Are we being robbed for razor blades in Ireland?

Large fun bags

Are we being robbed for razor blades in Ireland? 18e for 4 Gillette Fusion blades etc.

Atlantic Dawn

Seem to be the same price all over the world.

zl1whqvjs75cdy

Get a double edge safety razor. 100 blades for 5 quid. Gillette can **** right off.

Harry Palmr

I ditched Gilette and swapped to the Lidl system - can't recall the brand (its not on the razors but they are black and orange) - the refills are 2.50 for pack of 8 and typically last a week assuming one shave a day. Once you get acclimatised to their action they offer a shave at least as good as famous name blades while for me they nick the skin much less often when new even when applying 'too much' pressure.

faceman

I gave up buying the fancy blades when I saw how cheap they were in other countries. Granted I've a beard now!

I find for my needs a bag of disposable razors for a few quid does the trick.

Second Toughest in_the Freshers

Or grow a beard...

Large fun bags

Second Toughest in_the Freshers wrote:

Or grow a beard...

I have one. But u still need to keep a shape. I'm not really into the bum look

salamanca22

Get a safety razor, while the initial investment might be large the long term savings are incredible. Plus it is a better shave.

Large fun bags

Atlantic Dawn wrote:

Seem to be the same price all over the world.

No. Bought 50 sets of 8 in Poland for 500e. Works out at a tenner per set. 30e plus here

Insect Overlord

Large fun bags wrote: »

Second Toughest in_the Freshers wrote: »

Or grow a beard...

I have one. But u still need to keep a shape. I'm not really into the bum look

Yup, same here. I use a Merkur with Feather blades to keep my neck and cheek bones clear.

Orion

Muhle R89 Grande with Astra blades here. Astra blades about 16c each from shaving.ie if buying in bulk.

newacc2015

Large fun bags wrote: »

No. Bought 50 sets of 8 in Poland for 500e. Works out at a tenner per set. 30e plus here

What are the wages in Poland? I know about 7/8 years ago. You could earn the equivalent years salary in a month in Ireland. Blades are cheaper in Poland like most things, as wages are a lot less in Poland.

It is like saying Marlboro is ripping off Irish consumers as a pack of 20 is about 60 cents in the Philippines, where as it is nearly €10 here. The wages and taxes in the Philippines is a fraction to here.

Lets compare like with like. Gillette 8 pack in the US is about €30 plus sales taxes, which means they are actually more expensive than Ireland, as I assume razor blades in Ireland at €30 a pack have 23% VAT included.
http://www.walgreens.com/store/c/gillette-fusion-proglide-razor-refill-cartridges/ID=prod6022240-product
http://www.tesco.ie/groceries/Product/Details/?id=260664144

P&G arent ripping off Irish consumers. They just know Irish consumer are wealthy like American consumers and will pay a premium for what is considered the best razor blade by some consumers.

nc6000

newacc2015 wrote: »

P&G arent ripping off Irish consumers. They just know Irish consumer are wealthy like American consumers and will pay a premium for what is considered the best razor blade by some consumers.

That is probably the exact definition of a rip off! :rolleyes:

mahoganygas

Revenue from P&G's grooming division went down when people started growing beards again. They call it the 'Hipster effect'.

Rumour has it that P&G pay advertising agencies to show clean shaven men in advertisements in a hope to make beards look uncool again. These ads have nothing to do with P&G products.

Similarly, domino's pizza's share price moves inversely to the price of dairy commodities. The price of cheese has a massive impact on their cost of production.

salamanca22

mahoganygas wrote: »

Revenue from P&G's grooming division went down when people started growing beards again. They call it the 'Hipster effect'.

Rumour has it that P&G pay advertising agencies to show clean shaven men in advertisements in a hope to make beards look uncool again. These ads have nothing to do with P&G products.

Similarly, domino's pizza's share price moves inversely to the price of dairy commodities. The price of cheese has a massive impact on their cost of production.

Raising the price though will just move people away from using their products. I gave up on the mach3 when it started costing more for blades then it did for food for my dog. Now I probably spend 30-40 a year on shaving supplies and get a better shave by moving to a safety razor.

mansize

Have you heard the good news? Beards are more cost effective

greasepalm

i like the bit on fusion packet that their blades last a very long time cant remember how long but i only get max 3 weeks out of packet and no gliding over skin anymore.hmmm a no no?

tayto lover

Fusion are not as good as they used to be. Haven't been for some time.
We are being ripped off with them.
I use an electric shaver and when I need a good shave every 3 days or so a Lidl blade.
Nor going to be ripped-off anymore.

LeBash

I wouldn't say it's just P&G newacc2015. I would say the retailers have a big markup on it as well. All grooming things and washing things like powered dishwasher tablets etc are crazy here. Go up North and see the difference even with the currency so out of normal wack.

+1 on whoever recommended Lidl. I have the Shark from there and there is nothing wrong with it.

emo72

Think I'll try the lidl ones. Is there just the one type in there?

salamanca22

I tried both the aldi and lidl ones about 2 years ago, I found that if I put any amount of pressure on my face the blade would fall off the handle of both types. Perhaps this has been fixed?

Del2005

mansize wrote: »

Have you heard the good news? Beards are more cost effective

Not when you consider how much maintenance they require, unless you're going for the hobo look. And as the OP has a beard yet still asking about shaving doesn't seem to be very cost effective.

LeBash

salamanca22 wrote: »

I tried both the aldi and lidl ones about 2 years ago, I found that if I put any amount of pressure on my face the blade would fall off the handle of both types. Perhaps this has been fixed?

Add your reply here.
Lidl one I have is 2 maybe 3 years old and no problems. Maybe you got a faulty

mansize

Remember when P&G finally admitted as to how many shaves a blade would last!!!

Saw an Xmas special 3 rows of cartridges none fully filled!!!

Large cardboard backing though!

My heart bleeds for P&G/Gilette

KungPao

I just use a cheap 2 blade disposables from Boots. Does the job for me.

I shave in the shower also, helps the shaving process too I suppose...all that steam and hot water.

Are electric shavers by the wayside these days? Used to be all the rage in the 80s and 90s.

salamanca22

LeBash wrote: »

Add your reply here.
Lidl one I have is 2 maybe 3 years old and no problems. Maybe you got a faulty

Yeah, that seems likely seeing the other praises in here.

KungPao wrote: »

I just use a cheap 2 blade disposables from Boots. Does the job for me.

I shave in the shower also, helps the shaving process too I suppose...all that steam and hot water.

Are electric shavers by the wayside these days? Used to be all the rage in the 80s and 90s.

I hate electric shavers, my father loves them though. Even though he is my father we have different skin complexions so I guess it really is different from person to person.

theteal

You're only being robbed if you're paying those ridiculous prices. The less people that buy them, the prices will start to drop.

I got a double pack of mach 3s about 2 years ago for less than a tenner online somewhere that I use for quick shaves. For proper shaves I use my DE which I still have about 50 odd blades from the starter kit the wife bought me over a year ago. Not spent a penny on anything else although I am due a new tub of shave cream so that'll be about £10.

I don't really understand why the OP would spend big money on "premium" blades if he has a beard. Buying a fusion to tidy up the edges seems like much overkill to me.

dr.fuzzenstein

salamanca22 wrote: »

Get a safety razor, while the initial investment might be large the long term savings are incredible. Plus it is a better shave.

You have me intrigued! Any good source?
Currently I'm using the Aldi Lacura 3 blade system, I like it a lot and the refills are dirt cheap. Shaving gel, Aldi or Lidl, doesn't seem to be a massive difference between those or even the "premium" (sucker) version. And I even think 3 blades is overkill, but cheapo 2 blade razors are mostly dreadful.
No way would I throw that much money away for a razorblade simply for the reason that some bloke who is famous for kicking an inflated pig's bladder round a field uses it, or at least is depicted using it. I leave that to gullible people with too much money.

nc6000

dr.fuzzenstein wrote: »

You have me intrigued! Any good source?
Currently I'm using the Aldi Lacura 3 blade system, I like it a lot and the refills are dirt cheap. Shaving gel, Aldi or Lidl, doesn't seem to be a massive difference between those or even the "premium" (sucker) version. And I even think 3 blades is overkill, but cheapo 2 blade razors are mostly dreadful.
No way would I throw that much money away for a razorblade simply for the reason that some bloke who is famous for kicking an inflated pig's bladder round a field uses it, or at least is depicted using it. I leave that to gullible people with too much money.

I don't think they still use pig bladders for footballs.

Orion

dr.fuzzenstein wrote: »

You have me intrigued! Any good source?

About 90 initial investment for a mixed set of 50 blades, a decent razor, brush, shaving cream. After that blades cost about 16c each if you buy in bulk - 50 Astra blades about €8. Much better shave than any cartridge razor and it's enjoyable to shave. Bought most of my kit from shaving.ie, some from Knights in Stephen's Green. Found some other stores in the UK and US that seem good too but yet to use them.

the_pen_turner

I don't under stand the cost difference
Aldi disposables are 1 euro (or less) for a load of them. the fusion are 16 euro for 4 heads.
I find the heads only last few uses . after that they hurt . I don't shave every day so maybe the stubble is harder on them. if you shaved everyday they would last longer.
I also notice that if they don't dry out after using them they loose their edge faster. I tried putting them on the radiator to dry and it helps a bit


now I use Aldi cheapest . I use 2 per go. for the last year I have had no problems with them . they don't break or cut me unless im careless. some cheap razors do.

dr.fuzzenstein

Orion wrote: »

About 90 initial investment for a mixed set of 50 blades, a decent razor, brush, shaving cream. After that blades cost about 16c each if you buy in bulk - 50 Astra blades about €8. Much better shave than any cartridge razor and it's enjoyable to shave. Bought most of my kit from shaving.ie, some from Knights in Stephen's Green. Found some other stores in the UK and US that seem good too but yet to use them.

Thank you fellow Pastafarian!

greasepalm

agree the fusion power i bought just before xmas are now down to 1 shave left then bin.
my advice is dont buy those crappy blades as not long lasting and 3-4 shaves only.

dr.fuzzenstein

greasepalm wrote: »

agree the fusion power i bought just before xmas are now down to 1 shave left then bin.
my advice is dont buy those crappy blades as not long lasting and 3-4 shaves only.

And still work out cheaper. Aldi 3 blade refill is dirt cheap and lasts me fine. 90% of price difference is paying for name and marketing.

veetwin

Just paid €19 for Fusion blades 4 pack in Amsterdam so to answer OP they appear to be hideously expensive in other places also.

tayto lover

The Lidl 5 blade razors are brilliant and last longer than the Fusion blades. Cost 4.99 for 5 heads too so much cheaper. Fair play to Lidl.