I Have Hit The "Wall"

.......and if you think people here get snooty about products sometimes you should read some of the more popular frag forums. Sahweet Jeebus every single one of you are patron saints compared to some of those people lol.

No, you're definitely not alone with that sentiment BPman. It actually gives me anxiety sometimes then I try to sell a bunch of it or just give it away.

I've been on this forum for a few years and I've seen members come and go.  I've sometimes wondered about the abrupt disappearance of formerly very active members and I'm sure there's any number of reasons, however, I have to wonder if a shaving acquisition disorder 12 step program might have been involved.  My name is Earl, and I'm a shave-a-holic....

Life has been busy and not so good for me (some parts).  My mother has been going down hill and I've had my own issues.  I hit the wall awhile ago though and have nothing new to add to conversations because I haven't been buying new things.  I do lurk/read here at least 2-3 times a week though.  I have a new interest in the last year or two......fragrances (EDTs, EDPs, etc.)  I only have about 10 or 15 though and I am done buying those also..  I learned my lesson with shaving.  I am not collecting fragrances and refuse to have 150 100 ml bottles of fragrance sitting around that I will never use in my lifetime.  I do miss talking with some of you though.

Sorry about your mom Dan, and I hope your own issues are at least manageable.  Could there be a harder way to put SAD into perspective?

I've been on this forum for a few years and I've seen members come and go.  I've sometimes wondered about the abrupt disappearance of formerly very active members and I'm sure there's any number of reasons, however, I have to wonder if a shaving acquisition disorder 12 step program might have been involved.  My name is Earl, and I'm a shave-a-holic....

Life has been busy and not so good for me (some parts).  My mother has been going down hill and I've had my own issues.  I hit the wall awhile ago though and have nothing new to add to conversations because I haven't been buying new things.  I do lurk/read here at least 2-3 times a week though.  I have a new interest in the last year or two......fragrances (EDTs, EDPs, etc.)  I only have about 10 or 15 though and I am done buying those also..  I learned my lesson with shaving.  I am not collecting fragrances and refuse to have 150 100 ml bottles of fragrance sitting around that I will never use in my lifetime.  I do miss talking with some of you though.

Sorry about your mom Dan, and I hope your own issues are at least manageable.  Could there be a harder way to put SAD into perspective?

Mine are manageable for sure thanks for asking.

First off, a big ‘Thank You’ to DFS for running an actual forum in which you can discuss and link to many topics that others do not allow. Those are not forums by my definition.

I stopped buying most North American artisan soaps except for a couple of specific fragrances a long time ago. I think that there’s an elephant in the room that’s not being discussed, and that’s many of them aren’t that good (performance and scent) compared to mainstream soaps, and many are very expensive to use as they contain a lot of water.

One of the big turn offs was scent, and I bought one that was ‘our take on Dior Eau Sauvage’ - you could smell that one in the candle section of the local chain grocery store. Artisan soap makers don’t seem to be artisan perfumers, and should stick to the simpler scents as do many of the European artisan makers like Martin de Candre and Castle Forbes. A trip to Yankee Candle does not enhance a masculine shaving soap for the most part.

As mentioned before about prices rising, you can easily spend $25 for an artisan soap that lasts 3 months if that. For $100-ish, you can buy almost 4 tubs of Castle Forbes from shaving.ie or Connaught, and for $18 ex-VAT you can get 1000ml of 3P that will last you 2 years, and it’s quite good. If you’re not wasting it, you can shave with 1/2g of CF, so that 200ml tub is a year’s worth of shaves. XPEC can be had for around $35 and it’s 250ml. Santa Maria Novella is $71 in the US, and that 220+ ml will last you most of a year, still under the cost of use of many NA artisan soaps, and it would be difficult to find ones as good as SMN. You can get most of a year if not a year from a tub of MdC for around $50. The new version of AdP returns to the Colonia scent, and though pricey, it’s also quite concentrated, so while using it is more expensive than many artisan soaps, it’s not as much more to use as you might think, using a large pea-size dollop instead of a large almond size dollop, and the fragrance is a classic. So when a NA artisan makes a $25-30 soap that will last a year and not smell like a candle shop, give me a call at the old folks home!

First off, a big ‘Thank You’ to DFS for running an actual forum in which you can discuss and link to many topics that others do not allow. Those are not forums by my definition.

I stopped buying most North American artisan soaps except for a couple of specific fragrances a long time ago. I think that there’s an elephant in the room that’s not being discussed, and that’s many of them aren’t that good (performance and scent) compared to mainstream soaps, and many are very expensive to use as they contain a lot of water.

One of the big turn offs was scent, and I bought one that was ‘our take on Dior Eau Sauvage’ - you could smell that one in the candle section of the local chain grocery store. Artisan soap makers don’t seem to be artisan perfumers, and should stick to the simpler scents as do many of the European artisan makers like Martin de Candre and Castle Forbes. A trip to Yankee Candle does not enhance a masculine shaving soap for the most part.

As mentioned before about prices rising, you can easily spend $25 for an artisan soap that lasts 3 months if that. For $100-ish, you can buy almost 4 tubs of Castle Forbes from shaving.ie or Connaught, and for $18 ex-VAT you can get 1000ml of 3P that will last you 2 years, and it’s quite good. If you’re not wasting it, you can shave with 1/2g of CF, so that 200ml tub is a year’s worth of shaves. XPEC can be had for around $35 and it’s 250ml. Santa Maria Novella is $71 in the US, and that 220+ ml will last you most of a year, still under the cost of use of many NA artisan soaps, and it would be difficult to find ones as good as SMN. You can get most of a year if not a year from a tub of MdC for around $50. The new version of AdP returns to the Colonia scent, and though pricey, it’s also quite concentrated, so while using it is more expensive than many artisan soaps, it’s not as much more to use as you might think, using a large pea-size dollop instead of a large almond size dollop, and the fragrance is a classic. So when a NA artisan makes a $25-30 soap that will last a year and not smell like a candle shop, give me a call at the old folks home!

Join the dragonsbeard pass-around I think you might like it.

...many are very expensive to use as they contain a lot of water.

As expensive wine for that matter. 

One of the big turn offs was scent, and I bought one that was ‘our take on Dior Eau Sauvage’ - you could smell that one in the candle section of the local chain grocery store. Artisan soap makers don’t seem to be artisan perfumers, and should stick to the simpler scents as do many of the European artisan makers like Martin de Candre and Castle Forbes. A trip to Yankee Candle does not enhance a masculine shaving soap for the most part...

You're "painting" with a broad brush here as well as not disguising your bias for Euro products very well. 

As mentioned before about prices rising, you can easily spend $25 for an artisan soap that lasts 3 months if that. For $100-ish, you can buy almost 4 tubs of Castle Forbes from shaving.ie or Connaught, and for $18 ex-VAT you can get 1000ml of 3P that will last you 2 years, and it’s quite good. If you’re not wasting it, you can shave with 1/2g of CF, so that 200ml tub is a year’s worth of shaves. XPEC can be had for around $35 and it’s 250ml. Santa Maria Novella is $71 in the US, and that 220+ ml will last you most of a year, still under the cost of use of many NA artisan soaps, and it would be difficult to find ones as good as SMN. You can get most of a year if not a year from a tub of MdC for around $50. The new version of AdP returns to the Colonia scent, and though pricey, it’s also quite concentrated, so while using it is more expensive than many artisan soaps, it’s not as much more to use as you might think, using a large pea-size dollop instead of a large almond size dollop, and the fragrance is a classic. So when a NA artisan makes a $25-30 soap that will last a year and not smell like a candle shop, give me a call at the old folks home!

I can well understand your frugality, however the "dam" has burst on withholding your obvious bias for anything European. 

I could not disagree with Steve56 more I don't think. We all have our preferences I guess.

No, you're definitely not alone with that sentiment BPman. It actually gives me anxiety sometimes then I try to sell a bunch of it or just give it away.

...I've been on this forum for a few years and I've seen members come and go.  I've sometimes wondered about the abrupt disappearance of formerly very active members and I'm sure there's any number of reasons, however, I have to wonder if a shaving acquisition disorder 12 step program might have been involved.  My name is Earl, and I'm a shave-a-holic....

I will venture an educated guess that of those who left many go back to the convenience of cartridge/disposable razors and some merely shave along with a bare bones safety razor kit that simply works for them. Not everyone goes full "moonbat" and starts spending Big $$. As well, I'd wager good money there are far more lurkers reading shaving forums than posters. It would be interesting however to know what % of business at WCS & Maggard was repeat and what % was new in the past year. I do know Brad Maggard has stated that the "Goldrush" days of a few years back have ended.

Straight from the horse's mouth, 2019 YTD Maggard has 56.3% new customers and 43.7% returning. They don't do advertising either so perhaps the thrill is not gone, eh?

Even if the barrier to duplication is that you use ridiculously expensive ingredients you still have to contend with the fact that the market may not want to pay that much more for something that may or may not be that much better.

 
Sebum anyone? 

Here's something I found in the same vein that is interesting:

CUSTOMER RETENTION STATISTICS

• The probability of selling to an existing customer is 60-70 percent. The probability of selling to a new prospect is 5-20 percent.
  
  
• 80 percent of your future profits will come from just 20 percent of your existing customers.
  
  
• 65 percent of a company’s business comes from existing customers.
  
  
• 32 percent of executives say retaining existing customers is a priority.
  
  
• A typical American business will lose 15 percent of its customers each year.
  
  
• 27 percent of small business owners estimate that 11-20 percent of first time customers don’t return to their business...
  

https://smallbiztrends.com/2016/10/custo...stics.html

Lol, it’s OK for everyone to be biased toward their personal preferences, though bias is not the right word I think - bias implies that there isn’t a valid reason involved, which is a very high bar especially where something like fragrance is concerned. And no soaps suffered because of my preferences!