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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

#791

One that nobody seems to have mentioned: Not being able to buy an individual piece of fruit in many inner-city shops. This isn't about making it cost more, but about reducing waste. When fruit is loose some people will simply grab what's in front of them, but some will be choosy taking the best specimens. The inferior ones get rejected--but they were handled to do so. They get picked up, looked at and put down again…

Funny, I tend to avoid packaged fruit because it feels like they just stuff it full of duds and stuff that wouldn't sell on their own

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

#792

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well, you don't use it to cut the handle off. You grind the bottom of the pan smooth. Isn't that obvious? I guess not, apparently. But it seems like it should be.

Have you ever in your life tried to use an angle grinder for this sort of thing? It’s one of a family of cutting tools built on the Ouija board principle. It transforms human energy into a crooked, unpredictable motion, and the more you attempt to influence its course, the more dismal your future becomes. If i had a cast iron pan I had to flatten, I’d dog it down on my CNC router, set up a 1/4” endmill, whip up some…

Most of us don't have CNC routers sitting around doing nothing.

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

#793

I appreciate the writing style, but this article is shockingly naive to me. Convenient consumer products tend to sell better than less convenient ones, even if the product is worse. That's the entire story. People have finite time, so when they receive more income they will tend to spend it to reduce the time they spend doing things that they don't care about. I for one hate spending time doing all the things that th…

I wonder what you do with all the 20 minutes total you save a year. Still I don’t blame you but I’m a person who enjoys doing things the “hard” way, that lets you enjoy the results and contemplate things in a different way.

For me, it's about not being late or having to skip tasks (e.g. shaving). I used to also enjoy doing everything the "hard" way (e.g. pourover coffee instead of using a machine, and especially shaving with a double-edged safety razor instead of an electric razor).

However, there were times I had to skip coffee making to start a commute on time. The tipping point was when I was slightly late for a couple of low-stakes meetings because shaving with a safety razor took so long (lather, three passes, rinse), so I had to take an alternative commuting route after missing a train. There were other times when I chose to skip shaving and buy coffee outside to make a meeting on time (taking extra time to walk to the coffee shop, line up, and buy coffee).

I remembered never having these issues of having to skip shaving when using an electric razor. I've now returned to using one for most days, and also usually use a brew machine. It's nicer to have less stress in the morning.

You could say that I could manage my time better in the morning by waking up an extra half hour earlier, but I've found it very nice to make my life a bit easier while other parts of my days are more stressful.

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

#794

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I wonder if people know that electric razors last like … ten years. I’ve owned, I think, two electric razors in my life, and I’m in my late thirties. I never have to replace any part of it.

My biggest issue with electric razors is that they never gave me as smooth a shave as using a razor-blade (or cartridge). That annoyed me enough to stop using it. But sure, they do last forever.

For some reason, my time shaving with cartridges gave me the worst acne of my life by far -- including one zit that somehow festered into a massive welt that continuously refilled with fluid and wouldn't go away for several years. (I still have the scar) I still think there was something wrong with the shaving cream because my dermatologist was just as perplexed as I was and he was clearly out of his element as he seemed to be blindly throwing whatever he could at the problem.

These were the inexpensive mail-order discount razors and the special shave butter they advertised, I forget the name of the company but it was the first one I was aware of that bypassed the Gilette racket by doing everything via mail. (edit- DollarShaveClub?)

Smooth or not, I'm sticking with my electric razor.

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

#795
post #755

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Also, in what universe are those expensive multi-blade razors faster or more convenient than a safety razor with a Feather blade?

The world where I want my shaving to be brainless.

Having used both, one is no more "brainless" than the other. It's the same shaving process. The only difference is cost.

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

#796

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not sure if it's sarcasm? Greta's travels are famous for looking eco friendly while not being so: https://oilprice.com/The-Environment/Global-Warming/Greta-Th...

That is a laughably bad source. Who Visits OilPrice.com? OilPrice.com's rapidly expanding and influential audience consists of investors, fund managers, resource bankers, traders, energy market professionals and high net worth individuals from all around the world but mainly North America, Canada, UK and Australia. Oil and gas industry executives from large multi-nationals to smaller independents Renewable energy com…

Alright, but what's wrong with the claims?

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

#797

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, people are being steered towards behaviors that are more profitable for manufacturers and away from behaviors that are better for themselves. And the way to stop it is to stop buying that stuff. Stores get pressured to stock things, and they can only justify it if it gets bought. If a store doesn't stock the things you want, don't buy things from that store except the things it does have that you do want. They w…

You have a choice to the extent that you're willing to be homeless and live without income and act in violation of the law. The rest of us are constrained in our choices by the society we live in and the expectations it places on us. I want a cell phone that respects my privacy, but none exist on the market today so I have no choice. I still need a cell phone though since my work requires one. We also don't all have…

We aren't talking about purchasing products anymore. We were talking about purchasing products at the store a minute ago.

"If I don't participate in this economy I'll be homeless, so I have to by Gillette mach 20 disposable plastic razor cartridges." Do what you can where you can. Can you stop buying disposable razor cartridges made of plastic and still not be homeless? Then do so.

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

#798

I appreciate the writing style, but this article is shockingly naive to me. Convenient consumer products tend to sell better than less convenient ones, even if the product is worse. That's the entire story. People have finite time, so when they receive more income they will tend to spend it to reduce the time they spend doing things that they don't care about. I for one hate spending time doing all the things that th…

How much of that have you actually benchmarked, time wise ? I think it’s the point of the article, most of our “benchmarking” is actually marketing. To take an example I’ve been using a cast iron pan for years after having used Teflon all my life, cast iron doesn’t take any more time to use (initial seasoning vs. timely replacement, you can even factor that out)

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

#799
post #743

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"I tried the double edge safety razor. Got the brush, shaving cream, big pack of Astra blades. Watched a bunch of YouTube videos on technique. Spent way more time shaving. Nicked myself an ungodly number of times." Maybe it's the blades? I started with Derby Extra blades[1], and without using any special technique I've nicked myself only maybe once a year with them. The weight of the razor might also figure in to it…

I got a vintage Gillette handle off eBay - it definitely has heft. Could be worth trying a different set of blades. The Astra Platinum were the Reddit hive mind recommend at the time, but this was ~8 years ago. I’m also wondering if it might be a hair thing. My facial hair is thick/coarse, particularly on the upper lip, which is where I consistently nicked myself. Short of a several pound handle I can’t imagine cutti…

You probably don't need to be told this, as it's pretty obvious, but just in case: you should curl your upper lip in to your mouth when you shave to make the skin taught and decrease the odds of nicks.

Also, before starting to shave you should wet your facial hair with hot/warm water for a few minutes to soften it up. I usually wet my face as soon as I get in to my shower and shave inside the shower a few minutes later.

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

#800

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Just let it heat up before using it No lol that's the whole point > without the carcinogens. I'll take that trade, I'm not going to spend my 30s sitting around waiting for pans to heat up because there's some very small probability a pan will harm me.

If you really care about your time and have a lot of money, get an induction cooktop. It will heat your cast iron super quickly.

Yeah, surprisingly quickly. I guess partly because they’re super magnetic?
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