Horrible Experience With Engeika Shop

[aawhite]

As I mentioned in my earlier post, my experience with Taizo is good, and I am happy with the pens.

 

Would it had mattered if tags were absent . . . for me, "no". In one case the box was opened for obvious reasons, Taizo added an international cartridge adaptor for the platinum pen for free. He did not have to do it, but it was part of his service. I like that and I will be buying more pens from him.

 

I suppose one question in this thread is why the pen came in a different brand box. Is it possible that in the course of adding the little extras into the boxes, like a cartridge adaptor (in my case), that the pen was momentarily removed from the box and was later misplaced? If that is the case, then someone out there received a Sailor in a Pilot/Namiki Falcon box. Maybe . . . . ?

 

In any case, I know that it is not a good experience for some people.

 

Just as a side note . . . when I make a purchase with my regular B&M pen shop, they sometimes put my cheaper fountain pen purchases in (very useful) high end boxes that other customers have discarded. Wrong box, but useful nonetheless.

Edited July 20, 2013 by aawhite

[ukobke]

I have won 8 pens on e-bay auctions, 2 of them from Taizo. He gave me excellent service and provided me with two brand new Sailor pens, in boxes, uninked and did so in jig time (6 days) for a mere $13.00 delivery fee all the way from Japan. Unlike the others who try to scam more money by charging outrageous costs for shipping. e.g. recently I saw an auction for an Aurora Optima Auroloide pen and did not participate because the dealer was asking $89.00 to ship the pen from Illinois to Canada. In my case a whole 690 miles to my doorstep. Ludicrous! And that is just one example. Another is $57.00 from Florida to my home and it took the better part of two weeks to get to me.

Taizo may make mistakes from time to time like any human being might, but he doesn't try to shaft you, not from my experiences and many others I have read about here. I will deal with him again without fear of malpractices such as the ones I mentioned above.

 

Cheers

Leo

 

This is a very big problem for buyers. It is true ! Taizo charges EMS 15$ (Europe) and I receive the item in three working days.

I ordered from Goulets once and the shipping cost was a little expensive. Next time I ordered they had changed everything and they asked more than 100$ for shipment to Greece. You would wonder what the quantity was. Well, I made the same order to Dromgooles and I paid 24$.

 

Yes, some sellers scam more money by charging outrageous costs for shipping. Taizo is NOT one of them. Taizo is one of the best sellers in ebay.

[Karin]

While I understand some of the finer points that have been raised, I am also surprised by the vitriol. Taizo is my "go to" seller for Japanese pens. I have won some gorgeous pens. A couple of days ago, I bid on a Namiki Falcon Elabo. I was surprised that I won the pen for such a low bid. 151.00 This is the metal version. It was one of those...oops I bought a pen..moments.

 

I sincerely hope that the discussions going on here are not hurting this seller.

 

No affiliation...etc. etc.

[hari317]

I had to look up vitriolic since english is not a natural language for me, I found it to mean "very caustic or bitter; scathing:"

 

I could not find any posts that are very caustic or bitter; scathing.

[leomitch]

 

This is a very big problem for buyers. It is true ! Taizo charges EMS 15$ (Europe) and I receive the item in three working days.

I ordered from Goulets once and the shipping cost was a little expensive. Next time I ordered they had changed everything and they asked more than 100$ for shipment to Greece. You would wonder what the quantity was. Well, I made the same order to Dromgooles and I paid 24$.

 

Yes, some sellers scam more money by charging outrageous costs for shipping. Taizo is NOT one of them. Taizo is one of the best sellers in ebay.

Giasou! I agree that Goulet should look carefully at their shipping charges. I ordered an A4 notebook and a Noddlers pen and the shipping to Ontario by standard International post was $32.78 which was almost as much as the purchase price. Something is not right.

Adio

Leonidas/Leo

[proton007]

I had to look up vitriolic since english is not a natural language for me, I found it to mean "very caustic or bitter; scathing:"

 

I could not find any posts that are very caustic or bitter; scathing.

 

Vitriol is generally used in the sense that the criticism is rather harsh. Something I agree with.

[bk123]

I won a bid on Platinum President pen from engeika ebay shop recently. On listing it was clearly mentioned that the platinum golden converter is not included with the pen.So, when I won the bid I ordered the converter separately. I received my packet yesterday. One converter was attached on top of the box. When I opened the box, I found one more same converter. And guess what, When I unscrewed the barrel and section, I found one more same gold converter. It's raining converter everywhere:).

So, it quite possible that one of fellow FPNer received his pen in wrong box. I believe that it was done by mistake.

I'm still very satisfied with Taizo. Though, I'm not affiliated with him I will recommend Taizo for Japanese pens anyday. I talked to him over phone on few occassions and found him very gentle, understandable person.

[StrawberryJam]

How long does it usually take Taizo to respond to a message via Ebay? I messaged him over 24 hours ago and have not heard back, but wanted to know if I was just being extremely impatient.

[ukobke]

How long does it usually take Taizo to respond to a message via Ebay? I messaged him over 24 hours ago and have not heard back, but wanted to know if I was just being extremely impatient.

 

 

I have ve been waiting for a week now for a seller to reply for the shipping cost. I want to pay him. Still no answer.

Is Taizo your first experience to ebay?

[DanF]

I just received a Sailor Pro Gear Concord Emperor from Tazio's EBay store. I got a good price, substantially less than retail in US, and very good service, less than a week from end of auction to receiving the pen today. No seals or tags, but the pen was obviously new and in pristine condition. I am quite pleased.

 

Dan

[Inky Rocks]

While I understand some of the finer points that have been raised, I am also surprised by the vitriol. Taizo is my "go to" seller for Japanese pens. I have won some gorgeous pens. A couple of days ago, I bid on a Namiki Falcon Elabo. I was surprised that I won the pen for such a low bid. 151.00 This is the metal version. It was one of those...oops I bought a pen..moments.

 

I sincerely hope that the discussions going on here are not hurting this seller.

 

No affiliation...etc. etc.

hahaha! I've had a few of those oops I bought a pen moments too!

 

Perhaps if one wants to buy a pen that is untouched from the factory and with all the tags, bags etc then you should not use some of these ebay companies. For me, the prices that Taizo offers (sometimes 1/2 of other places on line) and the fact I don't keep any of the boxes etc--he works well for me.

Edited July 24, 2013 by CastleGem

[ehemem]

How long does it usually take Taizo to respond to a message via Ebay? I messaged him over 24 hours ago and have not heard back, but wanted to know if I was just being extremely impatient.

 

I have not had many exchanges with Taizo, but the few that I have had have been in the 48 to 72 hour range. No big deal for me. I am not one of those people who expect immediate responses using e-mail. And anyone who expects it from me doesn't know me very well...

[StrawberryJam]

 

 

I have ve been waiting for a week now for a seller to reply for the shipping cost. I want to pay him. Still no answer.

Is Taizo your first experience to ebay?

 

No, he's not my first eBay experience. But since I've already bought the item, I want to make sure that I don't get hit with an unpaid buyer's strike while I'm waiting for him to answer my question about combined shipping with another item, since the default for that is 4 days after end of auction. (His seller store states that once you pay though, he can't do anything about combining shipping/invoices, which is why I haven't paid yet.)

Edited July 24, 2013 by StrawberryJam

[oknrabata]

But since I've already bought the item, I want to make sure that I don't get hit with an unpaid buyer's strike while I'm waiting for him to answer my question about combined shipping with another item

 

Maybe just try to write him through his shop/engeika. I tried to combine shipping on eBay several times but never got a reply. Custom orders were also a bit difficult.

But as long as you just buy and pay right away he's very fast in shipping

[proton007]

No, he's not my first eBay experience. But since I've already bought the item, I want to make sure that I don't get hit with an unpaid buyer's strike while I'm waiting for him to answer my question about combined shipping with another item, since the default for that is 4 days after end of auction. (His seller store states that once you pay though, he can't do anything about combining shipping/invoices, which is why I haven't paid yet.)

Maybe you can make the order payment now and and shipping payment later ? I've modified my order once, I made a second payment. No issues.

 

Edit: I received my order today. EMS is fast! Delivered on the third day of shipping. Nicely packed. No tags or anything, but the pens are in perfect condition.

Edited July 24, 2013 by proton007

[StrawberryJam]

Maybe you can make the order payment now and and shipping payment later ? I've modified my order once, I made a second payment. No issues.

 

You can't split a payment on eBay using Paypal without waiving buyer protection. So it's really not an option.

 

Oh well, I will message him again later this evening if I do not receive a response over the next 12 hours.

[StrawberryJam]

 

Maybe just try to write him through his shop/engeika. I tried to combine shipping on eBay several times but never got a reply. Custom orders were also a bit difficult.

But as long as you just buy and pay right away he's very fast in shipping

 

Hrm okay. I may just have to give up on combined shipping (I wanted a bottle of ink). Oh well, still a great deal on the pen, so here's hoping everything goes smoothly.

[wieniawski]

 

Hrm okay. I may just have to give up on combined shipping (I wanted a bottle of ink). Oh well, still a great deal on the pen, so here's hoping everything goes smoothly.

I once looked at the Japanese EMS site and for each shipment (flat rate envelope), there is a certain weight limit. Adding a bottle of ink would certainly put it over that so I guess even if he would give you an discount, it wouldn't be 13 bucks...

 

Anyway, I bought from him twice (it's also that kind of fun-bidding and oops-I-bought-a-pen moment) and I have been pretty happy with the purchases. It took him 3-4 days to process the order (then it took 3 days for the pen to arrive) but that could be I got it during holiday season.

[StrawberryJam]

I once looked at the Japanese EMS site and for each shipment (flat rate envelope), there is a certain weight limit. Adding a bottle of ink would certainly put it over that so I guess even if he would give you an discount, it wouldn't be 13 bucks...

 

On his main website (at www.engeika.com), it lists the shipping weight for each item. The pen and the ink would come in at 400g, which is the max weight for the first shipping level. It's just frustrating because I can't seem to buy the ink anywhere else (the Wancher Silk Road Ebine color), and I'm not really willing to pay a separate $13 USD shipping fee for a bottle of ink....

[msolok]

I have a had a few orders with Engeika now. The first 2 where from eBay transactions for 3 Sailor pens. The transactions went smoothly and I had the pens very quickly. 1 pen had a scratchy nib. So I emailed him but never got a reply. I got on to Sailor and they happily accept the pen for a repair, and it was away and back within a week or 2.

 

The next order was for some of the Maki-e pens for a present. Site said they were in stock, so I put in an order for them (more than a month before the birthday). I waited a few days and I had heard nothing, so I emailed. I got a response back almost straight away (in Aus we are only 2 hours ahead of Japan, so I should usually get a reasonibly quick response) saying they had been ordered from the manufacturer and it would be another few days. i said that was fine as long as I would have then before x date. So I waited, and waited and waited. Still got nothing back, so I emailed again. I explained that the pens where for a present and I needed them soon. The response I got was that they were still waiting. So I replied saying if they weren't sent out in the next few days I would just need a refund as it would be past when I needed them. Within a few minutes I got an email saying they had been sent. All arrived a couple of days latter in good condition, just in time for the present. So I was a little annoyed that I got the run around, but was happy I got the pens by when I needed them.

 

Now I decided that I wanted to put in another, bigger order (via his web store, not eBay), as I really love Sailor pens. So on the 9/07 I put in, over 2 orders, containing 3 1911 Realo's, a 1911, a Pro Gear Realo, a Pro Gear Imperial Black, some leather pen cases and some ink. So was a fairly large amount of coins that were being dropped. I heard nothing on this order until the 12/07 (at around 7am) saying that my order was on hold while the pen is ordered from the manufacturer, and that it was going to take 7-9 days for the pen to be ready. He also said if I don't here back after 9 days to email them. That was fine, I did order a limited edition pen in there so I was willing to wait.

So I waited until the 23/07 but still had heard nothing from them, so I emailed again. Waited 2 days and there was no reply, so I emailed again. Still no reply to my emails today. So I am just about to put in a dispute with PayPal for the 2 orders. I know as soon as I put in the dispute he will respond (As it is exactly what happened with the faulty nib I had before)

 

It's not the waiting that annoys me, it's the lack of communication and responses to emails that really gets me, and I shouldn't have to resort to threats to get a response. Let me know what is happening and I will be fine. Leave me in the dark and I get annoyed!

Edited July 26, 2013 by msolok