Ink price comparison

[sharmon202]

I did a price/ml comparison of inks I have used. I thought I would share. This is not all inclusive, just what I have used (including samples I have gotten). This is not a judgement on ink or seller, both have great customer service. I was just curious. Looking it over I think price/ml is probably not a great consideration for me.

[Jon Szanto]

Those "decimal point differences" are way too small to make a difference in my overall life.

Multiply it over 1,000s? Sure. A purchase of an ink or two? Effectively meaningless.

[ChrisC]

Jetpens can be a great deal if you really like the brands they carry.

[jackwebb]

Is shipping included in your spreadsheet? All my ink so far has come from Amazon, I am a prime member and the shipping makes a huge difference. If I want to try a single bottle of ink it could cost me $6 more then retail to order from Jet or Goulet.

[ChrisC]

Jetpens has free shipping if you buy over $25.

[Cookies]

Why only Jetpens and Goulet? isellpens has the best prices on ink and along with Andersonpens the best prices on samples. isellpens also has 30mL Diamine, all 3 J. Herbin sizes and $3 shipping on orders under $75 with free shipping over $75. I would never buy ink from either Jetpens or Goulet unless I was looking for something I couldn't find elsewhere or were already placing an order with them.

[sharmon202]

I was just analyzing what I have done so far in the 9 months or so I have been learning about fountain pens. I appreciate all the opinions here. I did not include shipping in this analysis as there are so many varying policies and pricing on shipping.

[sharmon202]

For some the price per oz. would not be important. It might be the total outlay to get a bottle of ink. Of what I have seen in this data a person could get a bottle of ink for a little as $8.80 total outlay, not including shipping. That is a far cry from $28.00 for someone on a tight budget. Also, averaging ink/oz. from both sites was $.280 & $.286, that is very close for such a small sample and interesting in itself. I was just sharing some questions I asked myself.

[jackwebb]

For some the price per oz. would not be important. It might be the total outlay to get a bottle of ink. Of what I have seen in this data a person could get a bottle of ink for a little as $8.80 total outlay, not including shipping. That is a far cry from $28.00 for someone on a tight budget. Also, averaging ink/oz. from both sites was $.280 & $.286, that is very close for such a small sample and interesting in itself. I was just sharing some questions I asked myself.

I agree, I am buying a bottle at a time right now. I can get a bottle of Waterman Serenity blue for $9.80 at amazon with free 2 day shipping and it retails for more then that at Goulet.

[ChrisC]

Penchalet also has 10% off through Gourmet Pens, and free shipping $50 and over.

[Jon Szanto]

I want to be clear that I wasn't questioning motives when asking about the sensibility of counting tenths of cents in these issues.

OTOH, there are quite a few things that go into any purchase like this, including (as others have pointed out), shipping charges. Beyond that, why would any of us buy from this vendor versus that vendor? Well, if you can allow that not every chooses to base the decision on literally the bottom line, it might amount to "brand loyalty". If the price is close, I'll choose to buy from an individual or small-business vendor every time over a big box or online giant.

Would I rather give my money, even if it is a fraction more, to a family like the Goulet's than Jeff Bezos? You better believe it. Same goes for the other small proprietors. This is a small, niche-driven business, and I am more than happy to pay what amounts to a pittance more to support some of these dedicated, small-scale entrepreneurs.

[AndyT]

... I am more than happy to pay what amounts to a pittance more to support some of these dedicated, small-scale entrepreneurs.

Agree wholeheartedly, Jon. I do get exercised about the price differences between brands (and note with interest that Iroshizuku is 3.5 times more expensive than Diamine on that list ... here it's 7x), but would always prefer to support the little guy when it comes to retailers.

[zombywoof]

One thing that's interesting to note is that even the most expensive bottled inks are generally cheaper on a per ml basis than cartridges - for example, using Goulet prices for reference, by my calculation Iroshizuku is about $0.45/ml, while Lamy carts are about $0.63/ml.

[sharmon202]

One thing that's interesting to note is that even the most expensive bottled inks are generally cheaper on a per ml basis than cartridges - for example, using Goulet prices for reference, by my calculation Iroshizuku is about $0.45/ml, while Lamy carts are about $0.63/ml.
Thanks, very interesting, I did not know ml/cartridge. From what I have heard from people cartridges are a convenience when traveling but little other positives. From a kind of new point of view I was not understanding that. The price difference is quite a difference. Are there other reasons cartridges are not very popular?

[sharmon202]

Penchalet also has 10% off through Gourmet Pens, and free shipping $50 and over.
From what I have seen, not a big picture for sure, I see Pen Chalet as on the high side of prices even with discounts.

[sharmon202]

I want to be clear that I wasn't questioning motives when asking about the sensibility of counting tenths of cents in these issues.

OTOH, there are quite a few things that go into any purchase like this, including (as others have pointed out), shipping charges. Beyond that, why would any of us buy from this vendor versus that vendor? Well, if you can allow that not every chooses to base the decision on literally the bottom line, it might amount to "brand loyalty". If the price is close, I'll choose to buy from an individual or small-business vendor every time over a big box or online giant.

Would I rather give my money, even if it is a fraction more, to a family like the Goulet's than Jeff Bezos? You better believe it. Same goes for the other small proprietors. This is a small, niche-driven business, and I am more than happy to pay what amounts to a pittance more to support some of these dedicated, small-scale entrepreneurs.

I should probably inserted a disclaimer that I am somewhat a freak geek about number resolution, a result of my work and personality I guess. Price generally is not the basis of my purchase decision, I had a question such as wondering about this comparison and I started discovery, thought I would share and look for others thoughts. I more base my purchases on service and usually prefer the small business also. As I said, so far my dealings have been with these two vendors, so my experience is limited. I really appreciate your straight talk.

[zombywoof]

Are there other reasons cartridges are not very popular?

Well, I think the main difference is that with cartridges you're generally locked into a relatively small selection of ink brands/colors which will fit your pen - if you can use bottled ink, you have a MUCH wider selection of brands/colors to choose from.

[AndyT]

In one of his videos Nathan Tardif went on at considerable length about turtles ... I forget the specifics but his general thrust was that the oceans are full of discarded ink cartridges just waiting to get stuck in the throats of passing leatherbacks. What I do recall clearly is his concluding remark "... and that's why you'll never see Noodler's selling those suckers". So there's an environmental angle, and although I'm no zealot on such matters I'm inclined to dislike them on the same grounds as I dislike disposable razors: inferior, expensive and wasteful.