The Gillette Myth: Who Really Invented the Cheap Razor?
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The Gillette Myth: Who Really Invented the Cheap Razor?
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A razor with two cartridges can cost less than a pack of four replacement cartridges. The handle is built to last for years. The blades are designed to be thrown away.
The next time you buy replacement blades, you'll notice the cheap razor beside them — and question who really invented that pricing strategy.
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IN THIS EPISODE
— Why Gillette charged premium prices for razors when its patents gave it the power to sell them cheaply
— How forgotten competitors pioneered the inexpensive razor strategy
— How a business model became one of the most widely repeated myths in economic history
THE NUMBER
$5 — the price of a Gillette razor set with twelve blades in 1904, roughly one-third of an American industrial worker's weekly wage.
SOURCES
Randal C. Picker — The Razors-and-Blades Myth(s), University of Chicago Law Review, 2011
Russell B. Adams — King C. Gillette: The Man and His Wonderful Shaving Device, 1978
TIME — Business: Bogus Blades, September 12, 1927
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Narration in this episode is AI-assisted.
Research, writing and editorial judgment are human.
Invisible Economics — The Systems Behind Everyday Life