Change the ink for pens you sell?

[sandking]

Hi all,

I'm new here and you've all be great so far and hope you can help me out again.

My mom was at work the other day and some people loved her slimline pen so she brought in some of my work. I now have some Christmas orders for Slimlines and Big Ben (Cigar pens). I am only offering them in Platinum and Black Titanium as the wear on these finishes is better than satin, etc.

My question is do you folks replace the ink that comes with the kits? Do you give an extra ink cartridge? Do you include a box for free or do you charge for them?

Thanks,
Joe

 

[wdcav1952]

Joe, you will get different answers on this question. Choose what you are comfortable with and go with it. I do not change the ink refill that comes with the kit, and have had no problems with them. Extra refills would be nice, but not really expected as commercial pens generally don't have extra refills.

As to boxes, if you spend much on the boxes or use the wooden ones, I would charge for the box. My solution on the subject works for me. I buy bracelet jewellry boxes on Ebay. I can get 100 for around $25 if I recall correctly. I send out pens in these. If the giver wishes to wrap the pen, it is easy.

FWIW,

 

[Dario]

I include free box and refill on mine. Ofcourse cost is factored in my price []

 

[gerryr]

I always have extra refills with me when I do a show, so if a pen won't write I can replace it without robbing another pen. The only time I give extra refills is when someone buys a Jr. Statesman or better rollerball. I buy boxes from Ernie at Beartooth Woods, decent black velvet boxes with a sleeve for $2.25 each, but I only include those if the pen is a gift.

 

[opfoto]

I never used to give a extra refill, but recently some of the refills seem to run out or skip. I am waiting for a group buy that has the better refills so that I can switch them out when a pen is purchased. Start them off with a brand new refill of good quality. May bring in a few more sales. Presently using plastic tubes included in the cost of the pen. Haven't decided on a particular box for replacement yet, again included in the price.

 

[mick]

I've actually had return customers tell me that the refill that came with the pen(mostly Cross type pens)writes better than a new "Cross" brand refill. Go figure? Taht coupled with using several of the cross type pens over the past two years leads me to believe that the refills provided with the hardware of a kit is as good and sometimes better than Name brand replacemants. My Parker pens on the other hand, I always keep gel type refills for them and will replace the original refill with one of those if the customer wishes. I've also had very good service out of those original Parker type refills. I also keep roller ball refills on hand because I've found, at least in my area that they are not always available at some of the "office supply" stores. I make sure my card as well as a small sticker is inside the box when I sell the pen and always tell the customer to contact me if they ever have trouble finding a refill.
Boxes?...Boxes I get from Monty during his group buys and most of the customers seem to like this as they are easy to wrap if it's for a gift.
I do have nicer wooden boxes for my higher end pens but these are extra. Something I've found that sells rather well lately are the "lift" type boxes available from Wood Craft or Craft Supply.

 

[tnilmerl]

Depends. Parker style gel replacement cost $1.50 each at Woodcraft. Range upwards to $6.00 at some of the office supply houses. Care to guess where I bulk buy my cartridges?

If the customer explicitly ordered it, I replace the cartridge (usually a gel cartridge for the cigar style). On bulk orders, where the customer has negotiated a lower price, I do not automatically include extras or replacements unless negotiated into the final price. Same for boxes.

Now, for an individual custom pen that is custom ordered, I usually charge a much higher price and I usually replace the cartridge with a gel, or at least give the customer the option. If fountain pen, I add a convertor and at least 1 short and 1 long cartridge in a lined box. I try to give options for roller ball replacements, but my previous supplier has dropped the particular replacement I used.

Bottom line - factor all you costs and determine the amount of profit you want. Your labor is NOT profit. Figure your time into the equation. Selling a pen for $20 when the pen is $6, box $4, blank $3, replacement cartridge $2, materials $1, time $????....you get the picture. And yes, your costs will vary, sales, group buys, cutting/casting your blanks reduces costs significantly, but your time cost should remain costant. You have to figure your own costs.

My telling you I sell a pen for $75 doesn't have the same point of reference for you. AND the final factor is what is the price point that YOUR customers are willing to pay for YOUR work. Quality and reputation play into this as well.

My apologies for the long rambling diatribe that's a little off point.