It’s hard for me to believe that it’s been six years since I first discovered the Dollar Shave Club. At the time, it seemed like such an amazing find! Razor blades had gotten so expensive that I nearly threw in the towel and grew a beard.
Back in the day, the razor blade industry was “mature,” which meant that there were only several large companies that controlled all of the shelf space in stores and, of course, prices. And so consumers had only a handful of razor brands to choose from.
Life was good for razor blade companies. Profit margins were high. Competition was low. The existing market share of each brand was generous and stable (ginormous advertising budgets made sure of that). Nobody at the time thought it possible to compete against the big players, who subsequently got fat and lazy. This is reflective of the “MONOPOLY” phase of capitalism.
Razor blades would likely have become a commodity product, except that those companies were too smart. Every razor had a proprietary design as to how the blade connected to the handle, so you couldn’t just bargain shop for blades. Because if you switched brands, then you had to switch razors, as well, which was at best a hassle and cost some extra money each time you did so. And that was counterintuitive for those of us hoping to save a few bucks.
Then, out of nowhere, came a company with a brand new business model and a lot of attitude. I instantly fell in love with Dollar Shave Club’s pitch and related to their irreverent, off-the-wall (that is, bathroom wall) brand attitude. They represented the “INNOVATION” phase in my chart. I instantly became a DSC evangelist, recommending them to family and friends. Up until then, I had always kept my bathroom business to myself!
My ongoing monthly relationship with Dollar Shave Club couldn’t had gone smoother, and as a bonus, I felt quite righteous for having cut the shaving “establishment” completely out of my health and beauty budget. Serves them right, I‘d quietly revel, each time I lathered up. They became greedy, they blew it, and I showed them! To me, this was democratic capitalism in action. I was an empowered consumer and I voted with my wallet. So there, Gillette!
And apparently, I wasn’t alone. Within a short time, many millions of others were now also making their razor blade purchases online. This “movement” turned the razor blade industry on its ear—and by the way, represents the “DISRUPTION” phase of capitalism. As a consumer, it was truly an empowering feeling—to think that the little guy was finally able to find a way around those big, greedy multinational bastards who owned all of the razor blade brands.
I have to admit, I never did quite understand Dollar Shave Club’s business model, though. I wondered how they could survive for long when they charged more for postage than the blades themselves. That would remain a mystery. Just like what happens to all the spent razor blades we throw away. In the back of my mind, I suspected that none of this was sustainable.
As the years went by, however, I experienced increasing occurrences of DSC blades that would nick me right out of the package. Or stay sharp for only a few days. But even still, I would brush that aside. I’d reason that, even if I only got six days out of each of those blades, DSC still had to be more cost-efficient than the expensive big-name brands. I mean, they couldn’t be any worse, could they? Besides, I was deeply embedded in an anti-establishment “movement” now.
Sadly, nothing good lasts forever. DSC officially began recommending that we change out our blades every week. “Be kind to your face!,” they’d say—the subtext being that with Dollar Shave Club you can afford to be! And so at that point, getting (maybe?) five or six days out of each blade became the new normal. And if I got nicked on Day Five and had to switch it out, I’d try to squeeze nine days out of the next blade to balance it out. I wasn’t rich, after all!
Over time, I completely forgot that I used to regularly get two weeks out of every blade with the Schick’s and the Gillette’s (and even the knock-off store brands) of the world. By this point, my shaving dictum had become “Quantity = Quality!” And so naturally, my consumption of razor blades had steadily been ramping up.
In the midst of all of this, I began occasionally catching passing glimpses of my five-o’clock shadow in mirrors, and wondering if perhaps I wasn’t getting quite the same closeness of shave I had once enjoyed. I began to wonder whether the Dollar Shave Club blades were cutting it. But even still, my suspicions hadn’t fully yet come to the surface.
In retrospect, I was in denial. My desire to support the DSC and punish the big-name brands that used to rip me off was just too strong. I continued to gaslight myself for another year, despite an increasingly frequent and recurring razor rash that was adding to my displeasure.
Finally, in January of this year (2019), Dollar Shave Club sent me notice that they were sorry to inform me, but that they would need to be raising their prices going forward. And it turned out to be a rather significant price hike, to boot. I pulled out my calculator and the math spoke for itself (see chart, below). So, with mixed emotions, I began researching razor blades all over again, from scratch.
I compared a number of options and ultimately decided to give “Gillette on-Demand” a try. I know, I know, of all things Gillette! But I have to say WOW!, what a difference a blade makes! I had almost forgotten what a close, smooth, irritation-free shave feels like. But it all came back on the very first shave.
It took Gillette several years to figure out the 21st Century razor landscape, but they finally got it right with Gillette on-Demand. For $7, they’ll send you a starter kit with a razor handle and 4 “Mach 3” blades. And if you join the “club” (optional), they’ll send you refills on a schedule, just like Dollar Shave Club and others (btw, I have a better idea for you at the end of this article).
The fact is, these Gillette blades are so much better and deliver such a better shave than what I had gotten myself used to with the Dollar Shave Club. And each blade also happens to last up to two weeks, easy, without any nicking at all. Best of all, my perennial razor rash went away.
Below is how DSC and GOD (that’s Gillette-on-Demand!) compare. The DSC blade I’d been using for many years was the “Humble Twin” (2-blade cartridge). The Gillette blade I now use is the “Mach 3 Turbo” (3-blade cartridge). I know, right off the bat you could say it’s unfair of me to compare a 2-blade cartridge to a 3-blader, at least when judging the comfort and quality of a shave. BUT THAT SAID…
As you can see, I found that in the end they both end up costing the same! So in any event, wouldn’t you rather have the better blade? You decide, of course. But money-wise, this is how the two blades compare:
When I had originally joined DSC, the cost was $1 for a 5-pack of “Humble Twin” replacement blades + $2 shipping for a total of $3. As previously mentioned, they subsequently raised the price for the Humble Twin to $2.85 + $2 shipping. These days when you sign up for DSC, they charge $5 with free shipping for their intro offer, and with that you get a 4-pack of their 6-blade “Executive” razors. Subsequent 4-packs of Executive razor blade replacements cost $9 with free shipping.
Now, maybe DSC’s new, top-of-the-line blade is many degrees better. Full disclosure: I have never tried it. But the fact is, it’s also a lot more expensive. And in the end, how much better can you really get than a close, smooth shave with no nicks? I mean, at minimum, there is the law of diminishing return to take into consideration here.
Back to my capitalism discussion, it was during my “from scratch” research to find a new razor blade that I discovered that “my” disruptive, countercultural Dollar Shave Club had actually sold out to the international conglomerate Unilever back in 2017, and that the DSC founders banked a billion dollars in the deal. Sadly, I realized that DSC wasn’t my cause anymore. I was a couple years late to the “IPO – CASH OUT” phase of capitalism. And I owned no stock in the company!
And so, this mini-case history in Capitalism ended up right back where it started many years before: with Gillette, which seems to have learned its lesson; and with yet another big, fat razor company that again limits my choices. And with that, we are back to the “MONOPOLY” phase..
I have to say that, for the moment anyway, I’m completely satisfied and can highly recommend Gillette on-Demand, with one minor tweak: First, definitely get the starter kit directly through Gillette, but skip joining the club. Then order your blade refills separately on Amazon. You’ll save a lot of money that way. And if you have Amazon Prime and add your blades into your Amazon Subscription order, you can save 5-15% on top of that.
We’ll see how all of this plays out in the coming years, whether Gillette will get greedy again and raise prices beyond my pain point, possibly prompting yet another razor blade company to emerge and disrupt the industry, and start this cycle all over again. It wouldn’t surprise me. That’s capitalism.
But for the time being, at least, I think that this round proved to be a win-win for consumers. The giant multinational-owned companies that got fat, lazy, and disrupted were eventually forced to up their game. My razors got better and cheaper in the long run. Hopefully, those new billionaires from DSC use their fortune to make the world a better place. And we’ll all live and shave happily ever after!
