Great Experience With Pensinasia.com : )

[elysee]

Greetings! I wanted to share my experience shopping on pensinasia.com with you.

 

Almost two years ago, I won the auction for a Caran D'Ache Varius China Blue ballpoint on eBay. Since then, I have been looking for the matching pencil. Unfortunately, I had not found one in any area pen stores and the two frequently listed on eBay have been overpriced. So, of course, time has passed and, now, the China Blue Varius has been discontinued (no longer listed on the Caran D'Ache site). Disappointed by this as I still wanted to purchase the matching pencil for my lovely ballpoint pen, I renewed my efforts to find someone from whom to purchase the pencil. I contacted several brick and mortar (B & M) stores in the United States as well as online retailers to inquire about purchasing the pencil. Folks at all the B & M stores informed me that the China Blue Varius had been discontinued, adding that I would be lucky to find a pencil as folks do not usually purchase high-end pencils these days. Several online retailers that I contacted told me the same thing, and other online retailers include statements such as "This is a special order item and may take up to 2 - 3 weeks for shipping."

 

As I continued to look for the pencil, I found the pencil listed on redfingerprint.com. Although a bit wary, I decided to buy the pencil since it was listed as being in-stock and the price was reasonable. So, I made my purchase, selected PayPal as my method of payment, and replied to the order confirmation email, requesting a PayPal invoice so that I could pay. After that, since I did not receive any communication from redfingerprint.com, I sent another reply to the order confirmation email, requesting a PayPal invoice again. Since I still did not receive a reply, I decided to cancel the order a day later as I had tried to communicate by email and via the site without receiving a reply. I did not receive a reply to this second email until three days later, and I was informed that the pencil was not in stock and could not be ordered from redfingerprint.com's various suppliers.

 

From there, I moved to pengallery.com as the pencil was listed as being in stock and folks on FPN had mentioned pengallery.com as a good online pen store. This time, I placed my order and paid immediately via PayPal as this was an option. I immediately received a confirmation for my order and a receipt for my purchase. Unfortunately, two days later, I received an email informing me that the pencil was no longer in stock and that it would take about a month for the pencil to be order and shipped from Switzerland. Since the pencil is no longer listed on the Caran D'Ache site, I did not believe that it would be possible to order the pencil from Caran D'Ache and I canceled my order. Lai at pengallery.com treated me well and processed a full refund rapidly.

 

So, still without the lovely Caran D'Ache China Blue pencil, I continued my search. Since I did not want to send inquiries to retailers who had already informed me that they did not have or could not order the pencil, I checked my lists, surprised to find that I had not inquired at pensinasia.com. Since I had read many positive (glowing, actually) reviews of purchases from Tay at pensinasia.com, I emailed Tay to inquire about the possibility of purchasing the pencil and, since it never hurts to ask, I inquired if he might be willing to match the redfingerprint.com price for the pencil (sending the hyperlink to the listing of the pencil on the redfingerprint.com site with my inquiry). Tay was great: not only was the pencil in stock but also Tay was willing to match the price! Even better, Tay processed my order that very day and sent me a PayPal invoice so that I could pay immediately -- I liked that a lot since I prefer to pay immediately. : ) So, my order was processed, I paid for the pencil, and I received confirmation of both my order and my payment IMMEDIATELY. Although Tay said that he would ship on Friday (I placed the order on Wednesday), Tay shipped on Thursday! So, not only is Tay SUPER organized but also Tay ships FAST!!!!

 

You might wonder if it is possible to top this -- the answer is yes, it is possible as Tay used Priority EMS shipping, sent me a hyperlink to the speedpost.com.sg tracking site and the tracking number for the pencil, and Tay sent me a picture of my dream pencil with a hyperlink to a page on pensinasia.com that has additional pictures of the pencil!!! Better than all this is Tay's great communication -- friendly, efficient, and always timely and greatly appreciated!!!!!!!! : )

 

So, I "watched" online as my new pencil traveled from Singapore to the United States in five days -- only three business days as this included a weekend. Upon receiving the package on Tuesday, I was pleased to see that it was well wrapped and the Caran D'Ache box was inside another box for protection. With anticipation and delight, I carefully opened the outer package and then the outer box to access the Caran D'Ache box within. Then, I opened the Caran D'Ache box to reveal my new, gorgeous Caran D'Ache China Blue Varius pencil within -- breathtaking and a perfect companion for my ballpoint, forming a gorgeous pen and pencil set!

 

Tay is MAGNIFICENT -- kind and helpful -- providing GREAT service and a PERFECT purchase!

 

I am grateful to all of you who have shared your pensinasia.com purchase experiences on FPN as you let me know that pensinasia.com is a reputable site with a caring seller -- Tay. I am DELIGHTED with pensinasia.com and APPLAUD Tay as a FANTASTIC seller -- THANK YOU, Tay!!!!!!

 

Below is my lovely Caran D'Ache China Blue Varius pen and pencil set. How LOVELY!! Enjoy!

 

 

 

 

[jar]

Neat. Love it when stuff works and yes Tay is great to deal with.

 

http://www.fototime.com/64EC09099C9280F/large.jpg

[elysee]

Neat. Love it when stuff works and yes Tay is great to deal with.

 

http://www.fototime.com/64EC09099C9280F/large.jpg

 

Nice! : )

[orfew]

I have never dealt with pensinasia but your post means that I have added this site as a potential place for further purchases. I really like the personal touch that comes along with some of the best on line sellers. They make a cold transaction warm and pleasant.I have had similar experiences with private sellers and online retailers and these experiences cement loyalty. Thanks for your great story and the recommendation. I hope you enjoy your beautiful set for many years to come.

[chris.uk]

He has some beautiful pens on the site but doesn't it annoy you when they don't include prices in the listings.

[Earl Pitts]

I have had great experience with Tay. He is knowable, honest, and delivers as promised. This may account for his many customers from all over the world. Unfortunately many dealers, both mail order and brick and mortar stores, just don't get it. Customer service is a way of doing business, not a department within business.

[Skyppere]

I'll second the good words about Pensinasia. I've ordered a few things from them and was always happy with the result!

skyppere

[ethernautrix]

I have been tempted by pensinasia's pens, but I have yet to order anything. I'm glad to hear the great feedback, should I find myself unable to resist the temptation.

 

Also, I always enjoy a happy experience shared.

[richter]

I bought a black Pelikan M1005 from pensinasia.com through eBay and it was a perfectly smooth transaction. Communication with Tay was great. Price was right. I would definitely buy from him again.

[persco]

I've actually had quite a lot of difficulty getting Tay to respond. He replied promptly and politely to my original queries, but when I actually said I'd like to buy the pen, he just went dark on me. I've tried several times, and he's replied once to tell me he'll check his email again (even thought the originals were below in the email i sent to him), then... nothing.

 

I've actually never had to work so hard to try to give my money to someone. If he weren't the only place to get a Long Piccolo at a fair price, I'd just move on.

 

I've sent him one more email (which makes about 5 or 6 now), to see if he'll send me his paypal address and total price so I can pay him. I've been totally polite in my correspondence, and even said if there's a concern to let me know so I can answer any questions he might have. But I get nothing.

 

I'm quite surprised given his excellent reputation. A very disappointing experience all around, actually.

 

Anybody have any advice?

[Sach]

I've been buying from Tay for the last seven and this description is spot on..!

[StrawberryJam]

He has some beautiful pens on the site but doesn't it annoy you when they don't include prices in the listings.

 

Agreed. He has a great collection but I would definitely be more inclined to buy if I knew from the outset what the price was.