Classic Rant #1,034 (September 3, 2013): Close Shave

I hope you had a nice Labor Day.

As I said yesterday, I labored on Labor Day, so my holiday, well, wasn't much of a holiday at all.

Now, on to something else.

Electric razors.

Along with putting on a tie, the thing I least like to do is shave.

It is an annoying exercise in futility, because you can shave all you want, but the hair is still going to grow back again.

But on to electric razors ...

Those are the types of razors I use to mow my face.

I simply find them easier to use than regular razors, cheaper in the long run, and better for my skin.

But every couple of years I need a new one, because I shave three times a week.

It wasn't that long ago that I was Ranting here about the razor I have just had to get rid of, how it didn't have the features of other razors I had, including a sideburn trimmer (Rant #754, to be exact, in June of 2012, so not even two years ago).

But my latest escapade with buying a razor trumped that.

I figured I would go to Wal-Mart to purchase a new one, because I figured that they had a better selection at cheaper prices.

So I entered the store this weekend, all ready to get a great deal.

After about five minutes, I found the selection, and I have to say I was disappointed.

They really didn't have much, maybe five or six different razors.

But what was most astonishing was the prices for these things.

They had doubled, or even tripled, from the last time I went electric razor shopping.

And there is a very good reason that this has happened.

The industry has created another tier for electric "grooming" items, and that tier is the trimmer.

The trimmer is being pushed as the razor to trim your sideburns, beard, mustache, and take off unwanted body hair.

Of course, a regular electric razor can do that too, but the industry figured that they could make a bigger buck by adding in another tier to the market.

So what has happened is that trimmers are now the price that razors were, and razors have jumped in price because of that.

So, the same razor that you could get for $15 or $20 a while back is now about double in price, as the trimmers are now in that lower price range.

So I was pretty perturbed, found the cheapest razor I could find, and still spent, with tax, nearly $50 on this thing. The last time I spent about $40, so I wasn't going for the cheapest razor then, although I know that when my son needed a razor, I bought him a good one for about $15-$20.

Look, I know that in the long run, I will actually save money, because I don't have to go out and buy new cartridges all the time as one would do is they used a regular razor, but $50 in one shot for an electric razor is ludicrous to me.

But at least this time I have that sideburn trimmer built into the thing. Last time, that feature was gone.

Heck, I wish my facial hair was gone so I didn't have to bother with this thing, but alas, as I am typing this, it is growing back.

How I wish that would be the case on my head!