Forbes: Goulet Pen Company $13.8M In 2019

[TSherbs]

I appreciate your point of view, HB, but you tend toward hyperbole in both directions more than I do. I am wary of all sellers and their desire to extract portions of my net income. And I certainly don't advocate unfettered capitalism. I said that I fall on the side of consumer empowerment and consumer choice. Of course, it is not an ideal world or marketplace.

[MuddyWaters]

Their comparison tools, especially the pen plaza, are very helpful.

[Parker51]

What's wrong with caring about total cost to the consumer? To me, that's like when a car dealer says, "Why do you care about this $150 delivery fee? We have to drive it from a lot in New Hampshire." Screw that. I'll go somewhere else, even if I've let you butter me up for a week and I've driven five of your models. I'm the guy that will be out test-driving a car from one lot and I will call a different dealer from the car and ask for a better price. It's my money. I count and care for every penny. I aqm on the side of consumer empowerment, not retailer empowerment.

 

Your statement is illogical as it does not take into consideration the unique characteristics of each dealership, even if you are talking about identical new cars. Some of those obvious ones include location, availability and cost of courtesy vehicles, included services unique to a specific dealership and reputation in regard to post purchase service. Price at point of sale while important is not the only factor. You are being "penny wise and pound foolish" if in making a car purchase all you consider is price.

[Parker51]

Understandable that we consumers seek the best price, but that pursuit taken to the extreme can have detrimental, far reaching consequences. In the examples mentioned, shoppers often take advantage of retail outlets that go to the trouble and expense to build trained sales staff who can assist customers only to have those customers -newly enlightened- go to a discount retailer to save a few dollars. Rewarding retailers who keep prices low is certainly a win for consumers, but the pursuit of price above all punishes retailers who went to the expense of customer support with a trained sales staff and you end up with Walmarts and dead high streets.

 

Rewarding a retailer who can beat all comers on price alone might mean you or your town only have one source for your goods (that doesn't usually end well for the consumer), and the victor will not be local, nor will be the investment of the lion share of profits. A retailer who can beat everyone on price and convenience and sells pretty much everything imaginable may very well smother all other outlets.... everywhere. The world has never seen that before. I for one am very much worried about that version of the future.

I agree with you, but that future to a certain extent is already here. Entire categories of retailing has died, replaced by shabby low service at slightly lower priced alternatives. Role are typically short sighted and forget about things such as a quality shopping experiance, very good customer service and the benefit of having professional buyers make certain that the goods a retailer sells are of a high quality and serviceability and they almost never realize that the professional buyers also identify and locate new and unique products that they can't know about of find on their own. Today these professionals have often been replaced by "influencers", sometimes paid shills for manufacturers.

[tim77]

Understandable that we consumers seek the best price, but that pursuit taken to the extreme can have detrimental, far reaching consequences.

 

It also makes us vulnerable to scam artists. Even in the online world, reputation is worth something. Luckily the same search engines which help us find the lowest price can also help us find the most reliable retailer. It's up to customers to choose where their priorities lie.

 

Message boards like this one create knowledgeable purchasers -- who value specialist retailers -- so retailers invest more effort in service rather than trying to copy Amazon. I don't fear a price-driven race to the bottom, at least not in the fountain pen world.

[inkstainedruth]

 

That's how I found them. When I got curious about FPs, I had been bullet journaling for a few weeks. Out of curiosity, I googled something like "Fountain Pen Stores". Found them as the first result. Spent some time browsing the site and watching videos, and then ordered three Pilot Varsity pens. A few weeks later, I order a Metro, some Pilot carts, and a Rhodia dot pad.

 

And that's how I got started in this hobby: Goulet.

 

It wasn't long before I found more shops. I have ordered a lot from Pen Chalet and Vanness, as well as at least one order from EndlessPens, Jetpens, Goldspot, Pure Pens (UK), Dromgoole's, and a few ebay stores.

 

I found them when I accidentally left my first good pen (a Parker Vector -- don't laugh; after the two Parker Reflexes I used for journaling the Vector WAS a good pen), and the then current journal, I went back to the store where I'd gotten it and my choices were a $4 US Pilot Varsity and something that cost $35 and I of course was going "I can't afford THAT!" (Again, don't laugh, please....). Loved the color of the ink in the Varsity, but it died after 3 days....

So I went online trying to find another Vector and in the process found my way here. But I ALSO found Goulet Pens. And it was a revelation! "You mean you can get ink in colors *besides* blue and black and blue-black? You can get PURPLE ink? Oh I gotta get me some of that...." Well because of their comparison tool I could look at different purples. One of which I think was Noodler's North African Violet, and so I was reading the reviews and discovered that an old friend of mine had reviewed it after buying a bottle from them. And between FPN and Goulet Pens it was down a hole lot of interconnecting tunnels of rabbit holes from then on.... And yes, a whole lot of other vendors as well.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[langere]

So - back to Goulet Pens, where we started. I think that company has earned the respect of the fountain pen community and deserves to be profitable.

 

Erick

[jimk]

 

I am on the side of consumer empowerment, not retailer empowerment.

There is no consumer without a retailer, there is no retailer without a consumer. The consumer gets the retailer they support, the retailer gets the consumer they support. Your (trans)actions have ripple effects, whether or not you choose to consider them.

[BlueJ]

Keep in mind the $13.8M figure was revenues, not profits. The Goulets may be doing OK (in fact I hope they are, why not?) but they are not necessarily getting rich.

Edited May 19, 2020 by BlueJ

[Aditlojs]

 

What's wrong with caring about total cost to the consumer? To me, that's like when a car dealer says, "Why do you care about this $150 delivery fee? We have to drive it from a lot in New Hampshire." Screw that. I'll go somewhere else, even if I've let you butter me up for a week and I've driven five of your models. I'm the guy that will be out test-driving a car from one lot and I will call a different dealer from the car and ask for a better price. It's my money. I count and care for every penny. I aqm on the side of consumer empowerment, not retailer empowerment.

 

To make it a fair comparison, let's pretend the car dealer said, "There is a $3 delivery fee." Would you take your business elsewhere?

 

Most people would not. The purchase price is irrelevant to the $3 saved. It's an interesting psychological study. I dont remember where I read about it.

[Seney724]

Again, one thing Goulet does is charge a little more for the benefit of everyone.

I understand that over the course of the past couple of horrible months every business needed to make the best decision for themselves, their families, their employees and the people they serve. I respect the decision of those who felt the need to shut down. I realize it was not easy for any of them to shut down but surely it was easier for some than for others. Congrats to Goulet for having built up sufficient enough reserves over the past few years so they could afford to shut down.

 

Well, even though one cannot possibly justify calling fountain pens or ink as "essential" if you are dealing with the general public, to those of us here, they are!!

 

In this regard, I found it noteworthy that over the course of the pandemic, several of the other "small" pen & ink businesses mentioned on this thread (and some notable others like Pendemonium) have been able to meet our needs whereas others, like Goulet, have not. I'm ok with that too but I cannot understand how Goulet could justify their being "closed" yet they continued to take orders.... which included instantly charging the customers' credit cards. They were most certainly upfront about the fact that they were going to take your money but not make the shipment for the foreseeable future, I'm not claiming they were deceptive in this practice, but it just did not seem right to me.

 

Meanwhile, the others who remained open did all they could possibly do to meet our needs. I believe that part of exceptional customer service is being there when you are needed. Much more so than making up pretty packages with upscale wrapping paper, Tootsie Pops & cute drawings.

 

As others have already opined in this thread, the relationship between the seller and the buyer is a two way street. In the future if Goulet has something I need and none of the other "small" businesses can source it for me, I will gladly deal with Goulet. But this awful pandemic has shown me which of the small businesses 1) Really do need my business and 2) Really do care about me. Moving forward, they are going to get my money, not Goulet.

[txomsy]

I think we are mixing things here.

 

I'll be talking about Goulet taking a small detour. This is heavily based on my own, limited experience dealing with Goulet, so do not be upset (please, oh please).

 

Customer-Seller relationships are not so different from any other human relations. Money, while it has a say in the equation, should often be a minor issue. When I was a kid, we were explained in school about the grounds for value systems and ethics. A valuable concept is that of honor, the opinion others have from you, based in their experience and that of others.

 

That's too fuzzy, but back to the discussion: if you only appreciate money, some smart a** will soon realize it and sell you (bleep) slightly cheaper. And you'll only ever get (bleep). They'll do their best to dis-inform you so that you cannot make an educated guess, and you'll increase your chances of getting (bleep). In the end you'll spend large amounts of money and get nothing worth for it. Even worst, your continued bad experience will make you wary of all sellers, not just the scammers, and they'll win even more 'cos you'll never try a better -if slightly more expensive- one.

 

To avoid this, "you" (and that's a generic you, no finger pointing here) want someone to inform "you" sincerely, and Goulet has done (and continuously does) a great job providing information, tricks, details, often against their own commercial interest. Most of us have resorted to their videos, reviews, comparisons, charts, etc.. more than once. This is the information that allows me to save my money by choosing the appropriate purchase. So, when "you" complain of prices, consider this: how much more would you have spent had you bought blindly or been guided by a sales pitch from the more powerful (and more expensive) producers/sellers? That's its worth and should also enter the price equation.

 

Having good knowledge is not enough. I want someone honest, who will deliver what they promised, not a rotten car with a new coat of shiny paint that looks nice and is marginally cheaper. I do not want -to use the simile- to save 125$ and get a huge tin box. You cannot just look for the cheapest, you want to draw on reputation to know it is not a scam, and Goulet has one of the strongest reputations on the market (and it's not the only one, we do certainly have choice).

 

And even if you can get what you asked, you know nothing's perfect in this world, so you want someone who is willing to stand by their product. Whether it is lost on mail, arrives broken or breaks afterwards, whether you finally do not like it and want to switch or return it... It is true many countries' laws give you some protection, but that's minimal. When someone goes beyond that, that's also an added value to factor in. The alternative? A burnt ground, no-return and no-complains policy. For me that's a "no. thanks".

 

BTW, I know some people never goes out for a drink with friends. It's cheaper to have no friends and get goods at the supermarket (or grow your own and not give anything away). Much less to a restaurant, for, what is it you get there besides an inflated price? May it be that you are served, provided a friendly environment, a personal touch, someone to talk to, feel cared for, save time cooking? Even all other sides being equal, the human side is also a major part of the equation: many are willing to pay 4-10x (and even 100-1000x) the price of a good just for the quality of the service. And let's be real, Goulet's service (in my experience and from what I hear) is up to pair with the best, has that personal touch, they stand beside their products, will take questions and give answers, will be friendly even in the worst situations and will do their best to keep you happy. And often against their pecuniary interest.

 

So, whether they are successful or not, has never entered on my equation. Personally, and I talk only by my stupid, old-fashioned self, I do value many things more than my (believe me, very, very hardly earned and insufficient) money. On all of them Goulet Pens (like many other online and offline sellers) excels. Those are the sellers I do care for, just like I feel that they care for me. Maybe it is an illusion, but that's how I feel.

 

There are other factors, but from what I know, they do also treat their workers well, have a considerate ambient, pay them just salaries, keep a familiar working environment, care for many things I care, look sincere...

 

If that means they have to be successful, so be it. I'll be more than happier for them.

 

Not to mention that when you factor in all running costs (storage, staff, marketing, presence, stocks...), that capital value doesn't strike me as so high, but rather stretched instead. I wouldn't be surprised if actually they were struggling to survive.

[praxim]

That's too fuzzy, but back to the discussion: if you only appreciate nebulous service, some smart a** will soon realize it and sell you the same for more. And you'll only ever get the same thing anyway. They'll do their best to mis-inform you so that you cannot make an educated guess, and you'll increase your chances of getting ripped off. In the end you'll spend large amounts of money and get nothing worth for it. Even worse, your continued bad experience will make you wary of all sellers, not just the scammers, and they'll win even more 'cos you'll never try a more fair one but strive for something "better"

 

I have taken the liberty of using txomsy's text as a starting point for the opposite commercial perspective.

 

Regarding Goulet itself, I am sure they are a wonderful firm for those near enough to use their apparent service without prohibitive postage costs on top of their already ample prices. They have no relevance for me.

 

I have nothing against Goulet (trusting people have personal report from Goulet employees that they are well paid in basic wage and conditions, rather those comments just being halo effects). As I said above, they are not relevant in my purchasing scope yet I am generally happy to hear of firms which do well with happy customers. I do wonder at the free-form comments though. I can name from direct experience a few firms providing outstanding service on line around the world. It is therefore unclear why Goulet is singled out, especially when the context is simply mention that it has recently turned over $13.8M. Should we establish the turnovers of all the others? What would we then conclude?

 

[Stompie]

Being in the UK, I have not used Goulet very much. However, every time I have purchased from them it has been a most pleasurable experience!

 

Well done to Brian and all who help him keep Goulet Pens running!

[txomsy]

Praxim, you are mostly welcome. Any improvement on my babbling is always worth reading. And you did.

 

And I must also concur, singling out just one seller takes out all perspective. It makes people concentrate on blunt figures based on gut feelings, which is rarely a wise strategy.

 

And thanks, your redaction is way clearer than mine. My English is still much wanting.

[Seney724]

Praxim, you are mostly welcome. Any improvement on my babbling is always worth reading. And you did.

 

And I must also concur, singling out just one seller takes out all perspective. It makes people concentrate on blunt figures based on gut feelings, which is rarely a wise strategy.

 

And thanks, your redaction is way clearer than mine. My English is still much wanting.

To all of you members who read & write English as a second or third (or more) language, thank you!!

All of your English is excellent. Very clear and well constructed.

And, very much appreciated.

If all of us who speak only English tried to understand and participate in some language other than English, it would be a disaster!

We are very grateful!!!

[TSherbs]

 

To make it a fair comparison, let's pretend the car dealer said, "There is a $3 delivery fee."

On a $25,000 car? I don't think so.

[merlinsfv]

I understand that over the course of the past couple of horrible months every business needed to make the best decision for themselves, their families, their employees and the people they serve. I respect the decision of those who felt the need to shut down. I realize it was not easy for any of them to shut down but surely it was easier for some than for others. Congrats to Goulet for having built up sufficient enough reserves over the past few years so they could afford to shut down.

 

Well, even though one cannot possibly justify calling fountain pens or ink as "essential" if you are dealing with the general public, to those of us here, they are!!

 

In this regard, I found it noteworthy that over the course of the pandemic, several of the other "small" pen & ink businesses mentioned on this thread (and some notable others like Pendemonium) have been able to meet our needs whereas others, like Goulet, have not. I'm ok with that too but I cannot understand how Goulet could justify their being "closed" yet they continued to take orders.... which included instantly charging the customers' credit cards. They were most certainly upfront about the fact that they were going to take your money but not make the shipment for the foreseeable future, I'm not claiming they were deceptive in this practice, but it just did not seem right to me.

 

Meanwhile, the others who remained open did all they could possibly do to meet our needs. I believe that part of exceptional customer service is being there when you are needed. Much more so than making up pretty packages with upscale wrapping paper, Tootsie Pops & cute drawings.

 

As others have already opined in this thread, the relationship between the seller and the buyer is a two way street. In the future if Goulet has something I need and none of the other "small" businesses can source it for me, I will gladly deal with Goulet. But this awful pandemic has shown me which of the small businesses 1) Really do need my business and 2) Really do care about me. Moving forward, they are going to get my money, not Goulet.

I very rarely post on here and even more rarely chime in on a thread which appears to have hit so many nerves. However, I do feel compelled to put my two cents into this discussion.

 

I'm a loyal, albeit hardly exclusive, customer of Goulet. I am a regular consumer of their video offerings, and unabashed admirer of their business practices. I am also a professional in a niche industry which is subject to becoming marginalized and commoditized by pricing pressures. I always maintained that I am not a "vendor," and I have never considered Goulet, Anderson, Vanness, or Pendemonium to be vendors either. They provide services, the value of which is amplified by their years of experience, knowledge of the products, and access in the industry.

 

To the OP's point, I would note that unlike several of the other small retailers mentioned in the post, the Goulet's have a large number of non-family employees. Most of them are younger, with small children of their own. The Goulet's have long made it known that their business model is to remain debt free - not to leverage or - as is often the case of businesses - to become economically dependent on lenders, investors, or shareholders. In my book, this is highly commendable. I would also note that unlike some other retailers mentioned who are in somewhat more remote locations, Goulet is near Richmond Virginia and may have greater risk factors than many other places. They decided early on to send all of their employees home, allowing those who could to do whatever work they could remotely. They continued all on salary, continued health insurance benefits for all ( how many of the others even offer health insurance to their employees? TBH I don't know). Orders continue to be taken - they are not selling "blue sky" but rather allocating actual physical inventory items. The only thing that is different is that shipping is postponed until it is safe for their employees to go in and pack and ship items, interface with delivery drivers, and send a pen or ink on its way to us. They are still providing a service, but also keeping themselves and others safe during this pandemic.

 

A lot of this response is driven by watching Ford factory and Meat Packing workers choking back tears when they explain that they are afraid to go back to working conditions which have not properly mitigated avoidable risks, fear bringing a communicable disease back to their homes and families, and that they are doing so ONLY because of economic desperation. As an employer, I always wanted to be "there for clients/customers when they needed me." However I also knew the importance of protecting my employees from undue risk of harm, and the importance of prioritizing what is important in each of our lives. Much as we might like to think otherwise, few of us are essential workers, and if we're on FPN, odds are that another bottle of ink or the latest color of a pen we have 3 other versions of is hardly a "need." Truth be known, we all probably have to many pens and too much ink anyways. There'll be time to acquire more when/if this is all behind us.

[TSherbs]

I very rarely post on here and even more rarely chime in on a thread which appears to have hit so many nerves. However, I do feel compelled to put my two cents into this discussion.

 

I'm a loyal, albeit hardly exclusive, customer of Goulet. I am a regular consumer of their video offerings, and unabashed admirer of their business practices. I am also a professional in a niche industry which is subject to becoming marginalized and commoditized by pricing pressures. I always maintained that I am not a "vendor," and I have never considered Goulet, Anderson, Vanness, or Pendemonium to be vendors either. They provide services, the value of which is amplified by their years of experience, knowledge of the products, and access in the industry.

 

To the OP's point, I would note that unlike several of the other small retailers mentioned in the post, the Goulet's have a large number of non-family employees. Most of them are younger, with small children of their own. The Goulet's have long made it known that their business model is to remain debt free - not to leverage or - as is often the case of businesses - to become economically dependent on lenders, investors, or shareholders. In my book, this is highly commendable. I would also note that unlike some other retailers mentioned who are in somewhat more remote locations, Goulet is near Richmond Virginia and may have greater risk factors than many other places. They decided early on to send all of their employees home, allowing those who could to do whatever work they could remotely. They continued all on salary, continued health insurance benefits for all ( how many of the others even offer health insurance to their employees? TBH I don't know). Orders continue to be taken - they are not selling "blue sky" but rather allocating actual physical inventory items. The only thing that is different is that shipping is postponed until it is safe for their employees to go in and pack and ship items, interface with delivery drivers, and send a pen or ink on its way to us. They are still providing a service, but also keeping themselves and others safe during this pandemic.

 

A lot of this response is driven by watching Ford factory and Meat Packing workers choking back tears when they explain that they are afraid to go back to working conditions which have not properly mitigated avoidable risks, fear bringing a communicable disease back to their homes and families, and that they are doing so ONLY because of economic desperation. As an employer, I always wanted to be "there for clients/customers when they needed me." However I also knew the importance of protecting my employees from undue risk of harm, and the importance of prioritizing what is important in each of our lives. Much as we might like to think otherwise, few of us are essential workers, and if we're on FPN, odds are that another bottle of ink or the latest color of a pen we have 3 other versions of is hardly a "need." Truth be known, we all probably have to many pens and too much ink anyways. There'll be time to acquire more when/if this is all behind us.

 

You seem to have a lot of inside information on their recent benefit/salary situation. Do you work there? Did they announce this maybe? Just curious.

Edited May 19, 2020 by TSherbs

[NumberSix]

Just speculation on my part:

 

I am guessing Vanness is probably just Mike and Lisa, so it's easy enough for them to go to their shop/warehouse and fill orders each day. Maybe they aren't getting a lot of orders, even so. I have ordered from them four times since March 1st, and my orders are always processed for shipment within hours.

 

The Goulets have a bunch of staff and presumably a much larger warehouse facility. Maybe Brian and Rachel could have gone in and processed some of the shipments themselves? But then again, it's possible they were not legally allowed to do so.

 

I did not choose to place any orders with Goulet once they locked down. But they were up front about it all with their customers.