Tokyo Quill Pen Shop . . . Any Reason Not To?

[markofp]

I'm in the way of acquiring a clear-body Pilot 823 Fine point, and the go-to place seems to be Tokyo Quill. Has anyone had a bad experience with these folks? How much do you think such a pen would run me in US dollars?

 

Thanks for your guidance!

[GOTO10]

I purchased my custom 845 from them, great store to deal with.

 

I'd assume the pricing on the 823 would be around 30,000 JPY plus shipping.

[TheDutchGuy]

Recently, several European stores decided to carry Pilot. Apparently Pilot did some readjustments on their pricing model which makes it more interesting for European stores to carry the brand. Therefore it might be interesting to compare the Tokyo Quill prices to those of, for example, Appelboom and La Couronne du Comte.

[Duane Pandorf]

Ive ordered two 823s from them and the service is top notch.

[whichwatch]

I purchased a Custom 845 from them with shipping to US. They had a customer service representative whose English was excellent and their overall service was outstanding. I will be happy to deal with them again.

[gerigo]

I would rate Tokyo Quill Shop very highly in terms of service and also their small selection of Pilot pens with unique nibs. But these days, they aren't allowed to ship these outside of Japan. Also regular 823s, such as the one you want, can be purchased with a much more substantial discount from Global Rakuten.

 

As in any Japanese web shops, they don't quite communicate in the way we are used to. Example, if the pen you want is currently not in stock at their store and how long the wait would be. Our expectations of how e-commerce works through the indoctrination of Amazon, that dealing with others outside the US can require a little bit of getting used to.

[neverforget]

I would rate Tokyo Quill Shop very highly in terms of service and also their small selection of Pilot pens with unique nibs. But these days, they aren't allowed to ship these outside of Japan. Also regular 823s, such as the one you want, can be purchased with a much more substantial discount from Global Rakuten.

 

As in any Japanese web shops, they don't quite communicate in the way we are used to. Example, if the pen you want is currently not in stock at their store and how long the wait would be. Our expectations of how e-commerce works through the indoctrination of Amazon, that dealing with others outside the US can require a little bit of getting used to.

I agree that Japanese web shops have less than ideal systems in place, almost like they rely less on technology .

 

Regarding your comment about quill shop not shipping outside Japan, where did you hear that? I just spoke to Yasukazu at Tokyo Quill Shop about a recent order and he mentioned nothing about shipping restrictions.

 

Dont quote me but I believe a clear 823 is less common outside of Japan, you should try quill shop or eBay.

Edited February 28, 2020 by nickycat

[Honeybadgers]

Purchased my FA nib 823 from Yas at tokyo pen quill (he is the only retailer in the world authorized by pilot to sell the 823 with anything other than the F/M/B, and can get it with the waverly or falcon nib) and I couldn't recommend it enough. EXTREMELY thoroughly packed, he honors international warranties too. I just checked my receipt, and after conversion, I paid $298.96, all in, including shipping. From Goulet, an 823 with an F nib, shipped and after tax, is $326.

 

Unless something changed since about a year ago, Yas will still happily ship internationally. His "wait" time for orders is also often far, far shorter than what he quotes. He orders the pens from pilot and they take a week or two to get to him, and he packages them and ships them.

 

You won't get the big display box of the USA retail packaging with an ink bottle, though.

Edited February 28, 2020 by Honeybadgers

[dapprman]

Looks like the change in policy has gone further than the UK and Europe - Pilot had prevented Tokyo Quill from exporting their pens, however there is nothing on their updated website about this, so presumably they are once more allowed to do so.

[markofp]

Well, I sent him an order yesterday for a Clear 823 fine point, and he got back to me today. It came to 32,450 yen, or USD$307.00. He is going to adjust the "goodness of the flow" before he ships it . So far, so good. Thanks for everybody's input!

[Honeybadgers]

You won't be disappointed. Yas's prices may be a bit lower than USA, but his customer service is right up there with the best.

[dapprman]

You won't be disappointed. Yas's prices may be a bit lower than USA, but his customer service is right up there with the best.

By the time it reaches Europe (before the recent change in Pilot policy) he was more expensive, but then he does check every nib before shipping out (plus it is/was the only way to get an official 823 FA outside of Japan).

[Paul-in-SF]

Purchased my FA nib 823 from Yas at tokyo pen quill (he is the only retailer in the world authorized by pilot to sell the 823 with anything other than the F/M/B, and can get it with the waverly or falcon nib) and I couldn't recommend it enough. EXTREMELY thoroughly packed, he honors international warranties too. I just checked my receipt, and after conversion, I paid $298.96, all in, including shipping. From Goulet, an 823 with an F nib, shipped and after tax, is $326.

 

While Jetpens (no affiliation) has them for $270 plus tax (I got free shipping when I bought mine, I don't remember if that was a short term deal or not) so about $292 for me. Unfortunately they are out of Fine just now.

 

I agree Global Rakuten shops can be a challenge to work with, it helps if you can figure out their fractured English (or read Japanese). I think they mean well, and the information you would want about stock and waiting times may be there somewhere, it seems to be largely a language issue.

Edited March 3, 2020 by Paul-in-SF

[Paul-in-SF]

Regarding the Quill Pen website, I can't seem to find the pen prices. When I click on Goods, it takes me to a page that has groups of products, but when I click on those links I just get another page with descriptions, no links and no prices. What am I missing? (note: the links for ink and paper work as one would expect, but not the links for the fountain pens, of which they apparently only have three models they sell.)

[SpecTP]

Regarding the Quill Pen website, I can't seem to find the pen prices. When I click on Goods, it takes me to a page that has groups of products, but when I click on those links I just get another page with descriptions, no links and no prices. What am I missing? (note: the links for ink and paper work as one would expect, but not the links for the fountain pens, of which they apparently only have three models they sell.)

 

It's because they don't have an active merchant api driven site. You use the order sheet link and copy/paste the items you want into it and submit. They will tally the total and get back to you on the items you want to purchase. Items like the 823 and 845 are likely custom back-ordered.

[markofp]

Well, this fellow is certainly no slouch when it come to fulfilling orders. After exactly one week it arrived here in New Jersey firmly (!) packaged, along with a complimentary Pilot Flexion ballpoint, a nice note which I can't read except "thank you", and a pretty origami of what I take to be a swan. The pen is very nice, the fine point being about the same line width as my TWSBI extra-fine. It's a beauty.

 

My hat is off to Yas. The view from here is that you may deal with him without fear. Bravo!

Edited March 5, 2020 by markofp

[Honeybadgers]

While Jetpens (no affiliation) has them for $270 plus tax (I got free shipping when I bought mine, I don't remember if that was a short term deal or not) so about $292 for me. Unfortunately they are out of Fine just now.

 

I agree Global Rakuten shops can be a challenge to work with, it helps if you can figure out their fractured English (or read Japanese). I think they mean well, and the information you would want about stock and waiting times may be there somewhere, it seems to be largely a language issue.

 

there is no degree of discount that would get me to do business with jetpens horrendous and disrespectful customer service again.

[neverforget]

there is no degree of discount that would get me to do business with jetpens horrendous and disrespectful customer service again.

Sounds like a good story, care to give me a quick summary?

[Honeybadgers]

Sounds like a good story, care to give me a quick summary?

 

I've gotten censured by the forum mods for doing so (it's apparently "offensive" to share negative customer experience feedback here) - but suffice to say that they went pretty dramatically above and beyond over to screw me over as a customer for having the audacity to return a $75 product (along with writing samples and pictures of the problem) just because "we couldn't replicate the issue"

 

I'm never giving them another penny. I've returned products to Goulet before and they have always handled the problems with such superb service that I happily spend lots and lots of my money there, even though they charge a little more (the only reason I didn't buy my 823 from them was because tokyo pen quill is the only authorized vendor of the 823 with the FA and WA nibs)

[Paul-in-SF]

 

It's because they don't have an active merchant api driven site. You use the order sheet link and copy/paste the items you want into it and submit. They will tally the total and get back to you on the items you want to purchase. Items like the 823 and 845 are likely custom back-ordered.

Yes, I got a lovely email back (only slightly fractured English) saying that the 845 with FA nib I was interested in would take at least 8 months (and no upper time limit) to be available, but he would be happy to take my reservation. I'm thinking it over.