Why Are Indian Manufacturers So Reluctant To Ship Abroad?

[matteob]

Hello there I am in England I have become very interested in Indian ebonite pens after buying from the ASA website and this has led to me wanting to buy more pens from Indian manufacturers particularly as the prices are so reasonable. However with the exception of Guider who I have ordered from. (whose Mr Rao could not be more helpful of easier to deal with) I have faced a brick wall. I was sent a catalogue by Ratnamson's Mr (Dr?) K.V Ramanamurthy by email but all subsequent emails trying to order the pen I chose, asking for bank details and postage quotes have been unanswered. The same goes for Kim and Co in Kerala. I spoke on the phone (no email) to a helpful man in the shop who told me to call his boss Rafi. When I did he just said "no no" before cutting the connection.

 

It kind of sad as I like buying directly from makers (intermediaries are normally much more expensive) but I don't understand this reluctance to deal with overseas customers. Surely it is not that much more of a hassle to put a customs stamp on and an international stamp on it? It seems the famous Indian entrepeneurial spirit is lacking in these guys as is good manners in not replying to emails and slamming the phone down

[virgilio]

The Inidan amazon site has all sorts of tempting Indian pens and ink, but they won't ship abroad. Maybe they're afraid we'd buy them out. The rupee is artificially low against western currencies. It should be something like 10 or 20 to the dollar, but instead it's well over 60. Some of the prices are simply unbelievable, they are so low, like ink for way less than a dollar a bottle. Maybe amazon will eventually work the kinks out, but probably not until the exchange rate is more reasonable, meaning a much higher rupee.

[mehandiratta]

Barring few with the likes of Fosfor, ASA, Ranga & lately Deccan no one is ready to sell and ship pens abroad...

Few reasons for the same are :

1. They are small time manufacturer and are not even sometimes able to meet local demand.
2. Secondly, they are not too accustomed to the internet world and thus they don't even have websites forget about the payment gateway.
3. They have other sellers like FPR who procure from them and sell it internationally so for them it avoids the hassle of dealing with international customers directly.
4. Lastly, I have heard that few one of the sellers did sell and ship pens abroad but there was some PayPal claim filed by a customer who did not like the pen and they never received the pen back.

I think these are the reasons but I certainly don't believe that any of these reasons can be a hindrance of not selling the pens worldwide...

They have to learn how to grow and learn the medium of internet and start selling worldwide...

[sciumbasci]

Care to share Ratnamson's catalogue?

[gopool]

Quick search of Google. Ratnamson catalogue

[matteob]

Yes that is the catalogue that Ratnamson emailed me. I made a selection and asked for cost of postage and their bank details to transfer the money and they did not reply despite several chasing emails and getting an Indian friend to email them in Hindi (just in case their English was low level) but nothing. It is very frustrating as they seem lovely pens. If you want want one Sciumbasci you will probably be have to be prepared for disappointment: they are hopeless with communication (that is being polite) or rude if I was going to be less charitable. There is no excuse for not replying to messages even if to say no. Transferring money by bank transfer is easy with internet companies offering the service far cheaper than banks so you do not need a payment gateway.

 

As I say it's all very well buying from Fountain Pen Revolution but the real bargains are to be had paying by bank transfer in rupees rather than in western currency. ASA I have ordered from and the service is good but you are paying in Pounds or Dollars and are probably paying four or five times the rupee cost.

Edited November 29, 2016 by matteob

[Sasha Royale]

A couple of "pen pals" gave the impression that much of the pen manufacturing in India is regional, rather than national brand. That is, a producer is likely to support the local market, not shipping nationwide. Making and retail selling are quite different from "catalog" sales. Not everyone desires to become entwined. They might be more receptive to selling to an agent, such as Amazon or Fountain Pen Revolution.

[matteob]

Thanks that is very true but my experience of India and Indians are that they are shrewd businessmen(women) who would never turn down a sale no matter where it came from. I was expecting a flurry of haggling over email rather than dead silence but I guess you and the gentleman who posted earlier are right.

[tamiya]

Or... perhaps they've already have established International sales avenues (with appropriate International-only Export-Quality Pricing).

 

Possibly via their own relatives/friends/agents/servants.

 

They don't appreciate you "going direct" trying to buy goods at their local domestic prices

[fountainpagan]

Yes that is the catalogue that Ratnamson emailed me. I made a selection and asked for cost of postage and their bank details to transfer the money and they did not reply despite several chasing emails and getting an Indian friend to email them in Hindi (just in case their English was low level) but nothing. It is very frustrating as they seem lovely pens. If you want want one Sciumbasci you will probably be have to be prepared for disappointment: they are hopeless with communication (that is being polite) or rude if I was going to be less charitable. There is no excuse for not replying to messages even if to say no. Transferring money by bank transfer is easy with internet companies offering the service far cheaper than banks so you do not need a payment gateway.

 

 

I know, from a friend who had regular business with Ratnamson, that you need constantly to be behind them to get a response. An enormous amount of patience, and perseverance, is need when dealing with them, but finally you end up having what you ordered.

[matteob]

Well i'll maybe give Ratnamsona miss. Guider Pens seem lovely and they have been very responsive and helpful. Making enquiries at Deccan Pens in Hydrabad on Facebook got me nowhere until I left a negative review then they replied that they would be launching an online store soon and I removed the review. The upshot of that was that a young man who makes the pens for Deccan got in touch with me and said he would be happy to deal with me so I guess persistence is the key here. I do love the design of the Indian ebonite pens. They look attractive workhorses and it is a nice area for collection. Sadly I can't afford thousands of pounds for top flight pens. The most I have spent on a pen is £80 on a Cross about 10 years ago.

Edited December 1, 2016 by matteob

[amk]

Glad to hear you've got on with Guider and finally established contact with Deccan. Bothcompanies really do make gorgeous pens.

 

I think most of the reasons for not dealing with exports have been given. There may also be a bit of a generation gap. Younger generation in India are really wired to internet and mobile apps, older persons not so much, to a greater extent than in Europe, I think.

[matteob]

I have managed to nail Mr Rajahmundry of Ratnamson down with a bit of persistence. I wanted to try an all Indian eyedropper pen of good quality and have ordered his number 15 with 14k gold nib. I have had good experiences with ASA pens too though. I really do like my Daily. The Guider has not arrived yet: the tracking says Langley HWDC. I hope it turns up. It seems that place has a terrible reputation.

[gopool]

I would just like the echo what has been said about Guider in this thread. Last Tuesday I contacted Mr Rao of Guider Pens via WhatsApp about purchasing a few pens. He sent me pictures of all his pens and prices immediately. I picked the pens I wanted and by Thursday my pens were completed. He sent pictures at all steps in case I wanted to make changes. After final testing, he shipped the pens on Saturday and sent me the tracking number. All-in-all, a great experiences with Guider Pens.

 

Disclaimer: Just wanted to mention that I have no affiliation with Guider apart from being a happy customer.

 

Pictures my new Guider beauties.

[matteob]

Guider Pen just come through the door!

 

Yes he is terrific at keeping in touch. I had an email this morning asking if I had received my pen ok. He also threw in one of his tiny eyedroppers as a freebie. Seems a very nice man and hope to buy from him again. The lustre on the ebonite too is the best I have come across.

Edited December 19, 2016 by matteob

[Tintafuego]

Barring few with the likes of Fosfor, ASA, Ranga & lately Deccan no one is ready to sell and ship pens abroad...

Few reasons for the same are :

1. They are small time manufacturer and are not even sometimes able to meet local demand.
2. Secondly, they are not too accustomed to the internet world and thus they don't even have websites forget about the payment gateway.
3. They have other sellers like FPR who procure from them and sell it internationally so for them it avoids the hassle of dealing with international customers directly.
4. Lastly, I have heard that few one of the sellers did sell and ship pens abroad but there was some PayPal claim filed by a customer who did not like the pen and they never received the pen back.

I think these are the reasons but I certainly don't believe that any of these reasons can be a hindrance of not selling the pens worldwide...

They have to learn how to grow and learn the medium of internet and start selling worldwide...

 

Hi to everybody.

I just wanted to say that I've also had mixed experiences. Some months ago I sent an e-mail to ASA to ask for a demonstrator version of one of their models, we agreed a price, communication was good, and when I asked about the payment procedure all answers came to a halt. 0 words, nada de nada!

I've had better experiences with Ranga. They were very patient with me, my requests, questions, etc. I am now happily awaiting for a model 8, purchased solely for the purpose of trying the Leigh Reyes hack - a.k.a. "Ranga G" - of fitting a Zebra G nib in a pen with an ebonite feed.

In spite of my mixed experiences, I am far from giving up on each and every one of the indian pen manufacturers (I have not even give up on ASA). As some of you said, many of the manufacturers are small, probably facing a huge demand of their products since online buying has expanded. I would very much like to have a pen maker in some part of my country, but that is not the case. But they do have them on India.

In fact, for me it has some appeal that buying from these manufaturers a handmade pen is so different (and perhaps the opposite?) compared to going to a mall and buy a Parker. That said, I do hope that in the future more people can enjoy the pens made India.

[viju]

Couple of days back I checked ASApen website and surprised to see payment options in international currency and PayPal acceptance. I am sure it wasn't there last time I checked some one year back. Slowly but surely some indian manufacturers are reaching out to the international customers.

[matteob]

Hi Viju yes it is true. I have an ASA pen and it is a great writer. Ranga also sell their pens through ebay. Guider don't have a buying option on their site but will sell internationally. Ratnamson have agreed (finally) to sell and have taken my Western Union transfer so fingers crossed though their communication direct is diabolical. However they have a Facebook page run by Dr Ramana Murthy's nephew who is responsive and passes on messages. The only companies that point blank refused to sell to me were Kim and Co in Kerala and Ratnam (the other one!)

[gopool]

Hi Viju yes it is true. I have an ASA pen and it is a great writer. Ranga also sell their pens through ebay. Guider don't have a buying option on their site but will sell internationally. Ratnamson have agreed (finally) to sell and have taken my Western Union transfer so fingers crossed though their communication direct is diabolical. However they have a Facebook page run by Dr Ramana Murthy's nephew who is responsive and passes on messages. The only companies that point blank refused to sell to me were Kim and Co in Kerala and Ratnam (the other one!)

Hi Matt, a good friend I have dealt with in the past sells Kim and Co pen on eBay.com. Kim pens are awesome, you should definitely have a few in your collection.

[matteob]

Well I telephoned the gentleman who runs Kim & Co with a view to placing an order. I spoke to a young man at the shop who had good English and gave me the owner Rafi's mobile phone number. I spoke to him and he was abrupt and said he did not do business out of India and hung up.He did not mention ebay.

Maybe he was having a bad day!

 

After that I simply forgot about them as I was not going to pursue someone who was not interested in my business. I have had a look ar his page and those pens look ok: maybe at so e point in the future. Guider and ASA have been the best to deal with so far. Ratnamson have taken my money a few weeks ago but Dr Ramana Murthy has not updated me since or replyed to an email askiing to let me know when ready with a tracking number: chalk and cheese as far as service is concerned. I hope ai get my pen!

 

On a happier note just bought an eyedropper from Guider after being delighted with my 3 in 1 seen below

Edited December 23, 2016 by matteob