Goulet Ink Drop ?

[archi77]

Just curious if anyone here subscribes to the Goulet Ink Drop?
http://www.gouletpens.com/Ink_Drop_s/795.htm

For those that don't know, it's a subscription where you get (5) 2ml vials of ink mailed to you every month. They select the colors, based on the season, the holidays, etc. There's also some "perks" to membership, I guess, like some deals that nobody else sees, advanced notice of sales, and such.

The reason I ask is that individually priced, I can buy (5) 2ml vials for less than this subscription (although I would have to pay shipping, too)... more work on my part, yes, but money is money. Just curious if others have participated, if you thought it was worth the money, and what your general thoughts were on the whole experience. I am intrigued by the amount of inks I could aquire very quickly, that's for sure!

[TheGreatRoe]

You'll find that quite a few people here are members. I have been for a little less than a year. And while for me it's technically not cost effective I still consider it worth it.

 

If I go on the Goulet site and choose 5 inks and add the cheapest shipping I can get them delivered to me for a few pennies under $10. But to do that I have to pick the inks. Which means I'm either picking at random, sticking with brands I'm familiar with, or doing far too much research.

 

With ink drop, not only do I get a curated ink selection, that let's me explore inks I might not try on my own, I also get a surprise, and even a discount if I happen to like the inks.

 

$10 well spent in my book.

[archi77]

Thanks, that's the kind of feedback I was looking for!

 

Now my next question - what do you do with all the inks?! Seriously, it took me over two weeks to empty out one cartridge - I just don't "write" as much as I did when I was in school. I'd be afraid of having tons of inks and doing nothing with them.

[Inkydinkydog]

I just joined last month, so the shipment I received yesterday was my first. Delightful! Five beautiful inks nicely presented. I'm so glad I joined.

[WirsPlm]

That is part of the problem with getting lots of ink samples (I'm definitely in the too-many inks boat right now). Honestly, I just don't worry about it, because if I like an ink great, but if not I can use it for experiments or toss it. There are lots of people who have a big collection of ink, too big to ever use, and then there are people who only use one or two inks and just get bottles of those when one runs out, there's room for all kinds. There's no law of using up all the ink you own (thankfully, or lots of FPN members would be in big trouble ). Ink can have problems (mold, slime) but most of the time inks are fine when stored and don't need to be used up quickly.

 

I usually have 6+ pens inked with different colors and switch between them at whim. I try to journal regularly, I take notes on things I'm doing, in meetings, at appointments, etc.

 

If extra inks are something you really want to avoid, I'd stick with ink samples and not get bottles. You could also limit yourself to a few samples every couple of months or something like that.

Edited November 5, 2013 by WirsPlm

[Sailor Kenshin]

Not to mention that some inks I really wanted amd which looked good in swabs, ended up being unimpressive, and I saved the cost of a bottle.

 

On the other hand, that's what sold me on Iroshizuku Ku-Jaku.

[luminesce]

I'm just thinking of joining. Because of shipping costs to NZ it makes sense for me to do a 'bulk buy' (~20 at a time) which means a lot of delayed gratification. I can only justify doing it a couple of times a year. The Ink drop should be a good way to have a little and often approach. There'll always be something new just around the corner.

 

Elizabeth

[Brotzmann]

I was in it for 2 months. It's great if you use up ink quickly and like using randomly chosen colors. It's a good way to try colors you would never think of buying on your own. It was fun but I quit for a number of reasons:

-I like getting an assortment of new colors but I didn't always like all of them.

-I realized I would rather buy 5 samples of my own choice rather than getting random samples.

-I sampled enough to find my go to colors, Pilot Iroshizuku Kon-Peki, Sailor Sei-Boku, and Sailor Kiwa-Guro Black.

-My backlog of ink samples was building up and I just want to use the 3 mentioned above for the time being.

-I have some vintage pens in my rotation that I only want to use with "safe" inks.

[ziptrickhead]

I was in the Ink Drop program for several months before pulling out. It's definitely a nice program and well worth the surprise if you're really into trying a lot of different inks or changing out colors in your every day writing. In terms of price, it isn't too different in price from just putting in a regular sample order and paying for shipping. The biggest difference in that aspect is that you can't add other items to that same shipped order. The discount on the bottles that the samples are of is nice though. And as an ink drop sample it's not just discount on that month's inks but also a other items picked out by the Goulets as well (usually within the theme of that months drop).

 

The reason why I got out was because I don't get a chance to really change out inks that often and most of my writing is at work where I have to use pretty standard colors. I actually still have like 7-8 sample vials from older ink drops that I've yet had the chance to open and try out. What I did with the samples was less daily writing with them and more just padding my ink reference book. I did end up buying a few bottles of inks through ink drop because I fell in love with the sample though.

[Lisya72]

I like it because I end up trying inks I never gave a second thought to. I've bought bottles of a few of them as a result.

[archi77]

I'm sold. I'll be signing up tonight, just in time for the next shipment, I believe.

 

Thanks, everyone!

[klw]

Thanks, that's the kind of feedback I was looking for!

 

Now my next question - what do you do with all the inks?! Seriously, it took me over two weeks to empty out one cartridge - I just don't "write" as much as I did when I was in school. I'd be afraid of having tons of inks and doing nothing with them.

You can become an ink hoarder They even have this http://www.gouletpens.com/Goulet_Ink_Sample_Vial_Holder_p/gpc-vialholder.htm rack to keep 'em in.

[Felix1]

I see klw has already mentioned the sample racks...a good idea. Lots cheaper on Amazon though.

 

http://www.amazon.com/Karter-Scientific-208U2-Plastic-Detachable/product-reviews/B005Z4QWIK/ref=dp_top_cm_cr_acr_txt?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=1

 

I suspect you'll enjoy the membership, especially if you like to be surprised once/month with inks you might not ever try on your own. Kind of heavy on the cheaper Noodler's inks but still a pretty good deal. I wish they'd limit each mailing to no more than one sample from any company.

 

Normally each mailing has a theme although they've swung and missed occasionally.

[Ted A]

I will usually only use one fill from a vial and then set it aside, unless I really like it. So I have a lot of samples sitting around. And very often I will change my mind about a color. On my first ink drop I had a blue and a turquoise. It was so frustrating! I could NOT STAND turquoise and I thought blues royal blues were the most boring inks one could imagine. A couple of years later and I find that I'm much interested in the variations in blues, including the turquoise, and have gone back to earlier ink drops with a completely different reaction.