Giveaway: Diamine Region-Exclusive Ink Sampler Set

[A Smug Dill]

THE GIVEAWAY OFFER

I'm giving away a sampler set, consisting of 0.7-0.75ml samples supplied in resealable 1.5ml centrifuge tubes, of seven shop-exclusive or region-exclusive Diamine inks that exhibit a lot of sheen.

Cult Pens (UK) exclusive: 1. Irisdescink Christine 2. Irisdescink Philip 3. Irisdescink Robert
Germany exclusive: 4. November Rain 5. Purple Rain 6. Smoke on the Water
PenGallery (Malaysia) exclusive: 7. Jalur Gemilang

The set will be packaged in a small cardboard mailer with sufficient protection (along the lines of this here), and include either a 0.5ml plastic pipette, or a 1ml syringe with a plastic blunt-tip 14-gauge needle, for easy transfer of the inks into any converter, empty cartridge, or eyedropper pen barrel.

WHO PAYS FOR POSTAGE?

I'll pay for postage and send the package by untracked, unregistered letter mail.

(Australia Post regards a postal article of that size, shape and weight as a large letter, full stop. My other options are to send it in that format by registered mail, or pack it in a larger box so that the article measures more than 20mm in total thickness.)

DEADLINE FOR EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST

29 February 2020, 3:00AM Australian Eastern Daylight Time

HOW TO ENTER

Post your expression of interest in this thread.

ELIGIBILITY TO ENTER

This giveaway is open to all FPN members, subject to:

• Customs and postal service regulations of the recipient's country, if outside of Australia, allow properly declared, non-hazardous liquid in sealed containers to enter and be delivered by international mail as (large) letters from Australia; and
• the address provided by the recipient is one to which (large) letters can be delivered by the incumbent postal service.

That means, for example, Yemen is excluded; and Australia Post Parcel Locker and Parcel Collect addresses may not be used as the delivery address, because Australia Post will not deliver letters to such addresses as a rule. Whether letters addressed to a Parcel Locker will be automatically redirected, behind the scenes and at Australia Post's discretion, to the registered user's residential address on file is irrelevant.

SELECTION METHOD

I will select the recipient randomly in principle, but entrants who have never been allocated any of my giveaway ink sampler sets will be given priority.

[Nia]

Oh I've been meaning to try those inks! Please count me in

[firewrath9]

Thanks for the giveaway! Id love to enter

[Jamerelbe]

You've sent me a sample set (Pilot Iroshizuku) before, so am fine with being excluded if you see fit - but I would really like to try these inks, if you're happy to count me in!

[Dmact]

I too have received a sampler from you so i'm fine being excluded if you so deem but i made it as far as "a lot of sheen" before i had to faceroll the "count me in button".

 

And of course thanks again for doing all these pifs! For being a smug pickle your a cool cucumber bwahahahahaa (sorry haaad to)

[flyingfox]

Wow, those are the colors I have been wanting to try! Would like to put my name in the virtual hat.

 

Thank you very much for the amazing giveaway! I am definitely grateful for the opportunity.

[inky-finger]

Please count in me.

[Stainink]

Please add my name to the list.

[Misfit]

I’d love to join just for Diamine Robert, but I won one of Gil’s generous PIF offers. Good luck to all who enter. He does a great job of preparing, packing, and sending the samples.

[A Smug Dill]

I’d love to join just for Diamine Robert,

Cult Pens usually sells 30ml bottles of Iridescink colours for just £3.33 each (ex VAT), and often at 10% off — including right now. That works out to US$3.90 a bottle. The threshold amount for an order to qualify for free international shipping is pretty low at £70; one entry-level Pelikan M20x with a 30ml bottle of Iridescink will take the order total past that, so just tack on a bottle of that onto the order next time you order another Pelikan, which I know you like from your posts.

 

He does a great job of preparing, packing, and sending the samples.

Thanks.

 

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Fountainfeder has increased its prices for Diamine inks by roughly 10% since I last ordered anything from it; even so, it's still quite affordable to get 30ml bottles of the Germany exclusive colours at €4.10 a bottle plus quite reasonable international shipping charges (without a free shipping threshold). I just don't like dealing with it because it charges 19% tax that should not apply when exporting directly outside of the EU. Papier & Stift offers lower prices for those bottled inks and rightly excludes VAT, but the international shipping charges by DHL are disproportionately and prohibitively high.

 

Of all of the inks in the set, Jalur Gemilang is the hardest to acquire at acceptably low effective cost (once you factor in tax and shipping). It is offered in 80ml bottles only, and PenGallery's free international shipping threshold is significantly higher than Cult Pens'. That is the reason why, out of three rather similar inks — Jalur Gemilang, (Cult Pens exclusive) Iridescink Maureen, and (Germany exclusive) Skull & Roses — I'm offering a sample of Jalur Gemilang instead of its easier-and-cheaper-to-acquire cousins. I do have the other two; I just don't have the other (and newer) PenGallery exclusive Manggis, and the other (and newest) Germany exclusive Communication Breakdown, and I don't think I will be buying those now, for the stated reasons.

 

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This is the last general/open ink sampler set giveaway from me, at least for a while. After ten sampler sets and 80 ink samples — out of a total of 250 ink samples I will have given away to FPN members in 18 months — I was hoping that figuring out and proving how ink samples can be sent economically would be my lasting contribution, as that would trigger more giving and sharing, but in that regard I don't think I've succeeded. Nor do I think my giveaways have attracted much interest from fellow hobbyists who are ready to spend money on full retail bottles, but just waiting to be convinced that particular inks are suitable for their use cases, or trying to expand their horizons when they've traditionally stuck with Waterman, Parker, Pelikan, Lamy, etc. for fountain pen inks.

 

Going forward, I'll concentrate on sending well-respected reviewers such as Kelli McCown (of Mountain of Ink fame) with large followings more inks to review, and leave the "influencing" to those champions. I'm delighted that she liked some of the inks well enough to order full bottles herself in the aftermath, but whether she does or not, her expert review of an ink would trigger far more consumer interest and purchases than a dozen other giveaways on my part would. More consumer spending translates to a more active marketplace, which in turn is good for "the hobby" and by extension the user community. So, at least I can imagine I'm doing some good in that way.

[KingsCountyWriter]

I'd like to sample those inks. Thanks for the offer. Count me in!

[A Smug Dill]

Sorry, KingsCountyWriter, but you won't be "winning" this giveaway. You were allocated set SS01 in my previous giveaway of Sailor Shikiori ink samples, but you didn't contact me by PM to give me your name and mailing address in five whole days since the draw results were announced, in spite of your having been online at least four days out of those five (that I could see). As a result, I reallocated that ink sampler set to another entrant earlier today.

Edited February 18, 2020 by A Smug Dill

[KingsCountyWriter]

Sorry, KingsCountyWriter, but you won't be "winning" this giveaway. You were allocated set SS01 in my previous giveaway of Sailor Shikiori ink samples, but you didn't contact me by PM to give me your name and mailing address in five whole days since the draw results were announced, in spite of your having been online at least four days out of those five (that I could see). As a result, I reallocated that ink sampler set to another entrant earlier today.

oh well!

[ScottT]

This is a very generous offer, please add me to your list!

 

(Does anyone else wish we had a ‘fingers crossed’ emoji?)

[Dmact]

Well.. I Probably never would have bought the pilot ink on my own before using it given it being non waterproof but after your giveaway i MUST have at least a few bottles that will probably be used for my bujo or daily scribbles like shopping lists etc. So you have at LEAST succeded in that reguard, ie you changed at least one persons mind on buying non water resistant inks COMPLETELY. so dont feel like you've not accomplished anything. I'm also tempted to see if theres any interest in a US passaround like the one you aussies have.

[Dmact]

Well.. I Probably never would have bought the pilot ink on my own before using it given it being non waterproof but after your giveaway i MUST have at least a few bottles that will probably be used for my bujo or daily scribbles like shopping lists etc. So you have at LEAST succeded in that reguard, ie you changed at least one persons mind on buying non water resistant inks COMPLETELY. so dont feel like you've not accomplished anything. I'm also tempted to see if theres any interest in a US passaround like the one you aussies have.

[A Smug Dill]

@Dmact, thank you.

[burf]

Wow! Thank you for the effort and offer, I hope I win

[RedDingo]

I only wish more people from Oz would be interested in the offer. Normally I would but I'm more a pen person than an ink one. My six bottles of ink will see me through until the end of the year. :-)

 

Great job as always! Thank you for making the offer available and hope it goes to a very lucky and appreciative person. I hope they will also post a review.

[Misfit]

Maybe this generous giveaway needs more posts to move it to the top of New Content. So I will start, as a non-entrant to move this to the top of New Content.