Zen Roller Ball

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LL Woodworks

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May 4, 2011
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North Texas
For those that have made & sold the Zen Roller Ball; How do you like the kit, How do customers receive it and does it sale?

Want to add a new inventory item and am wondering?

Thanks
 
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Brooks803

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Sep 13, 2009
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I'm sure you're going to get all kinds of answers, but for me it's one of my best selling rollerballs. There are a couple things to keep in mind with the zen's though. One is that you'd need to inform the buyer about the magnet possibly erasing credit card strips. I've yet to have it happen to me or hear from anyone who's bought one. The other is that sometimes the nib and end finial will come unscrewed from everyday use. All you have to do is retighten it down, but explaining that to a customer would sound like the pen isn't a quality piece. So what I've done is put a touch of locktite on the end finial so it stays in place and show the customer how the nib unthreads to change the refill. Atleast then they'll have the knowledge to retighten it without thinking the pen is bad.
 
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It is a really nice pen and I sell a lot of them. do not get the gold it scratches very easily. If you are doing shows and the pen does not sell but alot of people are looking at it, the nib will start to get a ring around it where the magnet is in the cap.
 

Fibonacci

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Ridgecrest, CA
One is that you'd need to inform the buyer about the magnet possibly erasing credit card strips. I've yet to have it happen to me or hear from anyone who's bought one.

This is thrown around a lot regarding the magnetic pens. Looking at the strength of the magnet, I did not think that it could damage a card.

I made a concerted effort on 3 different cards using both the Zen and the magnetic Graduate. I was unable to damage them. Twenty years ago when mag strip technology was new, that kind of damage was fairly common. These days, cards are pretty rugged and very difficult to accidentally damage.
 

Brooks803

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One is that you'd need to inform the buyer about the magnet possibly erasing credit card strips. I've yet to have it happen to me or hear from anyone who's bought one.

This is thrown around a lot regarding the magnetic pens. Looking at the strength of the magnet, I did not think that it could damage a card.

I made a concerted effort on 3 different cards using both the Zen and the magnetic Graduate. I was unable to damage them. Twenty years ago when mag strip technology was new, that kind of damage was fairly common. These days, cards are pretty rugged and very difficult to accidentally damage.

Couldn't agree with you more! I just say it to cover all my bases on that 1 in a million chance.
 

IPD_Mr

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Jun 27, 2007
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Zionsville, In
Have Penman1 tell you about magnets and black and gold matrix Tru-Stone.

It is a good pen quality wise. It shows of a blank very well.

I personally (this is just me now) do not like the way it feels in my hand.
 

alphageek

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Jul 19, 2007
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Green Bay, WI, USA.
One is that you'd need to inform the buyer about the magnet possibly erasing credit card strips. I've yet to have it happen to me or hear from anyone who's bought one.

This is thrown around a lot regarding the magnetic pens. Looking at the strength of the magnet, I did not think that it could damage a card.

I made a concerted effort on 3 different cards using both the Zen and the magnetic Graduate. I was unable to damage them. Twenty years ago when mag strip technology was new, that kind of damage was fairly common. These days, cards are pretty rugged and very difficult to accidentally damage.

First to the OP - I love the Zen, and I do warn my customers to be careful.

I will say that not all cards are created equal. I often carry a Zen in my inside jacket pocket in the winter. For a while I also carried a gas company gift card in my outside pocket in one coat because it was easier to get to in the cold than my wallet.

At one point in the winter, the gas pump wouldn't read it anymore. I took it inside and it wouldn't read there either. They had to type the numbers in.

This wasn't due to age either, because we get this as part of my daughters school and I only get about 2.5 tanks out of a $100 card before its replaced, so the card is normally only used 3 times.

So it CAN happen. Close proximity for a length of time and it is possible.

(but It won't stop the Zen from being one of my favorite kits).
 

sbell111

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Jan 16, 2008
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Franklin, TN
I like the kit and it sells pretty well. My only issues with it are that the nib unscrews pretty much by itself and occasionally, you will have a magnet come apart frm the cap and you have to glue it back in. I hope that hasn't happened to any of our pens after we've sold them, but I expect that we'll get calls about the issue from customers at some point.
 
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