Anyone have any experience with penboutique.com

[Zaphodbeeblebrox]

Forgive me if I am wrong but I would expect a company to charge the full amount at time order is placed, how els would they know if you have the credit or the order? Beside when they first "Charge" the card it's just a temporary hold on those funds or credit amount. It still has to go thu the cycle before it truly becomes a charge. So they may not actual take the funds until it truly does ship.

 

I do not know the inner working of the credit companies or banks, much less what all the laws and regulations are. I would not be unnerved that I was charged fully at time of order, because in my mind I just spent the money. Of course if there is a delay it could be an issue, but that is why you should always buy from a reputable shop and not from the cheapest shop.

 

Cramer

[kcoen52]

I just ordered a bottle of ink from their eBay store, and hope all goes well, however they list a very broad expected shipping date, any where from 1-3 weeks...

[Laura N]

I placed a small order last week that still hasn't shipped as of today, six days later. When I called, they said the item has just arrived in the shipping department and would be sent in a day or two. They were very nice, and it was good to talk to a real person. I don't know if their website doesn't reflect what's actually in inventory. Or whether they have items at different sites and need to collect them and ship centrally. Either way, I'm not complaining. As long as I get it, I'll be happy.

 

But next time, I think I'll call in my order, to verify that the items are in stock and to get a better sense of delivery time.

[ajoe]

Great store, great people, but I won't do mail order again.

 

The store is a 90 minute drive, but my ink took 10 days to get here, and only shipped after I called to question the status.

[SamCapote]

I have ordered ink from them at least 8-10 times over the last 3-4 years. Never had a problem. Most recently ordered Montblanc Hitchcock red and Seasons Greeting 2007 red inks. Arrived in fast UPS 2-3 days after order placed.

 

They are extremely friendly over the phone, and I would not hesitate to give them my highest recommendation.

 

No one is on the same level as Goulet Pens, but 8-10 orders that all went perfectly is a pretty reliable track record.

[Laura N]

Well, just to update, mine arrived today. Ordered January 25, arrived February 3. I'm very pleased to have it. I definitely would order again, but by phone this time.

[TMac]

I've made numerous purchases from Pen Boutique both online and in their store. My experiences have all been positive. Online, I receive my orders quickly. I do live close to the store but obviously they shipped immediately upon the order.

 

Their employees in the store are incredibly friendly and accommodating.

 

My final opinion is that they are one of the several great companies serving our community.

[wisdomfpn]

Ok.. so a bunch of red flags:

Resurrecting a dead thread..

New member..

Bashing a company that has a pretty loyal following here..

 

Now that that's out of the way..

 

Just wanted to say that recent experiences with Penboutique.com (mine included) have been absolutely horrible. Don't take my word alone for it.. check the recent Amazon reviews. The frustration and unresponsiveness is unacceptable and I would just like to throw my opinion in there with the rest of them. Again.. I'm sure there will be many established and respected opinions on this board who jump to their defense, and I will not dispute the certainty with which they defend PB.. I only ask that my "caveat emptor" is at least given a chance at credibility.

 

I certainly wish I spent a few bucks more and at least received something for it..

-\Visdom

[Minty]

I tried to order a new Montblanc 149 from penboutique.com in August. I prefer blue ink & asked them if they would swap out the bottle of black ink that comes with the pen for Royal Blue. Seems like a small accommodation for a pen costing many hundreds of dollars. They bluntly refused & acted insulted that I would even ask. Within minutes I was on to another site that appreciated my business & I made my purchase. I do not know why these business people would turn down a sale but I will never darken their door again.

[Laura N]

I wouldn't minimize anyone's bad experience, and I'm sorry for that. But, just for another data point, I have in the last 10 months ordered several times from them, through Amazon and by calling them directly. I've been thrilled with their service. It seems to me that they've fixed the slow shipping I had encountered in the past. And looking at their Amazon rating, it's a 4.9 out of 5.

 

On my last ink order, which was by phone, the salesperson went well out of her way for me, gave me a great price, and spent lots of time with me, all for a fairly small order. I wish the MB 149 buyer had reached her, instead.

[N2theBreach]

FWIW, I've bought from them thee times, all from their two B&M stores, one in Columbia, MD, the other in the Rockville, MD area, just north of DC.

 

I bought my first pen from the DC store. It skipped, so I called the store and got someone who knew pens. He told me when he worked next, I went then and after verifying that it skipped, he exchanged it. However, the other sales folk were friendly and helpful, just not knowledgeable. One of them didn't even own a fountain pen.

 

The other purchases were small (ink or something) from the Columbia store and I have no complaints. The sales people were very helpful, friendly, and seemed knowledgeable.

 

I get the sense that their operation is more of a business than the passion it is with with some other online vendors. I'll definitely go back, I just wish the Columbia store was open more evening hours during the week.

[wordlady]

I emailed Montblanc to ask about Penboutique.com. I received a response today saying that penboutique.com is not an authorized Montblanc retailer. So, I decided not to buy a Montblanc through that site. I don't know what that means about the Montblanc branded products they sell, and I'm not suggesting they aren't genuine. Just an FYI.

[jacksterp]

No problems here and have ordered from them recently. Would not hesitate to do so again.

[airborne18th]

I emailed Montblanc to ask about Penboutique.com. I received a response today saying that penboutique.com is not an authorized Montblanc retailer. So, I decided not to buy a Montblanc through that site. I don't know what that means about the Montblanc branded products they sell, and I'm not suggesting they aren't genuine. Just an FYI.

 

I have bought from them once or twice and no issues, shipping was a little slow.

 

The authorized dealer issue is interesting. I always deal with authorized dealers, and I have gotten to the point where I check with the pen mfg or distributor to verify a retailer. And it does seem to come down to the question of genuine products.

 

I used to be into photography when I physically could. Grey market is a bigger issue with camera equipment across retailers and ebay. Authorized dealers would not sell grey market, at least with most medium format brands. Grey market translates into no warranty in the US, you would have to send it overseas. So it was real easy to qualify retailers, if you could verify they were an authorized dealer, you never had to question their products.

 

With pens this does not seem to be the case. I have seen retailers who claim to be authorized dealers selling obvious china remakes. So there almost does not seem to be the same level of regulation by the distributors and pen mfgs.

 

Though I am also not impressed by sending pens away to europe for a few weeks for simple repairs either.

 

But I will say, it was nice being able to by Pilot Prera models from a dealer who directly imported them from Japan and did not limit their product selection to US only sytles.

[inotrym]

I sent an e-mail to ask for some information and haven't received a reply yet. (it's been 4-5 days now)

Is it common for them to respond that late?

 

Thanks in advance

[gbenoimi]

Bad experience--the products the Pen Boutique advertises online are not in stock. It's click-and-bait. So, if you buy something, they will then contact you saying the product is not available, but that you should get something else from their website instead. Shady pen business. I am getting my credit card company to recover funds for purchases of products this store claimed o have but they don't. Waste of time. Avoid at all costs.

[CatAddict]

I shopped there a few times and the shop was quite nice. Very good price too.

[sketchstack]

On 3/24/2021 at 1:34 PM, gbenoimi said:

Bad experience--the products the Pen Boutique advertises online are not in stock. It's click-and-bait....

 

I believe they are online and have have a physical store too. Thus they might have trouble reconciling stock differences between their online systems and what’s actually on the shelf in their retail store.

 

I knew someone who worked at a bookstore and this happened from time to time. It’s particularly troublesome if a customer mis-shelves an item while browsing or when someone shoplifts —the computer will say “in stock” yet the product can’t be located. 

[nm4]

I’ve purchased online and visited the store.  They were very nice people and I have nothing but good things to say. 
 

NM

[SpecTP]

it's local to me and I used to frequent it regularly prior to the pandemic. It's pretty reliable source for my pens, papers and inks.