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Shaving is an example of how consumer products extract more money

johnwhiles.com

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Re: Shaving is an example of how consumer products extract more money

#111

Post by shiftpgdn »

GingerMidas wrote: post #100
jchw wrote: post #61

Add dishwasher pods to the list. It’s literally just smoke and mirrors for nearly the same formula as powder, only less of it per package. All those fancy colors? It’s die. It’s the same formula across the entire pod. So… Yep: more cost, more waste, and it has some reasonable downsides. For “convenience,” since I guess deciding how much to put into the tray is just too much work. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Ll6-eGD…

I've seen that video, the takeaway was the difference in price is so miniscule you might as well use what you're comfortable with.

His video about dish washer pods explain they also work significantly worse since your dishwasher was designed with a pre-rinse area to use soap twice during a cleaning cycle. A pod will not be able to be used twice and leaves dishes dirtier.

Re: Shaving is an example of how consumer products extract more money

#113

Post by foobarian »

spacexsucks wrote: post #90
namdnay wrote: post #40

It’s not a conspiracy, it’s just convenience. Shaving with a Mach3 is a hell of a lot easier than a DE. Cooking with a Teflon pan is a hell of a lot easier than looking after a carbon steel skillet. The vast majority of people have busy lives, and don’t want to deal with that hassle. For those of us who do, great.

It is not more inconvenient to use cast iron. I dont have to throw away pans and i am not worried about poisooning my family anymore. The wet razor is much more convenient than the plastic waste. No to mention the enormous environmental cost of slight inconvenience

> It is not more inconvenient to use cast iron

For you perhaps. I cannot handle the weight as easily, and there are a lot of extra steps to keep it clean which need handling (especially over a sink). Extrapolate to the whole population and you can see why there is a market for them.

Re: Shaving is an example of how consumer products extract more money

#114

Post by jchw »

GingerMidas wrote: post #100
jchw wrote: post #61

Add dishwasher pods to the list. It’s literally just smoke and mirrors for nearly the same formula as powder, only less of it per package. All those fancy colors? It’s die. It’s the same formula across the entire pod. So… Yep: more cost, more waste, and it has some reasonable downsides. For “convenience,” since I guess deciding how much to put into the tray is just too much work. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Ll6-eGD…

I've seen that video, the takeaway was the difference in price is so miniscule you might as well use what you're comfortable with.

Except that it’s also way more expensive and wasteful (edit: both because you have to buy them more often and because each pod is more packaging and the packaging for all of the pods has to be sealed, unlike powder in cardboard…) than just grabbing the powder. If the discomfort from using powder over plastic pods is anything more than completely trivial to you, I’m not sure we can communicate meaningfully on this subject matter.

Re: Shaving is an example of how consumer products extract more money

#115

Post by Etheryte »

swayvil wrote: post #91
stoltzmann wrote: post #81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can you elaborate what you consider the problem to be?

Seriously? It's white, optimized for showing dirt. It's closest to the ground, optimized for getting dirty. And (In the case of your typical sneaker) It's a special weird porous rubber that is difficult to get clean, optimized for quickly looking like crap. And when your shoes look like crap it's time to buy new shoes. Thus we have shoes optimized for short lifespan. But this is dead obvious.

Have you considered that you don't have to throw out your shoes just because they're dirty? You don't throw away your clothes when they're dirty, do you? What about dishes? I buy new shoes when my old shoes are broken and they can't be fixed anymore. If you like to throw away your shoes when they get dirty, you do you, but in that case you'll be throwing money at the very same industry you seem to strongly dislike. As a saner alternative, I recommend not caring so much about what your shoes look like, they're just shoes.

Re: Shaving is an example of how consumer products extract more money

#116

Post by plsbenice34 »

I bought a double-edged razor as mentioned in the article. Tried it several times, including staring at youtube videos to try to learn. Fucking destroyed my face every time, which is quite embarrassing and upsetting. Found it impossible to get a close shave. Maybe I'm just low IQ but I gave up. Superior people that can do it can fairly look down on me, but there is a market for people like me.

I didnt buy a brush, but if it takes a huge ritual to prepare to shave even after a shower, i'd rather just pay Gillette

Re: Shaving is an example of how consumer products extract more money

#117

Post by slfnflctd »

h2odragon wrote: post #2

Oster small animal trimmer: $100 or so initial investment; no ongoing costs. Electricity to run it is trivial compared to the light to see yourself shaving. Might need a new set of blades after a couple decades.

The Wahl Peanut costs half that. It may not last as long, but I know someone who's used the same one for about 10 years. Zero ongoing costs as you say. Also saves time over anything involving shaving cream.

Re: Shaving is an example of how consumer products extract more money

#118

Post by CapmCrackaWaka »

ch_s wrote: post #108

Try wet shaving with a double edge blade and old fashioned security razor. You will find that your costs will go down significantly, your shave may improve and you will be using quality products too

I still cannot believe people shave with Gillette razors, or any other of those fancy multi-blade razors. I paid $10 for a pack of 100 double sided razor blades 3 YEARS ago and I’m still not even close to finished with the pack.

Re: Shaving is an example of how consumer products extract more money

#119

Post by throw0101a »

2-718-281-828 wrote: post #109
ascar wrote: post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Safety razors are much better at making a neckline, if you only shave clean partially and trim the remaining beard. Personally I also get less skin irritation from the safety razor compared to the Mach3 I used before. Given I use it correctly. If you move "against" the hair instead of "with" the hair it caused a lot of irritation for me. But that was essentially user error. In total I would never go back to a Mach3.…

> I also get less skin irritation from the safety razor compared to the Mach3 Isnt't Mach3 a safety razor?

To help differential the styles, (double-edge) safety razors and cartridge (safety) razors are named slightly differently to help reduce confusion in general conversation:

* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Safety_razor

Of course if you want to go old school:

* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Straight_razor

Slightly more convenient, but uses a similar technique:

* https://bespokeunit.com/shaving/shavette-vs-straight-razor/

Re: Shaving is an example of how consumer products extract more money

#120

Post by subhro »

CoastalCoder wrote: post #48
motohagiography wrote: post #11

I've used a straight razor for almost 20 years. Vindicating to read that the price of a Dovo pays for itself. I think my bar of shaving soap is probably the better part of decade old as well. In the interim, a whole peculiar subculture around shaving has developed, but you don't have to be a part of it to just use a razor. Makes you unreachable by corporate marketing as well, which is itself its own reward.

Aside from differences in cost, do you find anything about a straight razor compellingly better than e.g. a Gillette Mach 3? I go through Mach 3 cartridges pretty slowly, so price isn't a big concern. And I don't notice anything deficient about the quality of my shaves. But one thing I really like about safety razors is that there's zero risk of serious injury.

> Aside from differences in cost, do you find anything about a straight razor compellingly better than e.g. a Gillette Mach 3?

Quality of shave. If you maintain your straight razor, and mind it, it does require some maintenance, the quality of shave is of no comparison. My wife can instantly make out the difference when I shave in a hurry with Mach 3.

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