Thread: MONITORING PRICES: W&B for barber's use/only

Between January and May 2009 average prices jumped from $90 to $250. I wonder how things were before I started, 5 months ago. What were considered common ebay prices for those blades? What about posting here some examples of date+price from your experience? Then I'll prepare a graph for your pleasure. Probably who payed 300$ won't post (he's welcome!!), but even so we could trace an accurate enough description of the market. Some simple rules:

1. To avoid invalid entries, we should indicate just what we bought, otherwise we could find 20 times the same razor sold two days ago for 275$. Shipping excluded.
2. Minimum size to post is 15/16.
3. Post only W&Bs "for barber's use" or "for barbers only".
4. No pics required. If you want, you can also describe razor conditions (exact size, scales, etc.).

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I'll start:

feb'09 > 105$ (8/8 original scales and pins in great conditions; pic at #1 of the page in my signature)

boo, mine's 6/8, the way I like it. original scales. for barbers use. but i don't make the cut

edit: OP, you have an amazing collection of WB!!

I can remember a few years ago a barber's use/only 8/8 usually referred to in the ad as a meat chopper went for between $90 and maybe $200 if it was exceptional. Not much different then the recent past. Tommy razor sold one for $300 about a year ago on the bay.

I got lucky and picked up a Celebrated barber's use (etched on the blade) in a buy it now for $15.00. An anomaly for sure. That was a few months ago. Around the same time I got a barber's use on the tang for $81.00 on the bay. Both of these have their original scales, barbers notch 8/8 blades and are in nice shape but with the usual patina on the blades and chips on the edges of the horn scales here and there.

If the future is anything like the past IME the prices will ebb and flow. There will be bargains to be had once in awhile with poor descriptions and photos hiding a diamond in the rough. For the items of exceptional size or condition and well photographed and described the big $$ will be gotten.

@ Ichinichi: OK, for this time we can include your 6/8!

@JimmyHAD: the range you mention (90-200$) is not so distant from the present one; in this case, I'd say that prices increased of the 50% (now 120-300$).

Originally Posted by clavichord

@ Ichinichi: OK, for this time we can include your 6/8!

YES!

I haven't been following them long, but from my observations, the 8/8+ for barber's use in good to great condition have been fetching $225 to $300, $180-$225 in mediocre condition, and in fair condition, $100-$120.

The ones with "celebrated hollow ground" etched on the blade without the for barber's use, sized between 7/8 and 15/16 or so, in good condition have been fetching around +/- $100 but seem to be dependent on advertising. In mediocre or fair condition, these almost seem to slip through the radar and you can generally snag them for <$40 and sometimes much less.

Unfortunately I haven't been able to snag a for barber's use due to the prices, but I have a few of the celebrated hollow grounds.

I don't know why everyone gets worked up about the prices for these razors. They are what they are. People are bidding back and forth and some are willing to pay more than others. Finding these razors in good condition with original parts seems to be only a few a month tops, and everyone seems to love or at least want the choppers, so you have a lot of demand for something in short supply. Of course the prices will be high

Sure, pjrage, I completely agree! For me it's OK if prices will grow and grow, or simply "flow"; this is the market. The idea is just to take a picture of what is happening following this particular "indicator" represented, in this case, by W&B 8/8 for barber's use. No moral message!

Man, I should have started with this straight razor stuff 1 or 2 years earlier when I look at those prices this month
When I started last summer, I didn't even know what an 8/8 W&B is
But 200$ ist just too much for me.

I got my FH "For Barber's Use" a few weeks ago. Pictures were bad, the auction didn't say what was stamped on the blade. It was about $55. Here's the ebay picture.

Thanks for providing a dip for our graph!!