Alternative Suppliers Of Nakaya

[manolo]

Hello all,

 

I am thinking of buying a new Nakaya, my third one.

 

The thing is, the one that I prefer at the moment for aesthetic reasons is the Piccolo Long (being the regular Piccolo too short for my grip), which is not sold neither by Nakaya Japan nor nibs.com, but from Aesthetic Bay or Pensinasia.

 

I don't have experience with these alternative sellers, and I would like to know your experience with them (prices aside): shipping, adjustment of nibs, returns, etc... I would most probably buy a music nib.

 

Thank you in advance.

[AltecGreen]

Before you get too caught up in the details, you should check whether either Aesthetics Bay or Pensinasia have a Long Piccolo to sell you.

 

You might be disappointed with what I suspect the answer will be.

 

 

 

There might be an alternative but you will need to act fast. After this weekend........

[roadrunner]

I'm in the same boat... I've emailed but haven't been able to get an order placed

Maybe the long piccolo isn't to be for me?

[raging.dragon]

Won't Nakaya make pretty much anything one want's as a custom order?

[manolo]

Sorry, but none of You is really answering me.

[ethernautrix]

Won't Nakaya make pretty much anything one want's as a custom order?

 

 

Um...

 

Ummmm....

 

 

That's a good question. Has anyone ordered a Long Piccolo directly from Nakaya?

 

 

 

I don't have any experience with those sellers, but going by the buzz, Aesthetics Bay has a good reputation. At least, LeighR has done business with them, and it always seemed perfectly fine, if not better.

[reprieve]

There might be an alternative but you will need to act fast. After this weekend........

 

What does that mean?

[roadrunner]

Sorry, but none of You is really answering me.

 

I tried to order straight from nakaya and they replied that I needed to order from aesthetic bay as they were the exclusive dealer...

[teeitup418holes]

I have purchased from Tay at PensInAsia.com and I can tell you that he is a great retailer of Nakaya pens. In fact, I purchased the long piccolo that you are wanting. So please let me know if my response doesn't answer your question.

 

His priority with my purchase was to make sure I received EXACTLY what I wanted...and I got even more than that. Shipping was fast (once my pen was completed by Nakaya). As far as adjustment of nibs, I had Nakaya do all of that. I don't think Tay does any of that...but I could be wrong. He didn't do any on mine. It wrote nice, and I was very pleased with it. Eventually, I purchased one adjusted by John Mottishaw at nibs.com. If I would have never written with one of John's adjusted Nakaya pens, I would have been completely happy. So, I'm not the one to ask there...I am a bit partial to John (but I'm not affiliated with him at all other than being a happy customer). As far as returns, I wouldn't know because he got me exactly what I asked for. Tay has GREAT english and not only understood what I was looking for, but passed that perfectly along to Nakaya.

 

The only problem that I could find was that it took a while for my pen to be made. But that's because I wanted my name in Maki-e and that takes longer for Nakaya to do. Which for me, it was well worth the wait...and it wasn't a problem at all.

 

To answer the question about Nakaya selling direct on the Long Piccolo...I asked them about this. They kindly replied that Aesthetic Bay and Pens In Asia has the exclusive rights for that model. But that was 2 years ago. That may have changed.

 

I know you said prices aside, but for me, the prices are what has kept me from returning to Aesthetic Bay or Pens In Asia. Their prices on Nakaya are a little bit more than other places. But, they are the exclusive dealers on the Long Piccolo and, being that you want the Long Piccolo, it's your only option.

 

As a past customer, I would give them an A++. I have been incredibly happy with the pen I bought from them, and confidently say that they are a GREAT source to buy great Nakaya pens!

 

Again, I'm happy to help you out any way I can, and answer any other questions you might have. You can find my email/PM on my profile page.

 

Best!

 

Brandon

[AltecGreen]

Won't Nakaya make pretty much anything one want's as a custom order?

 

 

Except a Long Piccolo and a Naka-ai. The former is exclusive to Aesthetics Bay and apparently Pensinasia. The latter is exclusive to nibs.com

 

 

 

You can get a custom anything but you have to order through the proper channels for those two pens.

[yotiao]

I have good experiences with both dealers since I now live in Singapore. Two of my nakayas were purchased from Aesthetic Bay because I got to try the nibs before buying. I bought other pens from Pensinasia, Tay is very fast in shipping, and I always asked him to inspect the nibs before shipping. I have purchased 6 or 7 pens from him and none of them fail me, they all write nicely. Some of the pens listed at Aesthetic Bay's website stated no stock, but actually when I was in the shop just 2 weeks ago, I spotted some were actually on display.

 

I suggest you send email to Pensinasia first, because Aesthetic Bay's prices on Nakayas are a little higher as they are B&M business, they do give some discounts though.

 

Hope this help.

[Leigh R]

Nakaya tend to be strict about keeping dealer-exclusive styles to the dealers. The available-to-everyone equivalent of the Long Piccolo is the Neo-Standard. It is slightly curvier, unlike the Long Piccolo which is essentially an elongated Piccolo. AB can give you nib choices, but not tuning. I can't answer your shipping questions, because I always buy pens from them in person. FK and Ivy are great people and have always been very helpful. Hope this helps!

[Siv]

Both Aesthetic Bay and Pens in Asia are reputable with reliable shipping etc. AFAIK neither do nib adjustment.

[Jonst]

Manalo,

 

Leigh mentioned the Neo-Standard as a possible alternative to the Long Piccolo. A further alternative is the dorsal fin pen, which I believe is a Long Piccolo with a fin. The extra cost of adding the fin may outweigh the cost of sourcing a Long Piccolo from Aesthetic Bay or Pens in Asia but it might be more freely/quickly available.

 

Good luck

 

Jon