How Much Higher Can The Bar Go?

A word of caution...popularity is not synonymous with quality. and undeniably, of lower quality...

Of so true, and along these lines ...

Economies of scale is a big thing. If a major company can produce product A for $15 and a small company for $25. Guess which one the public buys.

I doubt its a coincidence that the biggest seller is TOBS sandalwood on Amazon. Cheap and reputable despite all the artisans.

 A word of caution...popularity is not synonymous with quality. and undeniably, of lower quality...

Of so true, and along these lines ...

Economies of scale is a big thing. If a major company can produce product A for $15 and a small company for $25. Guess which one the public buys.

I doubt its a coincidence that the biggest seller is TOBS sandalwood on Amazon. Cheap and reputable despite all the artisans.

Yea, until Company A buys small company b, reduces the quality of the product to save costs, and raises the price.

Then it is up to a skilled artisan to provide a higher quality product so that the people that care about performance can get it...

Again...volume does not equate to quality. What do you bet that the majority of TOBS Sandalwood sales from Amazon are made by new shavers just getting started in the hobby? How many of those initial sales translate into repeat customers? This is a much more important and telling variable within the equation...

My guess, and yes...purely a guess...is that very few of those Amazon sales for shaving goods turn into repeat customers. SOME of those initial Amazon sales might find Maggard's or West Coast Shaving and buy their TOBS from them, but I'd be willing to bet that the majority move on to other vendors and artisan products...

Purely conjecture on my part, but I do believe it to be sound...

My guess, and yes...purely a guess...is that very few of those Amazon sales for shaving goods turn into repeat customers. SOME of those initial Amazon sales might find Maggard's or West Coast Shaving and buy their TOBS from them, but I'd be willing to bet that the majority move on to other vendors and artisan products...

Purely conjecture on my part, but I do believe it to be sound...

I will guess that the majority of buyers on Amazon remain buyers of Amazon, getting free shipping, two day delivery, the cheapest prices possible, and do not move on to other resellers simply because money talks. It all adds up. And they do not move to "artisans" because unlike "us", its just stuff to shave with, and not an obsession.

My guess, and yes...purely a guess...is that very few of those Amazon sales for shaving goods turn into repeat customers. SOME of those initial Amazon sales might find Maggard's or West Coast Shaving and buy their TOBS from them, but I'd be willing to bet that the majority move on to other vendors and artisan products...

Purely conjecture on my part, but I do believe it to be sound...

I will guess that the majority of buyers on Amazon remain buyers of Amazon, getting free shipping, two day delivery, the cheapest prices possible, and do not move on to other resellers simply because money talks. It all adds up. And they do not move to "artisans" because unlike "us", its just stuff to shave with, and not an obsession.

And the reality probably lies somewhere in the middle...I say that because I know of several Amazon buyers that have since moved on to purchase from other vendors and artisans after making their initial purchases on Amazon because of pricing. I am one of them!

Truth be told, grim , I don't entirely disagree with you. I just enjoy playing devil's advocate and trying to explore more options than can be seen just exploring the surface...Your responses always provoke a lot of thought, and I appreciate that.

I was just re-reading my post immediately above and it looks like I'm implying that those artisans who've continued to improve and innovate didn't get it right the first time.  Thats not what I meant at all, in fact, to name names here, the Barrister And Mann original white label soap is still better, IMO than most of the soaps on the market today and their glissant base soap is better still.  The artisans who strive to improve and innovate notwithstanding the fact that they got it right the first time are the ones that keep raising the bar.
Mark

I've been trying to love Glissant, but I still like the White Label and Latha bases better. I have more than 20 white label soaps, 8 tubs of Latha, and 2 Glissant. For some reason, I haven't been able to get the same cushion from Glissant. I'm in the minority with it. Maybe it's my very hard water, but for me the other bases just work better.

Give it time. I was the same at first, but I think it was because I was used to lathering White Label and didn't like the minor change. Now I like and enjoy using both, but I do give the slight nod to Glissant for all around luxury lather.

Truth be told, grim , I don't entirely disagree with you. I just enjoy playing devil's advocate and trying to explore more options than can be seen just exploring the surface...Your responses always provoke a lot of thought, and I appreciate that.

I know, its all good And of course its probably somewhere in the middle.

Personally most my top favorites are mass produced
La toja, cella, dvh,tabac, and tobs
I feel they preform better or just as good as any my artisans soaps.

I guess I am not a Fanboy of my favourite soap.