The Razor Blade Business Model

http://thehopkinsonreport.com/2009/05/20/episode-57-has-gillette-taken-the-razorrazor-blade-model-too-far/

by avner • 17 years ago

19 16 17 years ago

thehopkinsonreport.com

bmcleod• 17 years ago

Surely at some price point people will just move back to old fashioned safety razors.

Mine costs me a few cents per blade and gives a very close shave.

olliesaunders2• 17 years ago

Yeah I do that too. Even then I shave as rarely as I can bare to, both to save blades and time. The old safety razors take some getting use to and practise but I consider that part of the fun.

karzeem• 17 years ago

I got pretty obsessed with safety razors and wetshaving a little while ago. The blade is unquestionably less forgiving than your standard 3-5 blade Shave System™, and you have to unlearn some sloppy technique that pivoting-head razors promote. I.e. you have to pay attention to the angle at which you're placing the blade against your skin.

But I pretty quickly got to a point where cuts were even less common than they were before I started using the safety razor, and I think my experience is pretty much the norm for anyone who sticks with it for 5-10 shaves. It takes a bit longer, but it's a better shave with less irritation, and the ritual of it is a lot of fun.

And some of the shaving creams that you apply with a brush (I'm thinking specifically of Taylor of Old Bond Street's rose-scented one) smell absolutely incredible.

zargon• 17 years ago

I switched to wetshaving with badger hair and a safety razor because of irritation from cartridge razors. A few months later I was in a mad rush and used my cartridge razor with a new cartridge -- it felt like it was ripping my face off. I hadn't realized just how bad the cartridges were till then.

olliesaunders2• 17 years ago

This sort of reminds me of the HP printer cartridges (cheap printer, expensive cartridges). I saw a TV interview with a HP executive who was asked to justify why the cartridges were so expensive. He said that it was because the most sophisticated technology was in the cartridge.

Of course this business model is quite immoral in a world where disposable, non-recycleable things are known to be unsustainable.

euroclydon• 17 years ago

I use the Gilette Fusion and have a heavy beard, but one cartridge lasts me two weeks. Here's how: I shake the water off my razor and then use a blow dryer to completely dry the blades after each shave. Supposedly it's not the cutting of hair that really dulls the blades, but rather the corrosion that occurs on the wet edges after you put it up.

narag• 17 years ago

That's a big surprise to me, the same as some thing the article says.

For more than thirty years, I've used disposable Blue II (dirty cheap, they last one or two months each), cream (not sure if that's the word in English... 2€, it lasts a whole year, no kidding) and a brush (natural weasel hair, they last an average of twenty years). I make the whole thing in three minutes, no cuts, no pain, very close.

I've tried electrical shavers, gel, more than two razors and all sorts of novelties, but nothing was a real improvement. I think they can insult us, cheaper customers because we really couldn't care less. While they keep making the cheap stuff, they can bark all they want :-)

pmichaud• 17 years ago

The software equivalent of this model is probably Freemium. You give away part of the package for free, but then you charge a "subscription" for the rest. Razors are the free, Blades are the "subscription."

dtf• 17 years ago

I think I read somewhere that Mach 3 refills are the most shoplifted item ever. Gillette's marketing is a truly incredible machine. I finally gave up on their extortionate cost about 5 years ago and bought myself a Merkur Futur. Blades cost £3 for 10, and cut as close as you want but require a little more of a delicate touch. So I still keep a Mach 3 on standby for my hung-over mornings.

cwan• 17 years ago

I guess I'm one of the few dupes here :). I recently switched to using Fusion blades (not the power ones where you also have to worry about the battery) because I forgot to bring my shaving kit when traveling.

I have to say I was pretty pleased by how quickly and consistent the shave was relative to Mach 3. Being accident prone and generally impatient in the morning, it's resulted in no blood loss so far (it's been about 2 months since I started using them). I've used 2 blades in this time which to me is worth the cost relative to the time I save and the quality of the shave I get.

croby• 17 years ago

Razor and Blade?!? They're freaks!

The Razor Blade Business Model

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