Sailor Repair Service

[zquilts]

A couple of months ago the cap on my Sailor Lame series shattered. I have to admit that it looked like I had dropped it but I don't recall that happening. The pen had been a birthday present to myself last May and I thoroughly enjoyed the smoothness of the fine nib - more thatn I had expected to. I realized too that I would have preferred the red coloway - but that's what happens with afterthoughts!

 

Anyway, I had to either throw the pen out or have it repaired. I contacted Itoya customer service. I had to send them a copy of the receipt. The pen is sent to Itoya in California and then on to Japan for an estimate for the repairt work. It has taken 2.5 months to get an answer and they charged me $148.00 - almost what I could have paid for a new Red Lame. I asked about the wearranty and the replied that it was not a manufacturing defect and the cost was what it would take to get the pen repaired and back to me - within another month.

 

I have to adnit to being a little un-impressed with the reapir service. The woman that I have been contacting at Itoya was awesome and as helpful as she could be. The time to resolution is unimpressive and, although I had anticipated a charge, I had not thought it would be the price of another pen.

 

Needless to say I paid the repair and will now just have to wait until I can save for another Red Lame version. I sure hope I get my nib back - it was a lovely, buttery smooth fine....

 

Anyone else have less than stellar experiences with Sailor repair? My experience wasn't bad really - just less than impressive and having the pen gone for nearly 4 months is crazy I think.

 

 

 

 

 

[olivier78860]

Montblanc isn't better. Had to wait for 2 months and been asked 230€ plus s&h for a piston knob. I refused so it took only two months

(Paris -> Hamburg by post : 4 days usually)

 

I guess aftersales isn't a priority anymore, to most manufacturers.

[RLTodd]

It is hard to be inexpensive.

 

Multiple hands, that have to be compensated.

 

Shippers, and customs forms filling outers, that have to be compensated.

 

Money changers, that have to be compensated.

 

I think it started to strike most folks when they found out it was less costly to replace their kitchen appliances than have them repaired.

[tinta]

I'm troubled by the repair described in the original post & hope to hear more positive reports about Sailor's service.

 

You see, all of my eggs are, so to speak, in the same basket... all my pens are variations of Sailor 1911-Ms.

I live in Canada. The distributor & repair facility is across the Border. Shipping & Customs could be a problematic.

 

I wonder too, about the fact that all my nibs are modified MS nibs (stubs & C.Is), no stock nibs.

Would Sailor refuse to make a repair because the nib have been "tampered" with?

Re-ground?

(In each case, it was beautiful tampering.... they're wonderfully smooth, forgiving custom nibs)

 

I have no intention of derailing the OP, just curious about repair possibilities with Sailor Pen.

 

All my pens are performing flawlessly at present & are guaranteed by the seller/technician for a limited time.

(I do not believe that Sailor Pens are warranted for life.)

 

Even though I take very good care of my fountain pens & do not expect any technical problems, accidents do unfortunately happen.

[Leftytoo]

My experience was worse. I bought a new Sailor Pro Gear from Stationary Arts in Hong Kong. The pen arrived with original packing, unopened cartriges, instruction booklet, etc. The HM nib was very fine, even for a Japanese pen. When I contacted Sailor, a terse 2 sentence reply is that Stationary Arts is not an authorized dealer, so even with proof of purchase they would not look at my pen.

 

I've had pens from Pelikan, Parker, and Cross serviced, no questions asked and no proof of purchase. These 3 companies stand behind their products and put the customer first. All pen manufacturers are not the same.

 

Bob

[Bill Wood]

I'm troubled by the repair described in the original post & hope to hear more positive reports about Sailor's service.

 

You see, all of my eggs are, so to speak, in the same basket... all my pens are variations of Sailor 1911-Ms.

I live in Canada. The distributor & repair facility is across the Border. Shipping & Customs could be a problematic.

 

I wonder too, about the fact that all my nibs are modified MS nibs (stubs & C.Is), no stock nibs.

Would Sailor refuse to make a repair because the nib have been "tampered" with?

Re-ground?

(In each case, it was beautiful tampering.... they're wonderfully smooth, forgiving custom nibs)

 

I have no intention of derailing the OP, just curious about repair possibilities with Sailor Pen.

 

All my pens are performing flawlessly at present & are guaranteed by the seller/technician for a limited time.

(I do not believe that Sailor Pens are warranted for life.)

 

Even though I take very good care of my fountain pens & do not expect any technical problems, accidents do unfortunately happen.

 

Just a suggestion. I'm in Canada too. Deb Kinney, is a repairer and dealer for Sailor. Does a nice job and lives in the Carolina's. I was also able to find a Sailor nib at Stylo pens in Montreal. Sometimes they have spare parts.

[torstar]

Montblanc isn't better. Had to wait for 2 months and been asked 230€ plus s&h for a piston knob. I refused so it took only two months

(Paris -> Hamburg by post : 4 days usually)

 

I guess aftersales isn't a priority anymore, to most manufacturers.

 

 

 

Hmmm... MB only charged me $300 US to replace the entire barrel and cap for my LE Poe recently.

 

Took two weeks to send it to Germany and back.

 

Something isn't adding up.

[rhosygell]

The moral of the story seems to be that warranties are worthless. Just bin the broken pen and pay up for a new one, preferrably vintage. Most of them work.

[zquilts]

UPDATE:

The pen did take an additional month to be returned to me and they got my credit card information long before the pen left japan.

That being said - the repair was well done and I am still interested in another Sailor now - just because of the sweet nib.

 

I don;t your issue would be customs since you would, ostensibly, be sending a broken pen for repair . I think they will happily repait you pen for a fee. I thought the time needed was long but I am glad to have my pen back.... it was the first pen I've had to have repaired...although i think I will try to get my Pelikan 120 (my second pen purchased years ago with my saved allowance at the time!) fixed (cracked cap and lost clip). It will be interesting to compare the two services.

 

Don't worry - sounds like you're careful and, hopefully, will not have to avail yourself of their repair services... at least the service is available - it could be a lot worse!

 

Sailors sail on!

I'm troubled by the repair described in the original post & hope to hear more positive reports about Sailor's service.

 

You see, all of my eggs are, so to speak, in the same basket... all my pens are variations of Sailor 1911-Ms.

I live in Canada. The distributor & repair facility is across the Border. Shipping & Customs could be a problematic.

 

I wonder too, about the fact that all my nibs are modified MS nibs (stubs & C.Is), no stock nibs.

Would Sailor refuse to make a repair because the nib have been "tampered" with?

Re-ground?

(In each case, it was beautiful tampering.... they're wonderfully smooth, forgiving custom nibs)

 

I have no intention of derailing the OP, just curious about repair possibilities with Sailor Pen.

 

All my pens are performing flawlessly at present & are guaranteed by the seller/technician for a limited time.

(I do not believe that Sailor Pens are warranted for life.)

 

Even though I take very good care of my fountain pens & do not expect any technical problems, accidents do unfortunately happen.

[OcalaFlGuy]

The moral of the story seems to be that warranties are worthless. Just bin the broken pen and pay up for a new one, preferrably vintage.

You can't say that about the Cross's warranty.

 

Bruce in Ocala, FL

[Ghost Plane]

But having experienced the nibs and writing experience of the new Cross pens, I won't be needing their warranty. I ran into a similar charge with MB - $175 to put a piston knob back on that came off in my hand 2 months after the warranty ran out. Given the materials and quality of the writing experience, I paid it, but also took that pen out of the carry rotation and added it to the desk rotation as that appears to be a common pattern with the heavier metal pens in their lineup.

 

If I were a company participating in global commerce, I would stop imposing idiotic rules based on borders and simply provide good aftermarket service regardless of where it was shipped from. The goodwill and advertising for my product would be more than worth the cost.

[jslallar]

But having experienced the nibs and writing experience of the new Cross pens, I won't be needing their warranty. I ran into a similar charge with MB - $175 to put a piston knob back on that came off in my hand 2 months after the warranty ran out. Given the materials and quality of the writing experience, I paid it, but also took that pen out of the carry rotation and added it to the desk rotation as that appears to be a common pattern with the heavier metal pens in their lineup.

 

If I were a company participating in global commerce, I would stop imposing idiotic rules based on borders and simply provide good aftermarket service regardless of where it was shipped from. The goodwill and advertising for my product would be more than worth the cost.

 

based on your marketting plans

when you do open your company (if you do)

I'll hapily be your first customer

 

in other words agreed wholeheartedly

Edited October 7, 2012 by jslallar

[silverlifter]

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