isn't going to help sell them, that for sure....I did not buy the BL, I bought a Dovo Bismarck, which is a nice looking razor, and a bit less pricey...I have never heard about scale warping in Dovo until now....

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Well, prices for Wacker razors have developed in the same direction, only they were never low to begin with.

Yes there is much less material on the market here.
The development (since I'm into razors) is going straight upwards.

Its a real good advice to buy now. It can only get worse.

It just seems everytime I get involved in something the prices just seem to skyrocket.

I'm glad I bought my razors a few years ago. At the rate we're going a new Livi wil be cheaper than a new TI.

Just purchased 2 dovo razors 2 weeks ago and the price went up 28 dollars for a perlex carbon razor. Hope that not going to continue at that rate :mace:

I should of bought 3:)

Lol. And to think I bought a grip of 4 very shiny condition Solingen razors for $150 this last month... 2 NOS(Schmidt, Tambour), one minty (Leader), one with very tiny amounts of light pitting (Goldedge). I much prefer antique hunting. More fun, and the razors have more... personality. Yes I have RAD in a bad way, and given ten thousand bucks would not even blink at buying all the higher end Dovos as opposed to a car. But the cool cosmetics of the nicer Dovos are not worth $300 hard earned dollars. Especially if I can find 4 razors, all of which are glitzy (Goldedge and Leader are the peak of glitzy in my opinion, I'm just missing the Hans and Beau now...), all have inlays or fancy celluloid or bolster etc, all for under $150. My guess is it will boom and bust. I'm gonna hold out. In ten years, this will all be past and we'll hav elots of new razors to buy cheap cus the fad-ders have dumped and ran.

I really like speculating on this kind of thing. You'd think new production razors would hit some sort of plateau in prices even though clearly the prices are rising as the demand is high. But, they're new razors. How high could they go? If we flash forward five years, are entry level new Dovos with plastic scales going to be $500? I hope not.

Vintage razors are going to be harder to find as years pass by. After most surface in the antique shops and estate sales and are held by collectors and others like us, the deals we all look for will be virtually gone. The deals we find now, either on Ebay or in person at antique shops are arguably priced lower than the razors are worth; that's why they're "deals".

We don't want to pay what a razor is worth if we can help it, but someday we're going to have to most of the time.

I'm finding it interesting to watch it develop.

Chris L

Part of the problem is Dollar vs. Euro exchange rates. Euro is going through the roof so prices of everything made in Euroland will be going through the roof when paid in USD.

Yeah... Kees is right. You have to compare relative prices, how much a razor costs compared to say, a gallon of milk. I"'m betting if you convert it, everything in Europe is more expensive, But if you convert pay, everyone gets paid more by a bit. And this is a fashion/luxury thing. Just cus everyone wants a German sports car, and they are in production, doesn't mean the price drops.

Dollar exchange rate factors for sure, but there is much less on the market over here..

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Originally Posted by 0livia

Dollar exchange rate factors for sure, but there is much less on the market over here..

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However, the occasional good deal on a no-name Solingen vintage can be made. But the market for good brand names has dried up, and prices are at least as silly as those in the US.

In addition to the Euro. vs. US$

It is also the classic demand vs. supply theory. The demand for straight razors are going up as more people are shaving straight and collecting – then the prises will rise as the supply isn’t keeping up.

Well I mean, as I said before there is a high demand for sports cars, but they control the supply to capitalise off of it, what they are now selling is not a product but a status symbol, like designer clothes or jewelry. They will probably try to get it to be like "You shave with that crappy mass manufactured American POS (sorry Americans), I shave with my precision engineered, ultra lush, super expensive elite German slice of heaven" Whether the actual quality is any different is up for debate, but that is how cars went... Ford was always the cheap workhorse thing that people would buy but no one wanted, when compared to say, a BMW or Mercedes. I mean, to some extend we already see this. Vintage American razors are selling much cheaper than vintage Solingens. And to quote the ShamWOW commercial: "Plus it's made in Germany! Germans make good stuff right?"
What it comes down to is not supply, but demand due to the status symbol.

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Originally Posted by khaos

Well I mean, as I said before there is a high demand for sports cars, but they control the supply to capitalise off of it, what they are now selling is not a product but a status symbol, like designer clothes or jewelry. They will probably try to get it to be like "You shave with that crappy mass manufactured American POS (sorry Americans), I shave with my precision engineered, ultra lush, super expensive elite German slice of heaven" Whether the actual quality is any different is up for debate, but that is how cars went... Ford was always the cheap workhorse thing that people would buy but no one wanted, when compared to say, a BMW or Mercedes. I mean, to some extend we already see this. Vintage American razors are selling much cheaper than vintage Solingens. And to quote the ShamWOW commercial: "Plus it's made in Germany! Germans make good stuff right?"
What it comes down to is not supply, but demand due to the status symbol.

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I tend to agree with you... Dubl Duck razors.

The evidence is there as you look at SRP classifieds and there isn't much offered and when there is, there are several interested buyers on decent conditioned DOVO's and TI's.

Straight Shaving is on the rise as many others want to break free of the silly multi-blade offerings on the Market.

Pabster

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Originally Posted by Pabster

The evidence is there as you look at SRP classifieds and there isn't much offered and when there is, there are several interested buyers on decent conditioned DOVO's and TI's.

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Actually at one point I listed two razors at exactly the same price. Both were german, one was new Dovo, the other was a hard to find Puma. The Dovo sold within hours, the Puma took several weeks even though it is far far superior razor and a lot harder to find, but it was only shiny, not new looking, plus there isn't a constant supply of them at $1000.
I'd bet money that if somebody offers his used new production Boker (they are available for around $800) in the $200-$300 price range, there wouldn't be a shortage of buyers. But it would be hard to sell a really nice old Boker for that much, even if that one shaves and look better.
It's all about perceived value.

And yes I've seen the dovo and ti increase their prices significantly over the last few years, and from what I hear they were even a lot cheaper few years earlier.
One or two razors is more than enough for shaving, it's people like us who want tens or hundreds (sometimes thousands) of them who have a problem :)

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Originally Posted by gugi

I'd bet money that if somebody offers his used new production Boker (they are available for around $800) in the $200-$300 price range, there wouldn't be a shortage of buyers. But it would be hard to sell a really nice old Boker for that much, even if that one shaves and look better.
It's all about perceived value.

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Bokers have caught my interest and I think I saw some New Bokers being sold on line at knifecenter.com in the $260.00 range and I am curious to how they compare to the older Bokers and how these new offerings will effect the secondary market.

Pabster

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Originally Posted by zib

So, you foresee the prices going up in the US as well? Because Dovo is one of the most affordable razors on the market today, I think that's one of the reasons for it's popularity. They are excellent shavers, and lookers, but rising prices isn't going to help sell them, that for sure....I did not buy the BL, I bought a Dovo Bismarck, which is a nice looking razor, and a bit less pricey...I have never heard about scale warping in Dovo until now....

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I have a Dovo Special Imitation tortoise that is 3 months old, or I got it from SRD 3 months ago, with a warped scale. It has just recently warped. Don at SRD said this was the first he has heard of the new Dovos warping, but I assure you it is warped.

Hi,

I think you should try living in the UK; we are so used to being ripped off for absolutely everything we have given up worrying about it :)

Best regards

Russ

Well, thanks to everybody here, I have just ordered a new Dovo from SRD.

Regrets,

Ogie



just kidding -- can't wait to shave with it!

I have the same Dovo Special straight and I am sorry to hear about yours being warped. If you find out the reason behind it, let everyone know as I know many SRP members have this straight razor. Perhaps Dovo would want to hear about it and doing something about it since you are a SRP member.

I just use mine today to shave off a three day growth and it certainly qualifies for Shave of the Day.

Pabster