Pen Boxes

[ctedford]

Hi all,

I'm wondering what many of you do when you sell a pen. I am going to start making pens for a holiday store that I belong to and was wondering how to package the pen. My thought was to buy either the tubes or pouches, but my wife seems to think that those are a waste since people will throw them out because they don't wrap well. She suggested boxes that cost $.63 each, but they look like they cost $.63 each. My other thought would be nicer boxes, either made by me or bought. I'm looking to sell pens in the $50-$75 range and think the box my wife suggested would just make them seem cheap. Any thoughts would be helpful.

Thanks,
Chris

 

[lorbay]

There are a lot of people on here that sell boxes and I have a lot of them and even the ceaper ones look good for a $70.00 pen.

Lin.

 

[U-Turn]

For pens of $75 and up, I spend a little on wooden boxes with my name lasered on them. Classy looking and I think helps establish professionalism. I can always increase the price a few bucks if I feel I need to. Cheaper pens get the sleeve!

 

[JimB]

The pens I sell through retail stores are all presented and sold with a box. All the big suppliers such as Woodcraft, Rockler, PSI, CSUSA as well as many smaller vendors sell boxes. I am usually spending $1.50 - $2.00 per box and the cost is built into the pen price. IMO a box makes a much nicer presentation.

 

[thewishman]

I use Monty's black paperboard boxes - even for $100+ pens. They are simple and they look good.

http://woodenwonderstx.com/ZC_Woode...Path=5&zenid=205d2cba80c905bd47c90f48341c3937

 

[corian king]

I purchased some boxes from a member here (can't remember his name) Sorry!
But he lazer engraved my logo on them and was done at a good price.They are some very nice boxes for the price.

 

[rizaydog]

I would spend the little extra on a nicer box. It only costs a few bucks but really adds to the appearance of the pen.

 

[wood-of-1kind]

I purchased some boxes from a member here (can't remember his name) Sorry!
But he lazer engraved my logo on them and was done at a good price.They are some very nice boxes for the price.

I think that would be Stan Cook (mrcook4570). He does some excellent "laser" work on the pen boxes. They look classy and are very affordable. Give him a try.

http://www.penturners.org/forum/showthread.php?t=74625

 

[Lee K]

It depends ....

most of my sales have been to friends and it went from my hands to their desk, no stopping in between, so the box didnt improve the 'value'. At one of my shows in May, a lady bought a pen for her husbands birthday and I 'rummaged through' one of my storage boxes and said ... "oh, here's a great little box to show that pen off .. its yours, Happy Birthday to your hubby!"

 

[azamiryou]

A nice cardboard box can make a great presentation, it's easy to wrap and not very expensive (just build the price into the price of the pen). If it's good enough for jewelry worth hundreds or thousands of dollars, it's good enough for a pen worth hundreds or thousands of dollars.

I use boxes I got from IAP member erock2k6 (see this thread), but I'm not sure if he's still around - looks like his last post was about 6 months ago, and the on-line store he was working on is still not up.

You can get boxes from a jewelry supply store. The most suitable common size is 2" x 8", and IMO it's a little long for a pen. Also, jewelry boxes generally have cotton padding that doesn't really hold a kit pen in place, so the pen can rattle around a little. Workable in a pinch, but not as good as a box made specifically for pens.

 

[ctedford]

Thank you all for your replies. My wife especially loved the jewelry box reference since that was her main argument against wooden boxes. Think I'll buy a few from Monty and see how I do. Thanks again all.

 

[studioso]

the few expensive pens i've sold (300-300$) I placed in a plastic box from penblanks.ca.
http://www.penblanks.ca/product.php?productid=7246&cat=49&page=1
these are 4$ each, and and not quite that fancy, but it's the best I could find, and you must be presentable.

before that I actually did build very nice solid maple boxes, with a rosewood cover, with the recipient's name engraved: the box doubled as a desk name tag/pen holder.
I'll post some pictures when I find them, however it took longer to make the box than it took to make the pen!

 

[youthinthewild]

I would not go with anything but wooden boxes for pens just sets a tone.Kinda like signing a $50,000 contract with a 80 cent pen makes you go HUH!!!!