Curing purchasing disorder

halvor

halvor

a most elusive fish
Wayne, I'm tempted to sing you a certain Leonard Cohen song. I'm sure you can guess which one :wink:

I liked the eating and the always returning hunger and craving metaphor, @Nishy. On the spot. Cuisine-wise I am pretty set, though. Open to new things of course, but in terms of my own cooking. At a point that may happen with shaving gear too. Or not. The sum of vices is constant, I once was told.
 
Sid James

Sid James

...
There's one thing for certain. If it ever came to a choice, as you imply, between going out and drinking/socialising or going out to dinner and buying a brush/shaving tackle, there's no way on earth I'd be buying any shaving tackle.
 
Dj-Steved

Dj-Steved

Brush Addict
I'd say I have a budget every month of disposal income that I can spend without effecting my normal living life style.
I tend to buy more second hand brushes then new which is normally cheaper, but I do like to treat myself to the odd expensive brush every now and again. I tend to off set the expenditure by saying to myself that I work hard so I deserve it and my family still get what they need.
They is also the I must have / I need that brush factor that comes into it every now and again......
 
Len

Len

Forum GOD!
The answer is buying the best, and forgetting the rest.

R181 said:
There is a fly in the ointment with simply buying the "best stuff" first. How do you determine which exactly is the "best stuff" for you personally without going through quite a few stuffs along the way. One mans best stuff is another mans duff stuff.

Bob
Click to expand...
First, you read lots and lots of reviews from different sources. Knowing the different features of each particular item beforehand gives you an idea of what features you want. Reviews, taken en masse in most cases, tend to show what is best, middle, or worst within a product category.

Next comes the discovery phase. Go ahead and buy different items that are considered among the best of each category. In this testing process, keep what is the absolute best for you, and sell the rest. If these are all highly regarded products in the first place, you will in almost all cases, make back the money you initially spent in selling, and perhaps even make a profit when it isn't easy to obtain.

So, it doesn't have to be very expensive to buy and use only the very best. Just do your research, test the top tier, and sell off the runners up.
 
Batch300

Batch300

Extraordinarily Uncomplicated
- Xanax
- copious amount of alcohol
- parental block for on-line shaving forums
- Hallucinogens: Future of Mental Health Treatment

I will admit to "brush envy" and a soft-spot for modern and bold looking brushes. My original goal of a 6 brush rotation is long since dead. When it comes to a Rowl or Nico brush, logic did not apply. A brush can be artistic with visual appeal. Shaving brushes have replaced my more economical "shave cream fever". My self control is fairly good on razors (only 4 and no really high end) and excellent on pre/after shave products
 
Wayne

Wayne

Forum Sod
I do not like Unobtanium. I do not want a Paladin or Rooney. Without an LE or group buy Shavemacs are too expensive. I cannot be bothered with wait lists so I do not ever want a Wolfman. I like my Ferdman brushes because I go on Etsy, tell Vladimir what I'm after, shape,size and colour and Bingo it's on the lathe. Two weeks later it's on the shelf. No waiting, no signing up to Twitter accounts and waiting on every tweet. Simple and easy. They are good value too. Only the postage and threat of customs charges (I've been lucky so far) bump up the price. If I lived in the US I'd have twenty of them by now.
 
PLANofMAN

PLANofMAN

Retro Razor Junkie
Wayne said:
How the heck do you cure or control purchasing disorder? I bought a new brush last month and I'm poised to want to buy another this coming payday. I tell myself that at least I'm buying something real, something to hold and own as opposed to for instance going to the pub and spending £50 on a bladder full of beer or a restaurant which will soon be forgotten.
How do you control yourself?
Click to expand...
I run out of money. That pretty much puts a halt to my spending sprees. My advice? Get married. Funding a full church wedding on your own will put a hefty dent in the bank balance. We considered just eloping...but decided that our families would kill us if we did that. (Or at least mine would).

If you are married, a causal mention of how much you spend each month on this hobby ought to be enough to have a budget enforced on you. :)
 
Wayne

Wayne

Forum Sod
PLANofMAN said:
I run out of money. That pretty much puts a halt to my spending sprees. My advice? Get married. Funding a full church wedding on your own will put a hefty dent in the bank balance. We considered just eloping...but decided that our families would kill us if we did that. (Or at least mine would).

If you are married, a causal mention of how much you spend each month on this hobby ought to be enough to have a budget enforced on you. :)
Click to expand...
@PLANofMAN...I'm 31 years into marriage. My missus stopped caring about my spending years ago.
 
R

R181

Grumpy old man
Len said:
The answer is buying the best, and forgetting the rest.



First, you read lots and lots of reviews from different sources. Knowing the different features of each particular item beforehand gives you an idea of what features you want. Reviews, taken en masse in most cases, tend to show what is best, middle, or worst within a product category.

Next comes the discovery phase. Go ahead and buy different items that are considered among the best of each category. In this testing process, keep what is the absolute best for you, and sell the rest. If these are all highly regarded products in the first place, you will in almost all cases, make back the money you initially spent in selling, and perhaps even make a profit when it isn't easy to obtain.

So, it doesn't have to be very expensive to buy and use only the very best. Just do your research, test the top tier, and sell off the runners up.
Click to expand...
Now that is far too sensible an approach and not much fun to boot. :happy:

Buying the "best" in any class of shave gear is not inexpensive either as they generally are at the upper level of cost for some reason. I have found that to be not necessarily true for myself. I get as close, long lasting and comfortable shave from using an inexpensive Omega boar brush, Arko and Merkur 45 as I do with my custom Shavemac 2 band silvertip, MdC and Wolfman head. My old inexpensive vintage straight razors shave as well as my only 2 currently made straight razors.

The most important part of shaving, especially in the beginning, is not purchasing the best gear but getting your technique sorted first. That is something you can't purchase only time will bring. Just saying it is too easy to fall down the rabbit hole of attempting to purchase a better shave through ever more expensive pieces of kit.

Bob
 
Nick_S

Nick_S

Forum GOD!
I'm fighting RAD at the moment. I have an urge to purchase a Feather Artist Club razor of sorts. Not sure on folding or Japanese style, but something inside tells me I need one. It's certainly the more affordable alternative to a PRS Custom 22 on my scales of decision. :D
 
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