Unilever buys Dollar Shave Club

CNBC announced today that Unilever bought out Dollar Shave club http://www.cnbc.com/2016/07/20/unilever-...n-ceo.html.  The interesting thing to me wasn't the fact the buyout was for $1,000,000,000 http://fortune.com/2016/07/19/unilever-b...1-billion/

Rather, it was the TV discussion on the razor cartridges and prices. I can find no video on it but basically there was a claim that although Harry's and Dollar Shave club cost only $1 or $2 per cartridge, in fact cost per shave was cheaper for P&G Pro fusion cartridges. In other words, consumers got 2 or 3 shaves with former cartridges vs much more with Gillette. I don't know if this is true of not but it kind of makes sense on a dollar basis. Sometimes people only see the price in front of them and don't look at the total cost of ownership.

With the resources behind Unilever,

The Power of Marketing Compels You......

And you don't suppose that people are using ProGlide cartridges WELL beyond their comfortable life span just because they are spending $4 per cartridge?

Cartridges never provided me with a comfortable shave, but you can rest assured that when I was spending $20 on 5 carts, I used them until they were positively painful to use any more, just because it hurt so much more to buy them than to use them.

I seriously doubt that the steel used in the P&G cartridges is so much harder that it lasts 4-times longer than the steel in Harry's or Dollar Shave Club...

Think about it logistically...What is the actual Rocwell rating for the individual blades in each cartridge brand? Do you seriously think it is a materials difference that causes a P&G blade to "last" longer than a non-P&G blade?

Before answering, consider that the primary reason we are seeing every-changing numbers of blades and coatings and lubricating strips is directly because the steel has already achieved a maximum hardness : sharpness ratio that is no longer under patent protection...

I'm curious who supplied the data that claims the Gillette cartridges last longer.

I'm curious who supplied the data that claims the Gillette cartridges last longer.

In my experience before switching to DE 3 years ago, my Schick carts definitely lasted longer than the Harry's carts I tried switching to. I realize that's two different companies than were referring to but I think the comparison is similar. I think edge retention on something like razors has far more to do with corrosion resistance (from water) than any other factor. So I would think the larger companies use a more expensive, more resistant steel and possibly coat it with something that does not affect its cutting ability.

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I'm curious who supplied the data that claims the Gillette cartridges last longer.

Ettellig Product Advisory Group.....

And you don't suppose that people are using ProGlide cartridges WELL beyond their comfortable life span just because they are spending $4 per cartridge?

Cartridges never provided me with a comfortable shave, but you can rest assured that when I was spending $20 on 5 carts, I used them until they were positively painful to use any more, just because it hurt so much more to buy them than to use them.

I seriously doubt that the steel used in the P&G cartridges is so much harder that it lasts 4-times longer than the steel in Harry's or Dollar Shave Club...

Think about it logistically...What is the actual Rocwell rating for the individual blades in each cartridge brand? Do you seriously think it is a materials difference that causes a P&G blade to "last" longer than a non-P&G blade?

Before answering, consider that the primary reason we are seeing every-changing numbers of blades and coatings and lubricating strips is directly because the steel has already achieved a maximum hardness : sharpness ratio that is no longer under patent protection...

Chris,
According to the research I did on Gillette, their claim their carts last longer is due to the surveys and studies they did on consumers. Like you said, and as we all know, guys/gals would use them until they were utterly useless and painful, holding out as long as we could so we wouldnt have too spend 5 bucks per cart on another box. Gillette took this to mean that we were extending their usefulness beyond their intended life expectancy, and put the opposite spin on it. Their next marketing claim was we could use one cart per month and be happy with that, when in fact the opposite was true.

I also seem to remember that the carts that were part of the DSC were sourced from Dorco. While more economical and plentiful, I would bet that their carts were somewhat inferior to Gillettes. I think most people who have used Dorco DE blades find them inferior to 99% of others on the market, so this revelation should not be unexpected.

I'm curious who supplied the data that claims the Gillette cartridges last longer.

I have no idea nor pass judgement on the truth of the statements. This is what they said. Make of it what you will. I do know that I think Harrys was criticized because the blades are too close resulting in gunking more. I never owned one so don't know.

I've used Gillette Mach 3 and Harry's in the past. I've also found that Gillette Mach 3 lasted longer...however....on a price per use basis I was still better off with Harry's.

That said, these day's I'm 100% DE unless I'm taking a flight and not checking bags.

I get averagely 8-10 nice shaves from my Fusion and Mach 3 carts. I thumb strop my cart 8-10 times during each shave, which helps a lot.
I prefer the regular Fusion carts to the new Pro Glide ones. The new Pro Glides, I'm sure, will benefit people that use canned goo more, because it really does give you extreme extra slickness for the 3-4 first shaves. So much so, that if I use them with a really slick soap, it gets so slick, that I think if the term: 'Slippery when wet'

I never went into this hobby because carts gave me poor shaves, but because I was always fascinated over shaving stuff. Have owned 50-60 new top DE and SE razors since 2011, after much thought decided to sell the lot in early 2016, because Fusion first pass and Mach 3 second pass + touch up gives me the constant best shaves of my life.
I never use a cart when it starts to get dull. Bin it.

With all the money I spend on 5 Above the Tie, 3 Mongoose, Cobra, OneBlade, 2 Wolfman, 8 Plisson, 2 Pils, 2 Feather and other razors, binning a cart, when it's dull, is the least of my financial worries

I rinse the Fusion cart 20-25 times during first pass, and go slow with no pressure. Mach 3 for second pass and touch up and I get BBS every single shave.

Own a number of Plisson, Mühle, Pils, Edwin Jagger and Acqua Di Parma cart handles to enhance the whole shaving experience