(This post was last modified: 05-22-2020, 11:54 AM by GlazedBoker.)
(05-22-2020, 12:20 AM)surfboat Wrote:(05-21-2020, 04:57 PM)GlazedBoker Wrote:Its a fair comparison/argument but with different constraints, perhaps another strategy would be better for H&S' bottom line. A related question is whether or not Aji feels his product is accessible at a higher price? One might not know it based on this forum, but it's a small subset willing to spend that much on a razor.(05-21-2020, 03:16 PM)surfboat Wrote: As a one man show, isn't part of wolfman's pricing aimed at reducing the amount of product he needs to turn out annually to make a certain income?
Perhaps but, I wasn't questioning his business motif or on how Wolfman perceives to control his costs versus profit, availability and demand. As DanLaw above put it, it's about as good as it can be said...
Well, maybe we should look at it in a different way perhaps. Granted, it will always be $$$ for the bottom line. These artisans are not in it to lose money. I think we should look at it this way, in a sense. It’s obvious that these higher end razors are catered to the upper tier of the razor enthusiasts. Not necessarily the ones that have the deeper pockets and have endless amounts to throw into this rabbit hole but, will also include the shaver that will buy one or perhaps 2 premium razors in their lifetime and want just that. A high end tool that gets the job done while providing pride in ownership of a top notch product. The far majority of shavers are not looking to acquire the next greatest and uber luxurious hyper exotic alloyed razor at every release. But, make no mistake about it that those same shavers tune into these forums and read these posts to see what the razor acquisitions zealots are clamoring for and how does Ti razor A (or any higher end alloy, your pick) perform in comparison with Ti razor B or C and so forth and quite a few are saving their pennies to acquire them. Those are the silent ones and the bigger group that far outsize the hardcore talkers such as ourselves that scrutinize every new creation and salivate over breaking down every single facet of the new rock star razor of the moment.
Ultimately, I think these razor artisans know where their market is and realize that there are various stages or groupings in the wet shaver market that they can fulfill or, just cater too. I don’t have numbers or statistics to prove one way or the other but, it seems that the wet shaving market is growing. Perhaps not at leaps and bounds or at the rate that it was 3-4 years ago but, I think there is a slow, methodical and steady growth of new shave converts to more traditional shaving. Those newcomers start low and gradually progress to the next tier and so on and so on. Granted there are those that can care less about moving up the high end razor pyramid and are happy/content with where they fit. Nowadays and I can’t possibly confirm if it’s a trend or not but, I see those newer shave entrants come in and purchase a razor or two and then all of a sudden they jump right into the deep waters and go for the good stuff. Whereas in times before the norm was usually let me acquire 10, 15 or whatever number of cheap, reliable razors and work my way to my personal grail razor. I’m only speaking of the modern high end razors today and not the other Gorilla in the room (which would need a whole other thread to discuss) of vintage/classic razors for those that chase in that realm as well.
For now, it seems as though the trend is there for producing higher end/exotic alloy razors to consumers. You see it with a couple of artisan manufacturer mainstays such as Timeless, Wolfman and more importantly even Blackland is looking at creating Ti designed razors. H&S has been around much shorter than the 3 previous merchants/manufacturers I mentioned but, it looks as though with their earlier releases and consequent success, they’ve established a base and have set up a business module to see and read market trends in this super niche market. Pricing and value will ALWAYS be subjective and up for debate as long as the world turns and humanity is still kicking. As gentlemen I guess we are just going to have to respectfully agree to disagree especially when greenbacks are involved and how we determine value & cost.....