Thursday, January 22, 2015

Shocker!! The $1.97 Razor is Rip-Off Junk!

Yesterday my $1.97 razor arrived from China. Okay, I know that I shouldn't expect much for $1.97, but the photos in the sales ad raised my hopes. The photos in the sales ad were a dead ringer for the Rimei razor I ordered some weeks back. Hmmmm. Well, I hoped that the seller wasn't a crook and would deliver the goods that he displayed.

So I kept my hopes up as I waited for the "Hot Men JunJie old style double Edge blade razor shaver sharp veneer Hair Razor" from the eBay seller, your365shop.

Unfortunately it was a scam, a visual lie. While I wasn't looking (because I'm in the U.S.A. and the seller is in China), the seller pulled a bait-and-switch ploy sending a different product than was photographed for the sales ad.

Below, I've shown the sales-ad photos along with similar photos of the product as delivered:

From the sales ad: Nice case, eh? Photo looks like a high-quality Rimei twin. (Turns out, these are photos of a better-quality, more-expensive Rimei, not the razor the seller is actually selling.)

Here's the packaging as delivered: an envelope and a blister pack with the brand torn off. Hey, where's that nice plastic case?

Another ad photo. Notice the details of the handle design.


Delivered razor: handle design isn't quite the same, is it? Not as nicely chromed either. Hey, where's that better razor?

Another ad photo. See the little tabs on the end of the top cap;  and the angles, curves of the baseplate;  the thick, smooth chrome?

Razor as delivered has no tabs on the top cap. Baseplate is similar but center diamond stamping is more oval. The corners of the safety bar are not as sharply defined. Again the handle is shown to be significantly different. The chrome is thin and bumpy.

From the sales ad: Again notice the tabs on the top cap and the sharp, well-stamped contours of the baseplate on the sales-photo razor.

Again, the razor as delivered has no tabs on the end of the top cap. The baseplate has completely different contours as well as thinner metal, and, as stated above, the overall chrome is much lower quality.
As I suspected but hoped wasn't true, the sales-ad photos were of a Rimei razor, not the alleged JunJie-brand junk (alliterative, isn't it -- ironic) that the seller delivered.

The razor delivered is in no way the equivalent of a Rimei razor -- even a defective one as was shipped to me. Big disappointment.  :-(

I've begun the eBay process of getting a refund from the seller. The two bucks isn't a big deal, but the only way we can discourage unethical sellers is to take the profit out of their crooked deals.

Happy shaving!
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9 comments:

  1. UnknownJanuary 22, 2015 at 10:51 AM

    I'm sure you have had plenty of people tell you where they were able to get a genuine Rimei. Here is where I got mine http://www.dx.com/p/rimei-stainless-steel-double-edge-blade-razor-silver-116281

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    Replies
    1. Doug NealJanuary 22, 2015 at 2:02 PM

      Thanks for the referral to this seller. After I bought for $6 off eBay my first best-quality Rimei razor (which unfortunately arrived with manufacturing defects including a bent safety bar; I'm awaiting a replacement), I stumbled upon this Deal Extreme seller. But tell me, does your Rimei have a symmetrical baseplate; that is, are the flanges of the safety bars even length? The two that I've seen so far have uneven safety-bar flanges.

      Delete
  2. AnonymousJanuary 23, 2015 at 9:14 PM

    Mine arrived from the same seller just like yours. I was looking for a cheap entry razor and found a few sites that linked to that eBay seller. It arrived in decent shape, but would you advise against using it?

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    1. Doug NealJanuary 24, 2015 at 5:21 AM

      I would first do a thorough inspection as I've described in the following article:

      http://shavelikegrandad.blogspot.com/2014/07/how-to-inspect-de-safety-razor-before.html

      If it checks out and the blade exposure is close to neutral and the blade gap is reasonably small (I have seen some cheapo Chinese razors of this class with horrifically exposed blades), then give it a careful try. However, I just received confirmation from the seller (after several emails with photos) that they'll refund my price due to advertising one razor in the photos (the Rimei NO:RM2003 -- the good one) but sending the RM:A2001 razor -- cheapo). I would recommend you do the same whether the one you received is shave worthy or not. We have got to discourage these unscrupulous bait-and-switch sellers.

      Also, to increase your chances of getting the RM2003 model, try this web seller:

      http://www.dx.com/p/rimei-stainless-steel-double-edge-blade-razor-silver-116281#.VMFHmEfF_3M

      Happy shaving!

      Delete
  3. JPJanuary 28, 2015 at 11:02 AM

    So I have used this razor three times now (using a Bluebird blade that I got part of a sampler set) and while I've only nicked myself twice I haven't gotten as good of a shave as my old Fusion. However, this could just be because I'm new to safety razor shaving and still need to work on my technique. All in all, for roughly $2, not a bad starter razor (at least for someone who has no other experience). Thanks for all the information on your blog too.

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    1. Doug NealJanuary 28, 2015 at 11:42 AM

      Hey, JP,
      *
      Thanks for your comment. If you liked the $2 razor, and want to keep DE shaving, try the $4 Rimei on DX.com (I have one on order and will report on it upon delivery):
      *
      http://www.dx.com/p/rimei-stainless-steel-double-edge-blade-razor-silver-116281#.VMkQo2jF_3M
      *
      This looks to be the higher-quality Rimei RM2003, which, if defect free, is a much better razor for not much more investment.
      *
      Also, be sure to watch mantic59's videos on YouTube, which may help you to get the best shaves. He also has a blog entitled "The Sharpologist".

      Delete
    2. Doug NealJanuary 28, 2015 at 11:48 AM

      By the way, I really like Bluebird blades. And also, following up on my mantic59 suggestion, the key is beard reduction, not beard removal. So most DE shavers, when going for a close shave, will lather, shave with grain; re-lather, shave across grain; re-lather again, shave against grain. If you do this, with practice you can get a close shave that is likely to beat the multi-blade gizmos without nearly as much risk of razor bumps or in-grown hairs.

      Delete
  4. AnonymousApril 3, 2015 at 3:05 PM

    I got 4 packages all from "Jane" too from 4 different seller ids. So far I got 3 refunds, one more to go.

    ReplyDelete
  5. AnonymousSeptember 27, 2017 at 11:18 AM

    Just to add my 2 (euro) cents. I already had a RM2003 razor, carefully chosen after reading your informative post; wanting to buy another one for a friend, I found an AliExpress seller offering it at a very low price - 1.52 euros. I took my chance and got the same fake razor you got. I couldn't even test it as it was impossible to unscrew the handle from the head... a real piece of junk.
    Now the good part of the story. Not a big money loss but I was curious to verify how AliExpress would deal with the issue, so I opened a dispute, stated my reason and sent a picture of the razor. Within 24 hours I had a very cooperative email from AliExpress, granting a full refund. I am very satisfied by the way they managed my "case", I'll buy again with confidence from this shopping platform. Maybe this can be useful for someone in doubt if trusting or not AliExpress, as they carry a good range of DE razors worth to try.

    Thanks for you very interesting and informative blog, all the very best.

    Marco

    ReplyDelete