Penboy.co.uk Trustworthy?

[Morbus Curiositas]

Dear FPN friends.

 

Thanks to FPN i discovered the Kaigelu 316 pens... Thank you.

 

I saw the pen at Isellpens.com...

 

 

The price is $ 24.99 = 18.00

 

I also discovered PENBOY.CO.UK.

 

 

 

They sell the Kaigelu for Bpound 29,96 which is 36,00.

 

Though Pen Boy is a liitte more expensive I guess I save on shipping costs considering that I live in Austria.

 

The Pen Boy websites mention on it's website not to publish adress and telephone number. The reason given is that this is a private person, who started working from his home adress, not so long ago....

 

The 64.000 question is is this shop TRUSTWORTHY????

 

If not how is that with Isellpens.com....

 

Do anyone of you know these shops or have had any experiences with them in the past.

 

All suggestions on safely obtaining Kaigelu pens (or other Chinese brands) are welcome :-)

 

I thank you in advance and wish you a nice weekend....

 

Regards,

 

Peter

 

 

 

[theverdictis]

Send the person a few emails and see if that also tells you anything e.g. ask them how you would get in touch for a refund. Also put the website into google with a question such as, 'customer reviews for pen boy...'

 

Ben

Edited April 12, 2014 by theverdictis

[Morbus Curiositas]

Send the person a few emails and see if that also tells you anything e.g. ask them how you would get in touch for a refund. Also put the website into google with a question such as, 'customer reviews for probably...'

 

Ben

Thanks Ben,

 

Good advice... will do so

[MBFan]

I'd be interested to know the outcome of this also. The Kaigelu pens look pretty nice!

 

Edit: after looking through the site, I'd be inclined to say the whole operation is legit. I'd buy a small value item and see how that goes. If anything, I trust in PayPals buyer protection, and their ability to sort any issues (I've had to rely upon it myself at one point).

 

Let us know what the email response is like.

Edited April 12, 2014 by MBFan

[David_W]

I have no experience of penboy.co.uk. The URL raised a slight fear in my mind that they are typosquatting Penbox (penbox.co.uk), which is a UK based shop I used for a recent large purchase. However, the WHOIS for penboy.co.uk gives a name and legitimate looking UK address, which suggests that this is a legitimate small business.

[grainweevil]

I've ordered from penboy.co.uk a couple of times with no problems at all - he's a forum member. Well wrapped delivery in, oh, a week or so? Nice hand written note and so forth. I would say you may buy with confidence.

 

Cheers, Al

[Flounder]

Additionally, that is a pretty good price for a k316 including big presentation box, especially if delivery only takes a week.

 

Minor point - these are not celluloid pens! How did that get started? They're acrylic, no celluloid.

 

edit - if you are buying from penboy, best check the colour with him before ordering. The photographs show the white marbled and tiger orangey models, but the options menu lists white and "black subtle marbled" which I would assume is the charcoal model.

Edited April 12, 2014 by Flounder

[KBeezie]

They don't show up on Reseller Ratings (but then again not a lot of pen retailers do, since I guess people using them don't use RR) http://www.resellerratings.com/

 

 

Additionally, that is a pretty good price for a k316 including big presentation box, especially if delivery only takes a week.

 

Minor point - these are not celluloid pens! How did that get started? They're acrylic, no celluloid.

 

edit - if you are buying from penboy, best check the colour with him before ordering. The photographs show the white marbled and tiger orangey models, but the options menu lists white and "black subtle marbled" which I would assume is the charcoal model.

 

Could be one 'stock shot' then the options in the dropdown, the two don't go hand in hand. Far as "Celluloid", most of the chinese brands don't use that word to describe the actual material, just the "look". (case in point: Jinhao nibs that are monotone still say 18KGP on them, but there's no gold plating at all on those).

Edited April 12, 2014 by KBeezie

[Paul80]

Don't forget that the K316 is available from China for only £14.99 including shipping if you don't want the very nice box.

 

Paul

[Glenn Atkins]

Todd at isellpens is great.

 

Also, this

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=231199161083

 

no affiliation.

 

Glenn

[KBeezie]

Todd at isellpens is great.

 

Also, this

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=231199161083

 

no affiliation.

 

Glenn

I got a pair of Wingsun 233s from the jewerlymathematics one, decent shipping, quite a bit more bubble wrap than normally comes from China.

[Scrawler]

Todd at isellpens is great.

 

Also, this

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=231199161083

 

no affiliation.

 

Glenn

Interesting that the images show a push in converter. Has there been a design change since I got mine. One of the things that impressed me about the quality of these pens was the screw in converter.

 

I got mine from Todd about 4 years ago.

Edited April 13, 2014 by Scrawler

[Paul80]

If you zoom in on the photos you will see the threads so its still a screw in converter, I have just taken delivery of my second 316, bought a year after the first and can confirm they both have screw in converters and both faultless pens so their QC is up to par unlike some makers we are not allowed to pass negative comments on around here

 

Paul

[Scrawler]

If you zoom in on the photos you will see the threads so its still a screw in converter, I have just taken delivery of my second 316, bought a year after the first and can confirm they both have screw in converters and both faultless pens so their QC is up to par unlike some makers we are not allowed to pass negative comments on around here

 

Paul

I see. I missed it because the older converter has a threaded brass connector as part of the converter.

[Flounder]

Scrawler, do you mean yours came with the threaded brass connector I've seen in some photos of this pen? Both of mine were threaded plastic, ditched in short order due to lip cracks.

[Scrawler]

Scrawler, do you mean yours came with the threaded brass connector I've seen in some photos of this pen? Both of mine were threaded plastic, ditched in short order due to lip cracks.

Yes. I was so impressed with the whole Kaigelu range that I bought 3 of them after trying the 316. They all have the brass screw end to the converter. That was one aspect that told me that while the pen was quite a bit more expensive than your average Chinese pen, it was likely of high quality and worth it. I think I bought mine in 2009/2010. The 316 was from Todd, and the others I only know as Italery, came from Engeika.

[Frank66]

Hi, this is concerning people with Kaigelu 316 fountain pens that wish to upgrade their writing experience.

One can replace the existing nib with a 250 Bock housing and a #6 nib along with a Standard International cartridge converter. All it takes is removing the Kaigelu nib housing and inserting a new 250 Bock housing with a #6 nib which comes in all sizes from EF, F, M, B, 1.1 and 1.5 italics, both in 2-tone plated stainless steel and also in gold (more expensive). In addition a new standard international cartridge converter is required, same one as it is used in some Pelikan fountain pens that accept c/c. The cost of this pen modification using a stainless steel Bock nib is less than $20, and it immensely upgrades the writing quality of the pen.

The details of this modification are described here: https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/302951-kaigelu-316-modification-250-6-bock-nib-beaufort-ink-converter/

I hope people with a Kaigelu 316 may find this useful.

 

Regards, Photios

[KBeezie]

Hi, this is concerning people with Kaigelu 316 fountain pens that wish to upgrade their writing experience.

 

One can replace the existing nib with a 250 Bock housing and a #6 nib along with a Standard International cartridge converter. All it takes is removing the Kaigelu nib housing and inserting a new 250 Bock housing with a #6 nib which comes in all sizes from EF, F, M, B, 1.1 and 1.5 italics, both in 2-tone plated stainless steel and also in gold (more expensive). In addition a new standard international cartridge converter is required, same one as it is used in some Pelikan fountain pens that accept c/c. The cost of this pen modification using a stainless steel Bock nib is less than $20, and it immensely upgrades the writing quality of the pen.

 

The details of this modification are described here: https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/302951-kaigelu-316-modification-250-6-bock-nib-beaufort-ink-converter/

 

I hope people with a Kaigelu 316 may find this useful.

 

Regards, Photios

Are you bumping all the old (2~ year old etc) threads with this info?

[bobje]

Photios, it's fascinating how the Kaigelu 316 continues to inspire modification, isn't it? I've seen 316 reviews that mention difficulty in nib swap, and it's useful to read the details of your experience.

[ian1964]

Hi, this is concerning people with Kaigelu 316 fountain pens that wish to upgrade their writing experience.

 

One can replace the existing nib with a 250 Bock housing and a #6 nib along with a Standard International cartridge converter. All it takes is removing the Kaigelu nib housing and inserting a new 250 Bock housing with a #6 nib which comes in all sizes from EF, F, M, B, 1.1 and 1.5 italics, both in 2-tone plated stainless steel and also in gold (more expensive). In addition a new standard international cartridge converter is required, same one as it is used in some Pelikan fountain pens that accept c/c. The cost of this pen modification using a stainless steel Bock nib is less than $20, and it immensely upgrades the writing quality of the pen.

 

The details of this modification are described here: https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/302951-kaigelu-316-modification-250-6-bock-nib-beaufort-ink-converter/

 

I hope people with a Kaigelu 316 may find this useful.

 

Regards, Photios

 

Thanks. This is really useful.