What our Customers Said - Our 2014 Year in Review

 When we asked for your help to write our 2014 year in review, we received a great number of responses that were both encouraging and constructive in pressing forward for this New Year.

In the survey, we asked to rate your satisfaction from 1-5, with 1 being unsatisfactory and 5 being most satisfied. In averaging all the responses given, we came up with an average of 4.2. While this number still allows for improvement, we're ecstatic to see so many positive impressions that we were able to make.

What customers say are their favorite qualities about Goldspot Pens

We hang our hat on customer service. Without it, we would be as useless as a piston-filling Pelikan without a bottle of ink. Here is what you had to say about our customer service.

"your customer service was excellent. I worked w /Asha over the phone and she was very helpful" 

"Very, very pleasant customer service!!!"

"the friendliness of the staff & their willingness to spend time answering my questions and to do whatever needs to be done to please & help me"

Every day, we're expanding our selection of fine writing instruments, adding to our already-expansive inventory of ballpoints, rollerballs, fountain pens, mechanical pencils and accessories. Having the products in-stock for quick shipping to reach your door as soon as possible is also a priority of ours. Our customers have certainly noticed the vast selection.

"I have always been pleased with the selection- retired, can't afford some of the ones I'd really like to buy .They arrive very soon after I place my order."

"Quick and easy to order and, because I live in NJ, quick delivery!"

What our customers would like to see Goldspot improve on for 2015

With a number of manufacturers increasing their prices on a yearly (or semi-annual) basis, it wasn't a surprise to us when a number of our customers requested lower prices or a lower free shipping minimum. More value for less money.

As a retailer, we don't have much say in the price increases mandated by the manufacturers. We aim to be competitive with other retailers and will match prices on most occasions. When it comes to selecting new product to promote and feature on our website, we will surely aim for the best values in the industry and give you the best bang for the buck.

Inventory availability display was another subject that came up and struck a chord with this particular comment :

"You should ensure that your website is up to date with your current stock. You should also make sure that you only list items on eBay that you actually have in stock."

We're currently working on providing a solution to having our inventory synch across our website and other sales channels. This is a technical issue that we want to remedy to make buying easier and give you the confidence that your order will be filled and shipped within our usual 1-2 day turnaround shipping time.

Aside from a couple other website technical issues we're working on currently, you also wrote :

"More reviews?"
"Maybe you can have "Scottie" beam pens over to me here in Denver???"
"Please tweet more."

More content and sharing our ink-thusiasm for fine writing across the web and social media is definitely one of our priorities for 2015. As for teleportation, we'll leave that to the scientists. :-)
Thanks again to everyone that had participated in the survey. We'll be sure to send out another one later this year so we can measure our improvement. If you have any other comments or would like to elaborate on your feelings toward particular improvements that we can make, please feel free to leave them below.

Help Us Write our Year in Review

In a couple of days, 2014 shall be officially in the books. As we "turn the page" on 2014, we'd like to take the opportunity to reflect and evaluate our past year as a company.

From a behind-the-scenes standpoint, Goldspot had one of our most consistently busiest years. From new product and brand introductions to our new version of our website launched in September, we have been striving throughout the year to improve every facet of our business.

Since our business thrives on the relationship with our customers, we believe that the story of our year should be narrated by our customers. Our focus is to bring you the best selection of fine writing instruments at the most competitive prices with exceptional customer service. Even if you haven't ordered from us in the past year, but follow us on social media and read our blog, we still want to know if you believe we hit our mark.

Tell us if we've succeeded in our goal this year by filling out our quick, 2-minute survey. 

You can also feel free to post on our Facebook wall, tweet us @goldspotpens or leave a comment below to give us additional feedback. 

Thank you guys. Have a Happy & Healthy 2015!

Poll : Are Paper Catalogs Preferred Over Shopping Online?

] I recently took a poll over at Fountain Pen Network, which is probably the most active discussion board about fountain pens there is, about the validity of paper catalogs versus shopping online when it comes to buying a new pen. The result was a small, but effective sampling with comments that I found to be very thought provoking and back up the evidence shown in the results.

 

The question I posed :

As an internet savvy person who loves to slow down the pace of life by writing with a good fountain pen, I often find myself living in a juxtaposition. I work for a company that sells writing instruments online, which is a communications platform build out of 1's and 0's, not paper and ink. The proliferation of the internet threatens the validity of the products we sell.

As an internet marketer and a fountain pen enthusiast, I find myself asking whether a paper catalog's validity is sliding due to the rapid rise of user feedback and reviews that can be found on nearly every item on the internet. I know there are a lot of folks out there that can appreciate turning the computer off and sitting down to enjoy page-flipping a real book in front of them. But is that where you really make your decision when it comes to shopping for a new pen? Or do you merely get the idea of what you would want to buy from a physical catalog, and THEN research it on the internet for reviews?

 Of course, to some degree, I am preaching to the choir. I have to know, asking an online community of pen lovers, that I was going to get an internet-friendly response. However, given that we are a pen store that exists in the same online ether, I have to take the results with a grain of salt.

My impressions from the results and comments:

• We already get a lot of catalogs and other unsolicited marketing material in the mail.
• Yet they are more pleasant to browse and absorb than the overwhelming internet.
• However, when it comes to the final purchase, no one buys directly from a paper catalog.

Psychologically, I believe it comes down to getting a second opinion. When we know that we can research the company, the product and the service online and get other opinions before we pull the trigger, we believe that the best decision will be made, given the circumstances. I totally agree. The internet has given us the ability to prevent a lot of bad decisions. When we chalk things up to experience, we can let others know of our criticisms and inform future generations of shoppers before they make the same mistake. But how do we make a print catalog, which is a great format to relax, curl up with, bring to the john and doggy-ear, as informative as digging through the 'Net?

Anyone? Bueller?

New Year's Resolutions from YOU

Please comment on this post. We value all of your feedback, positive or negative. -- There's a new commercial that Domino's Pizza is airing on TV that features executives observing less-than-flattering customer feedback and digesting harsh Tweets. Domino's even released a video on YouTube called "The Pizza Turnaround," that expands on the commercial, explaining that they've heard the call for better quality and answered it. Now, although Goldspot has never received the complaint that their pens taste like cardboard or that the ink is basically ketchup, we know that there are always actions we can take to better service our customers. This applies for all customers : past, present and future. The Question is : What would you like to see from Goldspot.com in 2010? Just like the test tasters in the Domino's commercial, be blunt, yet constructive with your criticism. We are going to base our company's New Year's Resolutions around your thoughts and opinions. On a Side note : our offices will be on vacation from Thursday, December 31st to Sunday, January 3rd. Please be patient with our responses to e-mail and voicemails. Have a safe and happy New Year!