Sailor Pro Gear Realo F nib $173 Amazon

[lascosas]

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003EF5QVG?psc=1&smid=A3GZEOQINOCL0Y&ref_=chk_typ_imgToDp

 

I realize I'm turning into a Sailor-on-Amazon zealot...but these are incredible deals, and they are disappearing.  The story is a variation on the other Sailors I have posted.  Amazon Japan is a merchant on Amazon.com.  For some reason they have a good selection of Sailor fountain pens (very few Platinum or Pilot).  Recently they dropped the shipping fee, and items are shipped quickly with DHL.  I only know about shipping to the US.  I have been following a couple dozen gold nibbed Sailor pens, and in all cases the best price for buying these pens new for delivery to the US, now that they have dropped the shipping fee, is Amazon Japan on Amazon.com.  And when the items are gone, Amazon Japan has not been reordering them. 

 

The Realo comes in the 1911 and Pro Gear versions, and these are the larger 21K nibs and body size.  What makes them distinctive is that they are the only Sailors with a piston.  At the moment there are several of these that Amazon Japan is offering on Amazon.com, this just happens to be the best price, and there are still six of them available.  There are also four broads at $176.  The 1911 verson (called the Pro Fit in Japan) is $185-$195, depending on the nib size.

https://www.amazon.com/Sailor-Fountain-Realo-Medium-11-3924-420/dp/B0095PTY3K/ref=sr_1_1?crid=RNR0TN1A7NVA&keywords=sailor%2Brealo&qid=1660007932&s=office-products&sprefix=sailor%2Brealo%2Coffice-products%2C178&sr=1-1&ufe=app_do%3Aamzn1.fos.18ed3cb5-28d5-4975-8bc7-93deae8f9840&th=1

 

It is always easy to tell a realo in photos because of the distinctive ink window.

 

 

[MuddyWaters]

DHL always goes through customs and I end up paying a huge sum on receipt of the item. Buyer beware, the total price can be more elevated. 

 

Unless I'm missing something. 

[lascosas]

The US has an exemption of $800 per order for fountain pens.  If the amount is above that limit, Amazon automatically adds on the tax.  With maybe 50 deliveries from DHL over the years, I have never had a problem.  On the other hand, I have family in Mexico, and duties are a constant problem with all of the delivery services, including DHL.

[Theroc]

Only issue I had with overseas fountain pen purchases, was about ink. This only happened a few times when the carrier was Fedex or DHL.

They would hold the pen because the manifest triggered some keywords regarding ink, which apparently are (were? hasn't happened to me in a while) regulated.

The issue would get resolved once I called them and clarified that fountain pens are usually empty and you fill them yourself.

 

[lascosas]

Yes, imports to the US require a TSCA certification, a one page form that the seller should complete, but if they don't the shipper will contact the recipient and require that they complete the form.  I have never found this to be a problem when the seller ships through the USPS.  If it is sent with DHL, etc, yes, I have had pens stopped waiting for me to complete the form.  That shipper has always been fedex, but I think that is because individuals are more likely to use fedex than DHL and individuals are also more likely not to know about the form.

[PeregrineFalcon]

Anyone receive their pen yet? Tracking never updated after Japan. Amazon’s offering me a refund, and I’m thinking about just taking it. 
 

I’m used to ordering items from Japan, but I’ve never used Amazon Japan, and getting kind of antsy. 
 

 

[lascosas]

I ordered mine Aug 8 and received it Aug 25.

[PeregrineFalcon]

9 hours ago, lascosas said:

I ordered mine Aug 8 and received it Aug 25.

So about 17 days? I’m well beyond that mark. 
 

Is everything up to snuff? Nothing missing?  I (was) planning on using it as a workhorse pen, but Amazon has sent me lemons and fakes before.

[A Smug Dill]

31 minutes ago, PeregrineFalcon said:

but Amazon has sent me lemons and fakes before.

 

I have never been sent a fake pen that was sold by Amazon Japan and ordered from Amazon.co.jp. For that matter, I have never been sent a fake pen sold by Amazon US that was ordered from Amazon.com, either, although some have come with retail packaging in questionable (as in likely not as originally supplied by the US or North American distributor of the brand), tarnished, and/or damaged condition; but that has never happened in my experience(s) with Amazon Japan.

[lascosas]

My experience is the same as A Smug Dill.  The only exception is that I often buy Warehouse deals from Amazon.com, which are pens someone has returned to Amazon within the 30 day return period and Amazon resells it.  No one at Amazon really looks at the pens, and often for upper end pens the previous purchaser kept the expensive pen and substituted a fake pen, and I just explain and return it.

[PeregrineFalcon]

Got this message. 
 

 

I guess I’ll get the refund. Terrible first experience with Amazon JP. 

 

The price for another Realo (f) is around $250 now, so a refund won’t cover ordering another. 😕

[lascosas]

I would start out by at least figuring out where the package is.  On Amazon go to returns & orders, find the order and click track package and it will give you the ECMS tracking number, which you can look up at https://consignee.ecmsglobal.com/brige/showtracking

If it shows the package arrived in the US, it was probably transferred to FedEx.  Send a message to the shipper at https://www.ecmsglobal.com/en-us/support.html bottom of the page.  Ask them for the Fed Ex tracking number, which in the US is who handles the actual delivery.  I always get a fairly quick response with the number.  Then track that number through Fed Ex tracking and see what happened to the package.

[PeregrineFalcon]

56 minutes ago, lascosas said:

I would start out by at least figuring out where the package is.  On Amazon go to returns & orders, find the order and click track package and it will give you the ECMS tracking number, which you can look up at https://consignee.ecmsglobal.com/brige/showtracking

If it shows the package arrived in the US, it was probably transferred to FedEx.  Send a message to the shipper at https://www.ecmsglobal.com/en-us/support.html bottom of the page.  Ask them for the Fed Ex tracking number, which in the US is who handles the actual delivery.  I always get a fairly quick response with the number.  Then track that number through Fed Ex tracking and see what happened to the package.

No, nothing - following your link,  never arrived domestically. 
 

 

What do you think?
 

I ordered from a Japanese seller on eBay Sep 30, and the package arrived on Oct 5, and while that’s abnormally fast, it makes Amazon JP look pretty bad. 

[lascosas]

I have placed several orders with Amazon Japan the seller on Amazon.com and through Amazon.jp in the last three months.  With both they give you the choice of faster delivery (which is DHL) or regular.  With items placed through Amazon.com the regular shipment has been free for a couple of months and the fast is about $20.  So I always go for the free shipping.  When I buy an item from Amazon.jp that is shipped by Amazon, the different in price between regular and free shipping isn't much, so I pay for fast shipping.

 

Regular shipping to the US from both sites is, apparently randomly, either from ECMS or SF Express.  ECMS is easier to contact but once it goes through US customs their website is worthless.  They hand-off the package to Fed Ex but you learn nothing from their website.  I live in San Francisco, and when the item is delivered, it merely says "delivered LAX".  SF Express hands it off to UPS.  Their website is slightly more helpful, but it also doesn't follow through with tracking after the hand off. 

 

I'm giving all this information incase anyone else has a similar problem.

 

With both services you need to contact the shipper and ask for the tracking number with UPS/Fed Ex.  ECMS is more responsive and English fluent.  So in your case I would contact ECMS and ask them if the item is lost.  It can take up to 24 hours for a response, and I assume that the response is that they will look into it.  At the same time I would use the contact function on Amazon.com and send the seller a message asking where your package is.  Twice I have had to contact Amazon.jp about a problem and the person I 'chatted' with was fluent in English and very intelligent, able to think outside the box to resolve the issue.  That is unlike my general experience with contacting Amazon.com.  I assume you would have the same pool of customer service people answering Amazon.com questions.

 

Good luck!

[SpecTP]

it's likely on a ship sailing to US. it will take a while.

[lascosas]

ECMBGlobal sends all packages to the US by plane, or at least all packages through their contract with Amazon Japan.  "NRT" refers to Narita International Airport in Tokyo.

[SpecTP]

2 minutes ago, lascosas said:

ECMBGlobal sends all packages to the US by plane, or at least all packages through their contract with Amazon Japan.  "NRT" refers to Narita International Airport in Tokyo.

 

that's good to know. I recall my order came within 3 weeks.

[PeregrineFalcon]

@lascosas

 

Just wanted to let you know the Realo finally came in - I have a feeling that nagging ECMS and FedEx finally got it moving. 

 

I let Amazon Customer Service know, and wow. We really got nothing to fear in case it gets lost. 

[lascosas]

That is great news!

[inkstainedruth]

On 10/5/2022 at 10:24 AM, PeregrineFalcon said:

So about 17 days? I’m well beyond that mark. 
 

Is everything up to snuff? Nothing missing?  I (was) planning on using it as a workhorse pen, but Amazon has sent me lemons and fakes before.

Were they directly from Amazon?  Or from a 3rd party vendor?  I've learned to be VERY wary of 3rd party sellers on Amazon.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth