What Inks To Stock

[saulyleeplans]

I dont know whether this is the right place to put this post. But... I am starting a small online and local area business selling "out of the ordinary" stationery available in my region. Anyhow I am trying to decide which inks to stock, I'm going to stock noodler, but I think one other line would be prudent and can't decide between Pilot Lamy and J Herbin. Has anyone got any opinions they'd like to share about these inks? I use Lamy but haven't tried Pilot or J Herbin.

 

Lee:)

[Pentode]

Have you considered Diamine? Great selection of colors, reasonably priced and well behaved in most pens.

[saulyleeplans]

Yes I have and I think I'm going to find out about stocking them after a few conversations with people. Thanks

Lee

[carlos.q]

For a small shop maybe you should limit your stock to the more common brands (like Parker and Sheaffer) and a few basic colors until you establish your market.

[saulyleeplans]

Thank you for your advice. I am going to be stocking pilot and diamine inks!

Lee

[senzen]

You could do a poll right here, in which people tell you which inks they have and which they couldn't do without; you could also think about how to ask your prospective customers so you get their attention and stock what they actually want and are willing to pay for, vs guessing, stocking it and then seeing if it sells. It might sound obvious but small businesses in general have no marketing, and when they do it's old style ineffective advertising, while today you can connect directly with your customers... So an online store is a good step, but think about how to feed it... None of this has to do with SEO or get rich quick shenanigans, you have to work at it. Facilitating group buys might be another option.

 

I use 9 Pilot Iroshizukus, 7 J Herbin / Jacques Herbin, 2 Takeda Jimuki, 2 L'Artisan Pastellier Callifolio and 1 each of Pelikan Edelstein, Stipula, Sailor, Rohrer & Klingner, Diamine.

 

I'm really crazy about Iroshizuku Tsuyu Kusa and Asa Gao, Rohrer & Klingner Verdigris, Takeda Jimuki Hisoku and J Herbin Vert Empire: I would even buy two of each to make sure I didn't run out. There are several value added services you could offer for which customers might be willing to pay for, for instance a lot of suffering could be avoided if someone matched pens and inks so the latter look their best, and offered pens which wrote well from the beginning.

 

Just some ideas!

[saulyleeplans]

Thanks pseudo88

 

I am stocking pilot and diamine, I've decided.

 

I will do a poll if I'm allowed on which colours everyone likes from the pilot line.

Ok off to find out about polls

 

Thanks again.

Lee:)

[bluebellrose]

You may want to look at Sailor as well if you can get access to their Jentle Line or the Noodler's Eel series. Diamine has Stainers and The noodler's eel series seem to do be able to deal with as the Sailor Doyou is able to

[UDog]

What? No Robert Oster inks? They're right down under.

[Noihvo]

[amberleadavis]

Robert Oster and Blackstone Inks are musts.

[KyleClapton]

I would recommend Pilot all 24 Iroshizuku inks, Sailor Studio inks

They are my favorite and my wishlists ( I only tried few iroshizuku and love them all and really want to tried all iroshizuku inks)

I always heard good reviews of Sailor Studio although I just 3 of them. They are nice and have so many ink colors to choose from.

I wish you all the best with your business

[DrDebG]

Wow! Good luck with your adventure!

 

My suggestion is to keep it simple. While a lot of variety is nice, you may want to consider just a few for now. It is very easy to get carried away with the abundance out there. If you can get good wholesale prices on local inks, do it! You are promoting your economy. Importing others may be less expensive, but it really doesn't help your local economy that much.

 

I would recommend stocking some quality papers that are fountain pen friendly. Tomoe River is the first that comes to mind, but also Midori and Rhodia/Clairfontaine.

[Honeybadgers]

Noodlers and diamine should cover all possible colors, but you might run into people who want more traditional name-brand stuff.

 

I'd recommend carrying waterman, pelikan or lamy. Small line of colors, quite reliable and safe, not expensive for people

[silverlifter]

I'd recommend carrying waterman, pelikan...

 

This. Especially if any of your customers own vintage pens.

[1nkulus]

Noodlers and diamine should cover all possible colors, but you might run into people who want more traditional name-brand stuff.

 

I'd recommend carrying waterman, pelikan or lamy. Small line of colors, quite reliable and safe, not expensive for people

+1

[1nkulus]

IMO, go with Noodler's, Pilot, Diamine, Waterman.

If you do get a lot of inquiries for a particular brand, you could always add it later.