Artificial scarcity

Soapmaking is not science.

Ok I'll bite, what is it then?

Soapmaking is not science.

Ok I'll bite, what is it then?

I say craftmanship.

Anyone can make soap. We've seen that the last years.

Soapmaking is not science.

Ok I'll bite, what is it then?

I say craftmanship.

Anyone can make soap. We've seen that the last years.

Actually when you look up close at the chemical reactions going on, it is a science. The art or craftsmanship comes with the addition of stuff to give more slick or better post feel and then of course the scents. Who could forget about the scents? And the marketing, labelling mystique ,branding and so forth is pretty important as well.

I love the pre-order system that Barrister_N_Mann mentioned above - it draws a great balance between making enough stock to satisfy demand and insuring that the soap maker doesn't lose his/her shirt by misreading the market. Soap maker gets the money up front so that there is no need to buy supplies on credit. Sure some folks don't like paying in advance a month or so but seriously, its not like you're prepaying for a car. If you actually can't swing the $20 prepayment then you've got other problems and you probably shouldn't be buying LE shaving soap.

I know this isn't the place for this video clip but the reference to science just forced me to do this - whenever the fellow says "brain surgery" insert "soap maker":

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=THNPmhBl-8I

Soapmaking is not science.

Ok I'll bite, what is it then?

I say craftmanship.

Anyone can make soap. We've seen that the last years.

Sure, anybody can make soap, but it probably isn't soap I want to buy.

Ok I'll bite, what is it then?

I say craftmanship.

Anyone can make soap. We've seen that the last years.

Actually when you look up close at the chemical reactions going on, it is a science.  The art or craftsmanship comes with the addition of stuff to give more slick or better post feel and then of course the scents.  Who could forget about the scents?  And the marketing, labelling mystique ,branding and so forth is pretty important as well.

I love the pre-order system that Barrister_N_Mann mentioned above - it draws a great balance between making enough stock to satisfy demand and insuring that the soap maker doesn't lose his/her shirt by misreading the market.  Soap maker gets the money up front so that there is no need to buy supplies on credit.  Sure some folks don't like paying in advance a month or so but seriously, its not like you're prepaying for a car.  If you actually can't swing the $20 prepayment then you've got other problems and you probably shouldn't be buying LE shaving soap.

I know this isn't the place for this video clip but the reference to science just forced me to do this - whenever the fellow says "brain surgery" insert "soap maker":

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=THNPmhBl-8I

Totally agree. It's just soap, I'm not losing my mind for a soap. Lol.

An unobtanium soap, if I think about it, really think about it, it sounds silly. I still get tempted but if I think about some of the things I do logically, sometimes I want to scream at myself.

Some of these hard to get soaps are really good, but some of the ones that are readily available are just as good or even better, you guys know our mantra here, YMMV.

It's nice to have variety, and if you get some thrill for snapping up the latest on flash sales, that's cool, if that's what rocks your boat. It doesn't necessarily make the product better, it just makes it harder to get. The proof is still in the pudding. How does it perform, does it really make your shaves better than your other products. That's the ultimate question here. At least in my mind it is.

When I was starting out, I was so consumed by the rarity and unobtaniums, that I always check the BST's first rather than the interesting conversations going on. Conversations I could learn a lot from and not cost me one cent. When I realized that, I had to stop myself. This isn't right. The hobby that I enjoyed so much has become a source of stress. I have to wait in the computer, stay up until midnight just to snap up something. It's like I was being a glutton for punishment.

Like Mark, I prefer the pre-order models. I became an even bigger fan of B&M when he did this. No hassles of being at the right place at the right time, and anyone who wants one gets one, and most of all very little room for scalpers.

Others can run their business as they see fit, and I respect that, but I cannot like their products if I cannot try their products. The ones I liked, are the ones I tried.

Unless it is a specialty product (ie grain in sacks or a large common hold) Freight ships are obscolescent and the proper term is container ship. Discussions of capitalism, an economic system that replaced the former feudal system in full a mere two centuries past is subject to itself being replaced and by many arguments overdue. Israeli made blades shipped for Mexican packaging are done so because of the extremely touchy history of their manufacturing site. I was banned by B&B for being anti semitic ( said term encompassing both Jews and Arabs) after explaining, in a neutral voice with references to Israeli sources the sad history of said industrial center which my Aunt Yola first told ( Romanian Shoa camp survivor) who married my maternal uncle after fleeing Palestine ;being shot by Polish Jews and taught me a little Yiddish, kosher cooking and keeping the high Holidays from her apartment in Fairfax L.A. Personna packaging remains a mystery over At B&B along with a great many other things.
The only artificial scarcity I know for sure and for certain is money. I am weary of not having enough to buy all the soaps I want, when I want.

"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.

I know that. I was just using it as an example of one of those products that sell out in 2 minutes. Probably not the best example since he only makes like 50 tins at a time...oh well.

Soapmaking is not science.

Ok I'll bite, what is it then?

I say craftmanship.

Anyone can make soap. We've seen that the last years.

Craftsmanship is fair, but soap by definition is made from a chemical reaction so it is science too. Soap is made via saponification, which is a chemical reaction from mixing oils or fats (acid) with lye (base) to form soap (salt).

Soap making may not be hard but there is a learning curve as with most things. You can't just toss a bunch of oils and water in a bowl with some lye and expect a bar of soap. You also have to learn how to work with fragrances, as some will seize the entire batch if you don't know what you're doing.

Alchemy is the supposed search to turn base materials into gold. More sophisticated scholars than my university comparative religion instructor know it was a mystical process of self discovery and personal elevation equal to Buddhist enlightenment or the Sufi Mystic's union with Allah. Soap making and soap using
can be alchemical. When Mystic Waters, PAA et al create product that 'does it' for an individual consumer they are 'in the moment' with Also Spracht Zarathustra and
a microsecond of cosmic consciousness voiced with wow! oh sheeit! or other sacred chant and an understanding of quantum physics Hawkings will never attain.
the only artificial scarcity I see is the excitement of the chase.

"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.

I know that. I was just using it as an example of one of those products that sell out in 2 minutes. Probably not the best example since he only makes like 50 tins at a time...oh well.

While i didn't mention him in my earlier post, thats who I had in mind when I wrote it. And as I said, as far as I'm concerned he, and others like him, don't exist in my reality. I don't exist in their reality. I'm happy, they're happy. Everything is good.