Looks Like Paradise Pen Is Done...

[Otter1]

After several of their stores closing over the last couple of years, it looks like they are gone entirely.

From their website: http://www.paradisepen.com/paradise/

 

-Otter1

 

http://www.paradisepen.com/skin/frontend/default/perfectum/images/logo.png
It is with great sadness that we must tell you that Paradise Pen is closing it's doors effective immediately. It has been an absolute pleasure serving the pen community for the past 15 years and we can not say thank you enough to all of our loyal customers, employees and vendors for their years of support and friendship. It's time to start writing the next chapter...

Best Regards,
The Paradise Pen Family

[WayTooManyHobbies]

A little sad, but not too surprising. Our local store is (was?) a reasonable place to stop for ink, and sometimes paper, but the other merchandise tended to be very expensive.

[dixonge]

Whaaa? I just visited for the first time this weekend, bought my first fountain pen.

 

Oh well, guess I'll stop worrying about any sort of refund/exchange. LOL

[Lloyd]

That's a shame. I was just in there (Burlington, MA) in December and they had a Visconti Roadshow going on. There were several nice people that worked there.

[JemC]

Oh man, I was just thinking about picking up some ink from them at lunch today.

[ShortRound131]

Man this sux.

[ParkerDuofold]

What a shame. It looks like their completely "off" as well. I was going to make a swan song purchase, but cannot... even their facebook page is gone. Oh, well.

 

I think the only way a pen "store" can survive today is to be completely on-line like Goulet, Jet and Chalet. B&M's just have way too much overhead to be feasible in the pen game today. (With very few exceptions, like FPH in the heart of Manhattan, where you still have the clientele that can support a B&M).

 

- Anthony

Edited January 12, 2017 by ParkerDuofold

[cattar]

I was in the local store last month. No signs of pending closure. Surprise.

[pen2paper]

Yes, two days ago a friend shared a photo of the dark storefront during business hours - couldn't bring myself to post the news here

 

One very nice experience there was bringing in a small group of students to see the huge variety of pens similar to what they saw me use daily, and the kindly salesperson offered them test drives of basic pens. The new Safari wasn't in yet so no purchase but her thoughtfulness made it worthwhile.

[inkstainedruth]

I had always meant to try and get up to the Burlington Mall store in MA, but timing never worked out. And I always hate to see contractions in niche markets.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[Parker51]

The local Paradise Pen store here closed a few years ago. The store manager was bitter because of why it closed as at the time it was profitable, though sales were down. First, the owners refused to relocate from a location that had changed from a regional shopping destination to a local shopping location as the "Hot" retail areas cost more than they wanted. Second, the owners refused to allow them to have any sales, except on a limited number of discontinued items, except as they were closing. And third, Montblanc required them to upgrade their displays and the Owners didn't want to pay the cost of new display cabinets. So, if they had spent some money here a few years ago, they likely would have recouped the expenses of a new location and the cost of new cabinets and other store fixtures, but they apparently either didn't want to spend the money, or they didn't have it to spend. Profitability has always been their focus. It is likely that different operators, either going up the retail ladder to better locations, with a fresher look, or doing the opposite, staying a store for all Pen users, but operating in niche locations; accessible, but very cheap could have allowed them to survive as a chain, both options with smaller short term profits.

[CaliforniaPen]

Found out it closed too, didn't know the whole chain closed. My favorite store out here (and only).

[PAKMAN]

It's a shame! Sad to hear.

[fly_us]

Awww, the only store in my area. Bought quite a lot inks from them because i could try before purchase.

 

That's sad.

[dadbar]

I will miss the Paradise Pen store in Burlington, too, but I rarely ever went there. Maybe that's part of the problem.

 

The Bromfield Pen Shop in downtown Boston is a better store (and I go downtown more frequently than Burlington). If that place closed, it would really be bad. I try to buy something there whenever I go, even if it's just ink. Nice folks and a nice store.

[Lloyd]

In Massachusetts, there's also Quill & Press in Acton.

[abstract49]

Damn shame! Even though their pen prices (as well as ink and stationery) were pretty much MSRP, it was a nice place to go and buy on occasion. The Austin store was the nearest one for me, and that's 100+ miles from Waco. Now, unless there a B&M store in Fort Worth or Dallas that I don't know about, the nearest is Dromgoole's in Houston - 200+ miles for me.

[Wandering Man]

I've been in the PP store in Dallas, Austin, and San Antonio. Always had a nice experience in all of the stores. Staff was friendly, helpful, and tolerated my questions.

[tonkin]

I'll miss going to the Burlington, MA store and talking with the folks who worked there, while test driving pens. What a lot of people didn't know is that they would match prices with other retailers if you asked them. I would get about 20% off on some pens, because FPH or Fahrney's were selling them cheaper.

[dragon2java]

Ahhh, that's what happened. I thought so..... I tried a pen last month and didn't have the time to go back until last week to pick one up. I turned the corner to the store to find a "we're remodeling" sign~ darned sad. At least here in Portland "Oblation Paper and Press" carries some Lamy, calligraphy pens, and some refurb older pens (vacumatics, skylines, and the like), a good selection of inks, and wonderful papers and cards often of their own production lines. Thank goodness I am going to London this Spring, where I can find a number of pen stores to buy from.... bye Paradise Pens, you will be missed.