Hi Guys
Thanks for the kind words about my price and service.
I though I might just add a bit to the conversation to clarify a few things up.
His description says made in Taiwan.. Dayacom and i think Berea factories are there. His price are really good. Hope we could have more feedback on the kit he his carrying. He refer his upgrade gold as rack gold plating, wich is Berea description of their upgrade plating too. His price for TI gold are very good too.
The Baron II are made in Taiwan. They are made by neither Dayacom nor Berea. There are a few factories in Taiwan who make pens and pen kits. I work with a few of them. All the pen factories seem to be smaller factories compared to Main land China factories. They seem outsource various process in the pen making process.
Plating is a particular step which is frequently outsourced. This is because electro plating is a specialised process with strict environmental standards and individual pen factories can't keep it in-house due to cost and several other factors.
I often get asked what's the difference between upgrade gold (also known as tree gold or rack gold) plating and normal gold plating.
My last trip to Taiwan, I went sight seeing to all the different factories to see how the pen kits that I sell are made. The plating factory was one of the factory that I really wanted to see, so I could see for myself. I had the impression that I was big vats of boiling gold or chrome and it was more like a foundry with hot kilns in action. Attached are 2 photos of what I saw.
Rack gold plating is a more expensive plating because each individual item being plated is soldered onto a rack or rod (see photo above). As opposed to the tumbled plating method (where all the pieces are tumbled in a metal basket or cage) the rack gold plating method is a technique that ensures an even coat of the plating over the item. This ensures that no section of the item has a thinner layer of gold that is otherwise specified.
Rack gold is the standard method of plating gold in Taiwan. Factories in Taiwan is reluctant to use the tumble method of plating gold as it is seen as an inferior method of plating. The tumble method is however common practice in Mainland China where as the rack gold plating is much less practiced.
The rod is then lowered into a solution and an electric current then is passed through the rod to attract plating (see photo below). The rod is then washed and plated with an epoxy coating. It is then is washed again and passed through an industrial drier to harden the plate (see photo above).
Does anyone know if the Baron II's use the same bushing as the originals?
Yes The Baron II's use the same bushings and tubes as the original. Also I will have the matching fountain pen in stock in about 2 weeks time.
A fairly substantial number of his kits come from the same source I use...I just wonder how that rascal manages to ship to the USA cheaper than I can ship to AU. He might get some things from Dayacom but not many, his prices are to low to be paying their prices for his stock.
I am an agent for Dayacom in Australia. Their kits are exceptional in quality and their brand is also well know (especially on this forum) - therefore their kits are more expensive than generic kits. As a result their prices are also more expensive because it costs me more money to buy. We probably buy the slimlines from the same place in China which is why our kits are similarly priced.
I am also the sole agent for Australiana kits (I know its not important to you guys in the US) but they are great sellers here in Australia.
Regarding the shipping prices - This is the story I am told by Australia Post and the courier companies. Australia no-longer does much manufacturing. We mainly export bulk commodities (iron ore and coal). Our air cargo movements are 75% inbound and 25% outbound. That means for every 3 jumbos that comes into Australia fully loaded with goodies, 2 jumbos go back empty. There is fierce competition to get export parcels out of Australia, especially back to Asia and the US. Probably the reverse is true for the US. There is more stuff going out than in. So postal companies are falling over themselves to get business at any cost.
Excellent seller, I've ordered a few kits and boxes from him with no problems whatsoever. He also has a website where he sells other kits not on ebay
http://www.timberbits.com/ Check out the pen boxes for good quality and prices.
I trade in both names - Timberbits and A1penkits. The reason for this is because I have had to separate the business. Timberbits is operated from home between my wife and I, we sell in Australian dollars and prices is inclusive of GST (its illegal to publish retail prices without GST).
A1penkits, even though the goodies are physically held here in Australia, the goods are held in a non-bonded warehouse. This means that no duties and taxes have been paid on them. These warehouses are a government scheme to help the export market in Australia. A1penkits also sell in USD and prices published are exclusive of GST (Australian Sales Tax).
It's picked and packed by a 3rd party provider who runs the warehouse. I can't go in without filling in a mountain of paperwork, and I definitely can't bring any though of the warehouse. These goods are meant to be exported.
The kits shipped yesterday afternoon. I also ordered from a source in Michigan. It will interesting to see which package get here first.
Parcels under 2kg will be sent via regular airmail. This means that USPS will be delivering the parcel. There seems to be a wide level of service with USPS. Places like Texas take up to 2 week or even longer to get delivered. Sacramento should be less than that. Parcels over 2kg will go with TNT, which should only take 2 - 5 days in comparison.
I can't make it go any faster than that. Our policy is to ship same day if the order is placed before 2pm Sydney time.
Thanks again for all your support, please PM me if anyone has any further questions or need more information.
Regards
Timberbits (David)
I think i'll try him. Will let you know how it was if no one do it before me.
