Update : Got Mike's natural bay rum from Mong

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Mar 23, 2014
Got a container of Mike's natural bay rum from Mong a few weeks ago. Very strong rum smell, so i left the container open and its much milder now. But the soap itself is great, makes a very thick lather, can handle lots of water and i dont get razor burn anymore while shaving. Couldnt press the soap down into the container though (too hard), am i supposed to soak it in water first to soften it?

Now the problem is how do i get more soap like this when it runs out...shipping costs from the US is huge :(.
 
Move to the USA?
 
I did look into moving to the US a while back...short of winning the green card lottery or getting married to an american though, thats not happening.
 
Question said:
Now the problem is how do i get more soap like this when it runs out...shipping costs from the US is huge :(.
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Group buy? A few of us are keen to try Mike's soaps after a lot of raving by others.
The difficulty is the postage costs in Oz to distribute once they are shipped over here.
 
I have these Mikes soaps:
Bay Rum
Orange Cedarwood & Black Pepper
Hungarian Lavender
Lemongrass and Eucalyptus
Lime
Barber Shop

Also have had samples of the Vetiver and the Coconut.

They are all fantastic. Definitely worth buying. I probably don't need to go in the group buy!
 
filobiblic said:
Group buy? A few of us are keen to try Mike's soaps after a lot of raving by others.
The difficulty is the postage costs in Oz to distribute once they are shipped over here.
Click to expand...

Yea, i thought about doing a group buy but the problem is that AusPost charges a min of $7.50 to ship any packages thicker than 20mm, regardless of weight or volume. Its actually cheaper to ship two packages of 19mm thickness each than ship a single 21mm thick package.

If Mike can cut the soap up into bits that are thinner than 20mm each though, that would work great for a group buy...i think i will email him about it.

possumbelly said:
I have these Mikes soaps:
Bay Rum
Orange Cedarwood & Black Pepper
Hungarian Lavender
Lemongrass and Eucalyptus
Lime
Barber Shop

Also have had samples of the Vetiver and the Coconut.

They are all fantastic. Definitely worth buying. I probably don't need to go in the group buy!
Click to expand...

Wow, did you buy a whole bunch at once or something?
 
Mike says he cant do custom orders, i guess if people want to do a group buy, whoever is getting the soap can cut it up into thinner blocks before sending it via aus post?
 
Two orders, east and west coast, then split up from there ?
 
This stuff is the best soap I've used by a LONG way. I think I've 5 of them - plus sampled just about everything and I still regret I didn't buy 3 or so more. Lasts REALLY well too, as in you need very little of it to lather it well. With my VS synth a few twirls makes a huge amount of lather but the real difference is in how good your skin feels afterwards, nothing compares.
 
borked said:
Two orders, east and west coast, then split up from there ?
Click to expand...
Best have two different coordinators then. I'm in as well. If you want to lead the charge Borked, it's best to start a new thread so people can find it.
 
I didnt buy any, but went through the process last night, postage was not that bad. Its $25, so 2 tins and postage was around $50 or if you buy without the tin (bar form) you could buy 3 bars + postage for around the same price.
 
Before ya'll get too far down the group buy path, which seems to be getting quite the wearing out lately. I'd also consider placing any group buy with either Cold River Soap Works or also Stirling Soap Company.

I've just done an order from CRSW (as they had 25% off) and it worked out at under $AUD17 per soap delivered from their classic/original lines. Though if you can get a decent sized order I'd highly recommend you consider ordering from their Select range, which although at first glance seems scary expensive at $USD25 per tin - but it's 50% bigger than the classic/original and on paper should be the VERY BEST shaving soap in the world!!!!!

Yes, you read that right - the ingredients are literally the best I've ever seen (obviously thats only part of it BUT like I said ON PAPER!).

Plus they're always instock too - which is the killer with Mike's - you'll have group buys ruined or perpetually delayed as items will be out of stock for months and then sellout in a few hours!

I've had another Aussie recently place a big order with Stirling Soap and he raved about how good their service was in helping him maximise what he could get in his order to make it at a set postage cost. He'd also ordered samples etc in advance and said they were superb. They also have their own balms, aftershave etc so a tad more choice PLUS have some really unusual soaps e.g Beer!!!!! Added bonus is their soaps are all around 5 ounces and are just shrink wrapped - so you can really load up an order.

On your east/west coast order strategy I thought Aust. Post basically had a flat $7.20 minimum parcel charge regardless of location? So it'd be ideal if you could do a major city order then meet up to distribute plus perhaps swap a few other items.

I do hope you're able to get a group order placed with someone - I think Mike's is the best value, as his ingredients are just a tad behind the CRSW Select range in quality but much cheaper however getting stock in might require someone placing the order via email RATHER than his website - as he can give feedback on if/when he could fulfill it this way (I've emailed him before, really nice guy).
 
Thanks NtK. I've ordered from Rod at Stirling before. Terrific bloke with great service and top soap. His soaps standout as being great value for money and lots of variety in scents. They lather very well too. He usually throws in a few extras into each package.

I've not heard too much about CR soap works, but then again there are so many soap companies around these days!!!
 
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