Levenger True Writer Sale

[rroossinck]

Wow...I've never seen a thread in the Marketplace get this much traction!

 

Mods...perhaps we could separate part of this thread and re-create it over in the mainstream areas? I have a feeling it might generate more traffic and hence, better results and feedback.

 

Ry, nice to see you here!

 

BTW...I just got the email from the list about the Sea Glass! Very nice!

[sleek_lover]

I also had a problem with a True Writer; again, a loose cap band.

The True Writer has been plagued with the loose band syndrome since the first day of its existence...

 

I finally quit trying to get blood out of a rock, bought some polyacrylate stuff (krazy glue) and fixed the bloody thing myself. Then I called myself and yelled at me, since I became the the de facto Levenger Customer Service Rep for that issue. I gave myself such good service, I went back and bought other stuff.

 

Bill...who needs to improve his people skills when talking to himself...

[scubie02]

yeah, I just epoxied the stuff back on rather then spend my money sending them back, then I'm giving them away, which was sort of my first plan really anyway, since I obviously wouldn't need three periwinkle True Writers...the only difference being now I'm giving them to people I don't like as much... ;P

[Grem]

Well, as of 3:15 pm EST on Tuesday Feb. 13, they have Tangerine versions, but only broad nib for that price.

 

John

As of 13:23 PT (16:23 ET), the Tangerine is gone again. These things are selling quicker than playoff tickets!

 

TTFN,

Grem

[rasmussen]

I'm really quite thankful for the welcome and even more so for this feedback. I've been "lurking" on this site for awhile, and I've heard so many great suggestions [Keep them coming.] I suppose, as RRoossinck suggested, a move to a new topic or forum might open this up to even more collaborative discussion.

 

*

 

I've recently advocated the need to address this issue of secondary market repairs as a result of hearing so many persuasive testimonials here on FPN. I've been thinking about Chartpack [re: julikko's post.] I also think Sonia really nailed this with her post -

Sonia Simone:  Honoring a warranty for pens sold on the secondary market is an excellent idea. You're the only ones selling this pen. If a customer has a TW, you know *someone* bought it from you. You owe it to the brand to make a commitment to the TW whether you sold it to this particular customer or not. That's the kind of long sight that builds great brands.

I'll keep you guys filled-in on the status of this. In the meantime, send me a PM with any outstanding experiences or unresolved issues. It might take some time, but I can't imagine a better way to make things right than by addressing each customer personally.

 

*

paircon01:  The True Writer has been plagued with the loose band syndrome since the first day of its existence...

Honestly, I've had 2 or 3 bands slide off of my own truewriter pens. I understand what you folks are referring to, and realize that it's a serious problem [especially with our current plans with TW's.] I wish I could tell you that the problem has been completely fixed. Using Scubie02's example, the periwinkles from the sale were part of that same production line with problematic adhesive. (The problem did not consist only of that color. Rather, it has been a pretty long struggle for us to get this fixed with several productions.)

 

To open up two out of three cases to find pens with pieces in places they don't belong is a pretty poor reflection on the line. I'm sorry for this.

 

*

 

As I communicate these issues to our product development team, please also keep in mind that we are actively looking for new directions to experiment with in our TW line. Suggestions like Sonia's to try a purple or brown refill {wow} are really great to hear.

 

Thanks for all of your help.

I'll do my best to represent the concerns of the FPNetwork, and I look forward to learning from you.

 

-Ryan

[sonia_simone]

Ryan, I just want to say that it is exciting and cool to have you here to listen to our suggestions. Thanks!

[dwmatteson]

Ryan -- Welcome! It's good to see you over here.

 

I just wanted to mention to the folks on FPN that Ryan is every bit as interested in helping to resolve these problems as he seems. He was super-responsive to a customer service issue that I raised with him after seeing him post on 43Folders. He really will go the extra mile to make sure his customers are satisfied.

 

Standard disclaimer applies -- I buy Levenger stuff (not so much the paper products these days, but other things), but no other affiliations.

 

Don M.

[ConnallMac]

I have owned two True Writers. One I traded away after I grew out of my broad nib phase, the other I gave away because the fine nib wrote like a wet medium. I think the line could benefit from smaller nib sizes and adding an Extra Fine nib to it. Other than nib size issues I have been very pleased with the True Writers. Especially the colors of the plastic used for the barrels and caps.

 

 

--J. Haney

[Grem]

Interesting comments about the fine writing like a medium. I have a medium, and it seems to write like a medium!

 

TTFN,

Grem

[jonro]

I mentioned in my review of the periwinkle TW that it's a fine, but writes more like a medium. My Kyoto (also fine) writes exactly the same way. I, like others, would like to see Levenger either adjust their nib sizes or add an extra fine nib to the line.

[sleek_lover]

One clarification--I really LIKE the TWs to the extent I have over a dozen of them and have little desire to get shy of any.

 

In fact, I will "foster" any TWs any of you all don't want...I will take very nice care of them, feeding them only decent inks and not let them play with disreputable "dark side" pens like MBs...

 

Bill...who will even reimburse for postage..

[Ray-Vigo]

My TW medium writes like a broad. I'd say it's a little wider than a Phileas M. It's very smooth though.

[sleek_lover]

QUOTE (Ray-Vigo @ Feb 13 2007, 06:58 PM)

My TW medium writes like a broad. I'd say it's a little wider than a Phileas M. It's very smooth though.

Ironic this thread--at this time...I am going through my entire herd for culling and happen to be in the TW corral...

 

Currently on deck are a blue B, a white M and a "cami" F-- and a Kultur F. To my eyes, there the F-nibs are laying the same line...and I always had the sneaking suspicion that whoever makes the Waterman Phil nibs makes the TW nibs.

 

Bill..

Edited February 14, 2007 by paircon01

[a11en]

Ryan! Welcome to FPN! Wonderful to have you here!

 

I have been using a few newly purchased TW's, and I have been enjoying the experience. I have a few thoughts on them.

 

First, one small gripe- the section and nib-unit don't mate with a high enough tolerance to keep ink out of the seam between the two. In lighter colored pens, the ink gets in that crack, and stays there quite nicely. It also makes filling them from the bottle a bit more of a pain. I've heard there are cracking issues in the nib-unit that might be resolved with a better tolerance here as well- something of a support for the nib-unit plastics by using the outer resin section as a support due to a closer fit. Of course higher tolerances generally mean more expensive- but I'll leave that part up to you guys.

 

Second, modification of the pen components was necessary- with every TW I've purchased, I needed to sand down the converter end to enable it to be used in the pen. I am positive I seated the converter properly, but the pen would not go together again without a gap at the section/body thread. Sanding the converter down carefully, and trimming the excess plastic, enabled the pen section and body to fit properly.

 

Third- a suggestion- I for one am interested in TW's nib-units as replacement parts. I come to this point due to the likeness of the TW's to the Esterbrooks of old. The Esties had wonderful plastics, nice steel parts, and great nibs. [see forum for them.] The TW's remind me a lot of the Esties with a bit of an upgrade to the plastic thickness and the hardware. They even have similar jewels. One of the things that the Esterbrooks had, that makes all of us collectors love them so- is their easily purchasable replacement nibs. I know that even now, after the Esties are no longer made, that I can pick up an iridium tipped nib, even a short-hand nib, for my *vintage* Esterbrooks. Amazing. I've purchased a number of Esties since first loving the FP, and I have been buying replacement nib units for them as well. There's nothing worse than having a nib go south, and not be able to replace it. Especially when you have a pen with wonderful plastic like the TW's.

 

As well- perhaps spicing things up with the nibs will bring some more people to purchase... offer Stub nibs, or Italics- heck, even a package of 4 italics of varying sizes. [or the ever elusive flex-nib] If something this wonderful was done with a reasonably priced pen, I'm sure it will perk up some ears and garner sales. Of course, one always has to be conscious of cost to do this -v- money brought in.

 

An idea for how to deal with nib demand: how about offering replacement nibs for TW customers who can furnish their receipt, and offer a for purchase nib unit for those who cannot? This might be a nice medium between the two, if Levenger finds it too expensive to give away replacement nib units (for broken ones of course). I for one would love to have a few nib-units to play with nib-sizes, or have my hand at them for some nib-grinding into italics etc, and if the nib units were priced reasonably, I'd buy a couple of them this very moment.

 

I'm very happy to see Levenger is still listening to customers these days- you guys have been growing very fast. Some comments regarding customer service etc., had me wondering if perhaps the growth was hurting the company. Hopefully you can avoid this, and hopefully Levenger will grow and still have that small-company feel to it, and the small-company customer service as well.

 

I don't know if we met in Chicago before, but next time I'm there, I'll have to be sure to drop in.

 

Great to see you on here, Ryan!! My best!

-Allen

[julikko]

Great reply, Allen! I fully endorse every point.

Edited February 15, 2007 by julikko

[adair]

I would love to see Levenger bring back the early GREEN True Writer. I was sad to see that one discontinued. Of all the TWs, it most resembled an Esterbrook.

[AndrewC]

Hello Ryan,

Welcome and I think it brave of you to open yourself up to this. But, FPN is a nice place with nice folks.

 

Had a few cap bands come off, converters that were a pain, cap lip cracks. When the pens were cheap that wasn't an issue. Now they are not cheap, so more attention to QA/QC is important.

 

My big gripe? Have you folks fixed the feed collar problem? If you use the pens a lot I have found, with some of the older models anyway, that the ring holding the feed cracks out. As levenger does not repair, only replaces, it is quite frustrating. If you are out of a color, I am out of luck. I really liked my green pen, darn it! So- if you have fixed that ring problem, I'd be more likely to get most of the new colors. Or offer replacement rings. OR, perhaps have a section made in universal black. It would still look classy on the TW, and the replacement would not be so trying for those of us atached to particular colors. Sell the pen with the original color section and offer the black sections as an extra and use as a relacement for the broken feed collars. I would not mind a black section if I knew I could keep the barrel and cap in the original color.

 

And the suggestion about the various nib sizes? Absolutely. The colors are great, the nibs are pretty good but rather plain vanilla. Offering stubs and CIsand EFs would garner some of my money (after I knew the collar thing was addressed).

 

Best to you and Levenger in this new format.

AC

[jonro]

I was also thinking about a black collar section for the nib. The True Writer looks a lot like the Esterbrook J. Since nearly all of the True Writers seem to have the same shape, why not make a replaceable nib like Esterbrook used to do. In this case, it might be the entire nib section, instead of the nib by itself. There are a couple of companies that make replaceable nibs these days for some of their pens, like Pelikan and Namiki. It would make the True Writer a customizable fountain pen and would make repair and stocking issues easier for Levenger. It would also allow Levenger to introduce 14K nibs for customers who wanted them. One nice thing about this idea is that Levenger could do this today as a retrofit for all of their existing pens. Unscrew the old nib and screw in the new nib.

[kenny]

I assume this is the same Ryan Rasmussen who works at the Levengers in Marshall Field's....er, Macy's.....at Water Tower. You are the assistant manager of the site, if I remember correctly. Have you moved up in the corporation?

 

I bought an OMAS from you, and later got several other pens (a second OMAS when I lost my first, a Pelikan M800, a Sailor professional gear and a Dunhill sidecar special) from your associates when you had the clearance sale of other brands. I also got quite a few Levenger leather products. You were quite helpful, as you had to have some products sent to central Illinois.

 

Hey, tell the powers that be that their paper products have declined in quality and are not as FP friendly as they used to be.

 

 

 

 

[rasmussen]

Hello Kenny,

 

Yes, my position has changed. However, the focus on learning from customers has not. I'm still in Chicago, so you should drop by to say, "hello," next time you're downtown. (I'm sorry to hear about your Omas. However, it sounds as though you caught a replacement during the sale. I was also pretty fond of the Professional Gear.)

 

Thanks for the great feedback everyone.

 

On the issue of replaceable nibs:

 

This Esterbrook connection is intriguing to see vocalized so frequently. There were some threads before this one that mentioned the value of replaceable nibs for the truewriters. So here you go -

CA2220 F

CA2220 M

CA2220 B

FPN is the first to hear about this. They are currently $24.00 for the threaded nib and feed section. (I'll post a photo detail of the sections this weekend, as we don't yet have plans to put these on the web.) It works as a replacement for our recent productions (within the last year) but will need to be tested on our older pens. [i could use your help on this one.]

 

{These aren't available through the web, so you will need to call the catalog and request the product by SKU, or simply call a retail store.}

 

On to the issue of our repair policy:

 

I made the case for a more responsive and encompassing policy for Truewriter pens that would cover defective repairs regardless of whether the pen was purchased directly from us. The reaction was very positive.

 

Until we work out the specific changes that will make this part of our multi-channel policy, send me a PM or call me in Chicago at 312.335.7770 with any outstanding repair issues. I will handle each repair/replacement on a personal level if it comes down to me gluing rings back on caps until my fingers are stuck together. (We tend to simply replace.)

 

I'm sorry for any difficulties and inconveniences already incurred trying to get Truewriters fixed. I'll make sure we react quickly to make past wrongs right, or as close to it as we can.

 

As for EF, STUB, IM, etc nib options:

 

They are on the way.

I'm looking forward to hearing your reactions to these new styles as well.

 

***

Thanks again,

Ryan