Jetpens

June 9, 2017

Love them. Ordered a few things over the last several years, the last one being an Amber 823. Put my purchase in noon-ish on wednesday and it's already on the truck to be delivered today, according to tracking. Looks like I got upgraded to Priority Shipping at no extra charge.

(On a side note : I wish Goulet found a way to lower their shipping costs. Almost everyone else manages to work out discounts above a certain amount, except them. The last time I remember was a temporary promotion a few years back, offering free shipping somewhere above the $70-100 range, forget the exact amount).

I like their curated collections and comparison articles.

They are also somewhat unique (to me at least) with their strong focus on Japanese stationery. I blame them for getting me hooked on Kokuyo and Apica papers :o

I agree about Goulet Pens. I buy from them all the time and they are great. But sometimes the shipping costs makes me re-think placing a spur of the moment order. There's an un-sweet spot where an impulse purchase doesn't quite merit the shipping cost.

I've seen other retailers in different industries offer "$4.99 flat rate shipping" across the board. Kind of a win-win if you ask me. The company doesn't have to entirely sacrifice their profit margin, and the consumer has a predictable, reasonable shipping cost.

June 10, 2017

Exactly. I find enough free shipping offers that I've come to dislike paying shipping. So when I do have to pay shipping I can't justify paying $5 shipping on $10. Which means either order more or not at all.

Talk about high shipping: Levenger. It was up to $10 range.

But back to Jet Pens. Lots of great items. Easy free shipping mark to hit. Plus they have a curated collection item of products to help hit the free shipping mark. The items usually run from $1+ to $3+

Their emails offer free items when you spend $X

June 10, 2017

Exactly. I find enough free shipping offers that I've come to dislike paying shipping. So when I do have to pay shipping I can't justify paying $5 shipping on $10. Which means either order more or not at all.

Talk about high shipping: Levenger. It was up to $10 range.

But back to Jet Pens. Lots of great items. Easy free shipping mark to hit. Plus they have a curated collection item of products to help hit the free shipping mark. The items usually run from $1+ to $3+
Their emails offer free items when you spend $X

You should always keep in mind that on-average there is really no such thing as "free" shipping. In the end you are going to pay for the shipping one-way or another. On-average the shipping cost is already rolled up in the pricing. The "free" shipping above a price-threshold scheme is one of the oldest tricks in the books to get you to buy more than you came for. With the scheme, on-average the seller typically makes significantly more compared with simply charging the actual shipping and handling costs.

Can you make-out and save money on certain purchases with the "free" shipping threshold scheme? You can, in specialized cases. But if you are a regular customer and chase that "free" shipping price threshold all the time, you will on-average end up paying more and/or buying more than you intended.

Edited June 10, 2017 by Drone

June 10, 2017

My last purchase from Jet Pens included a Kaweco Sport (Classic) pen @ $20.50, I had compared the same pen from two leading Sellers, (one both B&M & online,) $25. & $27. respectively, making my "free Shipping" Seller the cheapest for this pen. You are indeed correct that comparison shopping is necessary & there is "no free lunch," but some Sellers just don't offer the same BASE prices, so shipping becomes an added area to explore.

I appreciate Goulet & Vanness offering their "small purchase" price for shipping, I defer purchases @ the Sellers who have higher flat shipping charge, until I can meet their threshold for their free shipping. I will always remember a purchase for the Diamine Flower set, which failed to meet the threshold for the free shipping with one Seller by, ONE dollar, & resulted in a $20.00 shipping charge, this was a phone order, so I had not been able to see the shipping quote, or I would have emptied the cart & bought same elsewhere.

I miss I SELL PENS, who had low prices & offered a similar reduced or free cost for shipping; of course his closure may have been influenced by same, many Sellers will offer that their shipping cost is necessary for their business. But just as their bottom line is important to them, so is MINE; I appreciate Sellers who seem to value my sale by offering a variety of shipping options.

June 11, 2017

I got a shipment of inks from them as a birthday present. They were well packed and shipped fast.

June 11, 2017

I'm not exclusively looking for free shipping. I search for coupon codes, and when I remember try to link through Discover card deals.

zappos.com has no pens, but they offer free shipping and free returns. Their prices, for what I'm shopping for are not above the original retailer. They must have had success because they are now owned by amazon.com.

At any rate the pen habit can get expensive, so we find the good deals when we can.

June 11, 2017

JetPens is a good company, but sometimes I have add one or two items I don't need to qualify the free shipping.

June 11, 2017

I've done the same, most recently adding a bottle of purple Waterman ink to my order of blue and blue-black, so I can try Richard Binder's blurple mix.

June 11, 2017

I'm not exclusively looking for free shipping. I search for coupon codes, and when I remember try to link through Discover card deals.

zappos.com has no pens, but they offer free shipping and free returns. Their prices, for what I'm shopping for are not above the original retailer. They must have had success because they are now owned by amazon.com.

At any rate the pen habit can get expensive, so we find the good deals when we can.

You might want to get on the mailing list for Birmingham Pens https://www.birminghampens.com/

because they occasionally have some very good short term (3 days or 24 hours) when the prices are excellent. Free USPS first class shipping over $39.00. I have used them for years for ink and "low-end" pens that I occasionally splurge on. They don't flood your mail box with lot's of promos. They are nice people who actually expanded from just online (xfountainpens.com) to a B&M store in Pittsburgh.

BTW, no affiliation beyond a long time customer (usually a couple of buys per year).

Good luck and enjoy your "penitence" for your colorful ways.