Its Quiet Out There....Too Quiet?

The history of the placebo effect is a fascinating read :-)

It is indeed.  Its always quickly pointed out that the placebo effect is still an effect.  It could be worse, it could be homeopathic medicine.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HMGIbOGu8q0

Look at all the websites selling traditional shaving gear. There must be thousands of them. For these retailers to stay in business, they collectively must be move an immense amount of product. That says "mainstream", and also "increasingly commonplace" in the West.

The forums are very inward looking. A dropoff in new members and BST activity only means things are leveling off in one small part of the wetshaving universe. In many areas of our planet, traditional shaving never went away. Cost is very important in some places, and if it works don't fix it. Especially true if the fix comes at steep premium. Many places in India, for example, as well as in Eastern Europe and Russia. Those markets are where the action is, not an increasingly few small forums. Why do you think so many of the best razor blades are made in Russia and India? We benefit greatly by plugging into that marketplace, which remains very large indeed.

How a Russian Razor Blade Explains American Strategic Culture puts it thus:

"Shaving habits reflect culture. And while not all cultures shave the same, most of the daily shaving world uses some type of razor blade."

There is the mainstream. The cost savings on one hand and the hoarding on the other really do reflect Western culture and its shaving divisions. That being said, there is are many areas to explore beyond our keyboards and monitors, in shaving and everything else. Perhaps many who have taken up traditional shaving over the past 15 years, and even in the last two or three, are doing just that. It sure beats being parked on one's butt all the time in front of a computer reading about shaving, as opposed to just doing it each morning and enjoying the results for the rest of the day.

Does anybody use an electric razor anymore?

I'm sure they do, see adds on TV and the big stores are full of them.

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Does anybody use an electric razor anymore?

I occasionally use my 30 year old Remington when travelling. In the last ten years it has been used maybe four or five times. I always got reasonably good shaves from it, sometimes excellent shaves. I stopped using it regularly after replacement screens and blades became impossible to find, switching to a cartridge razor for a few years. After I switched to using a safety razor a decade ago, everything else fell by the wayside.

The first thing that came to mind when reading Marko's OP was the recent closure of Straight Razor Designs.  I'm sure others too must have seen this coming after SRD's sequence of increasingly steep site-wide discounts.  Even so, when at last their home page splash proclaimed that like all good things, SRD had to come to an end, I felt an unspoken debt of gratitude to Don and Lynn, and an empty feeling where SRD had been.  To say that the hole left by SRD will be filled soon enough is true up to a point, but it won't be the same as Don and Lynn.

I hope we are not going to see a cavalcade of closures involving the people whose work has helped create what we call "The Golden age of Traditional Shaving".  I'm not hitting the panic button either, but I too feel there are reasons for concern.  And like @"iamsms", I think we could lower the bar for newcomers.  I myself can respect different views about the extent to which we should do this, but as it is, I think we don't do this as well as we might.  For example, I have seen only one member in the shave-of-the-week threads who posts that he uses a cart, and he never shows the cart in the pictures.  Surely it would be easier to attract shavers who could keep their carts and hold their heads up high while they first learn to lather.  That said, I confess to having no idea of how to make that happen any better than it is now.

I am probably the guy with the SOTD posts that are with a cart razor (Mach 3) and who “never” shows the cart in his pics.
Indeed, I am only using a Mach 3 and never used any non-cart razor ever. Why? Well, I never had any issues in using carts - just the opposite - and never saw a need to use anything else. I got attracted to wet shaving through the brush and cream (now soap) routine and got fascinated by brushes. I went through more than 200 over the last 10 years and keep around 50 in an active rotation.

I never show a cart in my pics because my focus is truly on the brushes I use.

I do not get intimidated by folks who dismiss cart razors because I really don’t care what people use as long as they are happy with it.

And yes, I hold “my head high”, no worries...

The first thing that came to mind when reading Marko's OP was the recent closure of Straight Razor Designs.  I'm sure others too must have seen this coming after SRD's sequence of increasingly steep site-wide discounts.  Even so, when at last their home page splash proclaimed that like all good things, SRD had to come to an end, I felt an unspoken debt of gratitude to Don and Lynn, and an empty feeling where SRD had been.  To say that the hole left by SRD will be filled soon enough is true up to a point, but it won't be the same as Don and Lynn.

I hope we are not going to see a cavalcade of closures involving the people whose work has helped create what we call "The Golden age of Traditional Shaving".  I'm not hitting the panic button either, but I too feel there are reasons for concern.  And like @"iamsms", I think we could lower the bar for newcomers.  I myself can respect different views about the extent to which we should do this, but as it is, I think we don't do this as well as we might.  For example, I have seen only one member in the shave-of-the-week threads who posts that he uses a cart, and he never shows the cart in the pictures.  Surely it would be easier to attract shavers who could keep their carts and hold their heads up high while they first learn to lather.  That said, I confess to having no idea of how to make that happen any better than it is now.

I am probably the guy with the SOTD posts that are with a cart razor (Mach 3) and who “never” shows the cart in his pics.
Indeed, I am only using a Mach 3 and never used any non-cart razor ever. Why? Well, I never had any issues in using carts - just the opposite - and never saw a need to use anything else. I got attracted to wet shaving through the brush and cream (now soap) routine and got fascinated by brushes. I went through more than 200 over the last 10 years and keep around 50 in an active rotation.

I never show a cart in my pics because my focus is truly on the brushes I use.

I do not get intimidated by folks who dismiss cart razors because I really don’t care what people use as long as they are happy with it.

And yes, I hold “my head high”, no worries...

Hi German.  Indeed, you are the guy I had in mind, and I'm sorry I misunderstood you.  However, please don't misunderstand me either.  I did not intend to suggest that you personally were not "holding your head up high".  I was already moving on to the more general case.  It should be clear from my earlier post that I do not think any cart user should feel sheepish here, but I think many of them will feel that way.

Is it just me or has the wet shaving space just calmed right down? I find myself missing those heady days with various artisans releasing new products to overwhelming demand (maybe limited supply) with online storefronts crashing and the agony or ecstasy of scoring the sought after product...or not I had a daily ritual of checking the New Arrivals sections of my preferred vendors and the upcoming releases of my favourite artisans but lately there have been so few updates that I may only look in weekly or even less frequently. Please, tell me we haven't peaked!! Tell me there will be another Hallows or Nuavia Rosso!! Maybe I'm spoiled but I'm hoping 2019 brings us more awesomeness.

I would definitely tend to agree with you Marko. I think many of the current Artisans are struggling with maintaining the current inventory levels on an already daunting number of scents/products, and maybe they are having difficulty adding new products?

The natural solution has been to add Limited Release or Limited Edition items. However, while being incredibly exciting, I think this too can have it's drawbacks. It's hard for customers to keep track of what is available when and where, often missing the entire release before they hear of it. And when it comes to spending your hard earned funds, its often even harder to decide WHICH limited item to go with, knowing you might completely miss out on another release elsewhere. Some limited items have a higher price tag too which can add to the stress.

It's definitely an interesting time in our little industry. It's both good, and bad. Coming from a vendor's point of view, its often difficult to stand out and keep relevant when the artisans are constantly churning out products. Even if they're just limited items, we are often unable to stock them.

This is by no means a complaint, merely an observation. Seeing as I'm both a consumer as well as a vendor I have a unique perspective and appreciate both sides, as well as share in the frustrations!

Is it just me or has the wet shaving space just calmed right down?  I find myself missing those heady days with various artisans releasing new products to overwhelming demand (maybe limited supply) with online storefronts crashing and the agony or ecstasy of scoring the sought after product...or not  I had a daily ritual of checking the New Arrivals sections of my preferred vendors and the upcoming releases of my favourite artisans but lately there have been so few updates that I may only look in weekly or even less frequently.  Please, tell me we haven't peaked!!  Tell me there will be another Hallows or Nuavia Rosso!!  Maybe I'm spoiled but I'm hoping 2019 brings us more awesomeness.  

I would definitely tend to agree with you Marko. I think many of the current Artisans are struggling with maintaining the current inventory levels on an already daunting number of scents/products, and maybe they are having difficulty adding new products?

The natural solution has been to add Limited Release or Limited Edition items. However, while being incredibly exciting, I think this too can have it's drawbacks. It's hard for customers to keep track of what is available when and where, often missing the entire release before they hear of it. And when it comes to spending your hard earned funds, its often even harder to decide WHICH limited item to go with, knowing you might completely miss out on another release elsewhere. Some limited items have a higher price tag too which can add to the stress.

It's definitely an interesting time in our little industry. It's both good, and bad. Coming from a vendor's point of view, its often difficult to stand out and keep relevant when the artisans are constantly churning out products. Even if they're just limited items, we are often unable to stock them.

This is by no means a complaint, merely an observation. Seeing as I'm both a consumer as well as a vendor I have a unique perspective and appreciate both sides, as well as share in the frustrations!

In case it is not obvious, I added the red/bold emphasis to @"TheHandleBar"'s post.  With that said, I'd like to distinguish in what follows between consumers, vendors, and manufacturers of SE/LE products.  I will refer to the manufacturers collectively as "artisans", knowing that the vendor may be the artisan, may have commissioned the artisan, or may simply be retailing the artisan's product.  

I think consumers are increasingly aware that "Limited Release" and "Special Edition" items are revenue generating tools.  They are apparently a mixed blessing for vendors and IMO, they are more or less of a dice roll for consumers.  Some consumers value the dice roll aspect, but it is an aspect that cuts many ways.  In the case of hardware, an SE brush for example, the typical degree of chance is probably not very different from buying an off-the-shelf product.  But software is another matter.  When it comes to consumables, I would elaborate on the @"TheHandleBar"'s remarks to say that the consumer generally has only a vague idea about the scent, and may be confronted with a new formulation as well - exactly what some customers want but others do not.

For both better and worse, artisans differ widely in their approach to offering SE and LE products.  Some offer SE/LE items to supplement a core of stable products.  Their formulas may change, but infrequently, and their SE/LE items may be offered in a known formulation, differing only in fragrance.  Some artisans announce SEs that will be available for a limited, but extended period, and even make samples available.  At the other end of the spectrum, SE and LE products can dominate the product line, and may remain in stock too briefly for the consumer to do any homework or await the benefit of early adopter feedback.  

I restrain myself from judging any of these approaches as better or worse, since one ought always ask "Better or worse for whom?"  Consumers are widely and sometimes even contentiously different in their preferences, and artisans have their own varying issues to deal with.  Also, an approach may be better or worse other things being equal, but they never are equal.  However, I do admit to personal preferences (other things being equal ).  My hat is off to the artisans who announce a reasonably long period during which their SE/LE software will be available.  I especially appreciate those that make samples or small jars available at the beginning.  At this point, my interest in SE/LE software is pretty much limited to items I think may rival my top tier, which means that with luck, they will be superb, which means that I will want to buy them again.  With these artisans, I can do that, and I may even be able to try before I buy.

I am reminded of Ben Franklin's formula of doing well by doing good, and I always interpret that as doing good for customers.  What "doing good for customers" means may depend on who you ask, but I like to think that our market will remain competitive enough for long enough to accommodate at least one answer to that question (mine, of course ), and maybe more.  Perhaps it will.

Limited editions may have burned me out on shaving supplies entirely. Brushes with some slight difference in handle and hair - boy, did I fall for the B&B Limited Edition Eagle hype back in the day. Limited edition soaps/aftershaves, I never could figure out why they were limited edition because it's not like the last of the vetiver was used up. I have no idea if there are limited edition DE blades but it would not surprise me one bit.

At some point I started looking inward and realized that most common products are already excellent. When many of us old timers entered the hobby, we were somehow happy with old Superspeeds, Van der Hagen soap (or maybe an exotic import like DR Harris or Taylor of Old Bond Street), Tweezerman brushes (what I used exclusively for over a year!), whatever decent blades we could get, etc.

I was watching an old episode of Penn & Teller's Showtime show about "The Best" - people wanting to acquire the very best products - and one person they talked to put it this way. You buy a really nice car, the first week it's the best car you've ever driven. The second week, it's still a damn good car. Eventually it just becomes your car and there isn't anything all that special about it.

And so one formerly big spender (I do not want to know how much I spent on razors and brushes but it's significant) just dropped out of the market. Eventually I'll have to buy soap but those who have seen my thread in the Soaps and Creams forum know how long that will be.