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Visconti - fooled again for the last time


katerchen

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On 12/22/2021 at 4:13 PM, Paul-in-SF said:

Perhaps buy one from a seller who will tune the nib before sending it out to you. It may cost a bit more, if you compare prices, but possibly worth it for the peace of mind. 

 

I was going to suggest Nibsmith.com as such a seller, but when I tried it just now I got a 404 error on several different pages of theirs. I wonder if they are out of business or if this is a temporary glitch? Anyway, there are other such sellers who do this, such as Appelboom in The Netherlands. 

Dan replied to my email and said his site was attacked.  Hopefully he can get it back and running.  It must be stressful.  

 

If I bought a Visconti I'd only buy it from a shop that tunes the nib.  They're pretty pens though if you get a good nib.  In my opinion though their Fine is even juicier than a Pelikan Fine!  

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I have twenty Viscontis - most I bought a few years ago - and up to now no problems with any of the nibs.

 

The QC seems to bad in the sense that a certain percentage of nibs are not good, but the vast majority are fine.

 

Erick

Using right now:

Visconti Voyager 30 "M" nib running Birmingham Streetcar

Jinhao 9019 "EF" nib running Birmingham Railroad Spike

Stipula Adagio "F" nib running Birmingham Violet Sea Snail

Sailor Profit "B" nib running Van Dieman's Night - Shooting Star

 

 

 

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3 hours ago, langere said:

The QC seems to bad in the sense that a certain percentage of nibs are not good, but the vast majority are fine.

 

That’s always been my assumption as well. Then there’s the difference between “not good” and “not satisfied”. I wonder what the outcome would be if a large retailer were to poll 1,000 customers who bought a certain Visconti model within the last 18 months to see if they’re satisfied or not.

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When they write they are a dream. There's no question about it, they produce a really great nib and a beautiful writing experience. When buying a Visconti though, you have to weigh up the possible pain of purchase. Personally, if I get a bad nib I return the whole pen for a nib exchange. I do it for two reasons - one; at that price point (higher than most Montblanc's) I think it should write right out of the box, and two; if we all adjust pour own nibs at our own expense and time after purchase, how are Visconti ever going to know the extent of the problem? Added to this is the pain of it. A bad nib can sour the experience of a pen. I bought a special edition HS and sent it back about five or six times and became so fed up with the sate of the nibs that I just asked for a refund in the end. That said, I have made other Visconti purchases without any issues, but for me their asking price with these issues is frankly a joke.

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8 hours ago, TheDutchGuy said:

 

That’s always been my assumption as well. Then there’s the difference between “not good” and “not satisfied”. 

 

Yeah ... this wasn't a case of that, unfortunately. The tines were grossly misaligned, visible without a loupe and the inner side of the low one was digging into the paper.

 

This was a small batch run. Every single pen passed through multiple hands, and they had to look at them to assemble, polish, put the cap on, etc. Nobody stopped to look and say "hey this nib looks like (bleep). Let's fix it".

 

What bugs me is that Visconti just doesn't care because they know they can get away with it. 

 

 

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9 hours ago, katerchen said:

 Nobody stopped to look and say "hey this nib looks like (bleep). Let's fix it".

Who are you buying from?   I would blame the store that sold it as well.  

Recently, I purchased a Visconti Homo Sapiens Dark Crystal.  I know about Visconti's QC issues (from FPN).  I emailed the seller before ordering it and asked if they checked nibs before sending them out.  Yes.  Ordered.  No problems.   

If I did, I would not have hesitated to send it back.  

Let the store deal with the defective product.  

 

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15 hours ago, Uncial said:

I bought a special edition HS and sent it back about five or six times and became so fed up with the sate of the nibs that I just asked for a refund in the end.

You are most certainly persistent.  😂  After 6 times, they could not get it right.  Incredible.

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11 hours ago, katerchen said:

What bugs me is that Visconti just doesn't care because they know they can get away with it.

 

So why would one still knowingly buy from Visconti regardless, and thus reaffirm its (supposed) view of being able to get away with it?

I endeavour to be frank and truthful in what I write, show or otherwise present, when I relate my first-hand experiences that are not independently verifiable; and link to third-party content where I can, when I make a claim or refute a statement of fact in a thread. If there is something you can verify for yourself, I entreat you to do so, and judge for yourself what is right, correct, and valid. I may be wrong, and my position or say-so is no more authoritative and carries no more weight than anyone else's here.

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  • 3 weeks later...

This is what the stub nib on my new Homo Sapiens Bronze Age looks like, I contacted Visconti and am waiting for an answerimage.thumb.jpeg.40e9fde6bf23b1f097d987cf303a6a2f.jpegimage.thumb.jpeg.fcfc7f9667d35205fe4537875414d8ab.jpegimage.thumb.jpeg.403eb57dbfe373e29624510f36ecd3c4.jpegimage.thumb.jpeg.ab546bc6d841536f9579a97a31f84d54.jpeg

image.thumb.jpeg.8045261b0bf6e672de9d1868ac6ffb84.jpeg

Edited by Styloviel
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4 minutes ago, Styloviel said:

This is what the stub nib on my new Bronze Age looks like,

 

Yikes! :yikes:

 

Welcome to FPN, by the way.

I endeavour to be frank and truthful in what I write, show or otherwise present, when I relate my first-hand experiences that are not independently verifiable; and link to third-party content where I can, when I make a claim or refute a statement of fact in a thread. If there is something you can verify for yourself, I entreat you to do so, and judge for yourself what is right, correct, and valid. I may be wrong, and my position or say-so is no more authoritative and carries no more weight than anyone else's here.

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53 minutes ago, lionelc said:

wow return to sender time - i wouldnt even try fixing this myself if it is brand new

Bought on Amazon, seller is Amazon directly, no marketplace reseller, I have in the meanwhile learned that for Visconti Amazon is no official and “certified” reseller and that Visconti refuses warranty in this case  😧 strange situation with regard to the shape the nib is in, I have never seen something like that, for me this is a factory problem they should be ashamed, apologize and offer a change.

Edited by Styloviel
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5 minutes ago, Styloviel said:

Bought on Amazon, seller is Amazon directly, no marketplace reseller, I have in the meanwhile learned that for Visconti Amazon is no “certified” reseller and they refuse warranty 😧 strange situation with regard to the shape the nib is in, I have never seen something like that, for me this is a factory problem they should be ashamed, apologize and offer a change.

@Styloviel I am really sorry to hear about your Visconti nib situation. What's a shame. Your best bet is to send it to a nibmeister to get it fixed, if you can't or don't want to do it yourself. 

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Talk to Coles Of London. They took care of mine in a very reasonable turnarond time, I only paid for shipping to them.

 

Still miffed at Visconti. I suspect they are too, for picking up the slack for subpar QA.

 

PS: Don't try to fix it yourself (or send to a nibmeister just yet) -- that most likely voids warranty.

 

EDIT: I just read your followup about amazon's non-existent warranty. Just get your money back and buy from Dan Smith (aka The Nibsmith, although his website seems to be having issues right at this moment) or Goulet. Dan personally tunes every pen for free, so you are guaranteed not to get a dud nib like in your photos.

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3 minutes ago, katerchen said:

Talk to Coles Of London. They took care of mine in a very reasonable turnarond time, I only paid for shipping to them.

 

Still miffed at Visconti. I suspect they are too, for picking up the slack for subpar QA.

 

PS: Don't try to fix it yourself (or send to a nibmeister just yet) -- that most likely voids warranty.

Ah, I thought there is no warranty because it was bought over Amazon. 

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5 minutes ago, como said:

Ah, I thought there is no warranty because it was bought over Amazon. 

 

Yeah I just ninja-edited my post. I'm now in the "get a refund ASAP" camp.

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6 minutes ago, katerchen said:

 

Yeah I just ninja-edited my post. I'm now in the "get a refund ASAP" camp.

Speechless for that awful looking nib. Whoever dared to ship it out to begin with. I agree that when buying Visconti, a nib tuning before shipping is a must.

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20 minutes ago, katerchen said:

Just get your money back and buy from Dan Smith (aka The Nibsmith, although his website seems to be having issues right at this moment) or Goulet. Dan personally tunes every pen for free, so you are guaranteed not to get a dud nib like in your photos.

 

I have no problem with Dan Smith's nib work and retail business at all, having bought (Pelikan and Aurora) pens from him, but my advice in view of the above, and in fact this whole thread, is: 1. return the pen to Amazon and get a full refund ASAP; 2. refrain from buying, or so much as considering buying, a Visconti pen ever again - including from Dan - but spend your money on some other brand; and 3. keep your photos and posts of that abominable example of Visconti's QC and customer service up there, and be sure to tell someone to take a look and think thrice before committing, next time you hear someone considering buying a Visconti pen.

I endeavour to be frank and truthful in what I write, show or otherwise present, when I relate my first-hand experiences that are not independently verifiable; and link to third-party content where I can, when I make a claim or refute a statement of fact in a thread. If there is something you can verify for yourself, I entreat you to do so, and judge for yourself what is right, correct, and valid. I may be wrong, and my position or say-so is no more authoritative and carries no more weight than anyone else's here.

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just checked the price for your pen on amazon 1045 aud - better gold nibs can be reliably found for a fraction of this.

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I have seen so many complaints about Visconti's QC over the years.  Yet I was talking to a friend of mine a few years ago and she LOVES her Viscontis.  

If I had the money to buy one of the Van Gogh pens, I would buy one, but with the understanding that if there was an issue it would go RIGHT back to the seller.  Because I can't afford pens that expensive that don't write.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

"It's very nice, but frankly, when I signed that list for a P-51, what I had in mind was a fountain pen."

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