Gravitas pens - shipping and CS

[Eclipse157]

Hi everyone,

 

I've been eyeing a machined copper pen. In no particular order I looked up Karas Kustoms, Namisu, Gravitas and Ensso. Namisu and Ensso look like they aren't producing any copper pens right now, and Karas is more expensive and has customs and taxes. Gravitas seems to be the place to go for an EU buyer. I'd like to hear some feedback from you because the information I gathered so far is ambiguous.

 

Reviews from bloggers and youtubers are enthusiastic, but they all seem to have gotten pens without buying them, I suppose directly from the manufacturer, unsolicited or not,  for review purposes. These reviews are very useful but say nothing about the buying process and subsequent CS, if needed.

 

On the other hand I've come across opinions from "commoners" who actually gave Gravitas their money and have received their pens after a variably long time, or requested a refund, while lamenting a lack of communication from the manufacturer regarding their issues.

 

I think Gravitas is a one man show, and I know it's a very active one on social media.

 

What is your experience with Gravitas so far? I'd love to hear from people who placed orders, how'd that end up.

 

Thanks

[Uncial]

Only heard positive things about them. Ive been tempted but am not yet a customer so I've no personal experience to share.

The website now shows what is in stock and it can be quite long periods between sell outs and stock coming back in again. There doesn't seem to be the same rush to buy as there was 2 yrs ago, so stock shouldn't vanish as fast as jn the past.

[amberleadavis]

I look forward to seeing your pen once you have it.

[shiroboshi]

[Disclaimer: I know Ben from Gravitas on social media and we had a few chats over pens and other things on messenger. I own 5 or so different Gravitas pens paid for by my own money.]

 

Yes, Gravitas is a small outfit, which sometimes results in delays in shipping and contact responses. Shipping is complicated further by An Post being often somewhat hopeless. However, I have now had 3 or 4 orders and they all turned up within 1-4 weeks. The 4 weeks was in the run-up to a pandemic christmas, and was mainly down to An Post (tracking said it was sitting in Dublin for over 2 weeks).

Once the order is placed via the website, communication can be a little ... sparse.

But every order so far has turned up reliably, while not always speedily.

 

On the pens themselves, they are great. Standard JoWo nibs, so easily exchanged, reliable and so on. I think Ben how has also introduced a flex nib for people interested in that. The ones I have all write reliably and slightly on the wet side. I believe ben checks the nibs briefly before they go out.
I just wish the pocket pen was a touch longer so it could take a Kaweco piston converter, so I don't have to refill international cartridges for them

Sidenote, I now have brass, copper aluminium and steel pens from Gravitas and there is a FPUK limited edition on its way.

 

I now own more Gravitas pens than Sailor pens and it all happened over about 8 months. Make of that what you want.

 

Ben does hang out on social media regularly and has a tendency to tease people with prototype pictures quite a bit. He is also reasonably responsive to queries, but keep in mind it is a very small outfit at the moment.

 

I hope that helps,

Marc

[mikegee63]

Well, I ordered a pen on December 2nd 2022 and it is now January 8th 2023..... and all I have gotten so far has been a notice that a shipping label with a tracking number was created but that the item has yet to be put into the mail system..... I received the notification that the label was created on the 29th of December...... so, I don't know what to think at this point?

[Karmachanic]

12 minutes ago, mikegee63 said:

I don't know what to think at this point?

 

Perhaps read the post above yours for clues.

[nop_bkk]

On 1/9/2023 at 1:51 AM, mikegee63 said:

Well, I ordered a pen on December 2nd 2022 and it is now January 8th 2023..... and all I have gotten so far has been a notice that a shipping label with a tracking number was created but that the item has yet to be put into the mail system..... I received the notification that the label was created on the 29th of December...... so, I don't know what to think at this point?

I have an almost identical situation. I also placed an order on 2 December 2022 and received a shipping notification on 30 December, with a tracking number. It is now 14 January and the An Post site still returns a message saying the “We don’t have information on your parcel yet.” The shipping notification email does not provide much comfort, saying “If tracking isn’t updated after 2 days, please check directly on . Gives me the impression that Gravitas/Ben Walsh is saying I’ve given you the tracking number so it’s out of my hands and you’re on your own!

 

The Gravitas site does not provide a contact email and all Imhave been able to do was to reach out regarding my issue using their query page. No response whatsoever.

 

i’m contemplating filing a claim with PayPal, but is is complicated by the factthat PayPal changed their system in Thailand and I have had to cancel my account and open a new account. Not sure if PayPal will provide assistance on my previous account.

 

I look forward to seeing any updates by mikegee63, and I will be sure to post any updates on my side.

[mizgeorge]

email address:  benwalshdesign@gmail.com

 

easier, though, to contact via instagram I think the first one works better: 

https://www.instagram.com/benwalshdesign/?hl=en or

https://www.instagram.com/gravitaspens/ 

 

I think most of the problems come down to issues with An Post, but that's no excuse for not keeping customers updated IMO. 

[ParramattaPaul]

Having dealt with Gravitas in the past, I can assure you that Ben is a reputable and honest dealer.  I can also tell you that An Post can be slow, especially at the holiday season of Christmas and new years.

 

An Post tracking: Track your post and parcels | Personal | An Post

[nop_bkk]

Thank you for providing his contact details.
 

I’ve been reading other forums and it appears many people are of the opinion that he is a decent fellow. That’s good to know, but decency does not help if he keeps his customers in disregard. Seems Ben Walsh views his customers (who, by the way, pay him money for his pens) as a necessary distraction, whilst he spends his time on designing new pens and showing them off on his website and instagram. He seems to have plenty of time to show off his wares but no time to serve his paying customers.

 

The reason that the holiday season delaying shipping is not relevant in this case. On other forums it is apparent that many customers placed orders in early/mid December and all were provided shipping notices on 29/30 December. However, it appears the shipping notices were merely tracking numbers, and we do not know if the pens are indeed packed. The parcels have obviously not been presented to An Post.

 

If Ben Walsh continues to ignore his customers, his business will not be an ongoing concern. 
 

[Uncial]

Eh....you're having this shipped to Thailand? There were long holiday breaks after Christmas due to the way it fell. It likely went into the postal service around 3rd or 4th January. It would normally take about three weeks I'd say, to get to you.

[nop_bkk]

Yes, I’m based in Thailand. It usually takes 7-10 days for packages to arrive from the U.K., but I don’t know how long packages spend in the postal system in Ireland, and how they are routed after that. What worries me is An Post tracking still shows no information available, which may suggest they still don’t have the package yet.

 

[Doug C]

• I'll echo previous comments.  Ben is slow to respond to communications and the process of receiving the pens is long if you're in the States. I had one on order that said  it was shipped on December 31. It has indicated that royal mail had no information on it for almost two weeks.  Two days ago I got notice that it had cleared customs in Ireland and now its in New York. 

 

I have 2 of his pens and this is my third. That says something that I'm prepared to wait.

Great pens.

[ParramattaPaul]

4 hours ago, nop_bkk said:

Yes, I’m based in Thailand. It usually takes 7-10 days for packages to arrive from the U.K., but I don’t know how long packages spend in the postal system in Ireland, and how they are routed after that. What worries me is An Post tracking still shows no information available, which may suggest they still don’t have the package yet.

 

Three things:

The volume of mail in and out of Ireland in the two months before and the month after the Christmas holidays is exponentially greater than at any other time of the year.  Add to that the current supply chain issues we do not live in 'normal times'.

Secondly, I know that Ben makes, inspects, packages, and ships everything himself.  That said, it is understandable that correspondence ranks somewhere lower on his list of priorities.

Finally, we are told that patience is a virtue, and that it offers us its own rewards.  One might exercise that virtue, and it time patience will bring the reward -- a pen in this case.

[nop_bkk]

A quick update is that there has been no progress whatsoever over the past week. An Post tracking still shows no information available.

[Doug C]

I got mine yesterday.  Shipped on December 31.

[Mark from Yorkshire]

1st Aire (The Irish Republic) is separate to the UK

2nd Mail out of UK is delayed due to our fabulous postal service being hit by a “cyber Incident” 

[Uncial]

Aire?

Are you maybe trying to say 'Ireland' in Irish?

[Doug C]

17 hours ago, Uncial said:

Aire?

Are you maybe trying to say 'Ireland' in Irish?

I think it was meant for the Irish postal system. 

[manolo]

I would be interesting in knowing your opinions on these Gravitas pens, I can't find any reviews here in FPN.