Blog: Shop Smart's Secrets For Saving On Shaving
By Jim Donovan: Razors, blades, creams and other hair-removal products can be costly, but don't have to be. The November 2013 issue of ShopSmart, from Consumer Reports, features findings from a price scan of hair-removal items that most of the time found Amazon.com had the lowest prices on products from well-known brands.
ShopSmart sent secret shoppers to price 24 brand-name hair-removal items – razors, cartridges, shaving and hair-removal creams and gels, and tweezers – at drugstores (CVS and Walgreens), mass retailers (Target and Walmart) and online retailers (Amazon.com, Drugstore.com and HarmonDiscount.com). Shoppers also spot-checked Costco and Sam's Club.
Some stores came close to matching Amazon.com's prices, but the highest prices were often much higher, especially at CVS, which had 16 of the highest priced items on ShopSmart's price-scan scorecard. The biggest savings: 32 percent on Veet Fast Acting Gel Cream Hair Remover at Walmart over CVS (priced at $8.21 and $12.10, respectively). Another example of big savings at Walmart was on Satin Care with a Touch of Olay Shaving Gel (7 ounces) priced at $1.98 at Walmart and $4.49 at Walgreens – a savings of 56 percent.
"Shopping online for hair-removal products can save you a lot of money," said Lisa Lee Freeman, editor-in-chief of ShopSmart. "Also, online subscription services that offer scheduled, automatic delivery eliminate the hassle of running to the store when you run out of razors."
More Ways to Save on Razors and Replacement Cartridges
Shopping online was key to saving big in ShopSmart's price scan of hair-removal products. Here are some more ways shoppers can score deals on razors and replacements cartridges:
- Shop warehouse clubs for replacement blades. At Costco and Sam's Club, ShopSmart found Gillette cartridges for as much as 125 percent less than at drugstores and for 70 percent less than at mass retailers. Plus, cartridges came with a razor.
- Sign up for an automatic subscription service. Amazon.com, Drugstore.com and Soap.com all offer subscription services that automatically send razors and blades, saving time and sometimes money.
- Try out the Dollar Shave Club. This online subscription service, currently marketed primarily to men (and unofficially their wives and girlfriends), sends members a 30-day supply of its private-label, stainless-steel lubricated blades every month. Four cartridges cost $6 a month (handle included, with free shipping).
For the full findings from ShopSmart's price-scan on hair-removal products, which includes more advice on how to save and a review of the No No 8800 hair removal system, check out the November 2013 issue on newsstands now and online.
