Artificial scarcity

Does that mean I can pay Douglas for my next order in Yuan?

I can see the video coming now; Douglas and Matt do their next one in Beijing.

Fran already pays me in many a yawn....

Love the cornball - I get paid in that currency too! But I get double for overtime

LE releases are about marketing and maintaining buzz around the brand and I get that. The space is crowded and getting more crowded all the time. Its like bumping your BST thread to the top of the heap so you'll get eyes on it. Now, here's my beef - if you're going to make a LE product that lots of people want, make enough of it so those people can get it. Doesn't that make sense marketing wise? But to hype the product then have a shotgun start release that crashes your storefront and sells out in under 3 minutes leaving a ton of people empty handed and pissed off?? How is that good marketing? Eventually customers just ignore you. I get that stuff sells out and I have no problem waiting for a re-stock but to be repeatedly shut out because I was 10 seconds too slow? Who do I look like? Charlie Brown wanting to kick that damn ball? That Lucy!! There is a small soap maker that sporadically releases very limited numbers of soap units. They're rumoured to be decent but how the heck should I know because I've never even had a sniff so... I don't even bother when I see the instagram post about an upcoming release...who cares? Hey, soap maker's happy and sells everything he makes so more power to him. I only want stuff I stand a reasonable chance of having and I have zero interest in things I can't have. I appreciate PAA dispensing with the whole concept of Limited Releases - score 1 for sanity.

Every time I see a vendor/ artisan posting some products will be a available at 4 pm est for example, I just close the thread. I know how that ends. I don't like that kind of business model, since there are so many other great products widely available. Also, it's good to notice that there are vendors with limited product supply, but they don't announce anything, some of them don't even participate in forums. Those certainly don't create artifcial scarcity, they can't make more, it's a part- time job or hobby of them, they don't call you to "play their game". I won't spend my time refreshing a page like I need a product so badly, as if I don't have products to shave with. But, that's me. Others are more patient, collectors etc.

I can see the video coming now; Douglas and Matt do their next one in Beijing.

Fran already pays me in many a yawn....

Love the cornball - I get paid in that currency too!  But I get double for overtime

LE releases are about marketing and maintaining buzz around the brand and I get that.  The space is crowded and getting more crowded all the time.  Its like bumping your BST thread to the top of the heap so you'll get eyes on it.  Now, here's my beef - if you're going to make a LE product that lots of people want, make enough of it so those people can get it.  Doesn't that make sense marketing wise?  But to hype the product then have a shotgun start release that crashes your storefront and sells out in under 3 minutes leaving a ton of people empty handed and pissed off??  How is that good marketing?  Eventually customers just ignore you. I get that stuff sells out and I have no problem waiting for a re-stock but to be repeatedly shut out because I was 10 seconds too slow?  Who do I look like? Charlie Brown wanting to kick that damn ball?  That Lucy!!  There is a small soap maker that sporadically releases very limited numbers of soap units.  They're rumoured to be decent but how the heck should I know because I've never even had a sniff so... I don't even bother when I see the instagram post about an upcoming release...who cares?  Hey, soap maker's happy and sells everything he makes so more power to him.  I only want stuff I stand a reasonable chance of having and I have zero interest in things I can't have.  I appreciate PAA dispensing with the whole concept of Limited Releases - score 1 for sanity.

Every time I see a vendor/ artisan posting some products will be a available at 4 pm est for example, I just close the thread. I know how that ends. I don't like that kind of business model, since there are so many other great products widely available. Also, it's good to notice that there are vendors with limited product supply, but they don't announce anything, some of them don't even participate in forums. Those certainly don't create artifcial scarcity, they can't make more, it's a part- time job or hobby of them, they don't call you to "play their game". I won't spend my time refreshing a page like I need a product so badly, as if I don't have products to shave with. But, that's me. Others are more patient, collectors etc.

And this is why some artisans have instituted pre-order systems, to allow us to gauge the quantity required without assuming a huge risk of making too much or too little. It's complex and very labor intensive to do it that way, but it ensures that anyone who wants to order a product can do so.

That said, there have been problems with the fact that people don't seem to read, so we're going to be changing how we do it (just a little bit) for our future launches.

Every time I see a vendor/ artisan posting some products will be a available at 4 pm est for example, I just close the thread. I know how that ends. I don't like that kind of business model, since there are so many other great products widely available. Also, it's good to notice that there are vendors with limited product supply, but they don't announce anything, some of them don't even participate in forums. Those certainly don't create artifcial scarcity, they can't make more, it's a part- time job or hobby of them, they don't call you to "play their game". I won't spend my time refreshing a page like I need a product so badly, as if I don't have products to shave with. But, that's me. Others are more patient, collectors etc.

You're missing out on some great products then. For example, Barrister and Mann and others do this all the time when a new seasonal or LE comes out. The only difference is that Will makes sure there is going to be enough to go around. Other artisans like *cough*Bufflehead*cough*, well then yeah, you do know how that ends...

"Every time I see a vendor/ artisan posting some products will be a available at 4 pm est for example, I just close the thread. I know how that ends. I don't like that kind of business model, since there are so many other great products widely available."


The guy who makes Bufflehead has a full time job and a new child at home. It's just a hobby. One of the finest soaps made today, Talbot Shaving, has a couple of new soaps on the horizon and they will sell out in minutes...as they should. They are better soaps than most made today.

The key here is some of these small soap makers could care less whether people like their business model or not. If someone closes the thread it doesn't mean anything. What they make sells. More than one has told me that.

There is a big difference between buying "Press F5 like crazy at 5pm EST to get the best product no one has ever used" and B&M's LE releases. I have purchased quite a few LE or Seasonal soaps from B&M and never ever I had to "Press F5 like crazy". Apart from SoA and the Passiflora craze, their soaps have massive availability compared to others.

And about small makers not caring what we think about their releases; here is a news: a lot of us don't care about what they think about what we think. It is a shaving forum, not a forum to ensure the sanctity of soap/aftershave/product makers.

Earlier this year I have made this decision of not tracking and aiming for next best limited LEs and my shaving experience has been better without all that drama. And I highly doubt, highly highly doubt, those hobbyists making extremely limited edition soaps during their leisure time are constantly making better products than artisans/makers who have made this their business. I have recently used samples of some of those mentioned here: and no, none of them are better than soaps I can now buy over at B&M, Mike's Mystic Water etc.

Every time I see a vendor/ artisan posting some products will be a available at 4 pm est for example, I just close the thread. I know how that ends. I don't like that kind of business model, since there are so many other great products widely available. Also, it's good to notice that there are vendors with limited product supply, but they don't announce anything, some of them don't even participate in forums. Those certainly don't create artifcial scarcity, they can't make more, it's a part- time job or hobby of them, they don't call you to "play their game". I won't spend my time refreshing a page like I need a product so badly, as if I don't have products to shave with. But, that's me. Others are more patient, collectors etc.

You're missing out on some great products then. For example, Barrister and Mann and others do this all the time when a new seasonal or LE comes out. The only difference is that Will makes sure there is going to be enough to go around. Other artisans like *cough*Bufflehead*cough*, well then yeah, you do know how that ends...

Sure, some or most of them are great products, but I already have many great products in my den Mediocrity has no place.

Fran already pays me in many a yawn....

Love the cornball - I get paid in that currency too!  But I get double for overtime

LE releases are about marketing and maintaining buzz around the brand and I get that.  The space is crowded and getting more crowded all the time.  Its like bumping your BST thread to the top of the heap so you'll get eyes on it.  Now, here's my beef - if you're going to make a LE product that lots of people want, make enough of it so those people can get it.  Doesn't that make sense marketing wise?  But to hype the product then have a shotgun start release that crashes your storefront and sells out in under 3 minutes leaving a ton of people empty handed and pissed off??  How is that good marketing?  Eventually customers just ignore you. I get that stuff sells out and I have no problem waiting for a re-stock but to be repeatedly shut out because I was 10 seconds too slow?  Who do I look like? Charlie Brown wanting to kick that damn ball?  That Lucy!!  There is a small soap maker that sporadically releases very limited numbers of soap units.  They're rumoured to be decent but how the heck should I know because I've never even had a sniff so... I don't even bother when I see the instagram post about an upcoming release...who cares?  Hey, soap maker's happy and sells everything he makes so more power to him.  I only want stuff I stand a reasonable chance of having and I have zero interest in things I can't have.  I appreciate PAA dispensing with the whole concept of Limited Releases - score 1 for sanity.

Every time I see a vendor/ artisan posting some products will be a available at 4 pm est for example, I just close the thread. I know how that ends. I don't like that kind of business model, since there are so many other great products widely available. Also, it's good to notice that there are vendors with limited product supply, but they don't announce anything, some of them don't even participate in forums. Those certainly don't create artifcial scarcity, they can't make more, it's a part- time job or hobby of them, they don't call you to "play their game". I won't spend my time refreshing a page like I need a product so badly, as if I don't have products to shave with. But, that's me. Others are more patient, collectors etc.

And this is why some artisans have instituted pre-order systems, to allow us to gauge the quantity required without assuming a huge risk of making too much or too little. It's complex and very labor intensive to do it that way, but it ensures that anyone who wants to order a product can do so.

That said, there have been problems with the fact that people don't seem to read, so we're going to be changing how we do it for our future launches.

This is great from buyer's perspective. Some artisans and vendors do that. I've participated in some pre-orders. You have the time to decide whether you actually want a product or not.

"Earlier this year I have made this decision of not tracking and aiming for next best limited LEs and my shaving experience has been better without all that drama."


What drama? Someone makes a shaving soap and lists it for sale.

"Every time I see a vendor/ artisan posting some products will be a available at 4 pm est for example, I just close the thread. I know how that ends. I don't like that kind of business model, since there are so many other great products widely available."


The guy who makes Bufflehead has a full time job and a new child at home. It's just a hobby. One of the finest soaps made today, Talbot Shaving, has a couple of new soaps on the horizon and they will sell out in minutes...as they should. They are better soaps than most made today.

The key here is some of these small soap makers could care less whether people like their business model or not. If someone closes the thread it doesn't mean anything. What they make sells. More than one has told me that.

Better is subjective. Many products perform great. The differences between the very best are barely noticeable. Soapmaking is not science. Usually wetshavers think a new product is better than others they've tried because it's the new kid on the block. I made that mistake in the past. After several tries, I mean after a couple months using it in my rotation, I came to the conclusion that there're actually no differences between the new one and my other great products. It's a kind of cognitive dissonance. Just a thought based on my experience with new, great, top, hyped, absolutely best performing products.

Of course, if a famous, I won't use the word hyped, soapmaker announces an upcoming batch of soaps, they will be gone in a few minutes. Usually these batches are too small to cover demand. The artisans know the demand will be high, you know, we all love LEs, we have to have them, and they sell them all. They achieve their goal each and every time, they're happy. I just don't want to play this game.