Bromfield Pen Shop - Boston - Review

[mhosea]

The online price for items 1 and 2 is $23.16 and $20.20. Whereas, I had to pay $37.00 and $35.00. I find this as a huge difference.

 

Any advice what should I do with regard to getting a meaningful explanation on this $15.00 average price difference ?

 

I think you just ripped me off...of time. I assume you were saying something very interesting, specifically that you could order something online from the Bromfield Pen Shop for less than you could get it in the store, but now, having checked the Bromfield Pen Shop's web site, I see you are comparing different vendors, i.e., a retail store (brick&mortar, no less) to discount online vendors. Bromfield charges the manufacturer's suggested retail price on these items. Obviously they do it to pay for their summer "cottages" in Newport, wildly profitable as the this little cash-generator has proven to be over the many years. But I might be wrong about that. Maybe they do it so they can pay for their overhead and payroll in downtown Boston.

[s_t_e_v_e]

Bromfield Pen Shop is a nice pen shop with a wide selection of writing instruments, inks and other office supply products. I enjoyed visiting Bromfield when I lived in Cambridge. The shop reminds me of some of the pen shops in Mumbai's Flora Fountain area.

 

Yes, being a B&M store (probably the only one around in the Boston area) it is a bit expensive compared to online retailers but they are just charging MSRP if anything, which is fair. They are not over charging at all. That's what you pay for being able to walk into a store and trying before buying. If you have a problem with the pen you bought, you walk right back in and have it fixed rather than having to ship it around and wait days or even weeks before it's back in your hands.

 

I would certainly prefer this experience over an online experience. However, I do shop for deals online to save money and I am ok putting up with the hassle if anything is wrong with the product. I've have, however, bought a ton on inks from Bromfield since there isn't really that much difference in ink prices online and in B&M stores. Yes you would be paying taxes but you would save on shipping. So that cancels out. And if there is a pen that I would want to buy and I cannot find a deal online that saves me a considerable sum then I wouldn't wait, I would go straight to a local pen store and buy from them! Plus there is the immense joy of seeing the pens that you've drooled on and lusted for in person and also maybe touch and test them out!

 

These are my thoughts on Bromfield or for that matter, any local pen store.

Hope that helps justify what you paid for at Bromfield.

Edited August 13, 2015 by s_t_e_v_e