What's that got to do with the price of razor blades?

Stuff.co.nz reports: Manufacturers continue to hit consumers with price rises by stealth by cutting product sizes. Basically, rather than raising prices companies are cutting quantity to avoid the consumer backlash associated with a price rise.

So what you might say. Isn't that the just what we should expect in this greed orientated capitalist society we live in?

Probably and while it is a little devious it is also quite clever. Companies costs rise which means they need to raise their prices, nothing devious there just a fact of commerce. Consumers don't like prices rises (although they do like pay rises in their own jobs which contribute directly to price rises, although that is not the only factor) so companies are trying to keep their customers happy while maintaining their margins. A little devious, a bit dishonest but quite clever.

Ultimately it is the consumers responsibility to ensure they are getting a deal they are comfortable with. You don't need to be furiously checking every item you buy, just clever, especially when it comes to the more expensive items.

But what caught my eye in the article was this paragraph:

The world's biggest producer of men's razors, Gillette, is the latest culprit cutting the number of replacement cartridges in its Mach3 Turbo packs from five to four while keeping the price the same, effectively a 20 per cent price increase.

I believe New Zealand men and women are getting royally ripped off when it comes to the price of razor blades in the country. For instance from Countdown.co.nz you get a four pack of Gillette Fusion blades for $25.99 ($6.50 per blade), while in the UK you can get the same pack for £10.05 or $20.38 ($5.10 a blade) from www.boots.co.uk, over five dollars cheaper. And that doesn't take into account the fantastic deals you can get in the UK on bulk packs. Take this option from Superdrug.co.uk: a razor with blade plus ten spares for only £20 or $40.55 ($3.69 a blade).

So you can see why I thought there was a problem. So I asked Google if there was someway to get razor blades cheaper in this country and in it's infinite wisdom it gave me this.

Clicking the link will take you to BestBuyBlades.com who appear to have had the same problem as me.

We are three young and creative kiwi entrepeneurs that were sick of paying ridiculous prices for good genuine razor blades which are a every day necessity. Consequently we decided to do something about it; we scoured the globe to find large international exporters and whole salers which were able to supply us with your quality everyday razor blades (both Schick and Gillette) and have parallel imported them so that we can deliver them directly to your door step via our unique service set and forget while providing you with massive savings.

And it's true. A four pack of Gillette Fusion blades is $18.99 ($4.75 per blade) including delivery to your door. If you use their Set and Forget service it is $16.99 ($4.25). Brilliant savings and you just need to be clever about it. In my case just using Google solved my problem.

Disclaimer: I haven't received payment or razor blades in kind for this post. I was just upset about the price of my razor blades and think these guys offer a fantastic service.