An evil business model that works

A whole industry is actively conning us. But they get away with it, because we can't get away from them.

No, I'm not talking about Facebook or Google or Microsoft or Apple. That's child's play in comparison.

Nope, not copyright and patent trolls either.

I'm talking about the business model used by the razor blade, the printer and the gaming console industries.

A simple business model - sell the product at a low price, possibly at a loss, make sure there is a renewable component that needs replacing often and sell it to your users at a premium. The main product locks them in, the auxilary product bleeds them dry.

Good old bait and switch.

While gaming consoles are a pretty tame rip off and printers matter less and less. The razor blade industry is actively ripping off half the population! (assuming women mostly depilate, rather than shave)

As mammals who like to pretend they aren't hairy beasts, everyone must shave. At least once in a while. As a result the male shaving industry is worth \\\$2,000,000,000 in the US alone.

First you buy a razor handle, cheap, I promise, later you have to buy replacement razor blades. You know, for a clean smooth shave! Price? Oh, just twice as much as the original purchase, no biggie!

That's evil.

Forget Google stealing all your datas or Twitter selling you out to advertisers. Here, you pay to be ripped off. Pay!

Dealing with the shaving industry has become so horrible I would rather shave with so old a razor that shaving sounds like a snow shovel scraping against asphalt. HRRRRKKKKHHRHK!

The handle on my last one even broke - pressing too hard made the whole thing fly off! Kept using it for two months.

When you finally say to yourself "Okay, this is getting ridiculous, I'm buying replacement razors" ... you go to a store and are presented with a fine selection of two or three types of razors.

None match what you've got at home.

You go to the next store ... the situation isn't much better.

Rinse and repeat about five times and the realization finally hits you - you've been using this razor so long it's been discontinued and you have to buy a whole new set.

Well, fuck.

Volunteering for a rip off

After mulling over three blades, or five, aloe this strip, silky smooth rubber that strip, maye I should just get a disposable razor ... you finally pick something that looks like it might work. You fork over the 10 euro for a new razor and then 20 euro for a set of replacement blades ...

... and you vow not to make another purchase for at least a year. You'd rather suffer using the same blade for two or three months.

No considerations of brand loyalty, no recollection of any marketing you saw on television, no other consideration than minimizing exposure to the purchase. When buying a computer all you want is an Intel processor and a Nvidia graphics card. If it's portable and you can afford it, you want an Apple.

And you cherish the purchase. You get excited when you buy something!

With razor blades just walking into the store makes you feel ripped off.

Maybe if they worked on that, they could get me in the store more often and increase the whole market - not just market share - would get bigger.