Bulk ink cartridges on Fleabay?

[CountryDoc]

Has anyone purchased one of the bulk packages of "German" or Jinhao ink cartridges on ebay? Are they actually a decent product?

Thanks!

 

 

[Jamerelbe]

No I haven't, but a word to the wise: Jinhao's cartridges (right picture) have a wider aperture than a Standard International cartridge, and are unlikely to stay put if you use them in place of a standard international.  

 

The cartridges in the left picture *look* like standard internationals - I wouldn't know, though, what kind of ink they're filled with - if the price is right, it couldn't hurt to give them a try?

[A Smug Dill]

57 minutes ago, Jamerelbe said:

The cartridges in the left picture *look* like standard internationals

 

The label on the jar clearly states that the cartridges are of 2.6mm bore.

 

As far as I'm aware, Jinhao neither produces nor supplies 2.4mm-bore ink cartridges at all.

 

[Jamerelbe]

2 hours ago, A Smug Dill said:

 

The label on the jar clearly states that the cartridges are of 2.6mm bore.

 

As far as I'm aware, Jinhao neither produces nor supplies 2.4mm-bore ink cartridges at all.

 

 

The cartridges in the left picture are different from the cartridges in the right picture - I *think* they're standard internationals (the "German" ink cartridges the OP refers to?).  I agree, the cartridges on the right are clearly the larger-bore Jinhao ones...

[A Smug Dill]

11 minutes ago, Jamerelbe said:

The cartridges in the left picture are different from the cartridges in the right picture - I *think* they're standard internationals (the "German" ink cartridges the OP refers to?).

 

You're right. The way in which wider end of those short cartridges are unlike typical Chinese ink cartridges, and certainly not the same as in the Jinhao cartridges shown in the photo on the right.

[Penguincollector]

If you do buy them, there’s a certain shop you should private message me about so you don’t get burned. I bought a 100 assorted color pack, and received a package of crafting supplies (Harry Potter type glasses, mini brooms, wands). They didn’t want to refund me and I had to go to Ali Express to get my money back. 

[A Smug Dill]

25 minutes ago, Penguincollector said:

… avoid the Montiel Pen Shop on Ali Express.

 

Hmmm. I haven't bought from them in a long while, mostly on account of their not offering ‘free’ shipping on items that other AliExpress sellers also sell. Even if, at the end of the day, the sum of product price and shipping ends up being roughly the same from two or more sellers, I almost always choose the one that apportion the least to shipping (for a number of reasons, from my “learning” experiences as a shopper on AliExpress).

 

Simply put, I don't trust any AliExpress seller as much as I would Amazon, or a retailer with its own independent online presence; including certain brands' “flagship” or “official” stores, they all seem to aim for the least-cost solution to make a complaint go away (or sweep it under the carpet), and that often involves pressuring the customer to compromise, even when the mistakes are entirely on the sellers' side. Replacement of what was initially sent, with something that actually fits the description, not missing any components and stated inclusions, and delivered in “perfect” condition is that last thing they want to do if there is a problem; and a full refund for something that is unquestionably not-as-described is what they mostly try to avoid, with or without your returning (at their shipping costs) what was originally delivered.

 

40 minutes ago, Penguincollector said:

They didn’t want to refund me and I had to go to Ali Express to get my money back. 

 

Most of the time it will come down to that when there's a problem with an AliExpress seller, unless the item in question is really cheap (≤US$5) and the seller deems not worth their while to argue and haggle their way out of it. Some sellers have been decent in sending missing or problematic-but-replaceable pieces when I complained, without escalation to AliExpress, to make amends; and many will still try in on for size, and promise to (only) send the missing pieces with your next order (so they can avoid incurring shipping costs in remedial action).

 

That's the sort of thing a shopper ought to be mentally prepared to tackle should fulfilment of order not play out smoothly first go.

 

[Penguincollector]

This is the only time I have had any sort of issue using Ali Express. I tend to buy on Amazon or trusted sellers on Ebay and some US shops mostly, but Ali Express is where I indulge in my guilty pleasure- cheap kawaii school pens, and every other vendor has been great, even if things take forever to get here, although better than estimated shipping usually.