Online shaving clubs deliver discounted razors straight to your door. To see whether they’re a good buy, a team of Consumer Reports staffers checked out four razors sold through the clubs.
The staffers used each of the brands at home for eight days and then answered questions on comfort and quality of shave. They also had a post-shave evaluation by Consumer Reports’ trained sensory panelists.
Dollar Shave Club’s Humble Twin blade was the least favorite for face comfort and ease of handling but did well on closeness of shave. At 60 cents per cartridge including shipping, it’s also the least expensive. But for most of the staffers, that wasn’t enough of an enticement.
Two other razors — Harry’s Truman at $1.88 per cartridge and Dollar Shave’s Executive at $2.25 — were a little better for comfort and handling. Both have free shipping.
The Gillette Fusion ProShield was voted the favorite. The seven men who tried it said it gave a slightly closer shave than the other blades. However, at well over $5 per cartridge including shipping, the Gillette is by far the most expensive. The pricey Gillette Fusion ProShield is the only one you can find in stores. But you’ll get a slightly better deal if you buy it online through the club.
Once you join any of the clubs, the cartridges arrive automatically. You set the schedule and they’re charged to your credit card. You may cancel the subscription at any time, but it might take some searching on the website to figure out how to do it.
Dollar Shave Club sent us this statement:
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"Consumers can get razors in a lot of places but no one forms a better union of benefits - value, convenience and fun - the way Dollar Shave Club (DSC) does. We are focused on providing high quality products to our 3.1 million members that save them time and money. Less than 0.46% (half a percent) of members leave the club due to blade quality issues. In fact, we have best-in-class retention rates with our members' tenure averaging 3.2 years in the club (with only 4 years total since launch). We provide the products our members want, not overpriced shaving tech that they don't need."
Comcast, which owns NBC Universal, is also a part owner in Dollar Shave Club.
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