Polaris Pens

[dale]

I have not done any of these so I am wondering if they sell very well.
By that do people seem to like them?
All ive done so far are slimline and cigar.

In Oct. I will have a booth at a festival and want to do several kinds but dont want to do some that just arent sellers.

And they also look like the pens Ive seen where they will make a blank out of wood then cover it with postage stamps is that correct?

Ive got to learn how to make my own penblanks our of some of the resins.

Learning as i go.
thanks
dale

 

[Texatdurango]

Funny pen the polaris or Atlas (both the same pen)! When I started turning pens in early 2007, I made a lot of polaris and Sierra pens. Those were the days when every friend and relative got a free pen and I even started selling a few pens as well.

I probably made three dozen polaris pens all together and still have probably a dozen of those. If it weren't for me giving them away, I would probably still have most of them so in my opinion they were not good sellers especially when I started offering more varities. I sold or gave most of them to women as they seemed to like the size for carrying in their purses.

If that's all you had I guess folks wouold buy whatever is available but they didn't work for me as folks would just skim over them and head for the Sierras!

If I were looking for some inexpensive kits using ballpoint refills that would sell well, I would grab some Sierras and Sierra click pens and buy some nice dyed box elder burl blanks as well as some acrylic blanks.

Have a look at my website to see what I still have and how I have them priced, it may or may not give you some ideas.

 

[Rollerbob]

I have to agree with Tex on this one. It seems that a lot of people will grab it up and have a look(maybe they see the blank better) and then either will buy another pen or(not)or want you to make one like the blank on that jumbo thing. Easy to make, but save your money on this one. This has been my take thus far.

 

[rjwolfe3]

I haven't had good luck with selling the Polaris (of course my personal opinion is that they are too short and ugly.)

 

[JimB]

I have only made a few of them and I've sold a few. My expereince is people either love them or hate them. When they pick it up they make an instant decision. No kidding. It's either "I'll take it" or they immediately put it back down.

If you want a third style I think you should go with the Sierra (Wall St. II at Woodcraft). It is a much better seller and the vendors here on IAP have them in many different platings.

 

[jimwill48]

Same here the Atlas has just never sold. The comment I get a lot from Lady's is that it reminds them of a revlon lipstick container. I have totaly given up on this design.

jw

 

[dennisg]

I recently bought some predrilled blanks for the Polaris pens from someone on this forum. They were very inexpensive. I bought some of the chrome kits and showed them last weekend. I sold 2, but I only sold 7 in all. I never really liked the style but I've got less than $5 tied up in them so what the hay. It may have been a fluke. I'll let you know.

 

[Buzz]

The Sierra will always sell better than the Polaris. If adding a single barrel pen to your range, the Sierra is certainly the way to go, heaps of different finishes to choose from.

I've started offering the Sierra in a pen and pencil set too, and they are going well for me.

 

[ldb2000]

It's funny I can't give away the polaris pens I have but my Telesto pens I can't keep in stock , same length and design but mine are thinner and show off more of the blank . The white one I just showed in the SOYP forum is gone already , two days , and I get more for mine then the polaris so I'm not complaining .

 

[Misterturner]

I will echo the comments George made. There is something odd about this design that makes people look and then look away. I think the click version is more attractive, but haven't tried one due to reading some negative comments about the mechanism.

The polaris IS nice if you want to show off a nice piece of wood or acrylic and there is some forgiveness on the tube length (it can be a few mm short without a problem), but my experience is that the pen will just not sell unless it stands out. I have found that going all out in sculpting the pen body helps - such pens sell much faster, but bodies that line up perfectly with the nib and finial just don't move people! Some vendors sell this model in multiple platings/colors - again, I've found that matching colors to those in acrylics can also help things along.