The Best Pen Store In Rome- "stilo E Stile"

[chromantic]

On 8/25/2021 at 2:56 AM, david-p said:

I was recommended Stilo e Stile by another user of this forum. I discovered that it is not only the best shop for pens and inks in Roma, it is the best one in the whole of Austria. By this I mean two things:

 

1. We have nothing to touch it in Austria.

 

2. The mail order operation of Stilo e Stile is superb. Prices are keen, inventory is large, delivery is fast and reasonably priced. (The English on the website is also accurate and idiomatic.)

 

Bravo, bravissimo!

 

David

 

I recently bought 3 pens from Stilo and heartily concur with david-p's assessment. Prices are good, shipping is very reasonable ($8 to the US) and fairly quick. I was a bit disappointed with the 2 Stipulas - both are beautiful and write well - only because they're larger than what I'm used to and nothing to do with Stilo. Look forward to ordering again from them.

[david-p]

The other useful thing about the Stilo e Stile website is that they tell you on a product's webpage when it is out of stock. With other well-known European webshops, you only discover this after going through the whole ordering and paying process, when they send you an email notification the next day.

 

David

[Bikerchick]

4 minutes ago, david-p said:

The other useful thing about the Stilo e Stile website is that they tell you on a product's webpage when it is out of stock. With other well-known European webshops, you only discover this after going through the whole ordering and paying process, when they send you an email notification the next day.

 

David

Or worse: they indicate that it's not in stock, but that it will be in "app. 3 to 5 business days*" and they allow you to order it. And then they make you wait for 3 months, because adding the "app." covers their a** and basically means they can make you wait for as long as they see fit, without a need for any further updates. Not that they care, because the money is in the bank. 

[david-p]

Whereas banks definitely take time in transferring your money, to make more profit, I dont think that this is the case with the small organisations we deal with. I think it is more a case of thoughlessness and lack of consideration for the customer -- which is bad enough and is why I have a lot of admiration for the well-constructed website of S e S. I do not know another online shop that has taken the trouble to make and display photos their own samples of inks as conscientiously and so well, as they have. Consequently, I will turn to them first for my needs.

 

David

[Bikerchick]

41 minutes ago, david-p said:

Whereas banks definitely take time in transferring your money, to make more profit, I dont think that this is the case with the small organisations we deal with. I think it is more a case of thoughlessness and lack of consideration for the customer -- which is bad enough and is why I have a lot of admiration for the well-constructed website of S e S. I do not know another online shop that has taken the trouble to make and display photos their own samples of inks as conscientiously and so well, as they have. Consequently, I will turn to them first for my needs.

 

David

Their ink swatches are second to none.

I used to go for the site that had the best prices. Lately, I've been turning to shops that give the best service and preferably a bit of a personal touch too. Stores like Stilo&Stile, but also Inktraveler in Spain,  and Sakura Fountain Pen Gallery here in my home country of Belgium. 

[Calabria]

I did have a good experience with Stilo e Stile but the low shipping rate with UPS to the US also meant that for some reason I was charged an extra 50$ by UPS for some kind of customs clearance gimmick. I’d rather pay a bit more for DHL where I’ve never had that issue.

 

I did contact Stilo e Stile about that but never got a reply. Haven’t returned since although I did like their service otherwise.

[mauckcg]

On 9/13/2021 at 7:09 PM, Calabria said:

I did have a good experience with Stilo e Stile but the low shipping rate with UPS to the US also meant that for some reason I was charged an extra 50$ by UPS for some kind of customs clearance gimmick. I’d rather pay a bit more for DHL where I’ve never had that issue.

 

I did contact Stilo e Stile about that but never got a reply. Haven’t returned since although I did like their service otherwise.

That's been hit or miss in my experience.  Every couple of orders, even through DHL, i'll get dinged by US customs for a fee.  The best one was the 4 days it took to explain to those idiots that the pen ink isn't some kind of toxic soup so they would release my package.

[Bikerchick]

12 minutes ago, mauckcg said:

That's been hit or miss in my experience.  Every couple of orders, even through DHL, i'll get dinged by US customs for a fee.  The best one was the 4 days it took to explain to those idiots that the pen ink isn't some kind of toxic soup so they would release my package.

Forgive my ignorance as far as US Customs are concerned, but isn't having to pay a customs fee kinda part and parcel when you import something from the EU (or anywhere outside North America for that matter)? 

[mauckcg]

10 minutes ago, Bikerchick said:

Forgive my ignorance as far as US Customs are concerned, but isn't having to pay a customs fee kinda part and parcel when you import something from the EU (or anywhere outside North America for that matter)? 

There are several numbers floating around, I think the $800 one applies to fountain pens and most purchases.  I have had been hit with a fees on pens much less than that.  I have also had stuff confiscated that was by their own definitions "personal" use.  Hence my normal statement that place is run by idiots.  Course, my experience importing a car didn't help my opinion of CBP much either.

[Bikerchick]

52 minutes ago, mauckcg said:

There are several numbers floating around, I think the $800 one applies to fountain pens and most purchases.  I have had been hit with a fees on pens much less than that.  I have also had stuff confiscated that was by their own definitions "personal" use.  Hence my normal statement that place is run by idiots.  Course, my experience importing a car didn't help my opinion of CBP much either.

According to this, the $800 exemption only counts for items you bought during a trip abroad, that you either bring back with you in person to the US or have shipped to your house. 
I couldn't find anything on an exemption for international online purchases while you remain in the US, not that that means there isn't one. I just couldn't find it.

Edit: I did find this one the same site:

 

It doesn't mention anything about your purchase being for personal use, etc.

 

Maybe send a printscreen of this to the carrier next time?  

Edited September 20, 2021 by Bikerchick
found more info

[sansenri]

On 9/1/2021 at 8:40 PM, Bikerchick said:

Their ink swatches are second to none.

 

yes, I was mentioning this in a previous post. It's easy to find ink swabs on the web, but not precise ones.

From what I see their samples are photographic, and compared to inks I actually do own I find them to be really really close (which is not simple considering that a representation of a colour can be influenced by so many factors during the conversion to digital).

Their ink swabs are now a reference for me before buying and since they also have good pricing, most of the time my ink orders go to them...

[Bikerchick]

27 minutes ago, sansenri said:

 

yes, I was mentioning this in a previous post. It's easy to find ink swabs on the web, but not precise ones.

From what I see their samples are photographic, and compared to inks I actually do own I find them to be really really close (which is not simple considering that a representation of a colour can be influenced by so many factors during the conversion to digital).

Their ink swabs are now a reference for me before buying and since they also have good pricing, most of the time my ink orders go to them...

Indeed. I often find myself looking at their ink swatches for reference too, because they seem to use "true world" conditions, whereas the bulk of dedicated ink review sites seem to try very hard to bring out the absolute best in an ink, be it by overly priming the feed, changing to print instead of cursive, going over ink swatches several times to really bring out sheen and especially shade that wasn't there the first time around, etc.  It seems to be especially true for chromo-shading inks. I call them "the perfect storm" inks. Even when used on the same Tomoe River or Cosmo Air Light paper with a juicy medium nib, I never get the same effect that these ink reviewers do. 

[pastpens.com]

great store, nice guys

should have visit the store next time vacation to italy (hopefully sooner after the pandemic)

for vintage pen we sincerely invite you guys to have a look 

PastPens.com

[Hbanger]

I visited this store and a few others in Rome and elsewhere while vacationing in Italy in 2014, the pen stores there are wonderful, I have not experienced a pen store like any of the Italian ones here in the US.

[Mysterious Mose]

More praise for Stilo & Stile.

 

I just bought a new Pelikan Petrol-Marbled pen (F) from them and the transaction went superbly.

 

This pen is very hard to find.  It's rare.  S & S is one of the few stores that had it in stock and their price, $150.00 is much less than most other stores.  I wrote them asking if they had it in stock and Mario wrote back that they did.  He held it for me while I moved my money around to a suitable account.  I ordered it December 2 and they shipped it to me on December 6.  It arrived here in NYC on December 8, 2 days later!  That's quicker than if I had ordered it from Fountain Pen Hospital, about 10 miles away from me.  The pen came with a surprise -- Pelikan 4001 Turquoise ink!  Italian stores seem to have a thing about boxes.  The pen and ink came in box within a box with a ribbon around the inner wrapping.

 

The pen writes well and is a pleasure to use.

 

5 stars!  

[AmandaW]

Unfortunately my order from them via their fleabay store isn't going so well. Ordered on the 30 November and a tracking number was provided a few days after that, but it is still sitting at "pre-advised" - ie hasn't actually been sent yet.

 

I'm having that happen with other orders too - both direct from various retailer's websites and as above - seems scammy to me. They provide a tracking number quickly, but then sit on it.

[Bikerchick]

On 12/11/2021 at 1:01 AM, AmandaW said:

Unfortunately my order from them via their fleabay store isn't going so well. Ordered on the 30 November and a tracking number was provided a few days after that, but it is still sitting at "pre-advised" - ie hasn't actually been sent yet.

 

I'm having that happen with other orders too - both direct from various retailer's websites and as above - seems scammy to me. They provide a tracking number quickly, but then sit on it.

Have you tried sending them a message through their website? Mario is absolutely lovely and whenever I have sent them a message, whether it is to inquire about stock or in regards to a purchase, he was very quick to respond. 

I had to contact him last week because UPS were being absolutely feckless after my parcel got stuck in Germany on the way to Belgium. I had contacted them myself three times and got absolutely nowhere. Mario kicked them for me and filed a complaint. Maybe it was just a coincidink, but my parcel arrived less than 24 hours later. (The UPS man, on the other hand, wasn't amused when I opened the door and feigned surprise at the fact that he drove a van and didn't ride a pack mule all the way from Italy.)