Leather Pen Case Group Buy

[Rchan63]

Daniel

I'll leave it up to you as others have mention, you'll do whats best for us. Either way is a go for me. Just don't forget my pen mills when you send the pen cases if you choose to go thet route.

BTW everyone he sells pen mills.

Righard

 

[arw01]

I say hang in there a while longer. International shipping and customs is an issue.

An avenue for information that can cut all the BS is your Senators office. An email or a phone call could possibly get you a real person to talk to about customs and the hang ups.

Remember the State Department also has contacts in the countries for helping american business's do business in those countries, so perhaps an inquiry to the Senate office about whom to contact on doing business in India.

 

[mick]

Daniel...I've been keeping up , just chose not to burden you with any unnecessary comments, Whatever you decide is fine with me just keep us updated.
Mike

 

[bruce119]

I want people to know, this is not so much work on my part, as it is worry. Your comments are very helpful and encouraging. Basically I am in a spot that my next decision could be the wrong one. I know you all want pen cases, and would not want your money lost. So basically my call at this point is do I take the risk for one more round?
The supplier is going to send the second half of the order in one shipment to an agent in New York (provided I choose to go on) this eliminates any other problems but increases the chance of Customs fees. Customs is very complicated and even I do not come close to understanding it. but basically the higher the value of the shipment the greater chance it will get charged. But it is still a random thing. Certain things stand out and will cause them to open your package, such as undervaluing the package. that is what happend with the 500 pen case shipment I am trying to get now. they had it valued at 150 and it's value according to Customs is $400. all this did was cause customs to hold it and require that it be signed for to be released. well with the package in New York and me in Reno signing for it has been a little tricky. I did it though and hopefully the package is on the way.

In short if you all are willing for me to roll the dice on your money one more time, I am game. The bottom line is this would all be a lot easier on me if it was only my money at risk. I know all of you have been in some situation simular to that. Otherwise it is more a matter of being a stearn heartless jerk and that comes naturally to me, lol

Well my thoughts it sounds like the first shipment my be OK. I wouldn't hold my breath on a speedy departure from customs once released. I say give it 2 weeks from time of signature. You know government quick to take your money slow to get results (or something like that)

Any way once first half is received it sounding like you are fairly confident the suppler has the second and final batch ready and has worked out some of the bugs. Then go ahead with the buy.

I know that is easy to say and I realize some of the logistics. You most likely will incur more cost. I think that most if not not of us would pick up our share. I say divie up the extra cost in proportion to what participants ordered. Hold the orders till you received the extra funds. Any one that doesn't pay ie. you don't hear from someone or someone backs out. Sell there cases to recover the cost.

I know it's not as easy as that. But don't burn your bridge just yet. It seems like this supplier mite have a quality product at a good price. Once these first time bugs are worked out it my be a good thing for future orders. So when your frustrated and mad not not sure what to do the best thing is usually to do nothing.

It's the weekend you should be out fishing anyway. I want to see a nice big stinger of 5 lb trout :biggrin:

Bruce

 

[Monty]

You got my email so you know I"ll support whatever decision you make. I say let's wait it out a little longer, and if cost increases, so be it. Let me know my part.

 

[Daniel]

Bruce, You have a pretty accurate view of the situation. Sort of like giving up just after having solved all the problems. I have been in this spot several times on this buy. Thinking well we got that sorted out, only to face a whole new list of problems with the next round. I will say that my Intuition (which is good by the way) is telling me that the supplier is finally listening and getting the bigger picture.

I want to add a comment here also. I do group buys primarily to carve the way for others to have access to these products. I have no problem giving the name of the supplier to anyone (privately). I do not share the companies name publically to protect them from unfair bad press so to speak. The Supplier is learning thiings as much as I am and problems are geting fixed. In this case it just seems fixing one set of problems is causing another. and so for this looks never ending. in truth it is not.

I have now heard from well over 50% of the people in this buy on this thread alone. i have heard from even more privately. I have had two opt out, and neither of those had to do with problems with the buy. By far everyone is saying they are willing to do what I choose, and that they are also wiling to take the risk. as I said in my last post. If you are willing so am I.

I will have to find out just how using an agent changes things etc. I am also still waiting for those 500 cases to be released from JFK. Both the supplier and I agree not to ship the second half of the order until those cases are safely in my hands.

I will not know what increase in cost are until the entire order is here. I will be in contact with everyone personally at that time.

As for now I am still looking at going forward with the second half of the order.

By the way, Mid August is out. new expected date for completion of this buy is unknown at this time. as Bruce pointed out. It could take weeks just to get that one package out of JFK.

 

[jimofsanston]

No problems

Hey I am just hanging out no rush. However long it takes man. Working with a new vendor there are always new problems to work thru. Unfortunily It is a foriegn vendor which makes it more stressful. Hang in there and try to solve one problem at a time and don't let it get to you. We all knew that these problems may happen when we bought into this group buy.

 

[RDH79]

OK with me

Daniel,What ever you decide to do is fine with me. If you need more for shipping let me know. Like alot have said I think waiting for a couple more weeks might be a good idea. Thanks Rich H.

 

[Daniel]

Hi folks, I have been getting some e-mails etc the last few days. I just wanted to put this info somewhere. My youngest Daughter is in labor, they just took her to the hospital and I am waiting to hear if they are going to keep her. I will be a little busy the next day or two becoming a grandpa. so if you messages go unanswered they are not being ignored.

 

[altaciii]

Thanks for the update, daniel

 

[bruce119]

Hi folks, I have been getting some e-mails etc the last few days. I just wanted to put this info somewhere. My youngest Daughter is in labor, they just took her to the hospital and I am waiting to hear if they are going to keep her. I will be a little busy the next day or two becoming a grandpa. so if you messages go unanswered they are not being ignored.

Your mind should be with her.

Get your cigars ready!!!!

Did you get any fishing in I want here about the big one.

.

 

[scotian12]

Daniel...Thanks for your continued updates. We appreciated the difficulties you have encountered and support your decision to continue with the buy. Darrell

 

[bitshird]

Another 16 or 18 bucks at this point isn't going to break me any way, and I'd rather have the cases.

 

[Daniel]

Baby Boy. Born this morning at 10:26 Pacific time. 5lbs 13 oz. There are photos on my camera but have not loaded them on my computer yet.
Main thing is I got to meet him. only thing he had to say though was a funny face, stuck out his tongue. and started crying. I'm not sure but I think I'm his favorite.
The Momma and baby are both doing great but needed some sleep. So I am home taking a break for a few hours and will go back to see them again this evening.

 

[bitshird]

Congratulations Daniel., Don't worry about spoiling him they all smell like that.

 

[heinedan]

Congratulations. Is this your first one? I'm taking my son to college three weeks from today, and it's going to be a very empty house without him here!!! He's going to Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo, MI. He's majoring in Civil Engineering. Can't tell I'm a proud father, I'll bet!!!!!

Dan

 

[Daniel]

Yep Dan, First Grand Baby, Four children. It is amazing just how much I remember about taking care of them. It's been 17 years since I had a tiny one but it all came back to me just like it was yesterday. It is so cool to know what you are doing with them for once. The Momma is breast feeding and that whole battle is going on. I am getting worried sick about whether he is getting enough to eat. other than that he got to see his first sunrise this morning with me. I snuk home from work (2 min driving time for me) just to get him and take him to see it. Yeah I am a sicky mooshy type.
I'm not sure Momma and Daddy where real hapy with me taking Jr. out in that nasty morning stuff. but we sure enjoyed it. They still think he is fragile and all that.

 

[jimofsanston]

Always will think he is fragile

You have not stop with your kids right! Things never change.

 

[Daniel]

I am actually surprising myself with my reaction over my grandson. I am not merely excited that he is here. I am pretty strongly infatuated with him. He is living in my house so i hear him when he is awake at those 2 am moments. i will be awake just hoping my daughter will need my help. the last couple of nights he has gotten pretty upset when my little girls New Mother skills don't quite cut the mustard. And Grandpa is proving to have a touch with the urchin that Grandma is in danger of being jealous of.

With that I will point out that my mind is not always as clear s it usually is, with the disruption of sleep etc that is going on. But I have some great news. With a huge sigh of relief I can now say that half the single pen cases are now in the possession of one of the groups members. they are still on the other side of the country from me but no longer have any concern about them as I am sure they are as safe as if they where in my hands. I am extremely grateful for the many true friends that I have in this community, and today my gratitude is given to one specific person. Neil (Wolftat) thank you, and sorry but I just had to give you credit. Neil took it upon himself of his on initiative to step in and decide enough is enough. He personally went to JFK Airport and took on the headache of dealing with customs and such, which is no small task, and paid out of his pocket to get the package released. I will reimburse him, but to take such measures is well above and beyond. Neil, you are alright, I don't care what they say. and from our conversations I am pretty sure you don't care what they say either. Thank You is not nearly enough.

OK. in total this package cost an additional $177 in custom fees alone. that was for 500 pen cases (Honestly not nearly as bad I worried it coudl be) . I have not yet figured out how much the shipping charges are going to be on a per case basis.
I will get this figured out and post an actual price per case increase for this buy. so far I expect it to not be huge. With the numbers above the customs fees come to $35.4 cents per case. for an order of 20 cases this is an increased cost of $7.08. more of a pain in the butt than it is worth collecting except I am starting to get into real danger of flat out running out of money.

The entire second half of the order is to be shipped in one piece through customs through an agent that the supplier needs for legitimacy in India. I guess they never did understand that I was looking to try and get worse case scenario with my trial order and they did everyting they could to avoid extra costs. somehow telling them I needed to find out what all costs where going to be including customs fees and shipping did not compute with them. Not sure I could have said it any clearer but evidently that was not clear enough. they seem to have read, avoid any extra costs at all costs I guess.

well anyway I am feeling much relieved at this point and still have every intention of moving forward on the other half of the order.

 

[nava1uni]

Daniel,
Congratulations on being a Grandpa.

 

[scotian12]

In addition to Daniel, I would like to thank Neil for stepping up to the plate and helping with the custom procedures at JFK. The face to face meetings do help to resolve these communication problems in short order. Thanks to both of you. Darrell

 

[bitshird]

Daniel and Neil, Thanks, now maybe I'll have some cases for my big show the end of September, if not then for a Local 1 or 2 pen max sale at a local show in October.

 

[bruce119]

Yea Niel is one of the good guys. We all along with Daniel THANK YOU !!!

 

[bitshird]

[size=+6]Wolftat For President!!​

[/size]

 

[HSTurning]

[SIZE=+6]Wolftat For President!![/SIZE]​

He is. Well of are chapter anyway. I must say I think he is the best local chapter president. I may be biased. :biggrin:

 

[bradbn4]

Well, I figure ya let us all know one way or another about any additional fees, etc - I have a good supply of real cheap cases, etc - so I will be more than happy if they show up by the new year.

Pls let me know the final hit in price, etc when you have it. I figure it won't be until the final part of the order clears customs and is in your hands will you figure that one out.


Welcome to the wide world of international orders, etc -- always an adventure.

 

[Daniel]

Just for those biting their nails,(mine ran out by the way). I got the 500 single pen cases yesterday.
So far I have all the double cases, half the single cases, half the single large cases, and no 24 pen cases.
I got an e-mail this morning from India that says the rest of the cases are ready to be sent. these will be shipped to New York to an licensed importer. We are also working on doing this at no additional cost other than what customs charges will be. So far customs fees have not been huge so we will see what happens.

 

[bruce119]

Sounds like the bumps in road are being pounded out. Keep relations on a good note it mite have possibilities as a future source.

Daniel I would like to personally THANK YOU for all the hard head ache work you put into this. It sounds like the worst is in the past.

Thank you
Bruce

 

[Jim15]

Thanks for the update Daniel.

 

[OKLAHOMAN]

Your persistence seems to have paid off, I thank you for all the effort you've put into this.

 

[altaciii]

WOO, HOO!! Thanks for the update, Daniel. I had the order in the back of my mind and at a very few times wondered how it was going. Glad to see its finally coming to the end of you looonnnnggg hhhhaaaarrrd rrrrrooooaaaadddd.

 

[Rchan63]

Thank you for all your work you,ve put in and wolftat too.

 

[bitshird]

Great News Daniel thanks for the update.

 

[nava1uni]

Yea!!!!!!! Thank you for all of your time, energy and perseverance. How is the new baby doing?

 

[Daniel]

Thanks everyone, that nobody is trying to break down my front door speaks loudly at how much trust there is among this group. I am grateful for all the headaches I have not gone through, such as very unhappy participants. that fact is not at all lost on me.
with any luck we are one round away from having this one done.

Cindy, the little guy is doing great, He is more fun than a truck load of puppies. It is so nice to have him close so i can get daily grandpa time. They change so fast and I am pretty big on keeping up with his daily accomplishments. I think he likes grandpa because he is usually awake when I leave for work and again when I get home. so we get good visits with each other.

Back to the cases. I do have enough cases to start filling some of the orders. In order to reduce the all at once load on me, and just reduce the number of boxes I have stacked in my shop, I am going to start filling what orders I can this weekend. I just want to mention this because I don't want anyone to think they got left out when they start seeing reports of cases received. I am pretty sure everyone is aware that this buy is a mess by now. So expect the unexpected. I am still working to get "your" cases, just no guarantee of when they will be here.

 

[Daniel]

More info this morning. I received an e-mail this morning that said they expect to have the 2nd half of the order in New York on Monday.
Say some prayers that I can get the cases all the way to Reno with the money I have in my pay pal account. If not I will have to make a last minute plea for bail out money. anyone got Barracks e-mail address?

 

[mbroberg]

Daniel,

You just let me know if you need any more money and it will be on the way. You are super, A-1, the best for doing this for us. Thank you!!:smile-big::smile-big::smile-big:

 

[Douglas Feehan]

Daniel- let me know if more money is needed i have no problem chipping in some extra

 

[bitshird]

Daniel, same goes for me, you've been through a lot on this valiant effort, "normal people" would have bailed long ago.

 

[Daniel]

With just a glimmer of optimism (hey nobody claimed I am sane) I want to make a comment about future orders. I realize that this buy looks like such a disaster that anyone in their right mind would never consider doing another one. I am not just anyone and definitely not in my right mind. Provided that a couple of requirements are met with this second half of the order, I do plan on doing more of these. Many Many problems have been solved in the past months. Actually many more than I thought could even effect a group buy. There are many things that I and the supplier did not know going in. this is a young company and I am not an importer. But we both managed to keep ourselves pushing forward to solve the problems. If this next shipment indicates that at least the majority of those problems have in fact been solved. I will be working up a new price on cases and doing further buys. I really believe this is a product that will improve on everyone's bottom line impression when they deliver their pens to their customers. My personal feeling about it is that these cases could be the biggest contribution I have made to all of your efforts next to the CA group buy. Actually that belief alone has motivated me to persist with this buy. Although personal circumstances will not allow me to continue doing buys for the long term. I can develop this one into a workable one and am already taking steps to pass it on to someone else once all the kinks are worked out. I think these cases are well worth the effort, All of you are more than worth the effort.