As of late I have had some disappointing experiences with a few companies and stores that I will not name names. But I wanted to point out a great experience I recently had.
As many of you may know I had been after a Montegrappa Marostica for a long time. I was able to find one from Barry Rubin, the owner of Ink in Minneapolis.
Service is not dead! I was extremely happy with my purchase, he was very knowledgeably, helpfully, friendly and very quick and responsive to my emails. And you can tell the difference between a real pen lover and someone who just sells pens. It my understanding that he has a large number of Limited Editions and New Old Stock LEs. I was able to find 4 Limited Edition pens I was after that I could not find anywhere else. Getting the $ together is another story
I haven't been to his "store" (I put quotations because it seems more like his collection corner opposed to a normal brick and mortar store) but look forward to making it out there. If you are looking for LEs I can say this is a great place to look. His web site is http://www.penstore.biz

No affiliation, just a very satisfied customer...

Cheers!
Bryant

It is a store. On the 45th floor of the tallest building in the city. When I need a converter or a bottle of ink I shoot over there, just like a store.

The difference is that it is by appointment. This usually means a quick email or phone call, and Barry will let you know when he is available. Generally, you will be the only person there, and you can talk ink, and pens, and whatever you want. Sometimes there are a few people milling about in there, but I have only seen this once.

In fact, I might head over there right now!

EDIT: Oh yeah, unlike any other store that I have been in, the pens are displayed and organized by PRICE. I mean, how reasonable is that? So, if you walk in with $50 to spend you can look at the pens that you can afford. If you want to spend in the $100 range, you can do that too. It really is a simple concept that so many brick and mortar retailers ignore, in fact, a lot of them HIDE the price, turn the tag over so you have to ask. Not Barry, he knows what he is doing.

And yeah, he has a wall of LEs that should be seen.