Bulk Wholesaler Phenomenon

If you check out their shipping page they have pretty much the whole world listed by zone. 

I don’t think you will necessarily have to buy from listed artisans only from them but also from select vendors who they’ve got a deal with which would include a higher price. You can’t have someone undercutting the price otherwise the cartel, I mean marketing plan falls apart. Check your regular vendors and the listed artisans’ websites. You might find certain brands unavailable or prices marked up a bit more.

So if this is for sales in EU then, to be honest I understand it more from the standpoint of the US artisan.  I have to imagine that if they want to get some product sold in EU it must be a royal pain in the rear to deal with different foreign retailers, different customs requirements for various countries, different potential sales and tax reporting implications for what they send to each different country, etc. 

Could the potential upside of this be EU markets getting some US artisan products that they wouldn’t have otherwise gotten? Or is the bigger concern here that some EU products will become more expensive in the EU?

That's the neat part of the EU, there is no customs between countries. If a product is able to be sold in one country, it's also able to be sold in another in the EU (barring certain rare exceptions).

What BarbieriUniti does is they do the certifications process in the EU for the artisan and in turn get the exclusive rights to distribute it in the EU...

However this has no effect on buyers in the US.

So if this is for sales in EU then, to be honest I understand it more from the standpoint of the US artisan.  I have to imagine that if they want to get some product sold in EU it must be a royal pain in the rear to deal with different foreign retailers, different customs requirements for various countries, different potential sales and tax reporting implications for what they send to each different country, etc. 

Could the potential upside of this be EU markets getting some US artisan products that they wouldn’t have otherwise gotten? Or is the bigger concern here that some EU products will become more expensive in the EU?

That's the neat part of the EU, there is no customs between countries. If a product is able to be sold in one country, it's also able to be sold in another in the EU (barring certain rare exceptions).

What BarbieriUniti does is they do the certifications process in the EU for the artisan and in turn get the exclusive rights to distribute it in the EU...

However this has no effect on buyers in the US.

To say it has no effect on non EU buyers is probably wishful thinking.  A manufacturer must keep their EU margin in mind when they set a price (usually it is higher).  

Ideally a North American manufacturer would say ok, here is my price in the US and Canada in their local currency or just set it to USD.  Here is my price in the EU (and add 5 Euro to it for the agent). As for the UK, no agent, no fee, but shipping is painful in cost.

I already see an effect in Canada and the US.  

I don’t think this will have much impact on major brands like Feather and those others that already have an effective global reach. They don’t need to do a deal with a bulk wholesaler and are likely on the brands list just to fill out a one stop shopping offering. 

I’m sure the US based artisans who are participating in this have their reasons and they reckon it will work for them. They must figure any losses in sales from the small, forum frequenting, hobby wetshaving enthusiast market will be more than made up by the increased sales that the global exposure the bulk wholesaler promises them.  Maybe that’s true. Maybe not. I’m not sure your average global shaving customer is interested in shelling out $35+ for a tub of soap or in buying more than one a year or however long it takes for them to go through it. I don’t think any amount of outrage from their existing/former customer base is going to change their minds at this point so I guess we’ll see how it all works out.

Stirling is listed as one of their vendors.  On Stirling's website, it does not appear that their "direct to consumer" prices have changed.  I cannot believe that a wholesaler can force a vendor to increase their prices in a direct to consumer sale, from their own website.  If this is true, then a vendor dealing with this wholesaler will have no reason for a "direct to consumer" website.  In today's digital marketplace, IMHO, this would be suicide for the vendor...since an essential relationship with each customer would be lost.  Stirling has a retail store.  Would their store prices have to be increased for their "direct to consumer" sales from their shelves?  No vendor in their right minds would ever sign a contract that would force them to lose the ability to sell their products directly to whomever they choose.  I believe this whole situation is about increasing each vendors marketplace in areas they would otherwise have difficulty in reaching, without the help of a worldwide wholesaler.  I do not believe US vendors like Stirling will surrender their ability to sell directly to customers at prices they determine.  Well, as Forrest Gump said..."Stupid is as stupid does".

To say it has no effect on non EU buyers is probably wishful thinking.  A manufacturer must keep their EU margin in mind when they set a price (usually it is higher).  

Not sure I understand the argument here, prices can vary by region. Just like with any product.

So I don't see why this would have an impact on US buyers. Prices have been risen by artisans as a result of hikes in supply costs, packaging costs, etc.

For 25 years I have been buying soaps around the world, specially from USA out of curiosity to try them.
During last years thanks to some Europeans and Italian seller I was able to try things that I couldn't find here in Italy.
obviously some soaps cost €40/50 versus $29/39 etc …

but they are not medicines and I prefer to have the possibility to choose whether to buy them or not than not having them at all on the market .

I hoped that one day certain barriers would disappear and buying would become easier but I was wrong


Inviato dal mio iPhone utilizzando Tapatalk

We work with Barbieri Uniti as a distributor in the EU, but they do not (and have never requested to) purchase entire batches of product to control price and availability. Our current shipment will include batches of product previously released (things like Midnight Special, Fougère Gothique, Lime, etc.) to be made available in the EU properly, but I've never heard of a distributor engaging in such a practice as you described. Who told you this, Marko?

I have no knowledge of details of any arrangements as I’m assuming they’re subject to confidentiality so I’m just speculating. I really do think it’s all about accessing larger markets and it’s quite possibly the best shot some of these artisans have at staying in business. Think about it. As much as the traditional wet shaving space has “exploded” over the past decade or so, the enthusiast wet shaving market probably best represented on the various shaving forums, is not really very big. No artisan is going to build an empire on our backs. The themes I see lately are a lot of us realizing we have too much product and vowing to cut back. That’s not good for artisans. I also see, looking in the rear view mirror, the road littered with tombstones of artisans that came on the scene and had their moments but are gone now. There’s probably many reasons for this but I’ll bet a recurring factor is they just can’t make enough money to justify the time and effort required to stay relevant. 

We’ll see how it all pans out but as a member said above, maybe it’s better that we have access to these artisan brands at a higher price than not at all.

We work with Barbieri Uniti as a distributor in the EU, but they do not (and have never requested to) purchase entire batches of product to control price and availability. Our current shipment will include batches of product previously released (things like Midnight Special, Fougère Gothique, Lime, etc.) to be made available in the EU properly, but I've never heard of a distributor engaging in such a practice as you described. Who told you this, Marko?

Hi Will, thanks for weighing in. There’s nothing like facts to illuminate a discussion. I was in the midst of typing the post above and hadn’t seen your post until afterwards. If there’s anything I posted there that appears argumentative with your post it wasn’t intended but just a lack of knowledge.