On Buying Pens In General

[ethernautrix]

Question: When you're considering buying a pen from Amazon or eBay (but, really, my question is about the vendors via Amazon), what's the lowest total feedback score you're comfortable with? Me, I'd prefer 100%, of course, but realize how unrealistic that is.

What's your minimum feedback score before you're comfortable clicking the BUY button?

[jar]

99%+

[mookie2112]

http://fpgeeks.com/forum/showthread....d-this-instead

[ethernautrix]

http://fpgeeks.com/forum/showthread....d-this-instead

AAAAAGH!

Wow, the vendor has a 100% positive rating.

[jar]

The vendor got a retroactive 100% rating which is part of the issues with Amazons system. At the time of purchase the rating was only 96%.

[FredRydr]

Based on the way eBay works and the sheer number of effusive buyers, more than one or two percentage points down from 100% is cause for caution. If I really want something from a less than 100% vendor, I will look at the vendor's record more closely to see if circumstances indicate a PITA buyer rather than an unscrupulous seller. But remember it's hard to judge credibility and reliability when you can only see a couple short phrases. Weigh your acceptance of risk as to gain versus loss and proceed accordingly.

I can't comment on the Amazon system, and I never post feedback in Amazon.

Fred

[inklord]

I tend to avoid Amazon and E-bay like the plague...

[KrazyIvan]

I tend to check negative feedback for clues to if the seller is just bad or if it is bad customers. I have been known to purchase from sellers with less than 99% if I feel it's uneducated customers giving bad reviews.

[Anne]

Amazon: 99%, Ebay: 99.3 ( depends on How Many Sales to Feedback Ratio ), but I Always read through feedback on both sites whether the seller has a good rating Or not.
Sometimes, you get a feel of whether there is a pattern ( poor packaging, not as described or damage not disclosed, etc. ). Sometimes ignorant people rush to negative or even neutral feedback for something that could have been Easily rectified if they Communicated With The Seller.

On Ebay, I try to keep an eye on too many "private" sales or sales from buyers that are "no longer registered".

You could always ask the seller a question about the product you are thinking of purchasing from them first. You may get a feel for how the transaction might go:
Did they get back to you ( at all? ) in a timely manner? Did they answer your question completely?
If I ever ask for additional pictures and see that the seller At Least Tried, I am likely to buy. If I get the same blurry pictures that look as if they were taken in a dark room, I say thank you and move on.

( I don't know if this is more a problem with Amazon, but I find that sellers there are Mass Selling and may not know anything about the product )

[ethernautrix]

The vendor got a retroactive 100% rating which is part of the issues with Amazons system. At the time of purchase the rating was only 96%.

Weird. (I mean, what?!)

Yeah, I was getting a feel for some of the negative feedback - I wouldn't mind if something took longer to arrive but arrived in perfect condition, item(s) as ordered.

But I would mind receiving a broken item or a mistake (wrong item shipped), because I wouldn't be able to start the resolution process for a couple of months after delivery. (Unless delivery was delayed long enough for this not to be an issue.)

[ethernautrix]

Thank you all for your answers and feedback. You've been helpful.

jar's reply to this question at fpn "jarred" my memory (haha!), that I had ordered my Pilot CH912 (PO) from a Rakuten shop, delivered to me here in the Land of Po -- no problems. Just the VAT. But it was worth it, cos I needed to try out that PO nib for a project (The Notebook Lobotomy(TM)), and it turned out to be PERFECT. This time, though, because I also wanted to order inks in addition to another Pilot CH912 (PO) (not as a back-up; as a concurrent!) and maybe a few other things (maybe) and VAT's being ~25% -- I have other expenses to take care of (like flying back to California) (to pick up my Rakuten packages) (and that's all) (obviously joking).

[ambimom]

I've never bought a pen from ebay, but I have bought several pens on Amazon. I was burned once by a secondary seller of fountain pens on Amazon's marketplace. Amazon's buyer protection got me a full refund. I often buy from the marketplace for various items. Most of the time, the transactions are positive, but if not, I have found Amazon very helpful. Just click on "return or refund" in the order and explain.

[amk]

If I'm buying from a big (business) seller I expect high feedback numbers. If it's "old Joe clearing out the attic", with total feedback of only 10-20, then I look at the comments and take a view, particularly if the price is right.

Sometimes you get a buyer who blames the seller for something being broken in the post, and if the seller replies graciously they get an extra 1% feedback score in my opinion if not on ebay :-)

[Chrissy]

On Amazon I don't care because their return policy is written in stone, and I know how bad I am about leaving feedback on Amazon.

On ebay, I'm always careful to look at a potential sellers feedback. If they have negatives, I always look at them and see what they are for. I also always look at their secret star ratings to see what their buyers have thought about description, dispatch time and P&P costs. But in the end if I really want something that I can't get anywhere else, I might still consider buying it. I have confidence that if there is a problem, I will be able to sort it out.

[ethernautrix]

Looks like I'm back at Amazon for the bottles of inks, as I've just deciphered an email from Rakuten that the bottles of inks cannot be shipped to California. Drat.

O matko, Lisa! Dlaczego nie zapytasz na polskim forum pióra, gdzie kupić butelki z atramentem Pilot? *Slaps own forehead* I know that standard Pilot inks will be more expensive here, but I'd be overjoyed at finding them that I wouldn't mind paying the price (probably, as long as it isn't keeRAYzy high).

And by "na polskim forum pióra," I mean "FPN," where a couple of Polish members are prolific ink reviewers. (I'd ask at the actual Polish pen forum if trying to reset my password wouldn't take a thousand minutes as I navigate the language in order to do so.)

[Runnin_Ute]

Only bought pens from (via?) Amazon twice. Two different vendors, a year apart. I'm sure the feedback was pretty high, but don't recall what it was for either one. The most recent was November 2016.

[Z-Tab]

It depends on how much of a deal I would be getting. Zero feedback but a 90+% discount on what looks to be a genuine Montblanc... maybe I let eBay's strong Buyer Protection work in my favor.

[catbert]

On Amazon I don't care because their return policy is written in stone, and I know how bad I am about leaving feedback on Amazon.

On ebay, I'm always careful to look at a potential sellers feedback. If they have negatives, I always look at them and see what they are for. I also always look at their secret star ratings to see what their buyers have thought about description, dispatch time and P&P costs. But in the end if I really want something that I can't get anywhere else, I might still consider buying it. I have confidence that if there is a problem, I will be able to sort it out.

What are secret star ratings?

[Wahl]

My only interest is in vintage, and I will never buy on the Internet, I need to have the pen in my hands for proper scrutiny and testing.

By the way, @ethernautrix, will you visit us again this year at the Madrid Penshow ?

[ethernautrix]

My only interest is in vintage, and I will never buy on the Internet, I need to have the pen in my hands for proper scrutiny and testing.

By the way, @ethernautrix, will you visit us again this year at the Madrid Penshow ?

I agree with you. I much prefer to look with my hands before purchasing. Also, I'd rather sell face-to-face, just to make sure all questions are addressed before the transaction completes.

I am planning to attend the Madrid Pen Show this year. I have to say it's tentative at this point, but I certainly want to -- and I want to spend more time in the city, too, do some touristy stuff.