Montgomery pens

[Ghost Plane]

[flight878]

Interesting that I found this thread. Didn't know about the deficiency of their customer service.

 

I'm a new Rotring 600 addict looking to add more of these rare writing instruments to my collection. Whenever I check on eBay for good deals on them, I always find outrageous prices that come from montgomerystationery. For example:

 

Rotring 600 Ballpoint Pen Silver w/ Gold Trim: $455.00 (can sell new @ < $160)

Rotring 600 Ballpoint Pen Black w/ Gold Trim: $455.00 (can sell new @ < $160)

Rotring 600 fountain pens for over $300.00 (can be had for less then $150 new)

Rotring 600 Trio Pen Silver: $495.75! (eBay Germany can be had for less than EUR 160)

 

Furthermore, it seems like they are frequent buyers of German eBay seller 'jc.designkunst'. This seller released a bunch of Rotring 600 0.5mm Lava Pencils for $65 with the Levengers logo on them, and then more than a week later, montgomerystationery is reselling them for $229! Almost quadruple the price! I feel sorry for the desparate buyers who don't do their research. Furthermore, they stole the German seller's listing photo of the pencil and cropped it to sell their item. Why are they so lazy? They've also stolen his Rotring 600 Trio picture. This is against eBay rules. Secondly, their listings are sloppily done. Add to that their outrageous shipping fees... Too many red flags. They have good prices on Lamy products, but from the feedback on the previous posters, I don't ever plan to do business with these people.

[pvector]

As I have physically been to one of their two locations in New York, imho, dont buy from them. They rarely have stuff in original packaging. Its as someone mentioned in a previous post, its stockpiled and resold at a higher cost. Also, cant trust the people who run it. If you do business at the store in person, all the better off. But its really a small shop with old stock of pens which they jack up the price when ever they like. Jotter ss bp and mp set I once looked at was 12.95 then a week later 15.95, but when i showed up in store 17.95. Also on a side note, the only thing they probably have in original packaging is jotters, and some pens that are available cheaper in staples. They do have a wide selection of jotters tho, over 10,000 according to the manager.

[Left FPN]

I came across one of their ebay auctions for a Sea Garden Carene and when I asked a Q they put $100 onto the price next I viewed it. Stay well clear....IMHO

 

We do have a UK supplier, who also ebays, that I unfortunately have bought from who charges high prices. I learned a lot from that buy.

[Solstice]

Feeling like maybe I dodged a bullet with this place - I wasn't careful enough before ordering from their Web site, and read this thread only after the fact. I only ordered one Waterman Kultur and one pack of cartridges, so figured I would just sit tight and hope for the best. They took over a week to send my stuff but it's here. I haven't tried to write with the pen yet, but it's in the original packaging and looks ok. I had planned to get a couple more Kulturs from them in other colors, but now I'm scared to

[allthebestpens]

One of if not the rudest and most unfriendly seller's one can encounter. He also often publishes other sellers pictures of their pens, being too lazy to take original pictures of the actual items himself. Stay away, this guy is the worst. Seller's like this should not be allowed on EBAY!

[Left FPN]

Seller's like this should not be allowed on EBAY!

 

Unfortunately eBay thrives on bulk sellers with oversize negative feedback pots. As long as they are getting their cut $$$$$$ they care nothing for the buyers.

[Bambuko]

Scared off from buying from this guy now. I was considering buying a Waterman Le Man 100 in black from him...his price is high anyway though. Almost $500 and it doesn't even say what condition the pen is in....

[Ghost Plane]

FPH had some. Dunno if they're still there.

[MYU]

If you look at what pens he is selling on his website, you'll see he has a selection of some discontinued models at VERY high prices. And then if you check his bidding on eBay, that's where he's getting them. Outbidding others so he can flip them on his website for $100+ more than what he paid. Honestly, I can't imagine anybody paying those prices, unless the customer is wealthy enough not to bother price checking.

 

In the past, I have bought from him off of eBay. And when I got a good deal because he started his price too low, he ended up telling me "sorry, I made a mistake--item not available." Then a week later? It was back up with a higher starting price. "Miraculously" they got more in stock.

Edited February 8, 2013 by MYU

[Left FPN]

I enquired about a Carene to which they doubled the price.

[Bill Wood]

Very good information to know. It seems from the posts on this thread over the last few years their customer service has remained unsatisfactory. Too bad because it seems they have a lot of good pens on sale .. Especially Carene's.

 

Thanks all for the info. I'm going to steer clear for some time.

[inkstainedruth]

Very good information to know. It seems from the posts on this thread over the last few years their customer service has remained unsatisfactory. Too bad because it seems they have a lot of good pens on sale .. Especially Carene's.

 

Thanks all for the info. I'm going to steer clear for some time.

Sorry for the continuance of necroposting to this thread, but I'm sorry I didn't check on FPN first before dealing with these jokers.

A few days ago I ordered a Parker Vector FP/BP set from them [as Ebay seller montgomerystationery] as a high school graduation present for my husband's niece (and yeah, I did check the Montgomery Pens website as well -- along with some other Ebay and Amazon listings) to compare prices and descriptions for colors/nibs, etc. Listing stated that the pens came with a free 5-pack of Quink cartridges and a refill for the BP. Arrived yesterday. Single cartridge, and the BP "refill" is installed in the pen. Contacted them immediately (i.e., within 15 minutes after I brought the mail in yesterday) and told them I was withholding feedback until the situation is resolved. No response as of 1 AM EDT, so over 24 hours. I have until June 5, according to Ebay before it can get bumped up to the Ebay Resolution Center. Kinda tight timing, given that the commencement ceremony and party for the recipient are June 8, and over 600 miles away from where I live (it's about a 10-12 hour car trip).

So, if the extra 4 cartridges are not in my little hot hands by the time the mail arrives on June 6, I contact Ebay, and possibly *also* Paypal. And if this is not resolved quickly, I will see if I can give them ZERO stars for feedback....

Then... I contact the NYS Attorney General's Consumer Affairs Dept. Using the terms "fraud" and "bait and switch" might get someone's attention there, n'est-ce pas? I've already downloaded their form, and saved the original listing as a .pdf. And (with your kind permission, of course) this thread might be used as corroborating evidence of a pattern of behavior.

Hell hath no fury like a woman who's been ripped off. Especially one who was trained in the "gentle" art of consumer protection by someone who could have turned pro (yes, IMO my mom was THAT good -- she had complaint letters down to a fine science -- yay, verily, to the level of High Art). Wonder if I should mention to Montgomery that they should do a bit of reseach on the 1973 World Science Fiction Convention Hugo voting, and a certain very lengthy long distance phone call from Arizona made to my parents' house on Friday night of Labor Day weekend that year....

Stay tuned, boys and girls (and you might want to consider getting your popcorn now before the action starts). Montgomery might wish they'd never heard of me, by the time I get done with them. And all because of $5 worth of cartridges filled with (probably) crappy Quink Washable Blue....

In the immortal words of Bugs Bunny: "Ain't I a stinker?"

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[inkstainedruth]

Well, here's an update. After hearing nothing from Montgomery all weekend, I posted about it on my Facebook wall yesterday morning. I was pretty po'd by then, but was frankly not expecting much from Ebay other than Montgomery *maybe* getting a slap on the wrist at best (Ebay isn't going to shoot a major cash cow; OTOH the NYS Attorney General's Consumer Affairs folks might have a different take....).

Mid-afternoon I got a response from a friend, who liked me showing my fangs (I had said that Montgomery should be less afraid of a pack of rabid pitt bulls running through their store than of me).

Did a bunch of stuff, ran a bunch of errands, had dinner, went to choir rehearsal. Got home around 10, after stopping to get gas for the car I was driving. Around 11 PM I logged on to catch up on email (a friend at choir said she was sending me something, but possibly not till today).

There was a message forwarded from the Ebay Resolution Center, saying basically, "Sorry, our bad -- if a pack of cartridges and another refill get sent to you 1st Class mail on Tuesday, is that acceptable?" I said that *if* they could guarantee delivery by Thursday's mail, it would be. But that they had to understand that I could probably only give neutral feedback at best under the circumstances. And that I was keeping the downloaded complaint form from the Consumer Affairs website in reserve, in case there were any more issues.

Now I *never* mentioned the NYS AG on Ebay before that point -- *ONLY* on FB, and on FPN. So then I went back on FB late last night and said, "Glorioski! Social media works!" (or words to that effect). But I know AG Depts. of Consumer Affairs "watch lists" is type of radar that companies do *not* want to be on. As opposed to the the Better Business Bureau -- a company has to have something really egregious to have the BBB do something about them, because as long as they pay their dues they're "members in good standing"....

I had told a friend of mine about it on Sunday afternoon and her immediate response was "Bait and Switch!" and asked if I was getting the AG involved? (She knows me too well.... /../../public/style_emoticons/default/rolleyes.gif) I said "If necessary, and that's the *exact* phrase I will be using...."

So at the moment I'm in "wait and see" mode. The short answer is that apparently you really need to ask very careful questions of this seller as to what is and is not included in the sale, to save *all* your documentation, and be prepared to fight them tooth and nail if they pull this sort of unethical (or outright fraudulent) BS. Which in my case it was. And I'm keeping the URL for the NYS AG's office on a stickie file on my laptop for now (although I doubt I would EVER consider ordering or bidding on any of montgomerystationery's other listings at this point).

YMMV -- but personally I don't much like getting swindled. And I'm an ornery enough, mouthy broad that I'll do stuff about it -- loudly, publicly, and with with a very large legal stick....

Someone asked me yesterday whether it was worth getting so worked up over $6 worth of (admittedly crappy) Quink cartridges. And the answer is *Yes -- because it's the *principle* of the thing." I paid for something and it wasn't all there, and when I contacted them I got no response for the better part of a week, which suggests that they think they can get away with it. But no, they can't. Not with me. And if everyone dealt with them the way I did, they'd have to clean up their act....

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[Gloucesterman]

Thanks for the heads up on them.

 

Have seen several items from time to time that I almost went for. Now I'm glad I didn't do it.

[inkstainedruth]

Thanks for the heads up on them.

 

Have seen several items from time to time that I almost went for. Now I'm glad I didn't do it.

In my case the shipping for the original listing was free, and it did come in about 2-3 days. But the communication was very poor to non-existent, and the fact that (in response to a query about a different item where the description didn't match the photo at *all* -- listing for turquoise Quink cartridges, when the photo clearly showed a blister pack of black ink) I was specifically told "follow the description, not the photo". Plus, like someone said in an earlier post, check both their Ebay listings and their regular website for pricing (and shipping charges, which seem to have no rhyme or reason as to why 1 item has free shipping and another has $3). Given their ratings on Ebay, they mostly seem to do *something* right -- one positive review I read was even from a seller I had bought from before but who didn't have quite what I wanted listed this time around.

And I say this as being the one who gave positive feedback to the Ebay seller of an Esterbrook with a somewhat seriously borked 9128 nib (I may attempt to straighten it out myself at some point with jeweler's pliers); I (probably) somewhat overpaid on the basis of the nib without looking at the photos closely (so it was my fault, not the seller's)....

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[inkstainedruth]

Well, here's a status update. Not especially good news.

New offer from montgomerystationery (via the Ebay Resolution Center): I can return the pen set to them for full refund including initial shipping costs. Which is a bogus offer because the shipping was free to start with. No refund of what MY shipping costs will be, mind you....

Saw this at about 2:30 this AM. Needless to say, I was, um, not a happy camper.

Counteroffer: Unacceptable. Items in my hands within 36 hours (i.e., roughly when the Thursday mail would be arriving) -- even if it means someone has to rent a car and drive the 10 hours to Western PA from lower Manhattan. And yes -- they got told that last part in no uncertain terms.

I love how this wasn't even forwarded to my email by Ebay -- I might have seen the message sooner. Maybe not soon enough to do anything, but at least I would have seen it before the middle of the night.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[ever onward]

Why in the world would they think you'd want to RETURN the item at this point is beyond me. Have they not READ your prior correspondence?

 

best wishes,

eo

[inkstainedruth]

Well given the quality of correspondence I received from them, I'm not sure literacy was a strong suit to begin with...

Why in the world would they think you'd want to RETURN the item at this point is beyond me. Have they not READ your prior correspondence?

 

best wishes,

eo

A further update. I got sufficiently irritated that yesterday afternoon I had the situation oescalate to the next level (which is Ebay arbitrating). Figured that since it was supposed to take up to 48 hours I wouldn't hear anything soon. Did some stuff, went to dinner, dropped off some artwork at my friend's house, went to CVS. Got home around a quarter to 10.

Logged on to catch up on email. Message from Ebay. Ruling in my favor. Complete refund to Paypal of purchase price and original shipping fees (which was somewhat specious in that it was free shipping to start with...). Case is now officially closed.

It's a Pyrrhic victory. I *know* that I was in the right, and it means the pen set was free. But I'm pretty sure that the quick resolution (a matter of a few hours) is largely due to invoking the NYS AG's Consumer Affairs office -- even though I would have been filing the complaint against montgomerystationery/

Montgomery Pens, not against Ebay. And it means that I will be wrapping up a backup set of cartridges from my own stash (and if I have time today, running up to Staples and seeing if the Parker BP refills would fit the other pen). I'd have rather that I had gotten the stuff I paid for originally -- or, barring that, have had Montgomery say "Oops, we'll get that right out to you" on Thursday instead of sitting around all weekend thinking that they had time for me to calm down and cool off (like that was *really* gonna happen...). By which time I couldn't just return the pen set and get something else from another seller and have it arrive in time. I had even suggested that if they got the cartridges and refill to my sister-in-law's in Midtown (assuming that she or her husband were even available, or going to the party this weekend) -- and that suggestion was ignored (they didn't like the "rent a car and drive to Pittsburgh and HAND me the cartridges" option at ALL (and as my friend said last night -- they could have sprung a little for expedited overnight shipping).

And I'm *also* not sure whether I would be able to leave feedback under the circumstances (or how many *other* times that Ebay has had to adjudicate being them and buyers). I would *like* to be able to say "Bait and switch tactics and poor communication; had to have Ebay step in, and had to threaten to report seller to the NYS AG's Consumers Affairs folks." But I don't know if that's possible in a "closed" case....

If they hadn't been such buttheads about the whole business, and had just said "Oh, we're sorry, we'll get that out to you right away" I'd have the items, and would have left decent feedback, and it wouldn't have had to gone to this level.... And given the high percentage of positive feedback, you'd think that they would have been more reputable to start with (the very few poor feedback reviews came across as being from folks I would have categorized as "cranks").

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[ever onward]

Yeah, I would guess that you're right and you won't be able to leave feedback.

 

An interesting story. You and my mom would get along perfectly. (My mom rocks.)

 

best,

eo