PenBBS ordering during COVID

[NumberSix]

I have a question for PenBBS Users:

I have several models I am considering ordering this week from Etsy. What kind of turnaround time are you seeing? 1 month? 2? I am in no hurry - just curious.

Also, would it behoove me to place multiple orders for single pens, instead of one order with the bunch? Some might be faster in stock than others, for instance. Is this a good strategy, provided I am okay with paying a little more for shipping when not combining all the items?

What do you suggest?

[Detman101]

I just ordered a "456", they predicted anywhere between 2 weeks and a month.
The last pen I ordered from Lanxivi in China took about 2 months to get to me in the USA...most of that time was spent sitting in customs.
It's awful...

[manoeuver]

I ordered 4 pens July 19 and took delivery in Ohio August 12.

[calamus]

If you choose the multiple order approach, let us know how it played out. Sounds like it could work, even if they all got shipped at the same time, since some might get stuck in customs for longer than others just due to the luck of the draw.

[FrankenBeanzzz]

Shipping from the Etsy shop has varied wildly for me. The quickest I have received an order was 2 weeks, and the longest I've waited is just over 2 months. I have used your strategy by accident once and placed orders a few days apart. The first order arrived in just under a month, the second took nearly 2.
I've found eBay's shipping from 3rd party sellers to be more consistent. 1 month or less, every time.

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[Jon Szanto]

I'm buying American CONUS from now on. If I can't get it in this country, I'm not buying it. Bad enough testing and experimentation are driving me to hair loss from frustration and failure....adding in month-long delays in shipping is just too damn much to bear.

Look, these aren't normal times, and one simply has to make allowances for the many issues that people are dealing with. I get that you are impatient with all of this, and I'm hoping that future projects, when things have normed out, will allow you to look widely. The fact is that you may not find everything you want through CONUS, or at the right price point, etc. Beyond that, our USPS is getting totally hosed and I expect - unless someone can turn around these inept decisions - that delivery times will get worse and worse, as well as items being lost and damaged. I am not speaking of any of this in terms of politics but the actual pragmatic nature of mailing items. I am currently corresponding with people in many countries beside the US and it isn't unusual for someone abroad to receive mail before something I send within CONUS.

ETA: For a number of months, the PenBBS Etsy shop has had a prominently placed notice regarding longer shipping times. This has been a result of not only Covid-19 but also issues with China Post and their internal subsidies. Slower delivery times is a known issue.

[Detman101]

I'm buying American CONUS from now on. If I can't get it in this country, I'm not buying it. Bad enough testing and experimentation are driving me to hair loss from frustration and failure....adding in month-long delays in shipping is just too damn much to bear.

Look, these aren't normal times, and one simply has to make allowances for the many issues that people are dealing with. I get that you are impatient with all of this, and I'm hoping that future projects, when things have normed out, will allow you to look widely. The fact is that you may not find everything you want through CONUS, or at the right price point, etc. Beyond that, our USPS is getting totally hosed and I expect - unless someone can turn around these inept decisions - that delivery times will get worse and worse, as well as items being lost and damaged. I am not speaking of any of this in terms of politics but the actual pragmatic nature of mailing items. I am currently corresponding with people in many countries beside the US and it isn't unusual for someone abroad to receive mail before something I send within CONUS.

ETA: For a number of months, the PenBBS Etsy shop has had a prominently placed notice regarding longer shipping times. This has been a result of not only Covid-19 but also issues with China Post and their internal subsidies. Slower delivery times is a known issue.

That is all very true and encouraging, however...I've had shipments from within the US take a month to be delivered due to being lost in the mail.
Frankly, I do not see this fountain pen journey as a sustainable endeavor if everything needed to support it has to be sourced from long distances away.
Maybe I'm just not built for this journey...yes...I believe that is a better and more plausible consideration.

Thankfully, the PENBBS-456 is one hell of a well-built pen.
And it accepted all of the mods into a flex-pen with no qualms.
I'm back in the game!

[Penhellope]

In the UK. A couple of Penbbs (orders separate as I messed up and had to add a separate order) both only took 2 weeks to come, if that - this was a couple of months ago when the pandemic affected the post (here at least and probably in China too), more.

I trade online (not pens, sadly) and would say that since the start of the pandemic, a number of things we've mailed to the US have simply gone missing, never turned up, or turned up late. I have no clue what is going on with their postal system but I suspect a lot of people who are not in the US are getting more and more wary of mailing there. During the pandemic we have mailed to almost every continent - and had no problems whatsoever with any other country's mail. Just the US.

Other countries had delays at the height of the pandemic - but everything still seemed to get where it was going. Except a high % of our US customers' things. Something definitely going on, there.

It has cost us a fair bit of money having to replace and resend a number of items - been trading several years and never had a problem until recently. I have seen other UK traders saying they are no longer sending to the US. I can't afford to do that as it's most of our market!

[Detman101]

In the UK. A couple of Penbbs (orders separate as I messed up and had to add a separate order) both only took 2 weeks to come, if that - this was a couple of months ago when the pandemic affected the post (here at least and probably in China too), more.

I trade online (not pens, sadly) and would say that since the start of the pandemic, a number of things we've mailed to the US have simply gone missing, never turned up, or turned up late. I have no clue what is going on with their postal system but I suspect a lot of people who are not in the US are getting more and more wary of mailing there. During the pandemic we have mailed to almost every continent - and had no problems whatsoever with any other country's mail. Just the US.

Other countries had delays at the height of the pandemic - but everything still seemed to get where it was going. Except a high % of our US customers' things. Something definitely going on, there.

It has cost us a fair bit of money having to replace and resend a number of items - been trading several years and never had a problem until recently. I have seen other UK traders saying they are no longer sending to the US. I can't afford to do that as it's most of our market!

Unsure how it will be taken on this forum, but as an american...I probably share your international sentiment and opinion of the US.
I won't go into detail as the land-bound patriots out there think this country is the best on the planet and would deem my opinion offensive.
Once you leave the US, you learn that the rest of the world isn't as "Far Behind" as they teach in the US...

[NumberSix]

I started this thread back in July, and I never ended up placing an order. I appreciate all the feedback.

I finally placed an order today for a 500, 456, and 469. It was only $10 more for the EMS shipping ($17 vs $7 for standard), so maybe that will speed up the delivery times. I have never been interested in double-ended pens before now. But after watching some reviews, the 469 got my interest.

Now I need to pick some PenBBS inks from Vanness, for when the pens arrive. Any recommendations?

[FrankenBeanzzz]

I have a few PenBBS inks, and out of them, #384 Blueberry is my favorite. It's a wet, saturated dark purple with gold sheen. It's not super messy like a lot of crazy sheeners, in my experience.
The others I've tried are:
346 Misty Mountains-light gray that I wished was darker
Green snow-decent teal with silver shimmer and worked well without much fuss
Burning of White House 1814-dark gray/light black with gold shimmer that I had a lot of trouble with. It clogged A LOT in every pen.
Matcha Ice Cream-a weird lighter green that performed well.

I have a few of each of the models that you mentioned, and the 456 was my favorite, until I got a 500. The 355 and 487 are also really good. I hope you have fun with them!

[NumberSix]

I have a few PenBBS inks, and out of them, #384 Blueberry is my favorite. It's a wet, saturated dark purple with gold sheen. It's not super messy like a lot of crazy sheeners, in my experience.
The others I've tried are:
346 Misty Mountains-light gray that I wished was darker
Green snow-decent teal with silver shimmer and worked well without much fuss
Burning of White House 1814-dark gray/light black with gold shimmer that I had a lot of trouble with. It clogged A LOT in every pen.
Matcha Ice Cream-a weird lighter green that performed well.

I have a few of each of the models that you mentioned, and the 456 was my favorite, until I got a 500. The 355 and 487 are also really good. I hope you have fun with them!

Great details, thanks! I was already considering Matcha Ice Cream. :)

That 384 Blueberry looks really nice, too. I may have to do samples because I already have 6 different bottles I am considering. LOL

[crovax]

I ordered several PenBBS pens (and other chinese pens, all through Etsy) during the last months and here in Germany the goods are always delivered within the 2-3 weeks timeframe.

[NumberSix]

I ordered several PenBBS pens (and other chinese pens, all through Etsy) during the last months and here in Germany the goods are always delivered within the 2-3 weeks timeframe.


Fantastic news!


Another fun note: I ended up placing two separate orders on the same day (500, 456, 469) and (355, 352). For both orders, I added the extra EMS shipping fees. It wasn't that much more expensive.

I just got a PayPal refund for $10.50 from one of the orders. I'm guessing she may be planning to ship them all in one box and thus chose not to keep the extra shipping payment. The refund was thoughtful and unexpected.

[FrankenBeanzzz]

Oh yeah, Beini is really great to work with. She's responded to all of my questions and corrected any issues I've had.

[crovax]

Oh yeah, Beini is really great to work with. She's responded to all of my questions and corrected any issues I've had.

Yes, she does that. I ordered two pens a few days apart and I got a Paypal refund for the excess postage as they put both pens in one package.

I ordered a 355 a few months ago and they sent me a 500 in error. When I asked about this, she wanted some pictures of the pen and the box and then sent out the correct 355 a few days later. I offered to also pay for the 500 as it is a nice pen but she never replied.

[Detman101]

Interesting.
I recently ordered a 355 in "cloud" on the etsy site. I was sent "snowflake" and reported it to the etsy site. I was told there was nothing that could be done because I inked the pen. I explained that I only inked it because I expected to be sent what I paid for. The mistake was on their part, not mine.
Nothing...

I will just stick to ordering from eBay from now on...like I did with my 456, since the etsy people cant ship what you actually pay for.

Love Penbbs pens, their customer service needs work though.

Can't say they've lost a customer since all the penbbs in eBay have been bought from them already, but I'll never buy from etsy again.

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[Yazeh]

Since Covid I'm still waiting for several fountain pen ordered through ebay in July.... And another one sent in April never appeared and they resend it...Personally I think the day of cheap fountain pens from China are over :)

[Jon Szanto]

I have ordered pens and items from the PenBBS Etsy site on at least six occasions, likely more, and it has been a flawless set of transactions. I also had one request for sales assistance via email to the owner and again had prompt, professional action. Works for me.

[NumberSix]

My order changed to "Pre-transit" status on Etsy. That sounds encouraging.

[Yazeh]

Personally I think the day of cheap fountain pens from China are over :)

Hardly. Recently I picked up three HongDian 1850 (‘Black Forest’ and ‘Birch Forest’, but not the newer ‘Dark Blue Forest’) pens more cheaply than before from AliExpress. Three Kaigelu 316, too, at what I think are reasonable prices although I have no idea for how much the older iteration used to sell; and two Moonman 800.

I also ordered two PenBBS 355 pens directly from Beini on Etsy, and they were delivered in about three weeks, which was pretty good by post these days.
Good for you... The shipping to Canada takes so long that it's not worth it anymore....4 months is not worth it... :(

[NumberSix]

My order changed to "Pre-transit" status on Etsy. That sounds encouraging.


Just kidding. They're marked shipped, with EMS tracking numbers. 4 days from order to "shipped". Not too shabby.

I placed two orders - will be interesting to see if they show up around the same time.

Those of you who have used EMS: Can I use their tracking number in the USPS website, the way I have done before with Royal Mail and Canada Post? Presumably the EMS service just gets it across the ocean, and then they hand it to the USPS. If so, then US Customs is the bottleneck, in my COVID mail experience.

[usgs]

NumberSix- Yes, for various fountain pens ordered from other countries, I've been sent tracking numbers from those non-US countries. I put the foreign tracking number in the USPS tracking box and found out, as I waited, what's going on with my fountain pen. As you or someone stated, when the pen arrives here in the US, the USPS uses the original tracking number assigned outside of the US.