Razors (of the non-Occam variety), vibrators, marketing, etc.
This is apparently the week I've decided to do a bunch of the sort of
things that seem to be scammishly over-expensive. In addition to
getting my oil changed, I've also purchased razor blades. Which is
always a somewhat daunting and ridiculous experience. I speak here
mainly of razor blades designed for use by men, mainly because those
are the ones I'm familiar with, although it's largely a ridiculous
distinction anyway. And so the first thing, of course, is sticker
shock. I mean, seriously? But what got me all thoughtful was the
planned obsolescence of the whole thing. Which, I mean I understand in theory. You have to keep selling people
stuff if you want to keep making money. Thing is, these razor guys
*invented* the whole business model of selling something to you
repeatedly. Hell, that whole "giving away the razor to sell blades"
metaphor that we use for fucking everything? Yeah. It's about razors.
So they've got the "repeat market" thing locked down. I don't quite
understand why they need to keep coming out with new and inexplicable
models. It's not that the newer ones are vastly more expensive, that
I've noticed. Price goes up a little bit, but not so's you'd notice. I
guess maybe they wear out faster? I haven't really paid that much
attention the few times I've changed models. I guess maybe it just
allows them to keep advertising and trying to get people to switch
from one company's product to the other. But really I kind of feel sorry for the folks who have to market this
stuff. Shaving is about the most uncool thing there is. It's one of
those things that almost nobody does because they enjoy it. It's a
chore, and not just a chore, but a potential painful chore that could
lead to like, actual physical wounds. Having to somehow sell this to
people is not a particularly enviable job. On the other hand, I get
the feeling that the people who design these new razors must be the
same people who design vibrators. They always seem to look more
impressive, but you get the idea that nobody involved has actually
ever used one. And actually, some of the razors do vibrate now
(another Simpsons joke come horribly to life), so the comparison is
actually literal. Sure, it kind of seems more impressive to have 27
different vibrating attachments, but really it just all ends up
causing more harm than good. So, while I'd probably be happier with one of those victorian-era
Sweeney Todd straight razors, at least from a cost-benefit
perspective, the fact that I'd be likely to accidentally kill myself
keeps me beholden to the Gillette company until the day I day; or at
least until the day I once again stop having any semblance of
self-esteem and decide to return to full-on Hobo Form. Also, now I'm
thinking about vibrators, which will probably keep me from being
productive at all for the rest of the day...
things that seem to be scammishly over-expensive. In addition to
getting my oil changed, I've also purchased razor blades. Which is
always a somewhat daunting and ridiculous experience. I speak here
mainly of razor blades designed for use by men, mainly because those
are the ones I'm familiar with, although it's largely a ridiculous
distinction anyway. And so the first thing, of course, is sticker
shock. I mean, seriously? But what got me all thoughtful was the
planned obsolescence of the whole thing. Which, I mean I understand in theory. You have to keep selling people
stuff if you want to keep making money. Thing is, these razor guys
*invented* the whole business model of selling something to you
repeatedly. Hell, that whole "giving away the razor to sell blades"
metaphor that we use for fucking everything? Yeah. It's about razors.
So they've got the "repeat market" thing locked down. I don't quite
understand why they need to keep coming out with new and inexplicable
models. It's not that the newer ones are vastly more expensive, that
I've noticed. Price goes up a little bit, but not so's you'd notice. I
guess maybe they wear out faster? I haven't really paid that much
attention the few times I've changed models. I guess maybe it just
allows them to keep advertising and trying to get people to switch
from one company's product to the other. But really I kind of feel sorry for the folks who have to market this
stuff. Shaving is about the most uncool thing there is. It's one of
those things that almost nobody does because they enjoy it. It's a
chore, and not just a chore, but a potential painful chore that could
lead to like, actual physical wounds. Having to somehow sell this to
people is not a particularly enviable job. On the other hand, I get
the feeling that the people who design these new razors must be the
same people who design vibrators. They always seem to look more
impressive, but you get the idea that nobody involved has actually
ever used one. And actually, some of the razors do vibrate now
(another Simpsons joke come horribly to life), so the comparison is
actually literal. Sure, it kind of seems more impressive to have 27
different vibrating attachments, but really it just all ends up
causing more harm than good. So, while I'd probably be happier with one of those victorian-era
Sweeney Todd straight razors, at least from a cost-benefit
perspective, the fact that I'd be likely to accidentally kill myself
keeps me beholden to the Gillette company until the day I day; or at
least until the day I once again stop having any semblance of
self-esteem and decide to return to full-on Hobo Form. Also, now I'm
thinking about vibrators, which will probably keep me from being
productive at all for the rest of the day...
1 comment
Aug 13, 2009
Ashleigh said...
You can go back to the Victorian razors, but I'm going to skip the coal powered vibrators.
