OneBlade CORE

Blackmass

Forum GOD!
Received my shipping notification last night, not sure how long it will take to get to the UK especially as it will be passing through the dreaded customs centre at Langley. Post seems to be USPS and not Fedex so hopefully less surcharges, I believe Fedex charge a minimum of £12 irrespective of what the actual value is.
I'd be interested on your thoughts once you've used it a couple of times?

Cheers
Rob
 

N_Architect

Travel, See, Feel, Explore
Not the same situation here, unfortunately.

Am told my OB Core has now shipped via DHL to Greece.
Unfortunately I mistook "Expedited" (in OneBlade's latest email message) as USPS Express/Expedited service.

Based on the charged $8 shipping cost, I assumed OneBlade would not use a courier service, so I initially took no action on their latest email message. Then turns out they now shipped by DHL.

That is not good news.


Last week I used some SQ (Singapore Air) frequent flier miles to order two nice scarfs (for my mom) from their Duty Free online Shop. Shipping cost was S$28 (roughly £16), I paid that amount by cc as miles could not be used for the shipping part.

Turns out they send off all orders by DHL.

Two days later an email message arrives in my box, from DHL: "...your shipment from Singapore is scheduled to be delivered four days from today, on xx/June/2017..." So far so good but I know the tricky game they play here in ATH so I had not rest my concerns as yet.

One (I repeat, one) f***ing day before delivery day, I receive a call from the local DHL Customs Customer Contact Agent:

"Sir, you have an incoming shipment and it needs to go through customs, prior to being delivered.
You can either use your own forwarder to clear the shipment through customs, or DHL can do it for you.
Processing cost, if DHL does this, and based on declared
[£59] value is €120 [£105] plus any customs fees.
For each day you postpone customs clearing of your shipment, DHL will charge €6.50 for storage fees.
What option would you like to use, please?
"

As you can see, the bullying is official, legitimate and executed in a perfectly orchestrated manner.

After I stressed that this is not for commercial/company use, and that I have used air miles instead of cash to 'buy' that iitem, the DHL lady came back and said:
"...Well then we can file the import under a VAT Reg. No. different than yours, which means the total cost [DHL clearance fees + customs fees] would now be €69 [£61]. Please advise if you want us to proceed."

So I had to pay sixty one f***ing quid to have two fabric scarves delivered here, a boxed set item which retails for £59 down in S'pore, right? Firstly, no one usually buys full retail (unless you buy from LV or Chanel), and secondly, who wants to splurge his air miles and then essentially pay for the item again???

Sixty minutes later she had the shipper + DHL S'pore on the phone pushing her to re-direct the shipment back to my ex employers office in S'pore...

But that's not the point.

The point is that DHL/FedEx/UPS -under the official umbrella of the Greek state- are ripping people off.
And the blackmail - "...for every day you leave the package with us there is a six Euro charge..."
Who has given them the right to treat consumers like that? Does this happen in UK?

So coming back to the OneBlade, for a $49 razor (plus $8 shipping fee originally), now the same lady will most likely soon call me and "offer" me to pay something like an extra $50 to have this delivered here. No - this will not happen. OneBlade has already accepted to have the shipment sent back and refund me, if this is what I want to do.

Moral of the story - may be in the UK the courier processing & customs charges are not cheap, but in less well organized countries where such minor foreign imports via a courier company are considered a wrongful personal treat, things could be much, much worse. Always good to keep this into perspective.

Apologies for the long post.
 

Nishy

Forum GOD!
Staff member
Not the same situation here, unfortunately.

Am told my OB Core has now shipped via DHL to Greece.
Unfortunately I mistook "Expedited" (in OneBlade's latest email message) as USPS Express/Expedited service.

Based on the charged $8 shipping cost, I assumed OneBlade would not use a courier service, so I initially took no action on their latest email message. Then turns out they now shipped by DHL.

That is not good news.


Last week I used some SQ (Singapore Air) frequent flier miles to order two nice scarfs (for my mom) from their Duty Free online Shop. Shipping cost was S$28 (roughly £16), I paid that amount by cc as miles could not be used for the shipping part.

Turns out they send off all orders by DHL.

Two days later an email message arrives in my box, from DHL: "...your shipment from Singapore is scheduled to be delivered four days from today, on xx/June/2017..." So far so good but I know the tricky game they play here in ATH so I had not rest my concerns as yet.

One (I repeat, one) f***ing day before delivery day, I receive a call from the local DHL Customs Customer Contact Agent:

"Sir, you have an incoming shipment and it needs to go through customs, prior to being delivered.
You can either use your own forwarder to clear the shipment through customs, or DHL can do it for you.
Processing cost, if DHL does this, and based on declared
[£59] value is €120 [£105] plus any customs fees.
For each day you postpone customs clearing of your shipment, DHL will charge €6.50 for storage fees.
What option would you like to use, please?
"

As you can see, the bullying is official, legitimate and executed in a perfectly orchestrated manner.

After I stressed that this is not for commercial/company use, and that I have used air miles instead of cash to 'buy' that iitem, the DHL lady came back and said:
"...Well then we can file the import under a VAT Reg. No. different than yours, which means the total cost [DHL clearance fees + customs fees] would now be €69 [£61]. Please advise if you want us to proceed."

So I had to pay sixty one f***ing quid to have two fabric scarves delivered here, a boxed set item which retails for £59 down in S'pore, right? Firstly, no one usually buys full retail (unless you buy from LV or Chanel), and secondly, who wants to splurge his air miles and then essentially pay for the item again???

Sixty minutes later she had the shipper + DHL S'pore on the phone pushing her to re-direct the shipment back to my ex employers office in S'pore...

But that's not the point.

The point is that DHL/FedEx/UPS -under the official umbrella of the Greek state- are ripping people off.
And the blackmail - "...for every day you leave the package with us there is a six Euro charge..."
Who has given them the right to treat consumers like that? Does this happen in UK?

So coming back to the OneBlade, for a $49 razor (plus $8 shipping fee originally), now the same lady will most likely soon call me and "offer" me to pay something like an extra $50 to have this delivered here. No - this will not happen. OneBlade has already accepted to have the shipment sent back and refund me, if this is what I want to do.

Moral of the story - may be in the UK the courier processing & customs charges are not cheap, but in less well organized countries where such minor foreign imports via a courier company are considered a wrongful personal treat, things could be much, much worse. Always good to keep this into perspective.

Apologies for the long post.
Crazy charges!
 

Bizzyberry

Forum GOD!
Not the same situation here, unfortunately.

Am told my OB Core has now shipped via DHL to Greece.
Unfortunately I mistook "Expedited" (in OneBlade's latest email message) as USPS Express/Expedited service.

Based on the charged $8 shipping cost, I assumed OneBlade would not use a courier service, so I initially took no action on their latest email message. Then turns out they now shipped by DHL.

That is not good news.


Last week I used some SQ (Singapore Air) frequent flier miles to order two nice scarfs (for my mom) from their Duty Free online Shop. Shipping cost was S$28 (roughly £16), I paid that amount by cc as miles could not be used for the shipping part.

Turns out they send off all orders by DHL.

Two days later an email message arrives in my box, from DHL: "...your shipment from Singapore is scheduled to be delivered four days from today, on xx/June/2017..." So far so good but I know the tricky game they play here in ATH so I had not rest my concerns as yet.

One (I repeat, one) f***ing day before delivery day, I receive a call from the local DHL Customs Customer Contact Agent:

"Sir, you have an incoming shipment and it needs to go through customs, prior to being delivered.
You can either use your own forwarder to clear the shipment through customs, or DHL can do it for you.
Processing cost, if DHL does this, and based on declared
[£59] value is €120 [£105] plus any customs fees.
For each day you postpone customs clearing of your shipment, DHL will charge €6.50 for storage fees.
What option would you like to use, please?
"

As you can see, the bullying is official, legitimate and executed in a perfectly orchestrated manner.

After I stressed that this is not for commercial/company use, and that I have used air miles instead of cash to 'buy' that iitem, the DHL lady came back and said:
"...Well then we can file the import under a VAT Reg. No. different than yours, which means the total cost [DHL clearance fees + customs fees] would now be €69 [£61]. Please advise if you want us to proceed."

So I had to pay sixty one f***ing quid to have two fabric scarves delivered here, a boxed set item which retails for £59 down in S'pore, right? Firstly, no one usually buys full retail (unless you buy from LV or Chanel), and secondly, who wants to splurge his air miles and then essentially pay for the item again???

Sixty minutes later she had the shipper + DHL S'pore on the phone pushing her to re-direct the shipment back to my ex employers office in S'pore...

But that's not the point.

The point is that DHL/FedEx/UPS -under the official umbrella of the Greek state- are ripping people off.
And the blackmail - "...for every day you leave the package with us there is a six Euro charge..."
Who has given them the right to treat consumers like that? Does this happen in UK?

So coming back to the OneBlade, for a $49 razor (plus $8 shipping fee originally), now the same lady will most likely soon call me and "offer" me to pay something like an extra $50 to have this delivered here. No - this will not happen. OneBlade has already accepted to have the shipment sent back and refund me, if this is what I want to do.

Moral of the story - may be in the UK the courier processing & customs charges are not cheap, but in less well organized countries where such minor foreign imports via a courier company are considered a wrongful personal treat, things could be much, much worse. Always good to keep this into perspective.

Apologies for the long post.
That must be very frustrating, it also seems to my mind to encourage people to find alternative routes to import items, why not charge sensible costs. This would possibly make them more money in the long term, it makes the UK Royal Mail charge of £8 for items over £15 seem quite reasonable in comparison. I am not aware of what DHL charge in the UK but I have read that FedEx charge a minimum of £12, according to their website in the UK, "FedEx pays the Duty and Tax charges on your behalf to ensure we can deliver your shipment as quickly as possible. This incurs an administration fee of 2.5% of the combined Duty and VAT charge or £12.00 (whichever is greater). ". But I have also read that courier companies such as FedEx can sometimes over charge.
 

zealshaver

Forum GOD!
Exactly the same as my friend N_Architect here.
Also ordered the One Blade Core without knowing it would have been sent by DHL.
Unfortunately there was neither indication of the carrier nor any choice whatsoever from the vendor. $8 for shipping was such a good price I've never had guessed it was for DHL.
Well, they will probably harass me to pay an exorbitant amount of money for broker 'services' I never asked.
I'll wait for their phone call first. Hope dies last.
 

qVAMPIREp

Forum GOD!
The sad part is that it is cheaper (UPS at least) to get next business delivery because it includes brokerage fees! If I'm paying $$ deliver it tomorrow morning :)
 

clint64

Forum GOD!
June 16, 2017
OneBlade Core
Feather
“Amgios” Simpson CH2 Synthetic
MdC Fougere
Myrsol Agua Balsamica


Before I get into the shave I wanted to take the time to note some of the issues with the razor. As mentioned earlier the total weight of the razor is fine but the balance is all in the handle with the head feeling weightless by comparison. Many have noted a rough spot on the back right below the blade slot. It appears to be where the mold was cut. It did not have an impact on the shave but is worth noting. Other than that I had no issues with the construction of the razor. I had no issues inserting or removing the blade. You do have to lift up on the blade gently as you remove it.

For the maiden shave I went with the Feather blades included with the Core. I honestly threw out all my techniques for SE and DE shaving and approached the razor as I would a cartridge razor. Ignoring the instruction sheet, I did apply pressure during the shave. For the shave I went XTG, ATG followed by touch ups along my jawline and mouth. I do have trouble spots on the bottom of my neck in the collar area that are almost impossible to get BBS without irritation. As such I do not try for perfection in those areas but do expect and achieve a near perfect shave over the remainder of my face. The Core easily meet my expectations of a near perfect BBS shave. Better yet it was done without any drama or irritation of any kind.

Is the Core the perfect razor. I would say no because many want to test their skills and hone their technique. I do think it will appeal to those coming from a cartridge background. They don't have the high expectations of fit and finish but do want a good easy shave. I plan to use this over the Core over the next couple of weeks and see if my initial impressions remain unchanged. At this point I am starting to think of what I sell to get a OneBlade Genesis
 

N_Architect

Travel, See, Feel, Explore
Let it come over to Europe and we'll see.

Personally I've had (now sold) the OB v1.0 stainless steel therefore I could relatively easily comment between the two.
All this provided I will indeed have the Core delivered, because if the processing + customs charges are unnecessarily high I shall refuse delivery of the item.
 
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