Let's talk about shaving kits...

Hi, Guys,

I've had an urge to turn and sell some shaving kits but I'm blowed if I can see that there's a profit in it. By the time you purchase the stand, Mach 3 razor kit, the bristles, the bushings, the acrylic blanks, etc. etc. the total cost outweighs what you could make? Or am I wrong?

I'd like to hear your views, fellas. Goodnight.

Bob.

I agree 100% Bob. I would never make them to sell although I have thought about making 1 or 2 for presents !!!

Yeah the outlay can be a bit high, but like Terry says making them for gifts is a good idea .. Around my hood man and wife share a Bic ...

I agree Bob, unless you buy in bulk and obtain at least a 25% discount forget even making anything like what you need to make and decent profit....

This is exactly the problem where pen kits are concerned, to make a profit the prices have been trimmed and trimmed and now the manufacturers have reduced the quality. So I would expect the same to happen to shaving kits in the future to get them to sell and encourage us to buy them,,,, :

Jim said:

Around my hood man and wife share a Bic ...

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Thanks for sharing that,

Very nice to make one for yourself if that's your fancy.
The ones I have seen for sale as you say are ridiculously priced and to my mind not worth the money.
And others are so flaming fancy I wouldn't wanna shave with it, I would wanna wear it.
Bloody load of dingly dangly bling init?
Mans deburring equipment? More like a set of bloody Earings.
I don't want my bathroom to be a showpeice of ornaments, It's not a place I want to spent much time looking around.

What was that old Joke about the Shampoo Head and Shoulders?
I use the Bernard Manning version splash n f***k off.

Jim said:

Yeah the outlay can be a bit high, but like Terry says making them for gifts is a good idea .. Around my hood man and wife share a Bic ...

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We have a different meaning for the word "hood" darn sarf init blud?

I made a couple, but to make a profit you're having to market them at around £75 to £100 for a set. Mervyn sells his at £185 ...

I had a lot of interest in them, but nobody actually put their hand in their pocket.

The set I did from TR was 20 quid, the quality is OK, brush could be a little better.

Laburnum stick I used was 3 quid (used half a 6quid stick)

Glue and finishes minimal.

So you could sell between 40-50 and make a reasonable return.

I showed the one I did for Dad in the office and straight out 2 people said I'd pay 50 for that. Now don't get me wrong my guys get well paid, so they may be very different.

Would joe public pay that? Don't know.

Mervyn has them on the site at huge amounts, but we don't know if they sell do we?

To me I'm with Terry they make a nice gift but I'm not sure about the retail viability.

They do look good thou when turned but i couldnt justefy paying out that amount of cash for a shavering kit.

Hi, guys,

Thank you for all your responses! I see that most of you think as I do - they'd be nice to make as gifts but too costly to sell. Maybe David from Timberbits is reading this? If so - "C'mon, David, get those shaving kits in, matey!"

Bob.

There's a shop down town selling complete shaving sets for £32. OK, the handles are horrible white plastic etc, but the shop probably bought them for £20 complete from a wholesaler.

Hi, Mike,

Yep, that's to be expected, I suppose. Here's us fishing around for the various components to assemble a shaving kit, and there's the Chinese, who not only make those same components but sell them fully assembled as well. Bit of an impossible situation for us to compete against, ennit, LOL!

Bob.

As Dave says, Merv sells his for £185 , but you need to aim at the sort of market that will pay that sort of price. You are not going to sell them at that price in the craft fair in the village hall.

I have made a couple for myself and friends but not tried selling them.

PhillH said:

The set I did from TR was 20 quid, the quality is OK, brush could be a little better.

Laburnum stick I used was 3 quid (used half a 6quid stick)

Glue and finishes minimal.

So you could sell between 40-50 and make a reasonable return.

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Only as a pure hobbyist, Phil. If you approach this as a commercial enterprise (and we are talking about selling, so I'd think that's a given) your material costs would ultimately represent around 15-20% of your gross retail. Direct labour, direct overheads (heating, lighting, cost of space) add about another 25-35% while your selling costs (petrol, time spent at fairs or on stalls, stand fees, insurance etc etc) add about another 15-20%. Profit (the reason you don't just turn these for some other enterprising chap) makes up the balance, with some room to discount without losing money. On that model you would be asking about £120 for your kit.

As an aside I am preparing for a show in April at the O2, and would want four or five shaving kits. If you're willing to do them for £40 I would be interested in buying them from you rather than turning them myself. Interested?