What I never got about this myth is why people thought that the razors should cost more than the blades. The razor is molded plastic and the blades are a bit of plastic holding a small bit of metal that are honed so they easily cut hair and have a hard time cutting skin. There's no reason to think that the plastic should cost more than the blades. My best guess as to why the blades are expensive would be to cover marketing costs and for patented technology.
I think one thing that often gets overlooked in these types of things is whether or not Gillete just executed on other parts of their business plan better than their competitors. Maybe their sales force was twice as good, maybe their distribution was more reliable, maybe it was just more effective marketing. Perhaps they just figured out a way to manufacture blades 20% cheaper than their competitors.
For while the razor/razorblades story gets the headlines, for a lot of other products there is one company dominating the category for no apparent reason. Coca Cola, for instance, doesn't have any real benefit over other drinks, but they have a fearsome salesforce, marketing and distribution.
All I'm saying is that perhaps Gilletes main competitive advantage is kept quiet because everyone thinks it's their razor+blades strategy, and the company likes it that way because it stops people looking at other parts of the business to copy.
> Coca Cola, for instance, doesn't have any real benefit over other drinks, but they have a fearsome salesforce, marketing and distribution.
Not as simple as that. Firstly, it is extremely difficult to enter the drinks market (setting up a countrywide distribution network, etc...).
What Coke also does (in some countries) is giving the owner of Cafes, garages and small shops a fridge (loan on permanent basis). The condition of the fridge is simple - the owner can only stock it with Coke-a-Cola products.
So right there the retailer is locked in - to distribute a smaller competitor's drinks, he would have to buy a whole fridge (or the competitor must provide a fridge). This is not likely - hence the lock-in. The customer is not locked in, the distributor is.
Another thing that Coke does is prevent competition between small retailers. You must sell Coke’s products at their recommended price (otherwise you have to pay more). They also sell the products to larger retailers at a lower price (and they in turn may not sell it at the reduced price to smaller retailers).
If Coke wants to launch a new product, they basically force small retailers to carry their product (whether they want to buy it or not).
So, yeah, Coke is a pretty nasty company. Luckily for the guys in the USA, there is actual competition (Pepsi).
Frito for instance guarantees 100% shelf service - you will never run out of chips. Legendary stories of the extent they will go to keep mom & pop store stocked etc. Builds loyalty.
King Gillette is the patron saint of late bloomers. He was a very average salesperson until he thought of the idea of disposable razors in his 40's. He didn't sell his first razor blade until 1903 when he was 48 years old -- that year he sold 51 razors and 168 blades, but by 1915 he sold 450,000 razors 70 million blades.
Unrelated protip: Steam is what causes the blades to degrade so quickly. If you leave your blades outside of the bathroom, they last for a long time. I've used the same blade for about six months so far.
Shaving is special product: its personal. Nicks, pulls, uneven results: you feel it intensely. Once you find something that works, there is a large resistance to change.
Flip side: once something fails, folks flee in droves. Remington(?) famous case: stopped replacing "sharpening disks" every shift to save money; lots of flawed razors shipped; sales dropped precipitously until they tracked the problem back.
I'd think these things matter lots more than the "rational customer" model of economic efficiency.
I've had much better luck since I invested in an expensive (~$200) electric shaver. I have very sensitive skin and it was the only method I found that allowed me to shave with any frequency without too many problems. I still have a tendency to shave about once a week however. At which point I'll usually have to use a trimmer first, and then the shaver.
It makes no sense, but what aggravates me about Gillete is that when you buy the razor and head, they only give you 2 extra razors instead of filling out the package with 4. I suppose it is because when you go looking for a razor, if you had to buy the head and the 4 razors the price would be so high no one would want to purchase it. It's one of those sleight of the hands the companies play that once observed, is infuriating.
It's not that aggravating to me personally--that just means I have three blades instead of five before I have to decide whether to try another razor or buy more cartridges for the same one. I hate wasting or throwing things away, so if I hate the razor completely I won't have to suffer through it for very long if it only comes with 2 more blades.
Really, I'd be happy if it just came with no extra blades at all.
And here's the reality on the consumer end of things today, straight from the horse's mouth (my husband):
Before: 16 years of avg. $13/month for a 4/5-pack of Gillette cartridges (they are $16 a pack today), along with razorburn and inflamed follicles due to their cartridges' design of pulling the hairs up and cutting them off below the level of the skin.
Today: a single $60 investment for a Merkur safety razor, and $9/YEAR for 20 blades (40 razor edges, each lasting longer than any of Gillette's cartridges), with almost no razorburn, and not a single inflamed follicle since "the switch".
I made the same switch a while back but eventually I moved back to Gillette.
What I learned was:
There are a bunch of things involved in a decent wet shave, the razor is only one part of it.
Preparation is key - exfoliate every week and moisturise daily, warm your face before shaving (lots of hot water), ideally shave first thing in the morning (your face muscles are more relaxed) and apply shaving foam gel with a brush (it works it in and softens the bristles better).
Razor burn is as much caused by technique as tools - shave downwards, all over the face once. Ignore the fact it still feels stubbly, you're taking off the worst of it. Now lather up again (avoid a razor on bare skin, that's going to burn) and do it again. Finally one last time (having lathered up again) going up the face if you have to to clear up anything remaining.
Then cold water to rinse, and moisturise afterwards.
On top of this an old fashioned safety razor did make a positive difference both to how clean the shave was and the razor burn (remarkable given that it's one fixed blade) but for me the extra effort involved in shaving with an old safety razor wasn't quite worth it. I like to be able to be a bit careless first thing in the morning while I'm half asleep and I can do that with a Gillette Fusion.
(Can I just say, for the love of god anyone making the move read up on how to shave with one first - it's not the same and you will cut yourself to pieces if you go at it the way you go at it with a modern Gillette).
I must protest in the strongest of terms that this is not Hacker news. It is a well known fact that hackers require beards. Glorious, full-bodied beards. Beards that look good with suspenders and the occasional suit when necessary. Beards that get you on lists like this: http://www.codethinked.com/post/2007/12/06/The-Programmer-Dr...
Anecdotes are not data. I use a Gillette, I just bought a 10 pack of blades for 16 dollars. That is going to last me a year, maybe longer. I shave properly. Hot shower, proper technique never had razor burn ever. As the saying goes the poor craftsmen blames his tools.
In my experience, a Gilette shaves cleanly (no cuts and inflamed follicles or ingrown hairs) for the first couple of times (when it's very sharp), then causes a few cuts unless you're very careful for the next 5 shavings or so, and from then on becomes so dull that it becomes quite hard to cut yourself unless you try to or move the blade along its length. A single Gilette blade lasts me several weeks to 2 months. It's only during the 'transitory' period that you need to be careful, and not apply too much pressure. When the skin becomes very red and irritated, it's time to ditch the blade.
Like someone mentioned above, for me the trick is to shave first along the grain, then lather up again, and then against the grain. That prevents redness, cuts and inflammations much more than using a fresh blade.
So it's a myth, because Gillette didn't ALWAYS make their margins on the blades? I don't see the logic. They're still giving away the razors with one blade and expecting you to buy razors for it.
The point is that their current business model (give away the razor, sell the blades) is not the secret of their success-- that during the time they had explosive growth and became dominant, they actually had a very different business model.
[+] [-] thasmin|15 years ago|reply
[+] [-] rdrimmie|15 years ago|reply
[+] [-] brc|15 years ago|reply
For while the razor/razorblades story gets the headlines, for a lot of other products there is one company dominating the category for no apparent reason. Coca Cola, for instance, doesn't have any real benefit over other drinks, but they have a fearsome salesforce, marketing and distribution.
All I'm saying is that perhaps Gilletes main competitive advantage is kept quiet because everyone thinks it's their razor+blades strategy, and the company likes it that way because it stops people looking at other parts of the business to copy.
[+] [-] Untitled|15 years ago|reply
Not as simple as that. Firstly, it is extremely difficult to enter the drinks market (setting up a countrywide distribution network, etc...).
What Coke also does (in some countries) is giving the owner of Cafes, garages and small shops a fridge (loan on permanent basis). The condition of the fridge is simple - the owner can only stock it with Coke-a-Cola products.
So right there the retailer is locked in - to distribute a smaller competitor's drinks, he would have to buy a whole fridge (or the competitor must provide a fridge). This is not likely - hence the lock-in. The customer is not locked in, the distributor is.
Another thing that Coke does is prevent competition between small retailers. You must sell Coke’s products at their recommended price (otherwise you have to pay more). They also sell the products to larger retailers at a lower price (and they in turn may not sell it at the reduced price to smaller retailers).
If Coke wants to launch a new product, they basically force small retailers to carry their product (whether they want to buy it or not).
So, yeah, Coke is a pretty nasty company. Luckily for the guys in the USA, there is actual competition (Pepsi).
[+] [-] JoeAltmaier|15 years ago|reply
[+] [-] asmithmd1|15 years ago|reply
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_Camp_Gillette
[+] [-] m0th87|15 years ago|reply
[+] [-] kree10|15 years ago|reply
I keep my razor in the shower, too, though maybe if I didn't it could go even longer.
[+] [-] rubashov|15 years ago|reply
[+] [-] JoeAltmaier|15 years ago|reply
Flip side: once something fails, folks flee in droves. Remington(?) famous case: stopped replacing "sharpening disks" every shift to save money; lots of flawed razors shipped; sales dropped precipitously until they tracked the problem back.
I'd think these things matter lots more than the "rational customer" model of economic efficiency.
[+] [-] 10ren|15 years ago|reply
Sure, plug-compatibility is trivial, but Gillette had sufficient market power at that point to cut off any retailer stocking them.
[+] [-] gmlk|15 years ago|reply
In what way did you mean that?
[+] [-] positr0nic|15 years ago|reply
[+] [-] rubashov|15 years ago|reply
[+] [-] TGJ|15 years ago|reply
[+] [-] philwelch|15 years ago|reply
Really, I'd be happy if it just came with no extra blades at all.
[+] [-] adlep|15 years ago|reply
[+] [-] hackermom|15 years ago|reply
Before: 16 years of avg. $13/month for a 4/5-pack of Gillette cartridges (they are $16 a pack today), along with razorburn and inflamed follicles due to their cartridges' design of pulling the hairs up and cutting them off below the level of the skin.
Today: a single $60 investment for a Merkur safety razor, and $9/YEAR for 20 blades (40 razor edges, each lasting longer than any of Gillette's cartridges), with almost no razorburn, and not a single inflamed follicle since "the switch".
[+] [-] Tyrannosaurs|15 years ago|reply
What I learned was:
There are a bunch of things involved in a decent wet shave, the razor is only one part of it.
Preparation is key - exfoliate every week and moisturise daily, warm your face before shaving (lots of hot water), ideally shave first thing in the morning (your face muscles are more relaxed) and apply shaving foam gel with a brush (it works it in and softens the bristles better).
Razor burn is as much caused by technique as tools - shave downwards, all over the face once. Ignore the fact it still feels stubbly, you're taking off the worst of it. Now lather up again (avoid a razor on bare skin, that's going to burn) and do it again. Finally one last time (having lathered up again) going up the face if you have to to clear up anything remaining.
Then cold water to rinse, and moisturise afterwards.
On top of this an old fashioned safety razor did make a positive difference both to how clean the shave was and the razor burn (remarkable given that it's one fixed blade) but for me the extra effort involved in shaving with an old safety razor wasn't quite worth it. I like to be able to be a bit careless first thing in the morning while I'm half asleep and I can do that with a Gillette Fusion.
(Can I just say, for the love of god anyone making the move read up on how to shave with one first - it's not the same and you will cut yourself to pieces if you go at it the way you go at it with a modern Gillette).
[+] [-] jerf|15 years ago|reply
[+] [-] stonemetal|15 years ago|reply
[+] [-] roel_v|15 years ago|reply
Like someone mentioned above, for me the trick is to shave first along the grain, then lather up again, and then against the grain. That prevents redness, cuts and inflammations much more than using a fresh blade.
[+] [-] ubernostrum|15 years ago|reply
[+] [-] IgorPartola|15 years ago|reply
[+] [-] dekz|15 years ago|reply
[+] [-] RobLach|15 years ago|reply
I recently bought a Merkur safety razor and a sample pack of different blade brands.
I have been recommending all of my male friends to make the switch.
[+] [-] jonknee|15 years ago|reply
[+] [-] pavel_lishin|15 years ago|reply
[+] [-] napierzaza|15 years ago|reply
[+] [-] michael_dorfman|15 years ago|reply