Akkerman Inks From The Netherlands

[Professor Plume]

I just received notice from Paul at Akkerman's that they shipped out the three bottles of ink I ordered. They were most pleasant to deal with and I'm in agreement with those who don't think the shipping rate is unreasonable. After all, they don't have to sell and ship ink across the globe. They have to pack it, address it and that takes not only time but materials. I was really pleased to do business with them. I like a one hundred year old store that still writes the receipts with a fountain pen. I ordered some rather vibrant ink colours and can't wait to give a full report when they arrive. Thanks to my Dutch friend who gave helpful directions about shopping at Akkerman's. Wonderful!

[SamCapote]

For those who subscribe to Pen World magazine, the Feb 2011 issue arrived today with a beautiful 3 page article about Akkermans. What a wonderful story and store. I can't wait to receive my bottles from them.

[USMCMom]

I hope to be able to order some of this ink.

[THREELETTERS]

okay, so I have two questions:

 

1) Do we know for sure which ink color is it that's in Lexaf's photos? is it Shocking Blue? (see below)

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php?/topic/184160-more-on-akkerman-inks-from-the-netherlands/page__p__1857403__hl__akkerman__fromsearch__1#entry1857403)

 

2) Has anyone in the US done the calculation as to whether it'd be cheaper for 3 people or 8 people to get funds together to purchase 3 bottles or 8 bottles, ship them all to one US address, and then ship the bottles to however many people are involved?

I suspect it might not be that much cheaper, if any...but still, it's good to explore the options, eh? (I would, but am not familiar as to how much shipping each bottle would be in the states...)

Edited February 12, 2011 by THREELETTERS

[Lovesink]

The Akkerman webite: http://www.pw-akkerman.nl

 

They do not have a store in Amsterdam

 

Just one small remark to add: don't get confused if you ever pay a visit to Amsterdam or search the web. There is a fountain pen shop called P.W. Akkerman in Amsterdam, too. But it is a different store and they don't sell these lovely bottles.

[rockspyder]

My shipment has arrived! Excellent packaging, everything intact. I have had cracked bottles and bottle tops in the past, but this parcel would easily survive a plane crash. Beautiful, beautiful bottles. Can't wait to open and try them out......!!

[WOBentley]

My shipment has arrived! Excellent packaging, everything intact. I have had cracked bottles and bottle tops in the past, but this parcel would easily survive a plane crash. Beautiful, beautiful bottles. Can't wait to open and try them out......!!

Now you are killing me!!! Hopefully mine will get here soon (may need to run to the Post office to see...)

We need reviews!

[SamCapote]

I just got a note today from Paul that he just got my payment, but despite my paying €73.90 at the bank branch (and have the documentation), Paul reports only receiving €66.90 ( €7.00 short). This was after my call last Thursday where my bank told me the funds were being held by Paul's bank, awaiting confirmation of his exact store address (which were all filled out and specified in the wire transfer). The implication of a follow up call later on Thursday was that the transfer into his account would be effected immediately on Thursday. Today is Wednesday. So now I have called my bank back, informing them of this discrepancy, and asking them to find out where is the missing €7.00 which belongs to Akkermans. My checking account reports a debit for $105.52 on 28-Jan-2011 when I was in the bank. Converting €73.90 today gives $100.22, so the jacked up $105.52 is likely representative of the payment I sent in Euros.

 

Paul is graciously sending me the inks, despite the shortchanging...but trust me that I will find out where the missing €7.00 went. Enjoying these inks is now as much about this financial fiasco as it is the inks & their bottles. I have also since learned that my Citizens Bank is now the 8th largest bank in USA (after a series of acquisitions), and owned by Royal Bank of Scotland, which in turn is 84% owned by British taxpayers. I informed my manager of this concern (given the deteriorating UK economy), and that we are looking for a more secure USA bank. While she knew of the RBS ownership, she had no idea of the UK taxpayer 84% ownership, and I got the distinct impression that she suddenly felt a bit less secure in her own job.

 

How could a bank this large, be so inept at such a simple transaction?

[Michael R.]

I just got a note today from Paul that he just got my payment, but despite my paying €73.90 at the bank branch (and have the documentation), Paul reports only receiving €66.90 ( €7.00 short). This was after my call last Thursday where my bank told me the funds were being held by Paul's bank, awaiting confirmation of his exact store address (which were all filled out and specified in the wire transfer). The implication of a follow up call later on Thursday was that the transfer into his account would be effected immediately on Thursday. Today is Wednesday. So now I have called my bank back, informing them of this discrepancy, and asking them to find out where is the missing €7.00 which belongs to Akkermans. My checking account reports a debit for $105.52 on 28-Jan-2011 when I was in the bank. Converting €73.90 today gives $100.22, so the jacked up $105.52 is likely representative of the payment I sent in Euros.

 

Paul is graciously sending me the inks, despite the shortchanging...but trust me that I will find out where the missing €7.00 went. Enjoying these inks is now as much about this financial fiasco as it is the inks & their bottles. I have also since learned that my Citizens Bank is now the 8th largest bank in USA (after a series of acquisitions), and owned by Royal Bank of Scotland, which in turn is 84% owned by British taxpayers. I informed my manager of this concern (given the deteriorating UK economy), and that we are looking for a more secure USA bank. While she knew of the RBS ownership, she had no idea of the UK taxpayer 84% ownership, and I got the distinct impression that she suddenly felt a bit less secure in her own job.

 

How could a bank this large, be so inept at such a simple transaction?

 

 

Sorry to heat to hear about your bank problems (but I have found Paul to offer excellent service so it is no surprise to me that he is proceeding with your offer as mentioned above!).

 

I received my 5 bottles yesterday and they look beautiful and very vintage ( and they

 

...about your bank problems: most German (and I assume other EU banks as well) like to keep certain transaction-conversion fees so the receipant almost never receives the full amount sent (except this was explicitly asked for by the sender prior to the transaction; this way the sender is in complete charge of all fees).

 

In some aspects the modern world is really small and convinient butI feel like we are in deep medieval times when it comes to international shipping and/or payment transactions :-(. ...this is just like having to pay for internet in business hotels!

 

Cheers

 

Michael

[saintsimon]

I just got a note today from Paul that he just got my payment, but despite my paying €73.90 at the bank branch (and have the documentation), Paul reports only receiving €66.90 ( €7.00 short). This was after my call last Thursday where my bank told me the funds were being held by Paul's bank, awaiting confirmation of his exact store address (which were all filled out and specified in the wire transfer). The implication of a follow up call later on Thursday was that the transfer into his account would be effected immediately on Thursday. Today is Wednesday. So now I have called my bank back, informing them of this discrepancy, and asking them to find out where is the missing €7.00 which belongs to Akkermans. My checking account reports a debit for $105.52 on 28-Jan-2011 when I was in the bank. Converting €73.90 today gives $100.22, so the jacked up $105.52 is likely representative of the payment I sent in Euros.

 

Paul is graciously sending me the inks, despite the shortchanging...but trust me that I will find out where the missing €7.00 went. ...

How could a bank this large, be so inept at such a simple transaction?

 

Those hardships real pioneers have to live through.

 

Actually you experienced why SWIFT is a major PIA. While it "works" - and often faster than in your specific case - the real nuisance is the obscure fee structure and how banks deal with them. Both the sending and the receiving bank charge SWIFT fees. SWIFT offers the customer three different fee payment options: OUR, SHARE and BEN.

With BEN, the recipient pays both bank's fees (reducing the amount he actually gets) , with OUR the sender pays both bank's fees beforehand, and with SHARE the sending customer pays his bank's fees, while the recipient pays his own bank's fees, also resulting in a reduced final amount. I believe the missing EUR 7.00 on Akkerman's side are those fees of his own bank. [*]

 

Banks make good money with SWIFT fees and in Europe they were of course reluctant to give these up for SEPA, but the politicians pressed them to invent something faster and cheaper for the common market.

For me as customer a cross-border SEPA transaction costs nothing or almost nothing both on the sending and the receiving end.

 

[*] EDIT: see my next post about ABN AMRO's fees.

Edited February 16, 2011 by saintsimon

[rockspyder]

My shipment has arrived! Excellent packaging, everything intact. I have had cracked bottles and bottle tops in the past, but this parcel would easily survive a plane crash. Beautiful, beautiful bottles. Can't wait to open and try them out......!!

Now you are killing me!!! Hopefully mine will get here soon (may need to run to the Post office to see...)

We need reviews!

 

These inks and their bottles are beautiful! I just took a dip pen tonight, no way could I go to sleep without getting a quick taste of the inks. (Local time is UCT+2 here, so it's nearly midnight) But just very briefly - the "Zwarte pad" is a lovely charcoal black, "Akkerman blauw" is a bright dark blue, if I could dare say a "standard" blue that you could use pretty much everywhere, but my absolute favorite is the "Bekakt Haags" - a very dark brown, hard to distinguish from Iroshizuku Yama-Guri, which is already one of my most valued inks. Good lubrication, dries quite fast (under 15 sec) and best of all is the huge volume in each bottle - they should last a long time.

Unless someone else does it first, I will do a more formal review with scan samples in a few days. (I'll have to go and read in the ink forums first on how to put together a proper review :embarrassed_smile: )

[saintsimon]

I......but trust me that I will find out where the missing €7.00 went. ...

OK, here are ABN AMRO's corporate cusomer fee charts in English

 

On page 3:

"International Payment Charges

 

Cashless credits

 

Transfer in accordance with EC-criteria [8] EUR 0.14

 

Transfer not in accordance with EC-criteria [8] 0.1% subject to a minimum of EUR 7.00 and a maximum of EUR 70.00

 

8 EC criteria: transfer in/between EU countries, in euros, carrying a full and correct IBAN and BIC, and not exceeding EUR 50,000.00, based on shared charges with the beneficiary."

[SamCapote]

I......but trust me that I will find out where the missing €7.00 went. ...

OK, here are ABN AMRO's corporate cusomer fee charts in English

 

On page 3:

"International Payment Charges

 

Cashless credits

 

Transfer in accordance with EC-criteria [8] EUR 0.14

 

Transfer not in accordance with EC-criteria [8] 0.1% subject to a minimum of EUR 7.00 and a maximum of EUR 70.00

 

8 EC criteria: transfer in/between EU countries, in euros, carrying a full and correct IBAN and BIC, and not exceeding EUR 50,000.00, based on shared charges with the beneficiary."

 

I'm trying to figure out why Paul's note sounded like this was unexpected that he was short-changed. He did not imply that this was a reflection of a fee on his end, as he said he was going to ship despite the shortfall, given all the hassle. Wouldn't all the payments coming from people using USA banks in this thread have been processed by his bank (with a fee) in the same way? Whenever my bank has a charge for anything, they list that as a separate item, not deducting it from an existing transaction amount. In my experience, a deposit is a deposit, and a fee is a fee, and are annotated separately. Still, that EUR 7.00 amount you listed is not likely to be a coincidence.

Edited February 16, 2011 by SamCapote

[USMCMom]

I would very much love to have this ink in its beautiful bottles, but ... seems to me, paying for an order involves too many hoops to jump through and I find it all very confusing.

[SamCapote]

I would very much love to have this ink in its beautiful bottles, but ... seems to me, paying for an order involves too many hoops to jump through and I find it all very confusing.

 

Well it is enormously less complicated since they recently started accepting PayPal. Given the attention from their 3 page article & photos in the Feb 2001 USA published Pen World Magazine, specifically showing that ink bottle on page 30, I think it behooves them to offer an the easier PayPal or even a credit card payment option.

 

France's L' Artisan Pastellier website does checkout payments with VISA/MC payment, and despite it being all in French, I have now placed 2 effortless orders from them.

Edited February 16, 2011 by SamCapote

[Professor Plume]

Really, placing my order with Paul at Akkerman's could not have been more easy. I paid through PayPal and Paul emailed me promptly saying he had shipped the order. It is now on its way and I'll report when it arrives. It has been less than a week and I'm prepared to be patient and wait, gazing at my mailbox, knowing those stunning bottles will be here soon. The entire process was pleasant and easy but that's because I used PayPal rather than opting for a potentially glitch-filled wire transfer.

[SamCapote]

Really, placing my order with Paul at Akkerman's could not have been more easy. I paid through PayPal and Paul emailed me promptly saying he had shipped the order. It is now on its way and I'll report when it arrives. It has been less than a week and I'm prepared to be patient and wait, gazing at my mailbox, knowing those stunning bottles will be here soon. The entire process was pleasant and easy but that's because I used PayPal rather than opting for a potentially glitch-filled wire transfer.

 

You may find it interesting that those of us who went first were told that the ONLY option was to make payment by wire transfer. After the hassles and extra fees began to be understood, they just recently signed up for a PayPal account. So count your blessings that your easy order was paved with the hassle and extra fees paid by people like me. Yeah, you're welcome.

[Scriptorium Pens]

Really, placing my order with Paul at Akkerman's could not have been more easy. I paid through PayPal and Paul emailed me promptly saying he had shipped the order. It is now on its way and I'll report when it arrives. It has been less than a week and I'm prepared to be patient and wait, gazing at my mailbox, knowing those stunning bottles will be here soon. The entire process was pleasant and easy but that's because I used PayPal rather than opting for a potentially glitch-filled wire transfer.

 

You may find it interesting that those of us who went first were told that the ONLY option was to make payment by wire transfer. After the hassles and extra fees began to be understood, they just recently signed up for a PayPal account. So count your blessings that your easy order was paved with the hassle and extra fees paid by people like me. Yeah, you're welcome.

 

Thank you, Sam. The extra lengths you go to in all areas of the fountain pen hobby are of great benefit to all the rest of us. Your reviews are fantastic, and of course I am most grateful that I was able to use PayPal to order 2 bottles of Akkerman ink due to your first forays into the matter.

[USMCMom]

Yes, thank you very much!! I'm visiting the website now, but I am missing where to place an order.

[saintsimon]

I......but trust me that I will find out where the missing €7.00 went. ...

OK, here are ABN AMRO's corporate cusomer fee charts in English

 

On page 3:

"International Payment Charges

 

Cashless credits

 

Transfer in accordance with EC-criteria [8] EUR 0.14

 

Transfer not in accordance with EC-criteria [8] 0.1% subject to a minimum of EUR 7.00 and a maximum of EUR 70.00

 

8 EC criteria: transfer in/between EU countries, in euros, carrying a full and correct IBAN and BIC, and not exceeding EUR 50,000.00, based on shared charges with the beneficiary."

 

... Wouldn't all the payments coming from people using USA banks in this thread have been processed by his bank (with a fee) in the same way? Whenever my bank has a charge for anything, they list that as a separate item, not deducting it from an existing transaction amount. In my experience, a deposit is a deposit, and a fee is a fee, and are annotated separately. Still, that EUR 7.00 amount you listed is not likely to be a coincidence.

If OUR is chosen as the SWIFT fee payment option by the sender, the recipient should not be charged at all. But the above quotes from the linked ABN's bank charges document do sound so unconditional, even if the fees are already paid by the sender.

Of course I don't know which fee payment option you chose (OUR or SHARE), and if Paul looks at his bank acount directly or filtered by an accounting software. Wild guesses ...