(03-10-2016, 02:40 AM)Len Wrote: Do you agree, or don't you, that a seller of a product should disclose its full provenance, when such provenance may not be immediately recognized by potential customers?
I agree that many vendors use different sourcing options to provide entry levels razors at inexpensive prices, and that a very good portion of these razors are all very similar to each other. Some may even be made in the same plants!
PAA clearly states that their DOC razor is based on a vintage razor.
Maggard's has a very nice, and quite detailed, description of the process they went through with their manufacturers during the 3 different iterations of their safety bar offering, in an effort to bring a product to their customers based on customer input.
Muhle, EJ, Merkur, Parker, Wieishi, Wilkinson Sword, Maggard's, PAA, West Coast Shaving, Italian Barber, WSP, VDH, and on and on and on...they ALL use chrome plated zermak heads and caps, they all have low cost introductory options, and they all offer beginner razors that have very, very, VERY similar shave experiences due to similar gap and exposure specifications. Whether you choose safety bar or butterfly door, you can find offerings of nearly identical dimensions and shave experiences from each of the above companies.
Some of them make their own hardware. Most of them do not. But if you don't know that a Muhle R89 is basically the same razor as an Edwin Jagger de89, that is YOUR fault, not the manufacturers. If you don;t know that a Wieishi, a Van der Hagen, and a Micro Touch One are all virtually identical, that's on YOU, not the manufacturer.
And it is NOT deceitful of the manufacture to fail to disclose the fact that you can buy an incredibly similar razor elsewhere. That's just silly
Now...that razor blade manufacturer that makes blank blades and will print whatever you want on them, even if it is a registered trademark? THAT is something to get upset about.
If a vendor was selling generic products under brand names? THAT would be something to be upset about.
But accusing vendors of being intentionally misleading and dishonest because they don't outline the design process of their razor manufacturing plant is ludicrous...at best. Accusing them of being "ghetto hustlers" because they don't tell you where you can find a razor that is very similar to the one they are selling is just silly. Really silly.