Twsbi Diamond 530 With Gold Nib

[epo]

A gold nib has no real appeal to me.

 

The initial price of the 530 was a draw but the UK customs/postoffice scam inflated the price considerably. If you could set up an EU outlet to dispatch pens from they would be much more appealing to Europeans.

Edited November 13, 2010 by epo

[SnowLeopard]

Stick to your niche...don't venture into shark infested waters without a life raft! You're making a big mistake by competing with brands with more ad/ marketing dollars and a distribution network the size of a Euro country....on their home field. Got my drift? Don't become obsessed with the "Rheingold".... like Alberich in Wagner's opus, Speedster. Make the nibs out of "unobtanium". Don't abandon your mission statement!

Edited November 13, 2010 by SnowLeopard

[Jimmy James]

I think maybe people need to consider this again.

 

We're talking a pen in the class of the Pelikan M1000 for $280. That seems like a pretty darned good deal to me.

 

That's fine if you want to dedicate $280 of your money to buying a fountain pen (and many do). However the majority just don't have budgets that stretch that far, especially in these difficult financial times. This is why the Diamond 530 is priced at a low price point, so it is accessible to as many FP enthusiasts as possible. If Speedy can sell enough of the $280 pen then great, there have always been higher priced pens and buyers and no-one will deny you the right or enjoyment of buying one.

My most expensive pen cost me a little over $100 (a Vanishing Point). I am very much in this group. By the same token, that's why I think a different presentation and a little more time for getting feedback would have yielded different results. As it is, I think this is for the best. Down the road when there are solid color pens with ink windows and a more extensive product lineup, my guess is that something like this will eventually happen.

[Namo]

To me, the only advantage of a 14k gold nib is that you can add flex to it. I happen to like a pen with some flex, and that cannot be achieved with a IGP (GIP?) nib. Otherwise, I must say I find these nibs to be very good and of equla writing pleasure than any gold nib.

[mano I]

Speedy, IMHO this is a potentially reckless and costly idea. TWSBI is almost brand new and known for it's utilitarian design and low cost. You're now proposing, as only your second product, what most consider to be a high-end pen which directly competes with well-established high-end new and used products from the likes of Pelikan, MB, Visconti, and others. Keep in mind, just a few short months ago you were getting the kinks out of your first product offering.

 

Consider the Volkswagen fiasco of the Phaeton. Without slowly adding higher-end products they jumped to a luxury car, which no one bought. Consider Honda, Toyota and Nissan, which from the 1970's on, slowly built their low-cost product line to where they were successful with the high-end Acura, Lexus and Infinity. Even Hyundai, which back in the 1980's was a cheap Korean car is now, 25 years later making cars which successfully compete with the Toyota Avalon and now Lexus, Acura and Infinity.

 

The gold nib add-on option may be a good idea, but you may want to see how many people order it before buying thousands of gold nibs.

 

JMHO

[speedy]

A gold nib has no real appeal to me.

 

The initial price of the 530 was a draw but the UK customs/postoffice scam inflated the price considerably. If you could set up an EU outlet to dispatch pens from they would be much more appealing to Europeans.

It seems the distribution profit is blocking the European distributor taking the pen, The price structure of this pen does not allow me to give them what they expect. But it also seems no one understand fix profit amount can be

1. small volume x high price or

2. high volume x lower price

all the commodity item has lower profit rate.

 

 

 

 

[speedy]

Speedy, IMHO this is a potentially reckless and costly idea. TWSBI is almost brand new and known for it's utilitarian design and low cost. You're now proposing, as only your second product, what most consider to be a high-end pen which directly competes with well-established high-end new and used products from the likes of Pelikan, MB, Visconti, and others. Keep in mind, just a few short months ago you were getting the kinks out of your first product offering.

 

Consider the Volkswagen fiasco of the Phaeton. Without slowly adding higher-end products they jumped to a luxury car, which no one bought. Consider Honda, Toyota and Nissan, which from the 1970's on, slowly built their low-cost product line to where they were successful with the high-end Acura, Lexus and Infinity. Even Hyundai, which back in the 1980's was a cheap Korean car is now, 25 years later making cars which successfully compete with the Toyota Avalon and now Lexus, Acura and Infinity.

 

The gold nib add-on option may be a good idea, but you may want to see how many people order it before buying thousands of gold nibs.

 

JMHO

 

 

totally agree with you, just that evil gold nib brought me this attempt. it was not intent to be one of the TWSBI main stream either, just some occasion work.

 

 

[phantagarow]

To me a flex nib is more appealing than a gold nib. There are lots of companies offering pens with gold nibs with different price ranges. In that way TWSBI is trying to become a contender in which there is already big time competition. On the other hand, no company offers flex nibs to my knowledge. TWSBI will have no difficulty in finding success in a non existent market.

 

 

A gold nib has no real appeal to me.

 

The initial price of the 530 was a draw but the UK customs/postoffice scam inflated the price considerably. If you could set up an EU outlet to dispatch pens from they would be much more appealing to Europeans.

It seems the distribution profit is blocking the European distributor taking the pen, The price structure of this pen does not allow me to give them what they expect. But it also seems no one understand fix profit amount can be

1. small volume x high price or

2. high volume x lower price

all the commodity item has lower profit rate.

[speedy]

Over the passing time, I received pretty much inquire for flex nib, now a day only gold and Ti nib can have some flex. Ti is not available in 530 nib size so, I've been thinking whole afternoon,

I may just well stock a few hundred pieces of gold nib as optional accessary for people to choose direct from my store.

so what size we should stock

EF 50 pcs

F 100 pcs

M 150 pcs

B ??

Stub ??

any other size?

But remember, roughly US$70/pc ok?

 

Also I should ask Bock to sell me some stainless steel nib in other size,

we have EF, F, M already, should add B, Stub, others??

 

The different between Italic and Stub is Stub has rounded edges, correct? in this case Stub should be more usable for general user isn't it?

[Vargouille]

That is true, but italics give better vertical-horizontal variation. As to the stub, I would like it if it were rather "crisp", eg leaning towards the italic side, and if there were two different sizes of stub, say 1.3mm and 2.0mm. What are your thoughts?

[epo]

A gold nib has no real appeal to me.

 

The initial price of the 530 was a draw but the UK customs/postoffice scam inflated the price considerably. If you could set up an EU outlet to dispatch pens from they would be much more appealing to Europeans.

It seems the distribution profit is blocking the European distributor taking the pen, The price structure of this pen does not allow me to give them what they expect. But it also seems no one understand fix profit amount can be

1. small volume x high price or

2. high volume x lower price

all the commodity item has lower profit rate.

Really? But you do have an American distribution point don't you? Are the Europeans really that greedy? Oh and +1000 votes for flex.

Edited November 13, 2010 by epo

[Malcy]

I'm in for a gold stub.

[southpaw]

I've got two of the 530s, both with F nibs. I would recommend that TWSBI stick with it's "bread and butter," i.e., what got you to where you are: a self-filling pen with good looks, excellent customer service, and good value. I would pursue some means of obtaining the flex Ti nib if at all possible. I would also focus on the other self-filling mechanisms (vac-fil, etc.) and alternate colors. The gold nib is too little bang for too much buck in this case (and I speak as one who has predominantly gold-nibbed pens).

 

HTH, Michael

[Surnia]

Also I should ask Bock to sell me some stainless steel nib in other size,

we have EF, F, M already, should add B, Stub, others??

 

The different between Italic and Stub is Stub has rounded edges, correct? in this case Stub should be more usable for general user isn't it?

I would be all over a Stub, or a Cursive Italic. somewhere around 1.1mm...

[Lloyd]

Speedy, I hope you realize that gold alone does not produce a flexible nib. In fact, there do exist fairly flexible steel nibs. So, jusst by supplying users with gold nibs, you might not be giving them any increased flexibility over the steel nib.

[Jimmy James]

In terms of nib selection, the obvious addition is B. From there, I think a stub/italic would be favored over a BB. I don't know that Bock does an XXF. I'll be over the moon to get a B. I love my current model with its M nib, but a new 530 with a B would truly be the bee's knees.

[dnb]

It would have to be a different design for me, too. At $200+ you have too much competition. I might buy it with a gold nib if it were slightly larger and the facets were on the cap and the barrel was smooth, as IMHO that is a simpler, more elegant design. I refer to the original photo you have, Speedy.

[dnb]

I've got two of the 530s, both with F nibs. I would recommend that TWSBI stick with it's "bread and butter," i.e., what got you to where you are: a self-filling pen with good looks, excellent customer service, and good value. I would pursue some means of obtaining the flex Ti nib if at all possible. I would also focus on the other self-filling mechanisms (vac-fil, etc.) and alternate colors. The gold nib is too little bang for too much buck in this case (and I speak as one who has predominantly gold-nibbed pens).

 

HTH, Michael

 

+1 to South Paw. You have begun to develop your reputation as an inexpensive, good quality, bang-for-the-buck manufacturer. If that is your niche, perhaps capitalizing on that as much as possible would maximize your impact rather than dilute it in trying to be all things to all people.

[theblackpen]

Apologies if this was asked and answered before but I'd like to know the price you have in mind for the Vacuum. Thank you!

Regarding your questions, I'd say that offering options or upgrades for the original model (Diamond 530) would be a good idea:

 

• metal piston
• 14K gold nib
• celluloid body
• acrylic body

and so on...

If you could make a pen with a metal piston and gold nib and keep the price for it at 175-ish I'd say that in 25 years your face is going to be on every NT$ bill...

A european retailer would be fantastic, as others have already mentioned. I know that would bring you at least one new customer .

Best of luck!

Mihai

[millerb7]

Speedy, I do SEO/Web Consulting for a living. I'm shooting you an email regarding an e-commerce store. I took a quick look at GouletPens.com and in 10 sec. I can already tell you what e-commerce store/solution/template he is using. I have good experience using the e-commerce he is, and IMHO, it's a fantastic choice. I know disney, motorola, and some other big players are using that e-commerce solution as well.

 

There are free options for you to start off with as well. You can combine a blog/forum/e-commerce rather easily, and for free (if you have web server space).... but the only issue going that route is it makes it harder in the future to upgrade to a more suitable solution should your company grow (which think all of us here hopes it does).