Ladies! Are you looking for a place to trim your budget? Here’s an idea: Stop buying shaving products marketed to women, because they’re a complete ripoff.
Unless you’ve got a hookup at the Gillette warehouse, razor cartridges are scandalously overpriced. Fashionista, curious why we’re still shelling out so much for this drugstore staple, takes a deep dive into the industry and the startups who want to undercut the Big Razor:
According to Euromonitor International analyst Tim Barrett, the big companies have been getting away with charging those prices for so long because consumers didn’t have any other choices. “Gillette, Schick and Bic basically have been riding the golden goose. It’s very similar to how printers work, in that you get people to buy the handle and the system and you can just kill them on the refills because there are really no other options.”
Dollar Shave Club, Harry’s and others are trying to muscle into the market by offering a better deal. “The quality difference is negligible and the price difference is noticeable,” according to Barrett. But they’re targeting men. Who will rescue us damsels, Fashionista asks? “What are our options besides $6 hot pink, fruit-flavored razor cartridges?”