Retracted - pointless discussing it.
Retracted - pointless discussing it.
Last edited by Empty_of_Clouds; November 10th, 2020 at 10:40 PM.
Didn't get a chance to read your post before the retraction, but if you're referring to Franklin-Christoph, I have to agree. I own 3 F-C pens and love all of them. I have my eye on another that only ever appears in the stock room on random occasions but is always gone before I can act. I liken it to Netflix, where there's a wide variety of movies and shows to watch, but without notice, they can disappear before you have an opportunity to watch anything.
One thing I've never understood is peoples reluctance to discuss the ugly side of anything to do with Fountain Pens.
I know it doesn't fix the problem, but it does help get the grief out to discuss it all.
Maybe there's too much opportunity for disagreement...I dunno.
"I can only improve my self, not the world."
What do you mean? There's plenty of ugly presented here but people generally keep their personal opinions to themselves regarding other people's bad taste.
If you're talking about commerce, well what else is new. That's an age old problem unrelated to fountain pens, and it won't get fixed here. I suspect that's what the OP was thinking on second thought.
Detman101 (November 15th, 2020), Jon Szanto (November 14th, 2020)
Seems like Franklin-Christoph's virtual pen shows replicate the physical pen show experience — limited editions go fast. Disappointing for some.
Their online show last week released pens in batches at 11am and 10pm EST to give customers outside the US a chance. I was briefly tempted by a wood-like acrylic but prefer their plain black models, of which I have two. Excellent buying experience both times.
Empty_of_Clouds (November 15th, 2020)
If you were at a show, standing at the table with a bunch of very limited editions, and you picked one up... while it is in your hand it cannot ethically be sold to another browser. Of course, another person could ask if you're going to buy it, but you are not obliged to answer.
With the virtual show the same could be said for the shopping cart. In my situation I had a pen in my cart and was half way through inputting my payment details when I was informed the pen was no longer available. My initial feeling is as though another customer has snatched it from my hand (in the live pen show version in the first example). It shouldn't be too hard to have a system where stock is decreased by one every time an item is placed in the cart. I also appreciate that such a system would likely be abused by those who just want to hold things until they've decided. Perhaps a 5 minute timer or something would reduce this happening.
Anyway, that was why I started the thread. I then retracted it because it was a bit unfair to FC, when many similar instances can be found suggesting it is not an uncommon problem.
@catbert, their times for the release equated to 4am and 4pm on a work day. Not ideal for me. And I agree, once I made a choice of other things, the buying experience was indeed excellent.
For clarification, I am not a big fan of competitive buying, with the exception of buying property, where it is often unavoidable. I've stopped buying pens from eBay because of this. When a competitive buying scenario is presented I feel like I'm being asked to perform like a trained animal. It is, IMO, undignified. While FOMO is not a thing for me, it does annoy me that competitive buying is still common. That's just how I feel about it. YMMV
Last edited by Empty_of_Clouds; November 15th, 2020 at 04:03 AM.
Detman101 (November 15th, 2020)
E o C: how long would you be able to hold it in your cart, effectively removing it from inventory, without completing a purchase? And if you neither buy nor delete your cart?
Detman101 (November 15th, 2020)
Technically, it would be straightforward to withdraw an item from inventory once the customer has opened the page to enter their payment details.
This all depends on the software that FC uses. You could always shoot them an email with a feature request.
Vintage. Cursive italic. Iron gall.
The unfortunate FOMO/artificial scarcity model isn't unique to F-C, as you say. Avoiding feeding frenzies is part of why I like standard production pens — I can put them on a wishlist and wait.
I get why putting something in a cart to 'hold' it could be abused, but surely a checkout mechanism should let you hang on to a thing while you're actually trying to pay for it.
Maybe future virtual shows could be held over a weekend, like the real thing, to better address time differences.
Indeed:
Shopping Cart Abandonment
"When Men differ in Opinion, both Sides ought equally to have the Advantage of being heard by the Publick;
and that when Truth and Error have fair Play, the former is always an overmatch for the latter."
~ Benjamin Franklin
A Smug Dill (November 15th, 2020), catbert (November 15th, 2020)
I am swayed by @ A Smug Dill's argument. I don't think there is a reasonable way around the situation. I'm also with @Empty_of_Clouds' feelings about competing being undignified. I generally avoid auctions for the same reason, and it is my choice to avoid any situation which makes me uncomfortable. However, I don't think there is any way around a vendor's right, and expectation, to accept the first possible payment as a sale.
I just bought a vintage pen from an online seller and am waiting for it in the mail. In the meanwhile I've found another pen in that vendor's catalogue which I really want. As that pen is rather expensive for me, I think it is prudent for me to wait until I see the first pen in order to ascertain the quality of his restorations. In the meanwhile, I am on edge worrying that someone else will buy "my pen". lol Of course I have no claim to it, but such is life. We often feel some claim to a thing because we've invested some of our attention and feelings in that thing. Wish me luck.![]()
A Smug Dill (November 15th, 2020)
In the words of Paul Simon, you can call me Al.
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