Competition and the Marketplace Save You Money

It doesn’t always work out this way, but more times than not it does.

When a business faces competition, it’s usually forced to keep its product offerings and/or pricing in line with the competition.  Price your products too high and you risk losing customers to those businesses that offer comparable products or service.

Which is exactly what has happened in the shaving/razor blade industry.

A while back I wrote a piece titled, “Razor Blade Prices are Ridiculous,” in which I discussed how razor blade pricing was getting out of hand and provided a tip for increasing blade life to get as much value out of those exorbitantly priced razor blades as you can.

And that was written before razor blade prices had increased even more.

Increases which prompted me to look for less expensive alternatives to the Gillette Sensor Excel blades I had been using.

And, as a result of my search, to write up my findings in a post titled, “Well I’ll Be, Dollar Shave Club is a Good Deal.”

Turns out, I’m not alone in finding a better deal at Dollar Shave Club.

In today’s Wall Street Journal, an article, “Gillette, Bleeding Market Share, Cuts Prices of Razors,” by Sharon Terlep, discusses how Gillette’s high prices for razors has led to a lower market share and thus a move to more align its products’ pricing with the competition’s.

The article states,”New data show Gillette has lost U.S. market share for six straight years.  Its share of the men’s-razors business fell to 54% in 2016, down from 59% in 2015 and more than 70% in 2010.”

It goes on to say,”…[It] hopes to stop defections of its U.S. customers to online startups like Dollar Shave Club and Harry’s that sell lower-priced razors and blades.  Gillette’s plan to cut prices by as much as 20% jolted Wall Street.”

It may have jolted investors, but it’s good news for consumers.

There really is no reason for razor blades to be priced as they are by Gillette.  Not when you can get a comparable product at a fraction of the price (thanks, Dollar Shave Club).

During a recent trip to WalMart, I took a quick stroll down the shaving aisle.  $27 and change for a 10-pack of my Gillette Sensor Excel blades!

Yes, a 20% reduction in price will help, but even then, $21 for 10 blades is still, in my estimation, a tad out of line.

Dollar Shave Club’s price for 10 comparable blades? $6.

Competition and the marketplace are working…they just need to work a little harder before I’d give Gillette a serious look again.