Noodlers Pen Increase

[mmg122]

I agree with DannyKaffee...of all the business men we come in contact with on this forum, Nathan is the last guy in the world who would try to break it off on you. It's not in his DNA. Pen/ink sellers for the most part are small business owners and are just trying to keep their heads above water. We, as consumers, vote with our dollars and help determine if they will sink or swim.

 

To the OP...I highly doubt there's anything nefarious going on with Nathan's business plan...i.e. You picked a poor example. Just sayin'.

[Ink Stained Wretch]

And I suspect Nathan is trying to do the same. Personally I'm not happy with him having to shift over to plastic bottles because I'm concerned about evaporation issues -- but I understand, from a financial perspective, as to why he went that route (and he hasn't raised prices on the ink in the three and a half years I've been using fountain pens).

 

The prices of Noodler's inks have been static for a lot longer than that. I'm not sure when the $12.50 per Noodler's 3 oz. bottle became the standard price, but it was on the order of at least 8 to 10 years ago.

 

My old invoices don't help much here because I was buying from Swisher Pens 11 years ago and they discounted the inks, which is why I bought from them.

 

I have bottles of ink labeled "Swisher Pens Fountain Pen Ink Blue-Black” and the black version of that which were just rebadged Noodlers, as per Chuck Swisher's agreement with Nathan Tardif.

[byggyns]

If I recall correctly, in the YouTube video Nathan posted regarding the switch from the glass to plastic bottles, he also mentioned the coming increase in pen price- due to production cost increases. I also know that Goulet announced the price increase ahead of time as well. It was no surprise to me, and I grabbed an Ahab ahead of the bump.

 

The logical explanation is simple labor cost increase. The pens are made in India, where wages across the board are increasing in relation to the US dollar. The price of steel has gone down some, but I'm not sure of the raw material costs for the resin that Noodler's uses in the pens.

[Arkanabar]

I'll admit, I was ever so slightly dismayed to see the price increase at Goulet Pens, but I figured that where there's currency inflation (and believe me, the US has currency inflation -- generally more than the Fed is willing to admit), there will be price inflation. US prices generally double every 10-25 years, depending on the Chairman of the Federal Reserve. I can't blame Nathan for that, and his drive to offer people a deal is well-documented.