You might not even need to make a trek into the city. Oakbrook Center is a nice, open-air mall to spend more than a few hours at and then after there are many good restaurants, including Dikta's (especially if you are a Bears fan)
How much would the experience be worth to you?
- Thread starter Eeyore
- Start date
You might not even need to make a trek into the city. Oakbrook Center is a nice, open-air mall to spend more than a few hours at and then after there are many good restaurants, including Dikta's (especially if you are a Bears fan)
Even between online dealers I have gone with the low price option, for example, buying a Pilot Custom Heritage 92 for $133.80 shipped from a Japanese eBay dealer rather than paying $220 to a well respected and trusted U.S. dealer. I even got a nib option which is not available in the U.S.
So would I pay an additional premium to buy from a brick and mortar store where I could inspect the wares ahead of time? Well, maybe if I were going for a much more expensive pen than I ever expect to get, say in the $400 and up range. And if there was an actual nibmeister at the store to adjust the pen at the time that I picked it up. That might be worth it. But as Nemo noted above, if the staff is not at least as knowledgeable as I am, and more capable of tweaking a nib, then the advantage of actually seeing the pen in the store wouldn't be enough to make me buy there. And I'd hate to tease the staff by going in just to see a pen that I fully intended to buy online if I bought it at all.
In any case, it's very likely that any additional pens I buy will be vintage. I'd love to find a shop that specialized in those, something like Peyton Street Pens with a storefront. In fact, we do have a lot of antiques shops near where I live, but I haven't been particularly fortunate with fountain pen (or shaving) finds in them, and I'm tired of going around to them just on the chance.
So would I pay an additional premium to buy from a brick and mortar store where I could inspect the wares ahead of time? Well, maybe if I were going for a much more expensive pen than I ever expect to get, say in the $400 and up range. And if there was an actual nibmeister at the store to adjust the pen at the time that I picked it up. That might be worth it. But as Nemo noted above, if the staff is not at least as knowledgeable as I am, and more capable of tweaking a nib, then the advantage of actually seeing the pen in the store wouldn't be enough to make me buy there. And I'd hate to tease the staff by going in just to see a pen that I fully intended to buy online if I bought it at all.
In any case, it's very likely that any additional pens I buy will be vintage. I'd love to find a shop that specialized in those, something like Peyton Street Pens with a storefront. In fact, we do have a lot of antiques shops near where I live, but I haven't been particularly fortunate with fountain pen (or shaving) finds in them, and I'm tired of going around to them just on the chance.
I've been there. Wake up in Alkmaar, train ride to Arnhem, watch a soccer game, and back to Alkmaar for supper.
+1
Thanks for the tip. I believe Paradise Pen is in the same Mall you speak of? Yes indeed, it is at the Oak Brook Center, just looked it up.
Nearest option for me is two hours away and they only carry new pens so it wouldn't be worth the trip for that, but spending time with SWMBO and the kids is invaluable as tomorrow is uncertain.
Try in store... buy online lol, Ive done that with pen shows, got to hold pens i knew i was interested and realised I didnt like it or had to have it. Going to the store regardless osnt a bad idea just to put some pens in hand
As opposed to what I see as a majority of the responses here, I would offer a rebuttal; the reason that fountain pens are such a passionate hobby is in part due to the "feel" of the pen. With that in mind, the B & B experience offers the ability to actually "feel" the pen. Does it call your name as it did when you saw it as a flat pic on the internet, or in a review from someone that you don't know who has a different set of variables than you? To me, that tactile experience is worth the price paid.
Look, I like a deal as much as the next guy but internet shops have a lower overhead than a B & B. Don't say that the B & B isn't competitive; there is no way that they can possibly match prices. They are paying retail commercial rents. The internet sellers are paying industrial rents. And real customer service with a knowledgeable person is wholly different than someone in a call center. It is not an apple to apple comparison. It is not the purchase of a ubiquitous commodity.
My rule of thumb: If I am going to spend good coin, I want to see the product, hold it, talk to it, etc. If I want a Hershey Bar, I'll buy it at the least expensive place around. I refuse to trust my hard-earned money to a faceless storefront business that can't offer me the chance to touch the merchandise.
Look, I like a deal as much as the next guy but internet shops have a lower overhead than a B & B. Don't say that the B & B isn't competitive; there is no way that they can possibly match prices. They are paying retail commercial rents. The internet sellers are paying industrial rents. And real customer service with a knowledgeable person is wholly different than someone in a call center. It is not an apple to apple comparison. It is not the purchase of a ubiquitous commodity.
My rule of thumb: If I am going to spend good coin, I want to see the product, hold it, talk to it, etc. If I want a Hershey Bar, I'll buy it at the least expensive place around. I refuse to trust my hard-earned money to a faceless storefront business that can't offer me the chance to touch the merchandise.
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For me it really is apple to apple, I've been to three of the larger pen stores in the Mid-West and the most knowledgeable sales person I met, understood that fountain pens need a bottle of ink or pack of cartridges to work. That's about it.
Though really perhaps it isn't apples to apples since I can call Goulet Pens or Franklin Christoph and receive more service over the phone than I ever have in a store.
The difference in opinions and experiences on this board are what make for a rich and rewarding experience.
