Noodlers in the UK

[Ray]

Anyone know who stocks Noodlers Ink in the UK?

 

Ray

[forestfield]

Nobody - I imported some from the States; for 6 bottles I paid an extra $30 shipping and it took about 10 days.

 

One of them (the Legal Lapis) has sitb. I've contacted the suppllier and they said they'd talk to the manufacturer - that was 2 weeks ago and I haven't heard anything since :-(

 

If you don't want any of the special features associated with noodlers, have you looked at private reserve. The Writing desk in the UK are a supplier, and I'm a happy customer.

 

-- Paul --

[RichardS]

And if you haven't tried them, don't forget our very own Diamine. They have a great range; and their Prussian Blue and Monaco Red are two of my all-time favourite inks. Also had excellent service from thewritingdesk.co.uk

[Ray]

Yes, I'm already a very happy customer of the Writing Desk.

 

Ray

[wimg]

Hi Ray,

 

AFAIK, there is only stockist in Europe, in Sweden if I am not mistaken. This means postage will still be high, if they actually sell via the internet or mail order.

 

I ordered mine from Swisher's, and delivery was prompt, feedback was great. I did order 8 bottles, and in order to lower per bottle costs, you probably will have to order 6 bottles or more in one go/package.

 

Even so, considering the quantity of ink in a bottle, it comes still out cheaper than most of the inks available in Europe,with the exception of big brand "stock" inks.

 

HTH, warm regards, Wim

[Stompy]

Ray,

 

If you want to combine an order and split postage costs - I'm game.

[Ray]

Good idea, Stompy. What colours are you interested in?

 

Ray

[Stompy]

Good idea, Stompy. What colours are you interested in?

 

Ray

I'd like to replenish my stock of noodler's black at least, and depending on how many we are getting try red, La couleur Royal...

[Ray]

Anyone else in London want to join us in a bulk Noodlers order?

 

Ray

[zxc]

By bulk buying what's a rough price per bottle gonna be?

[Eternally Noodling]

Anyone else in London want to join us in a bulk Noodlers order?

 

Ray

Since the UK shops seem to think "there are already too many ink brands here" for the most part...

 

If you can't get your local pen shop to send me a simple e-mail for a price quote direct from the manufacturer....noodlersink@earthlink.net

 

If they have no interest and don't believe it is possible to expand sales of ink...(a false belief).

 

If somebody in the UK likes the idea of mailing the ink to others in the UK - in effect, a mail order ink business....let me know. Noodler's has no distribution in the UK and it is perfectly legal for us to sell direct to shops or a "mail order distributor" in the UK.

 

I'm half English, for pete's sake! The mother country should at least have a few bottles of Noodler's in "home stock"! The $17 I just saw somebody pay to ship ink there...that's too much postage and is getting in the way of a great ink bottle resting upon your desk! If the shops won't take it soon, the Empire Red eternal can be added (it has the UK flag on its label, of course - and the only ink other than recent Polar Black production to have a 4 panel label).

 

If the British shops don't want to stock the ink for "brand saturation" or similar reasons...perhaps direct mail competition might wake them up?

[forestfield]

I'd be glad to see Noodlers stocked in the UK - I imported 6 bottles from the US (also at $17 per bottle). One of them (Legal Lapis) had 'sitb' and I'm still waiting (a month later) for a reply from the stockist. To be honest I can't be bothered to chase them for the sake of one bottle - a UK supplier would be a lot easier to deal with - just from the distance/shipping perspective.

[zxc]

Is there any reason a company such a The Writing Desk don't stock Noodlers that I've missed? Or is it simply a case of them thinking importing it is too expensive, not enough demand, they personally don't want to undertake stocking it etc

[Carrie]

Is there any reason a company such a The Writing Desk don't stock Noodlers that I've missed? Or is it simply a case of them thinking importing it is too expensive, not enough demand, they personally don't want to undertake stocking it etc

I would have presumed you'd listed the reasons that The Writing Desk haven't stocked it.

 

I've been looking at this topic and mention of the whole idea of someone finding a shop willing to stock Noodlers and it got me wondering, how many people actually know of a decent pen shop in their area? In terms of the big boys, you need only look at W H Smith which seems to have closed down its pen counter in a number of its smaller stores and you're left with at best a tiny corner of shelf where you might find Quink in black and blue. As for the Pen Shop, even they seem to be stocking an increasing number of roller balls, I wonder if eventually the balance will shift so that they're selling more rollerballs / biros than they are fountain pens. I don't know how many types of inks they're selling, but always presumed that it was just the same makes as the pens they sell. So, that leaves the little shops and in my home area I used to know a few art supplies shops which also sold fountain pens and inks. All of those have now closed down. I don't know where I could find a shop selling a decent range of inks. My ink is all purchased on the net from The Writing Desk, certainly can't fault their service.

[Eternally Noodling]

I'd be glad to see Noodlers stocked in the UK - I imported 6 bottles from the US (also at $17 per bottle). One of them (Legal Lapis) had 'sitb' and I'm still waiting (a month later) for a reply from the stockist. To be honest I can't be bothered to chase them for the sake of one bottle - a UK supplier would be a lot easier to deal with - just from the distance/shipping perspective.

E-mail me and I'll send you a replacement personally direct from production - the biocide had to go through changes over the past year (especially March of 2004) due to regulatory compliance. It is now not only safe, but the strongest available for modern production (if your bottle has the latest biocide, it has a characteristic smell of citrus/oranges).

 

Legal Lapis has only had two prior reports of SITB, out of the total it is a very stable color (failure rate measured in the third decimal spot 0.000).

 

If you can ship the old bottle to me, I'll include a couple extras for your trouble and postage. It is so uncommon that it is of value to test whatever happened to your particular bottle - just to be sure and to be on top of the war with contagions (there are so many we've killed that they are now identified by growth patterns in the petri dish/by sight).

 

Let us exchange addresses and get you a new bottle...

noodlersink@earthlink.net

[Eternally Noodling]

Is there any reason a company such a The Writing Desk don't stock Noodlers that I've missed? Or is it simply a case of them thinking importing it is too expensive, not enough demand, they personally don't want to undertake stocking it etc

In the UK, it has been a double edged sword: #1 "There are already too many brands of ink on the shelf." and #2 "We are reluctant to try a third shipment because UK customs arbitrarily assigned a higher value to the shipment two times in a row." In the brief moments Noodler's made it - it sold very well. It IS a competitive ink with a lot to offer that is different in terms of selection and utility for the UK consumer.

 

 

My gamble is that if the wholesale price is low enough, and the customs people have so much documentation of that price they will be hard pressed to assign a higher value...it will finally get through. Currently, I believe the ink has been unfairly treated by UK customs. If it gets bad enough - there will be a case filed with the US Commerce Department. I'm willing to sell ink practically at cost (I won't "dump" as it is illegal) just to get ink into the market and at the very least...form a well documented record of the actions of UK customs and any other EU based arbitrary assigned values despite clear documentation of the wholesale price. Fair trade is a two way street, n'est pas?

[Ray]

Yes, I'm game. I'll happily set up as a Noodler's mail order seller in the UK. Let's talk offline about opening stock, terms, website links and so on.

 

I hope I can rely on UK FPN'ers for some orders in due course!

 

Ray

[Eternally Noodling]

As for the Pen Shop, even they seem to be stocking an increasing number of roller balls, I wonder if eventually the balance will shift so that they're selling more rollerballs / biros than they are fountain pens. I don't know how many types of inks they're selling, but always presumed that it was just the same makes as the pens they sell.  So, that leaves the little shops and in my home area I used to know a few art supplies shops which also sold fountain pens and inks. All of those have now closed down.

An economic argument to the consumer: AARP and the American Banking Association mention Uniball as the pref. fraud fighting ink for checks and important financial documents.

 

Noodler's Black is equal to or exceeds that ink in every test done.

 

Now, Walmart has reasonable prices, agreed? Did you know that to get as many of those rollers to equal the same volume of ink in one bottle of Noodler's Black (the 3 oz, not even the big 4.5 oz!) the average cost comes to a range of $115 to $164 depending upon store/location/model of the roller? Simply break off the ends of the rollers and pour them out into an empty bottle of Noodler's...and you'll use more than 50 pens.

 

Vrs. $12 MSRP on the Noodler's Black? Vrs. a writing instrument that you don't have to throw away 50 times and can keep using...and as you know people do just this with a good fountain pen...for decades? If you worry about word count, the Kaweco Sport ED ink ball is par to par though with a 40's era fountain pen mechanism and using fountain pen ink.

 

The economic argument is compelling - but it is just not being made. Rollerballs are wasteful and you cannot change the ink color to your pref. or switch/adjust the nib to an entirely different writing application. If the pen companies would defend themselves on a PRACTICAL level...and get their heads out of the archaic luxury paradigm...fountain pens could actually gain market share! Too many in the business have simply written them off. It is the most adaptable, long lasting, and utilitarian writing instrument the world has ever known.

Edited August 20, 2005 by Eternally Noodling

[zxc]

I'm going to have to entirely agree with Carrie on the point that high street stores just don't stock inks in my experience. Usually, like she mentioned, it's a token Parker Quink in the corner. That's why I wasn't so shocked about the rejection of Noodlers (though I still would have thought somebody like Harrods/Selfridges would have taken some).

 

This is the reason I enquired about The Writing Desk specifically are very focused on the products they supply and seem to be quite in touch with there users (e.g. responsive to emails etc). I'm going to send an email to see if it's anything specific as they can't not be aware of Noodlers being in the position they are.

[Dillo]

Hi,

 

I use a Fraud-proof Uniball roller and wow--It is so expensive!!! $1.00 per 640M of writing. That is why we have Noodlers.

 

Dillo