Pen Manufacturers Not Showing the Love in February

2012 - a New Year means a new set of price lists from many of our prestigious writing brands that we sell over at Goldspot.com. Possibly related to the aligning of the planets and the Mayan calendar proclaiming our inevitable end, 5 of our bigger brands have all decided to increase their prices starting February 1st. The manufacturers are Delta, Sheaffer, Montegrappa, Lamy & Yard-O-Led.

Old Punxsutawney Phil is going to emerge from his burrow and run back inside, fearful of these pen price hikes. Some of the increases are nominal, while others are very substantial. Sheaffer, we were informed, are making only very slight changes. Their biggest change was the move to make the minimum advertised price (MAP) up to full retail value. That means, a pen that was originally advertised for $39.95 retail on our site is now up to $50 with an estimated $5 - $10 increase on top of that at the end of the month. Yikes.

Lamy is another brand that should have fountain pen enthusiasts clutching their wallets in anxiety. Since the primary reason for these price increases is the rising market value of gold and other precious metals, many of the Lamy fountain pens with 14kt nibs have ballooned in price. Best example would be the Dialog 3, which is going from a $300 retail to $390 on February 1st. Double Yikes. However, Safaris and AL-Star pens will be spared. And the villagers rejoiced.


Slightly less noteworthy, but still significant would be the Delta, Yard-O-Led and Montegrappa increases. Here, you may see ballpoints and rollerballs stay the same, but gold-nibbed fountain pens to increase by $20 - $50 depending on the model. More details on the pricing will be available at the end of the month. If you had your eye on a pen made by these manufacturers, get clicking and snatch one up!

2011 Black Friday Specials Flyer

Well, you really can't call them "Doorbusters" because our website doesn't technically have any doors. So, maybe we can refer to these deals as "Clickbusters?" Starting 12AM Eastern Standard Time on Friday, November 25th, we are officially kicking off our Black Friday deals and specials for the entire weekend through Cyber Monday. Get those fingers ready and sign up to our E-Mail Newsletter List to get the special coupon codes sent directly to your inbox.

Check out our special Clickbuster deals that we will be featuring at a great price this weekend. We have ample amounts of inventory of these items, so corporate orders are welcome and encouraged. Buy for the whole family or the whole company in one shot. If you need help with gift ideas, feel free to check out our suggestions on pen gifts. If you are really lost and want to drop us a line, feel free to post on our wall at our Goldspot Facebook page or Tweet us @goldspotpens on Twitter. We will be out of the office during the weekend enjoying some family time, but will be checking FB and Twitter periodically to answer questions.

Introducing REFILLFINDER.COM - Your Source for Pen Refills

We're making finding refills as pain-free and economic as possible with our new sister website RefillFinder.com. Offering an expansive selection of popular refills for all your favorite fountain pens, rollerball pens and ballpoint pens, we aim to have a compatible refill for all your writing needs. Ever have a mystery pen (or refill) that you can't seem to find the replacement cartridge for? RefillFinder.com helps take the guesswork out of finding the correct refill with the RefillFinder App and the Refill Size Guide.

With the RefillFinder App, the website takes you step-by-step to ask you all the questions that one of our customer service representatives would typically ask over the phone to find your correct refill. After a few quick clicks, you are well on your way to finding the compatible cartridge to fit your pen.

Sometimes you may just have the refill as a reference. The Size Guide allows you to compare exactly the size and shape of the refill against the refill types we carry.

RefillFinder also helps keep your wallet full while filling your pens. We have the full catalog of Monteverde compatible refills, which are specifically made to fit Mont Blanc, Sheaffer, Pelikan, Parker and other brands that may be overcharging for their own "branded" refills. For example, a Pelikan brand rollerball refill is sold for $8.00 a refill, while the Monteverde equivalent is only $4.50. Also, RefillFinder.com offers quantity discounts on as little as three refills and free economy shipping (USA only) for orders of $50 or more.

Creating an account and placing an order with RefillFinder.com allows you to save your order for future reference and to re-order at your own convenience. That way, if you had a hard time finding the refill for your pen and wanted to re-order more, you can log-in with your RefillFinder.com and look up your previous order and place a new one with a few clicks.

As a reader and follower of our Goldspot Pens Blog, we are offering our network of fans a special opportunity to become Beta Testers for the RefillFinder site. Get 10% OFF your First Order with RefillFinder by using the promo code FILLMEUP during checkout (no minimum order). After you are finished visiting the site (and possibly placing an order) we would ask for 5 minutes of your time to fill out a short survey to share your experience with our development team so we can make RefillFinder the best refill shopping website on the internet.

Introducing Economy Shipping & FREE Shipping

We're always looking to offer our pen customers more value for their purchase. There's no denying that shipping rates have gone up with all carriers (UPS, US Post, FedEx & DHL). Instead of passing on the costs to our customers, we are offering more flexibility with our shipping options by offering tiered levels of domestic shipping.

Of course, we still have our Refills Only shipping rate, which starts at $3.25. This does not include bottled inks, but covers a wide array of small ink cartridges and other refills that can be sent by US First Class mail. Filofax paper inserts are also considered refills.

If you're like most people who are buying for themselves and want to get the cheapest shipping regardless if it takes a little longer to receive, we now offer Economy Level (3-10 business days). Starting at $5.95, a whole dollar less than our previous "UPS Ground" rate, Economy will offer our customers the ability to purchase less expensive items (other than refills) and save on shipping. Starting today, you can get your order with Free Economy Shipping for a new low order minimum of $50 or more. Make sure your order totals $50 or more, we're shipping to a US address and you enter the promo code JULYELEVEN during checkout. Offer is subject to change or cancellation without notice.

The next level is Standard (2-6 business days), which is a better option for those who are buying gifts for events that are a few weeks away. Standard starts at $7.95 for the first five items.

For quicker turnarounds and time-critical orders, we have Expedited (1-3 business days) service. Starting at $16.95, this level gives your order the urgency to make it in time.

Lastly, we have the mission-critical, pull-out-the-stops Next Business Day Express option for the customers that "need it yesterday." Next Business Day starts at $29.95 (option : Saturday Delivery - $44.95). It is always preferred if you can get in touch with our customer service department when you place your order to ensure that your order gets delivered by your need-by date (we affectionately call it the "pen in-hand" date). Sometimes circumstances beyond our control can prevent us from processing orders from the website that are placed after 11AM for same day shipping. It is best for everyone if you let us know you need your order to go out the same day it was placed. This way, we can ensure that it will be done!

Check the updated shipping table below for a summary of the new shipping tiers that Goldspot offers.

If you are viewing this post 10 years in the future when the price of gasoline has rocketed to $50 per gallon and we have resorted to sending packages by pigeon couriers, needless to say we are not going to honor these prices. Kindly note that prices do change and we may not be able to honor the rates shown on this page in six months, a year, two years and so forth. We will update you when we do decide to send Pelikan pens by flying Pelicans.

Happy St. Pattys Day Update

Dearest Pen Enthusiasts,

First-off, lets wish everyone a Happy St. Patrick's Day 2011. Whether your attending a parade or tending to the stool in your local pub, stay safe and celebrate responsibly.

I haven't had much time recently to write posts since catalog production is in full-swing. In the spirit of the holiday, I'm taking a short break to write you about some news in the Goldspot pen universe.

Tons of new product are slated to hit the shelves in the ensuing weeks. One particular advantage about working on the catalog is that we get to see images of new products before they're even available for sale. We know there have been many people eagerly awaiting the Beatles limited editions from ACME and we'll be working on getting those items available for pre-sale shortly. Delivery of the very first shipments should be coming in mid-to-late-May. When we have them up on the site to reserve, I will let everyone know.

White is going to be a huge color trend this year for pens. With the black on black style being a popular hit last year, white pens are going to be hitting the market from Waterman, Parker, and Montegrappa, to name a few.

Some of the more well-established and renown brands are getting in touch with their roots by offering "new vintage" pens. Pelikan, for example, will be launching a reproduction of the historic M100N in tortoise shell with a traditional 14kt nib. OMAS is producing a couple limited production pens, including a Arte Italiana Paragon that will be fitted with an "extra-flexible" nib. We already signed on for a few of the OMAS 360 Vintage that are made from transparent blue cotton resin. The 360 can suck up some mean amounts of ink with its internal piston-filling system.

Speaking of piston-fillers - Almost all of our color TWSBI pens are sold out and will be backordered until new shipment arrives from Taiwan. Fear not, we will still have ample stock of the clear demonstrators for the time being. If you have an order pending, we have contacted you by e-mail to check if there is another point-size or color you would be interested in having. Otherwise, your order will be on reserve for when the new shipments arrive.

That's all for now. I will be in touch soon to drop a few new pen topics, along with a review or two in the coming weeks. Keep on writing!

Open Thread : What do you want to see in a Fine Writing Catalog?

Sorry for the short break in posts. We're hunkering down into catalog mode here in the office and that means not much time for anything else! If you've been with us from the beginning, you'll know that each new issue of the catalog strives to improve over the previous issue. We want it to be more informative, easier to read and more entertaining. We are excited to introduce new ideas and concepts into this current issue that will make it our best Goldspot catalog ever.

Of course, we can't talk about those ideas just yet, but we are interested to see if you could think of anything you would want to see in the ideal fine-writing paper catalog. What are some characteristics of a catalog that make you want to hold on to it, show it to friends and family, or display it proudly on your coffee table? Do you want the pages to read like a novel or have the pens take center stage with large, almost "real size" beauty shots of the pens? Are there any specialty brands that deserve a page or two that usually don't get any in other pen retailer catalogs? These are just some considerations to get your mind primed for throwing in a suggestion.

With the ever-evolving state of the internet, mobile browsing and social media being an overpowering force of communication, we realize that the necessity of a paper catalog is dwindling in its current form. However, it still remains a useful tool to many, especially the pen & paper crowd that prefer the tactile pleasure of turning pages over the clicking of a mouse. With your help, we want to make the Goldspot catalog a relevant, useful communication tool for pen fans everywhere.

Pen Spotlight - Holiday Edition

Holey Moley, has it been a crazy December! Our day-to-day work has consisted of picking, packing, express, overnight, engraving, giftwrap, rush orders, bulk orders and phone calls non-stop from Black Friday Weekend. It's a double edged sword - you nearly go crazy with all the work, but everyone gets their gifts in-time and our company benefits from the business.

We'll be enjoying a well-deserved break this weekend and will close the office from Friday, Dec 24th to re-open on Monday, Dec 27th. The Website will be OPEN 24/7 and we will have FREE SHIPPING on orders of $75 or more throughout the end of the year.

Although we've been running ourselves ragged processing orders this December, we have added a few new products and brands to the site that we would like to share:

• TWSBI (Goldspot's Pen of the Year 2010) - The fans have spoken! Due to the great response on the voting of Pen of the Year, we have acquired these TWSBI pens to sell direct through Goldspot.com.
• Visconti Opera Club Limited Edition - Only limited to a mere 40 to 70 pieces per writing style, these rare colors of Visconti's popular Opera pen are sure to sell fast.
• J Herbin - We really haven't talked much about the French ink-maker, but we've started selling Herbin in the last month or so and I personally look forward to trying out a few of their inks in my fountain pens.
• Sailor, Japan - Yes, it's so new that we don't even have it up on the site yet. We're still in the process of getting the photography together, but we will be able to offer the fantastic writing quality of Sailor pens in a few short weeks.

And now, for some Link Sharing -

• Although it may have been more helpful a few weeks ago, you may be able to see where you went wrong in giving your office gift by reading Monster's the Do's and Dont's of Exchanging Gifts at Work. 
• Pen & Paper connoisseur Pocket Blonde does a helpful, side-by-side comparison of fountain pens that write with a "fine line." This is great if you have a pen in one of the brands that is listed and was always wondering how the line would compare in a different pen model.
• Lady Dandelion does a similar comparison using italic and oblique nibs in her post titled "Width Matters."

Happy Thanksgiving + 9 Black Friday Deals on Goldspot

First and Foremost : HAPPY THANKSGIVING to all our customers, fans, readers and pen-loving people! We wish you the healthiest and happiest Thanksgiving to you and your loved ones.

Goldspot will be enjoying the Holiday with their loved ones on Thursday and Friday this week, so our offices will be closed until Monday, December 29th. However, our website will still be taking orders around the clock! Also, UPS will not be delivering ground shipments on Thursday or Friday. Only Air shipments will be delivered on Black Friday. If you need to contact us during the weekend, please call 800-963-7367 and leave a voicemail for customer service. Alternatively, you may also visit our Goldspot Help section of our website to send an e-mail to our attention.

Now, down to business...

We've got some extraordinary deals going on STARTING NOW for Black Friday weekend. That's right. No lines, no waking up at the crack of dawn, no coupons to cut. This year, not only are the BLACK TAGS back to help you find extra discounts on 1,000's of pens and accessories, we also have a Black Friday Flyer up on our website for 9 special offers that will be running throughout the weekend.

For example, we have a fountain pen bundle deal with the Visconti Homo Sapiens : Order any Visconti Homo Sapiens fountain pen and receive a free bottle of Visconti Ink, free Visconti ink blotting paper, a free Rhodia notebook and the free my pen system personalization (initials only).

Google Checkout is also running a promotion this weekend to take an extra $20 off your order of $200 or more. That means you can take advantage of the Black Tag pricing, buy a special off our flyer and check out with Google to really stack your savings. Kindly note that you must checkout through Google Checkout in order to take advantage of the $20 off $200 deal.

This is a perfect time to buy up all your gifts for your family, friends, significant other, acquaintances, coworkers, and business associates. If you need any suggestions, feel free to browse this blog or visit our clearance section for great gift ideas and all-time low prices.

Send our Troops a Gift to Write Home About

Our US servicemen and women work hard and sacrifice so much for us overseas. Through the United States Postal Service, we are able to provide the same standard shipping & ground rates to APO & FPO addresses as we would with any domestic US address. That means we can ship pens and other accessories by US Priority Mail starting at $6.95, with refills going by US First Class starting at $3.25. Both starting rates are for the first five items of the order. We will also honor free shipping promotion codes that usually apply to continental US - on orders that are placed with an APO/FPO address.

Priority mail may not show up as an option on the list of shipping methods when checking out. If this happens, simply select UPS ground for the same price and we will ensure the package is sent properly.

A couple quick tips about addressing for APO / FPO addresses:

• Use the service member's full name - mail must be addressed to someone specific.
• Include the Unit and APO / FPO - (Air/Army Post Office or Fleet Post Office) with nine-digit zip code (if one is assigned)
• Example :
  Seaman Joseph Doe
  USCGC Hamilton
  FPO AP 96667-3931

Pictured in this post are the Visconti Rembrandt pens available in Red, Ivory and Blue. If you need any assistance placing an order that is being shipped to an APO / FPO address, please feel free to give us a call during our office hours at 800-963-PENS.

Happy Halloween - Special Weekend Treat

Happy Halloween from your friendly pen purveyors at Goldspot Pens!

Our E-mail Newsletter Subscribers had the first crack at this week's special promotion, but now we are opening it up to everyone, young and old, to come knocking on our virtual door to Trick or Treat. (Tip : the promo is also on the banner for this weekend only). This special ends on November 1st, so get working on filling your pillow cases and plastic jack-o-lantern pails.

What does FREE Engraving look like?

Just wanted to update all of our subscribers that we are running a FREE Engraving promotion this weekend at Goldspot Pens. If you're looking for a personalized gift, this is a great opportunity, as we do not hold these offers for very long during the year. If you're wondering what kind of quality our engraving service produces, I can show you my own pen : Depending on the pen, we can engrave in several types of fonts and styles, including Arial, Apple Chancery, Times New Roman and English Script. Engraving service usually costs $9.50 for either a full name or a monogram. Until Sunday night at 11:59pm EST, it will be absolutely 100% free (up to five pens). We've only been running this promotion since yesterday evening and we've already received orders for wedding gifts, retirement gifts and groomsmen gifts. Personalizing a pen is a great idea for these occasions as well as for your own use. I spoke with a customer today who wanted to have her pen engraved so the people who keep stealing her pens know who they stole from, and would, hopefully, feel morally obligated to return it. If we can't engrave your pen or luxury gift, we will have our engraving department notify you. You can always call us prior to ordering at 800-963-7367 if you would like to ask if an item is a good candidate for personalization.

Goldspot Pens Inaugural Trunk Show Announcement

We're proud to announce our Inaugural Goldspot Pens Trunk Show! When : Saturday & Sunday October 9th - 10th, 11am - 5pm Where : Wolf Fine Jewelers at the Monmouth Mall, Eatontown NJ --Directions-- No reservations required. We invite you to come to our showcase of fine writing instruments and accessories. We will have representatives of several major brands on-hand with the newest and best pens, along with our impressive selection of clearance items that are up to 60% off retail price. There will also be door prizes and giveaways. In honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, every sale will contribute toward the Susan G. Komen Foundation for the Cure. To receive updates and a special print-out coupon to bring to the event, please make sure you are signed up for our e-mail newsletter. We'd love to see you there!

Retail Me Not Goldspot

So, you're one click away from checkout, shopping cart full of goodies, and you're just about to pull out your credit card when the thought dawns on you like a great, big lightbulb hovering above your head : Let me see if I can get a coupon for this! Sites like RetailMeNot have made coupon hunting a 5 second "google" search away. I won't lie, I've done it before for sites like Amazon and B&N, but with limited success. Although the search for the coupon can take less than 5 seconds, you may waste 15 minutes trying out the different coupons to see which one takes. Coupons, especially online ones, expire rapidly. A coupon code may sometimes last one or two weeks. By the time someone submits the valid code on RetailMeNot, it may only have a few days before it is invalid. Listen, we want to make it simple and straightforward to our customers. That is why we have our Facebook Fan Page set up with a "Promotional Offers" Photo Album. There, you can find some long-term promotions that don't have a set expiration. For limited-time sales and coupons, we post them regularly on Facebook and our Twitter feeds. Most stores will want you to sacrifice your e-mail address to obtain "special offers" and "deals." In reality, don't we all have too much e-mail to check already? However, if you do prefer to receive our promotions via e-mail, you can always sign up through our eNewsletter Sign Up Page. Next time you price shop for pens, be sure to check our Facebook and Twitter pages for our most current discounts and special offers. You'll be glad you did!

Ordering "Off Menu" Pens

To kick off June, we would like to talk about a topic that has been coming up more frequently in the last year or so. Part of it has to do with the economy (what doesn't these days), but the overall idea is better customer service on the part of the pen-makers and a more contemporary mindset of manufacturing. It's similar to what the restaurants call ordering "off menu."

Typically, you have a standard set of offerings from each pen manufacturer, similar to a menu at your favorite neighborhood restaurant. For example, Lamy has a regular set of colors for the Studio collection : black, palladium, blue and brushed stainless steel. Sometimes, they add a limited edition color into the mix, like Violet. Anything out of the normal or limited release of colors is not available. They would look at us with three heads if we tried to order an Orange Studio pen. And a McDonalds employee may do a double take if you request lasagna.

What seems to be the trend in the industry is that the pen-makers are becoming more accommodating to special requests, one-offs and small runs of customized designs. Brian from Edison Pens has made a living of it. Conway Stewart is offering a limited edition pen (50 piece runs) every month with a different, unique finish. You can custom design the look of a Retro51 Tornado or a Sherpa pen, provided that the minimum order is met. Even a Delta or Monteverde pen can be slightly modified in color or design to produce a special edition (minimum order as well).

Fountain pen nibs, usually offered in medium or fine, can be special ordered in a variety of sizes, depending on the brand and model of the pen.

Pen folks : Open your imaginations! It never hurts to ask for a special request.

Quick Update - Summertime!

No, we haven't disappeared! Tom is on vacation this week. Enjoy your Memorial Day weekend! Eat some burgers, ribs, tofu dogs or whatever you like. Regular posting, Twittering and Facebooking will continue next week.

Weekend Pen Spotlight

This week, Goldspot Pens has launched a brand new help section that features interactive question and answer searches that enable you to get quick answers about pens, pen care, store policies and shipping times. You may also ask our customer service a question directly about your order or if your question was not already answered by our knolwedgebase. Bleubug is celebrating one year of blogging by giving away a vintage Parker Vacumatic fountain pen. Earlier this week, we posted a video sneak peek of the Visconti Homo Sapiens pen on our Facebook Page. Inkyjournal reviews a colorful Sheaffer Skrip Red fountain pen ink and rates it as "Moleskine proof." As an owner of a Moleskine that likes to use a variety of fountain pen inks, I can certainly find the rating system useful. Pocket Blonde is the next host of the Carnival of Pen, Pencil and Paper, which will be posted Tuesday, March 9th. If you have an article or blog post you would like to submit, use this form. Fresh off the (word) presses, Brian from Edison Pen Co wrote a great article In Praise of Steel Nibs. I always find myself having the same discussion on a weekly basis as well, "should I spend the extra money for a gold nib on my fountain pen?" If you pick a well-made steel nib, the writing experience can be just as satisfying without having to shell out the high cost. Lastly, I would like to remind our readers that we are running our "Great, BIG Weekend Sale" until Sunday night at 11:59pm Eastern Standard Time. Look out for the blue sale tags to find extra discounts on all your favorite writing instruments, inks and accessories. It took us hours to put the tags on 1,000's of products on our website. And don't forget the free standard shipping within the US for orders of $99 or more. Check out our Weekend Sale Flyer for more deals.

New FAQ Help Section on Goldspot.com

We have recently set up our new Help Desk on Goldspot.com and it is ready for your pen-related questions. The Knoweldgebase is already stocked with many frequently-asked questions and helpful answers to those questions. You also have the option to ask our customer service department a question regarding your order or any topic that has yet to be covered in our knolwedgebase. It is in the best interest of our customers that our Q & A database will be as robust and complete as possible to assist you with all of your writing questions. Therefore, we open the floor to everyone out there in the online pen community to ask anything that is on your mind pertaining to pens. Feel free to comment on this post, leave us a message on our Facebook wall or Tweet a question to @goldspotpens.

Goldspot Shipping Information for the Holiday Season

Hey Pen Lovers, Shopping online during the holiday season usually means nervously waiting by the front door for your package to arrive. We here at Goldspot Pens know that everyone has a deadline in the month of December. Whether you need your order to arrive on Christmas Eve or a week before for your company's holiday party, here is some helpful information on our shipping schedule this month. First, and most importantly, if you have a rush order that needs to be delivered, engraved and/or giftwrapped ASAP, please give us a quick call at 1-800-963-7367 once you have placed your order to make us aware of your timetable. We will be able to check stock and verify a more accurate delivery date than the website estimates. We offer UPS Next Day, 2-Day Air and 3-day (business days) shipping, which are available at an additional cost. Cut-Off Dates for delivery by December 25th These dates vary by shipping speed. Each delivery service varies in price. More information regarding our shipping prices can be found on our shipping & services information page. We take into consideration the US Postal Service Holiday Shipping Cut-Off Dates to provide these deadlines for customers shipping by US First Class, Priority and Express Mail Service.

• US Domestic First Class Mail orders should be made by Friday, December 18th to ensure delivery by the 25th.
• US Domestic Priority Mail orders should be made by Friday, December 18th to ensure delivery by the 25th.
• Priority Mail order for Military addresses (except for zip 093) should be made by Thursday, December 10th.
• International Express Mail Service orders to most countries (except in Africa and Central & South America) should be made by December 16th.
• International Priority Mail orders to most countries (except in Africa and Central & South America) should be made by December 10th.

With UPS service (domestic US only), you can afford to "cut it closer" to your deadline, but please keep in mind that most of our orders are processed and shipped within 48 hours of confirmation. We do need time to process and pack every order. If you need a rush order, always call before or right after placing your order.

• UPS Ground orders for delivery addresses on the West Coast should be placed by Wednesday, December 16th.
• UPS Ground orders for delivery addresses in the Mid-West should be placed by Friday, December 18th.
• UPS Ground orders for delivery addresses East of the Mississippi should be placed by Sunday, December 20th.
• UPS 3-Day orders (anywhere in US, except AK & HI) should be placed by Sunday, December 20th.
• UPS 2-Day orders (anywhere in US, except AK & HI) should be placed by Monday, December 21st.
• UPS Next Day Overnight orders (anywhere in US, except AK & HI) should be placed by Tuesday, December 22nd.

If your order has engraving, please expect an extended delay of 2 to 3 business days extra due to high volume. The Goldspot Elves are working overtime to get your order shipped correctly and on-time. Our best recommendation is to make things easier for all of us and place your mission critical orders now.