John Phelan (who owns and runs Lemur Ink) was super generous for this year's Pelikan Hubs, sending out hundreds of dollars (possibly thousands) worth of pens and ink to various hubmasters who reached out to him for giveaways to share with their attendees. He deserve a double-shout-out just for that kind of generosity.
Where to buy Noodler's Ink online?
- Thread starter Freelancer317
- Start date
tankerjohn
A little poofier than I prefer
Wow, that’s really cool! He and Kat talked about the Indianapolis Hub on his podcast, but must have been too humble to mention the full extent of his gifting.
I've been buying Noodlers products from someone on Ebay that has good prices and service. I think he goes by "Abooger."
Jetpens also has good service, but their prices are high.
I used to buy from the Goulets years ago, but for some reason I haven't bought anything from them in maybe 7-8 years, nor have I gone to their web site. I'm not 100% sure why I haven't, but I haven't. Both Brian and Rachel were very friendly and passionate about their business, so I'm not sure what it is.
Jetpens also has good service, but their prices are high.
I used to buy from the Goulets years ago, but for some reason I haven't bought anything from them in maybe 7-8 years, nor have I gone to their web site. I'm not 100% sure why I haven't, but I haven't. Both Brian and Rachel were very friendly and passionate about their business, so I'm not sure what it is.
tankerjohn
A little poofier than I prefer
Interesting. I’ve only been in the hobby for a little over a year, but have found my interests moving beyond Goulet’s focus. Also, I honestly don’t know how Goulet and other US venders compete in the global marketplace with the antiquated distribution system in this country. I like to support domestic business, but paying double, or more, compared to international sources makes it really tough.
Service and support cost money, as does paying taxes, living wages for your employees, medical benefits, etc. You're likely to get better warranty support and other support by buying from a legitimate dealer like Goulet Pen than from buying a grey market product sold you by some guy in Japan who bought your pen at a stall in a shopping arcade the day before he shipped it to you.
I do buy products at times from international sellers. However, I keep in mind what the trade-offs are when doing so.
tankerjohn
A little poofier than I prefer
I totally agree with you on living wages and the rest. I'm not talking about gray market; I'm talking about reputable outlets like Pensachi in Japan, FPNibs in Spain, and Cult Pens in the UK. For some reason, US distributors significantly raise MSRPs compared to home markets. I'm sure there's a good reason for it, but I don't understand the economics behind it and it seems like the upcharge is more than just import costs. What I do understand is that I can get Japanese product vastly cheaper from Asian vendors and German products vastly cheaper from European vendors, even paying for overseas shipping. I'll grant you that it involves taking a chance on warranty issues, but come on, Japanese and German QC is pretty darn good. Every now and then you hear about a nib issue, but even then saving a couple hundred dollars on a high-end pen is worth paying $40 to get a nib tuned. Something is out of balance and in the long run I fear it hurts US vendors like Goulet because they can't offer competitive pricing in the global market.
