A lesson in mailing pen stuff

[KCat]

It's a cheap lesson fortunately, but I've learned it.

 

I bought something inexpensive off "the green board." I'm sure it was intact when it was shipped.

 

But I didn't ask for insurance and the shipper didn't put it in anything really protective. At least not protective enough.

 

the nib is bent back 45 degrees and the feed is snapped in half. Its unsalvageable, trust me.

 

so... from now on, I'll ask sellers to protect nib units they are mailing.

 

I don't know if insuring it for a buck would have resolved anything. Don't know how good USPS is about dealing with small, insured items.

 

i'm just disappointed...

 

folks - i know bubble envelopes seem protective - but don't trust 'em! support nibs, feeds, etc. with at least some card stock wrapped around them or something.

[Cam]

Oh nasty. Sorry for your loss.

[Guest Denis Richard]

ouch :blink:

[georgem]

I had, (well still have, sort of) a Scrooge McDuck Fountain Pen originally manufactured by Colibri.

 

At one point, some years ago, ink stopped flowing and the usual remedies -- water, flushing, detergent, etc. were without effect.

 

Being inexperienced and foolish, I attempted removing the nib and feed with consequences similar to that which befell KCat with her Sheaffer.

 

I sent it to Colibri. They swapped the nib and feed but the nib was different from the "mouse ears" original.

 

They sent it back to me in a...

 

You Guessed it!!!

 

A JET BAG!!!

 

The fancy box inside the jet bag was severely damaged. The pen, well, less so. It's difficult to get the cap on and off the pen.

 

At least it writes well, but tends to seep ink at the intersection of a trim ring and the end of the section.

 

I complained to them about this, but they said they could not replace the pen's fancy box or provide the original nib. However they did offer to provide further service. At that point I was unaware of the section's tendency to seep.

 

I think they were a bit nonplussed when I declined their offer to further, umm, *service* my pen.

 

The pen is now one which I hardly use any more, don't want to give up, and can no longer find a replacement for.

 

When I first got it, it was really nice and I used it a lot.

[Stylo]

I think Richard Binder has some writeup on good packing.

 

In general, a very hard cardboard box and bubble paper fully surrounding the pen will do. Better yet, I think Binder recommends even a PCV pipe surrounding the pen.

[KendallJ]

Kcat, sorry to hear of your package's demise. I have received Esterbrooks off the Bay in a bubble bag and nothing else. So easy to have the pen snapped in two.

 

I use bubble envelopes, but every pen I ship is encased in PVC pipe section. a 5" section of 3/4" diameter pipe is very strong. Have yet to lose a pen or nib!

 

And I wrap strapping tape fully around he bubble envelope along each axis. Sturdy shipping for <$1/shipment.

Edited April 28, 2005 by KendallJ

[Gerry]

KCat. Wouldn't necessarily leap to the conclusion that that was a lesson you had to learn, just the cost of business in pendom. Good thing it wasn't expensive.

 

Most of my purchases have been from eBay, but some from private sellers too. All were uninsured. None were lost or damaged in any way. There have been many shipments, perhaps half just in bubblewrap.

 

My deferred insurance costs were well over $100.00, and these were all pens worth $10 - $20.00. Looks like I have perhaps 15 more pens than I would have if I insured them all. And don't forget, some of the insurances do not cover damage, just loss.

 

Of course, the situation may change if you are dealing with an expensive investment, but I don't particularly like the vendors who insist on insurance for relatively inexpensive pens. It's a choice I feel that I have the right to make.

 

George - I really feel for you re your Scrooge McDuck pen. Particularly the mouse ears nib.

 

Cheers all

 

Gerry

 

[Edit PS: Kendall, congratulations on both your packing and S&H charges. Excellent!]

Edited April 28, 2005 by Gerry

[custar]

Good packing is cheaper than insurance. When I ship, I wrap my pens in a bubble wrap or foam, slip that into PVC pipe cut to 1/4 inch longer than the pen, apply a mailing label directly to the pipe (secured with tape), pad and tape the ends of the pipe, and then pack the "shipping unit" in the box with crumpled newspaper or packing peanuts. An elephant or a truck could go over this packing, and the pen would survive 95%+ of the time. If the box is destroyed, the shipping label on the pipe should send the pen to it's new home (perhaps postage due, but at least there) or back to me.

 

I too have received many a pen in a bubble wrap or some sort of cardboard contraption jerry rigged from materials that must have been selected solely based on what was within hand's reach at the time the pen was wrapped. I have never had a pen damaged in the mail which surprises me more and more each time one arrives.

 

Sorry about your loss.

 

custar

[KCat]

well, the individual has been good to work with - i really don't want to bring anything down on them because this is pretty unusual for something to be this badly damaged. In this case, a folded bit of card stock would have protected it probably. maybe. I don't know what sort of machine it required to mangle this thing so badly that it actually poked a hole *through* the bubble envelope itself.

 

Most people send pens and such very well-protected. When they don't, I am often pleasantly surprised that there is no damage! I bought a pen from a well-known German seller and it was shipped just in a padded (not bubble) envelope with no other protection. Yet it got here just fine. So.... catch as catch can, I guess.

 

I'm not sure insurance would have been a solution either. And my feeling initially was that it was such an inexpensive thing that would normally be safe in the mail...

[Maja]

Bummer about the nib unit, KCat.... but I can relate to that myself....except in my case it was my own fault (I mailed a nib for grinding) I did wrap the nib unit in bubble wrap and I also wrapped some thin cardboard around that....but the section broke in two or three pieces; I guess it was the most vulnerable part of the nib unit. The person to whom I sent it wisely recommended that I insert an empty ink cartridge (to "support" the section) next time....or, better yet, use a PVC pipe (which I should have....)

Live and learn.

 

George,

is your Scrooge Colibri pen anything like the one in this now-completed Ebay auction?

 

Scrooge McDuck rollerball by Colibri

I realize that this is a rollerball, but is yours the same design?

I might be mistaken but I often see them up for auction on Ebay, so keep looking!

Edited April 29, 2005 by Maja

[georgem]

George,

is your Scrooge Colibri pen anything like the one in this now-completed Ebay auction?

 

Maja,

 

The design is identical.

 

Believe it or not, I've never shopped on ebay. Guess I'll have to find out how to search the lists for something like that.

 

Thanks for the tip.

[Maja]

George,

is your Scrooge Colibri pen anything like the one in this now-completed Ebay auction?

 

Maja,

 

The design is identical.

 

Believe it or not, I've never shopped on ebay. Guess I'll have to find out how to search the lists for something like that.

 

Thanks for the tip.

:o

 

What have I started??

 

George, it can be soooooo addictive!

To search for current auctions, you don't have to register (in order to bid or sell, you do have to register, of course).

To search through old (completed) auctions---which I did in this case for you---you have to be registered with Ebay. This necessitates a credit card for "security" reasons.

 

It is free to bid; only the seller gets charged a commission...

 

If you need more tips, just send me a PM; I have almost 200 feedbacks (and all as a buyer ) since I joined Ebay in 2001, so I've been around the Ebay block.

 

 

Happy browsing!

[Dillo]

Hi,

 

My barrel of my Reflex did get cracked in the post from Parker England, and Parker USA replaced it for me.

 

Dillon

[Titivillus]

Kcat, sorry to hear of your package's demise. I have received Esterbrooks off the Bay in a bubble bag and nothing else. So easy to have the pen snapped in two.

 

I use bubble envelopes, but every pen I ship is encased in PVC pipe section. a 5" section of 3/4" diameter pipe is very strong. Have yet to lose a pen or nib!

 

And I wrap strapping tape fully around he bubble envelope along each axis. Sturdy shipping for <$1/shipment.

As a receipient of said pen-pipe I can confirm that it is a near bulletproff method of sending pens. Nathan Tardiff sends his pens out this way as well even taping the pipes to the inside of the bubble envelope. I had an odd section of 1" PVC and cut it into sections making it a really cheap way to send. The two piece pen tubes might look nice but I don't think they have the same mechanical strength as the PVC.

 

 

K H