Twsbi: In Case You Have Problem With Your Twsbi Pen

[msolok]

Yet another report of 1 person with MULTIPLE TWSBI nibs running dry and skipping. Really starting to look like TWSBI has an issue with it's nib units, as much as they don't want to here about it:

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php/topic/246372-twsbi-diamond-580/

Edited May 26, 2013 by msolok

[mikehodgman]

Wow, you really like to complain about TWSBI don't you... I guess you either love 'em or hate 'em. They seem to be fairly successful, so I am guessing the satisfied customers significantly outnumber the dissatisfied.

 

I have great experiences with the three I have, so just consider this a little bit of a counterweight to your criticism. My three nibs all work great and have never had any problems with them and I consider TWSBIs a bargain.

[moylek]

  On 5/26/2013 at 7:31 PM, mikehodgman said:

Wow, you really like to complain about TWSBI don't you... I guess you either love 'em or hate 'em. They seem to be fairly successful, so I am guessing the satisfied customers significantly outnumber the dissatisfied.

 

I have great experiences with the three I have, so just consider this a little bit of a counterweight to your criticism. My three nibs all work great and have never had any problems with them and I consider TWSBIs a bargain.

 

I'm not sure whom you mean by "you". It could be me, I guess, since I've complained about Twsbi here.

 

But I completely disagree with your proposed dichotomy. *I* was prepared to love my Twsbi Vac 700 and have continued to struggle to do so. That is something I've never had to do with any other pen I own. I am still using mine and still want to love it but it still gives me grief.

 

As for satisfied customers outweighing unsatisfied - well, that's probably true of almost any product in the world. So that's no reason to dismiss the experience of spotty customer service when faced with products which are not working well. And quite clearly for a number of us here - people who *love* fountain pens and are willing to work to indulge that love - Twsbi stands out for having problems and for giving people the grumpies.

Edited May 26, 2013 by moylek

[mikehodgman]

I was refering to the above poster. Moylek? msolok? Are you the same person? I just think the TWSBI vendetta is a little bit weird. I mean, I've gotten a bad fountain pen before, I don't get out my pitchfork. But, whatever...

[alc3261]

There does seem to have been a marked difference in how customers have been treated based on where they live to some extent with US customers getting by far the best deal. UK customers would be OK too due to our Consumer Rights but I bought at least one of my pens from TWSBIs eBay shop (non UK).

However I got replacement nibs direct and free from Taiwan - was I just lucky?

Customer Service should not rely on "luck"!!

[msolok]

  On 5/27/2013 at 12:12 AM, mikehodgman said:

I was refering to the above poster. Moylek? msolok? Are you the same person? I just think the TWSBI vendetta is a little bit weird. I mean, I've gotten a bad fountain pen before, I don't get out my pitchfork. But, whatever...

No pitchfork is out. I'm not running to every thread which mentions TWSBI and proclaiming them to be worse than the devil.

 

 

All I am doing is relaying the contact and treatment I have received from TWSBI on a thread about TWSBI issues, started by TWSBI themselves. I am letting people know how I have gone with 3 of my TWSBI pens, and what I am going through to try and resolve it.

 

Everyone on FPN is saying how great TWSBI's service is, and a few of us are giving other opinions. I think it is good for companies to be truly and completely represented, not just the good or the bad. We always hear about the good side, so I am giving my run down of the bad. I have even included quotes from what I have been told from TWSBI.

 

Don't like it? I honestly don't care.

Edited May 27, 2013 by msolok

[mikehodgman]

  On 5/27/2013 at 9:21 AM, msolok said:

 

No pitchfork is out. I'm not running to every thread which mentions TWSBI and proclaiming them to be worse than the devil.

 

 

All I am doing is relaying the contact and treatment I have received from TWSBI on a thread about TWSBI issues, started by TWSBI themselves. I am letting people know how I have gone with 3 of my TWSBI pens, and what I am going through to try and resolve it.

 

Everyone on FPN is saying how great TWSBI's service is, and a few of us are giving other opinions. I think it is good for companies to be truly and completely represented, not just the good or the bad. We always hear about the good side, so I am giving my run down of the bad. I have even included quotes from what I have been told from TWSBI.

 

Don't like it? I honestly don't care.

 

I get all that, sounds like you got horrible service, but really, hyperlinking another post and gleefully expressing how bad TWSBI apparently is? It would be weird if I hyperlinked a post in here saying how great TWSBI is and it is weird when you do the opposite, hence the vendetta comment.

Edited May 27, 2013 by mikehodgman

[atypical]

Caught up in the 2010 TWSBI frenzy, I bought one of the early 530's. After filling it for the first time, the piston seal started leaking immediately and profusely. Five months and a number of emails later, when I was about to either simply toss the pen or transform it into finely grained plastic dust by means of a fairly substantial hammer and the application of exorbitant amounts of force, I finally received fit for purpose piston seals.

 

Would I ever buy another TWSBI fountain pen? Perhaps, since they are now available from European sources. However, I would probably also remind myself of the old proverb: asinus ad lapidem non bis offendit eundem.

 

[msolok]

  On 5/27/2013 at 2:57 PM, mikehodgman said:

 

I get all that, sounds like you got horrible service, but really, hyperlinking another post and gleefully expressing how bad TWSBI apparently is? It would be weird if I hyperlinked a post in here saying how great TWSBI is and it is weird when you do the opposite, hence the vendetta comment.

I never 'gleefully expressing how bad TWSBI apparently is'. That's a complete fabrication.

 

I linked to someone else on this forum reporting the same issues as others in this thread, and commented that it looks like TWSBI is having issues with its nib units. What I linked to and what I have said is totally relevant to this thread and many of those here who are having issues.

Edited May 28, 2013 by msolok

[nomadhacker]

  On 5/28/2013 at 3:08 AM, msolok said:

 

I never 'gleefully expressing how bad TWSBI apparently is'. That's a complete fabrication.

 

I linked to someone else on this forum reporting the same issues as others in this thread, and commented that it looks like TWSBI is having issues with its nib units. What I linked to and what I have said is totally relevant to this thread and many of those here who are having issues.

 

I'm not going to go as far as hodgeman. But I do have to agree with him that you seem to have been popping up on every TWSBI thread lately and repeating your complaints.

 

It sounds like you have had a frustrating situation, and I'm sorry to hear about it. However, as I mentioned in a previous post, the solution they offered, to have you ship them the pen to fix, is *exactly what they offer to most US customers who are so happy with them. You wanted them to pay for the shipping (actually the extended tracking shipping at twice cost of regular shipping -- the cost of the pen), which - like I mentioned above - no pen company I've run across offers to do. I paid shipping to them as well as to Stipula for pens I needed fixed. They paid the return shipping, and it all seemed fair enough to me. Some companies I've heard actually charge shipping both ways.

 

The fact that they offered to split the extended tracking shipping with you (effectively the cost of the regular post to Australia) is much more than most companies I've seen would do. They offered to pay basically the cost of shipping out to you, the repair, and such, and effectively you pay the difference in the extra tracking cost that you wanted.

 

I don't know how much more fair they could be in that.

Edited May 28, 2013 by nomadhacker

[msolok]

  On 5/28/2013 at 3:52 AM, nomadhacker said:

 

I'm not going to go as far as hodgeman. But I do have to agree with him that you seem to have been popping up on every TWSBI thread lately and repeating your complaints.

OK, so I thought I would check how many TWSBI threads I have been in lately. There is, of course, this one.

 

Then there is my review thread which I started a month ago when I got my TWSBI pens (and I haven't posted again since mid may)

There was the thread started by AAN about the same issues they were having with their TWSBI pens before this thread was started by TWSBI.

There is the thread I linked to above with the same issue.

And there was another thread which was asking about Stubs where I recommend that they look into TWSBI before they purchase. I did not say that TWSBI pens were junk or not worth the money, simply said it is worth them looking into it.

 

Yep, certainly looks like I am posting in every TWSBI thread and badmouthing TWSBI.........

 

 

As for TWSBI offering to pay for half the postage back to me, that's not what I have been contacting TWSBI about. I have been in contact with TWSBI to find out what policies there are around them sending out replacement nib units, and why some people seem to be offered better service than others. I was also trying to illistrate to TWSBI that they may be having some issues at the moment with their nibs.

Edited May 28, 2013 by msolok

[AAN]

Personally, I think it healthy that both pros and cons are aired on these things.

 

It is, I think, quite justified to ask why TWSBI customer service is so erratic: sending out new units to some, while implying that others are lying when they claim to have seemingly identical faults.

 

I don't think it is helpful to attempt to polarise TWSBI customers into fanboys and haters. I had problems with my TWSBI purchases which, living under the civilised rule of EU consumer protection, I got fixed at no expense to myself. This makes me a TWSBI sceptic. I love the concept of the pens with their easily swappable cheap nibs and large ink capacities, but I'd like to know the product and company were both reliable.

 

I'm sorry that Speedy doesn't feel able to contribute to this thread, which he started. His contribution could be very helpful. FPN is surely not honourably used just for TWSBI promotion?

[nomadhacker]

I absolutely appreciate the posting of both AAN and msolok to air their stories. We definitely want to hear the pros and cons and experiences of as many varied users as possible. I was just agreeing with a couple of the above posts as far as saying that a disproportionate sampling of the posts recently have been from the same one or two users.

 

I'm nothing but sympathetic to your situations. I do realize it's frustrating when things go wrong, especially with great new toys you were really looking forward to (as I know I am every time I open a new box I was just trying to offer a little perspective as we all know that unhappy users always tell ten times the number of people as happy ones do. And like I said above, what they were actually offering you msolok was not really different from what they offer the happy users I've heard from in the USA (at least what they offered me)--aside from the obvious discrepancy in shipping costs to Australia. The further conversations you've had with them - about the question of inconsistent treatments of customers - just stem from that really.

 

I have seen a few posts recently that imply there may be a dry spell in the quality control of the nibs they're getting from Jowo. Ah well, there's always hoping their next next next nib manufacturer will be up to the task

[AAN]

Point taken. I've had my say. Apologies to anyone bored or offended by my going on about this too much.

 

Andrew

[mhguda]

  On 5/28/2013 at 6:45 PM, AAN said:

Point taken. I've had my say. Apologies to anyone bored or offended by my going on about this too much.

 

Andrew

AAN, I for one was certainly not bored. Very informative posts, and important information for prospective customers in the rest of the world. I am in a tiny Caribbean country that is not even on all internet lists yet, it's difficult enough dealing with regular mail. Some post offices insist that we don't exist. So in my case, knowing that TWSBI only have this great service policy if one lives in the USA was good info, and timely. In fact it caused me to empty my shopping cart where I was preparing to check out a VAC700. Oh well. On to the next must-buy...

[nomadhacker]

  On 5/28/2013 at 8:15 PM, mhguda said:

AAN, I for one was certainly not bored. Very informative posts, and important information for prospective customers in the rest of the world. I am in a tiny Caribbean country that is not even on all internet lists yet, it's difficult enough dealing with regular mail. Some post offices insist that we don't exist. So in my case, knowing that TWSBI only have this great service policy if one lives in the USA was good info, and timely. In fact it caused me to empty my shopping cart where I was preparing to check out a VAC700. Oh well. On to the next must-buy...

 

Agreed. I appreciate everyone putting their experiences up to inform others. It's what makes an online community useful.

[AngeloB]

Sorry to get in this conversation late here. I have 15 TWSBIs, I love them all. I have struggled with most of them, however Rebecca and Jimmy are good to make things right. I have replace everything on some pens. Nibs labeled F are either Medium/Broad or EF. My latest is a crack inside the barrel or my new, less than a month old 580 that came with a F nib but write more like a broad. I love the company, I love the designs. My desk looks like a TWSBI corporate desk with print outs and self-made catalogs and albums.

 

I am tired of spending money to fix new pens, but I love the look and feel that I guess I have no problem continuing to do so. My wife tells me that I am addicted. I feel like when I was 16 and had a 1974 Ford Granada. Spent money and weekends under the hood, but I loved it. I am sure that the day is going to come when they have the right components, in the meantime I will tinker and tool with them. I know that with the money I have invested in parts, pens, and shipping from Taiwan, I could have 3 Perfect Sailors or Namiki's. I guess that as long as Speedy and the gang keep on sending me what I need, I will continue tooling and working on them. I am just scared about the future. I have a few vintage Conklins and Wahls that are almost 90 years old and they are in great shape as they were when they were first sold. I would love to know that I will be leaving my kids working pens from TWSBI, not a bunch of spare parts. In the meantime I will continue this Amor Enfermo for my TWSBI's maybe the new line of metal pens will take the company to a new level.

[hari317]

  On 6/4/2013 at 3:26 AM, AngeloB said:

Sorry to get in this conversation late here. I have 15 TWSBIs, I love them all. I have struggled with most of them, however Rebecca and Jimmy are good to make things right. I have replace everything on some pens. Nibs labeled F are either Medium/Broad or EF. My latest is a crack inside the barrel or my new, less than a month old 580 that came with a F nib but write more like a broad. I love the company, I love the designs. My desk looks like a TWSBI corporate desk with print outs and self-made catalogs and albums.

 

I am tired of spending money to fix new pens, but I love the look and feel that I guess I have no problem continuing to do so. My wife tells me that I am addicted. I feel like when I was 16 and had a 1974 Ford Granada. Spent money and weekends under the hood, but I loved it. I am sure that the day is going to come when they have the right components, in the meantime I will tinker and tool with them. I know that with the money I have invested in parts, pens, and shipping from Taiwan, I could have 3 Perfect Sailors or Namiki's. I guess that as long as Speedy and the gang keep on sending me what I need, I will continue tooling and working on them. I am just scared about the future. I have a few vintage Conklins and Wahls that are almost 90 years old and they are in great shape as they were when they were first sold. I would love to know that I will be leaving my kids working pens from TWSBI, not a bunch of spare parts. In the meantime I will continue this Amor Enfermo for my TWSBI's maybe the new line of metal pens will take the company to a new level.

hilarious

[Avetikus]

Short testimonial:

 

Wednesday I heard a crackling sound as I put the cap of my Smoke d540 back on the pen. I unscrewed it and a couple pieces of threading fell otu of the cap. I was sad.

 

Wednesday night I emailed TWSBI and explained my problem. Friday we went out of town and when we got back that evening my new cap was waiting for me in the mailbox. I screwed it onto my pen. I was happy.

 

Outstanding service guys. Thank you very much.

 

 

-Av

(no affiliate, just a very satisfied customer)

[Castaway]

From what I read in the reports, if the TWSBI Mini were more reliable (sturdier plastic and more consistent nib) and offered an even finer nib (XXXF), I could see it becoming my ideal pen.