Is Cross dying?

[WDanderson]

For at least the past 6 months, cross.com has had low inventory. I think it's been close to a year. I stopped by today and not a single Century 2 is available, no journals, only a handful of refills/nibs and more exotic items like the year ofs or 175th anniversary pens have been long gone. I know they were bought in 2014 by a hedge fund. As an owner of dozens of Townsends/Peerless etc, I'm primarily a Cross guy. (I have however discovered the joys of using Pilot G2 refills in a nice looking Waterman Expert rollerball though.)

 

Anyone have any thoughts or behind the scenes info on Cross?

 

**edit:

I attended the Baltimore Pen Show a few weeks ago, and I found a total of 6 Cross pens in the entire place, all Townsends, Lapis and a Platinum along with a green marble. All from the same vendor, no Star Wars Townsends, no Peerless, not even a 175th anniversary to be had. Very troubling.

Edited March 28, 2023 by WDanderson
adding pen show info

[Doug1426]

I cherish my Townsend and Peerless pens.  I was lucky to be able and acquire most of the Star Wars Townsends over the years at huge discounts, my guess is that many folks felt like Cross was dying a long, slow death.  I've seen a recent letter to one retailer that laid out Cross's "plan" for a comeback, but it seemed more like a wish than a reality, and it sounded like any comeback for the Townsend line was a long way down the road.    

[Mercian]

20 minutes ago, WDanderson said:

I know they were bought in 2014 by a hedge fund

😬

 

That is an omen that, in my opinion, is even more fell than is the fate of being acquired by a multi-national conglomerate 😔

[inkstainedruth]

The only Cross pens I have are older models.  

The first Solo was bought from the estate of a friend, once I was able to research which style converter it took.  Liked it so much I bought a bright blue one from a table in the hallway at the old site for OPS one year (if I had been faster, I might have also been able to snag the purple one or the yellow one).  Those are really well made pens and I'd buy another one in a heartbeat (hopefully with a M nib to go with the F nib on the red one and the B nib on the bright blue one).

The Verve (which I keep trying to gear myself up into inking again, in an attempt -- possibly in vain -- to learn to use without getting ink all over my hand from its two piece nib) was from a thrift store (a spin-off business from Construction Junction, which sells donated leftover building material and such) that specializes in arts and crafts materials and I am now REALLY happy I only paid a buck for it, and not JUST because of the obscenely high prices they're going for on eBay....  I'll have to check my notes because I don't remember offhand what the nib width on it is.

And then there's an oddball pen -- which also cost a buck, at an antiques mall about an hour or so south and west of me -- that is a Venetia (a sub-brand of Cross).  I was told that it took International Standard cartridges and converters, but I only had a few Pelikan long cartridges and the barrel didn't fit over them; and no International Standard converter I tried fit EITHER (but a Cross converter I picked up at a pen show did).  The pen has this rubber covering glued onto the barrel and where the clutch ring would go -- only I need to re-glue the clutch ring part at some point.... Think the nib on it is also an F, IIRC.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

 

ETA: Just checked my inventory notes.  The nib on the Cross Verve is a B; but I've got a question mark as to what the nib on the Venetia (the model of which is apparently "Madison") in my inventory notes -- aka, no freaking clue (although I seem to recall it writing like an F, or maybe even an EF)

[Ron Z]

IMO Cross died a long time ago.  It wasn't a rapid death, but a general decay after the "glory days" when everyone gave a Cross set as a gift.  Maybe the catalog showroom stores   (David Weiss, Service Merchandise etc)  contributed to it's demise (too common),  but not really.

 

This is the company that came up with the ad slogan "Suddenly Cross."  One wondered who got angry and why.  It's the company that decided to get rid of it's pen division in favor of accessories like bags and sun glasses, and then a few years later decided to buy the Sheaffer brand from BIC in 2015, and promptly did everything that they could to kill it.  They literally didn't know what they had, and referred repairs on most  older Sheaffer pens to repair people like me.... along with requests for refills, erasers, leads parts and what not, all that which I never had.  I'm not a dealer.   They also undercut their dealers by selling pens like the ATX and Townsend to TJ Maxx a decade or two ago around Christmas season.  Lots of nice pens including fountain pens at ridiculously low prices.  I bought a bunch of them.

[Mark from Yorkshire]

Not to mention supply chain problems and getting goods manufactured and shipped from Chia due to a lack of transport containers and a COVID-19 

[max dog]

I think the problem started in 2008 when a CEO from Rayban took the reigns of Cross and marketed the luxury pens like sunglasses and fashion accessories, closing down the manufacturing plant in the US and moved production overseas for cheap labour.  it severely tarnishes the uncompromising craftsmanship philosophy the company has stood by for a century and a half.  I remember when I got a new Cross Townsend 18K gold filled ballpoint pen for my birthday in 2008, I noticed the "USA" engraving on the cap that adorned all my previous Cross pens was missing, and when I saw the little "China" sticker on the box, it was a big let down.   

 

And as Ron pointed out, selling a high end Townsend for hundreds of dollars on the market, and then doing a Fall Sale at the Cross website a few months later and slashing the prices on them to rock bottom prices doesn't help either.  

 

I think the best thing Cross can do is shut down their production overseas and reopen their Rhode Island factory, and produce very few pens to start, but make them all remarkable , and slowly build up from there.    

 

Dear Cross:

I'm sorry if I sound harsh, but after investing thousands of dollars in Cross products for over decades, I think I've earned the right to be critical.  

[Mark from Yorkshire]

On 3/28/2023 at 2:17 PM, Mercian said:

😬

 

That is an omen that, in my opinion, is even more fell than is the fate of being acquired by a multi-national conglomerate 😔

Did that hedge fund then sell them on again to other venture capitalists or what ever they are called. They have now sold Sheaffer on to an Indian firm. 
 

there refills and cartridges/converters are like teeth on Hens in the uk at moment everything is out of stock

[Karmachanic]

It's my fault.  I didn't buy a Peerless.

[Mercian]

48 minutes ago, Karmachanic said:

It's my fault.  I didn't buy a Peerless.

😁

[DvdRiet]

4 hours ago, Mark from Yorkshire said:

there refills and cartridges/converters are like teeth on Hens in the uk at moment everything is out of stock

I was just thinking about this as well, while reading this thread. I'm not in the UK, so I don't have quite the same issues here in the EU (I assume but admittedly haven't checked lately), but I was thinking that I probably ought to make sure I have a nice little supply of Cross converters just in case. Not for Cross pens, mind you. (Although I do have an ATX I just almost decided to sell but am now keeping.) The slip-on converters are the best things I've come across to fit vintage 60s and 70s Diplomat pens from before they switched to the 'international standard' size. 

[Mark from Yorkshire]

33 minutes ago, DvdRiet said:

I was just thinking about this as well, while reading this thread. I'm not in the UK, so I don't have quite the same issues here in the EU (I assume but admittedly haven't checked lately), but I was thinking that I probably ought to make sure I have a nice little supply of Cross converters just in case. Not for Cross pens, mind you. (Although I do have an ATX I just almost decided to sell but am now keeping.) The slip-on converters are the best things I've come across to fit vintage 60s and 70s Diplomat pens from before they switched to the 'international standard' size. 

@DvdRiet what is the situation in the Netherlands? I have not checked P.W Akkerman lately where I got a batch of the screw in cross converters when we last had UK availability issues 12 months or so back. That or appleboom I gues they are having the same problem due to china and COVID 19

[DvdRiet]

2 hours ago, Mark from Yorkshire said:

@DvdRiet what is the situation in the Netherlands? I have not checked P.W Akkerman lately where I got a batch of the screw in cross converters when we last had UK availability issues 12 months or so back. That or appleboom I gues they are having the same problem due to china and COVID 19

I'm not sure, as it's been a while since I ordered any. I ordered myself a small inventory from Akkerman in The Hague last year and they had no problems filling my order for 10 converters all at once. (Couldn't say the same for LCdC around that time.) I've just checked their website and, interestingly, they only have the push-on Townsend type shown for Cross. No idea how many they have in stock, though. But the fact there are no screw-in converters listed is a bit unusual.

 

Edit for Appelboom site: Both types of converters are listed but neither are in stock, stating 5 business days for delivery. I wonder if that's a guess based on standard times or an actual delivery time?

[Mark from Yorkshire]

I suspect it is a guess at this stage with our Chinese cousins finally opening up a bit and trying to get back to normal. I hope they get sorted and China, the manufacturers get back on their feet

[Penguincollector]

I was at my local stationer’s just now, and the owner just got an email from Cross recently. Apparently, they are getting ready to ramp up production again. The pandemic really did a number on them but they said they were coming back stronger than before.  It had been two years since she had gotten any stock or even heard from them. 

[langere]

I hope this is true!  I really like Cross fountain pens; I think that they were underappreciated during their heyday. I have 7 fountain pens that I have purchased when they were on sale; my last acquisition, a 175th anniversary, has a stunning body.  All of the pens I have have always written beautifully right out of the box.

 

Before getting back into fountain pens, I remember buying my wife a nice Cross ballpoint after she graduated and got a good job as an engineer at a Fortune 500 company.  It just seemed, at that moment, the right kind of pen and a celebration of her entering into the business world.

 

I hope that they reach that status again.

 

Erick

[Hanoi]

I own a few Cross desk sets with that 14k fold filled casings and sterling fountain pens.  I believe many of them were made in the 1980s or possibly earlier.  Cross had very original designs and never cared about trends, that is until they were bought out.  The new Cross pens are probably of good quality but they just feel pedestrian.  I also own a few Cross sterling pens that were made in Germany.  I think it´s another pen brand.

[jchch1950]

On 4/5/2023 at 4:00 AM, Penguincollector said:

I was at my local stationer’s just now, and the owner just got an email from Cross recently. Apparently, they are getting ready to ramp up production again.  

+ 1 Good pens even if boring designs.

[pitonyak]

On 4/4/2023 at 5:00 PM, Penguincollector said:

I was at my local stationer’s just now, and the owner just got an email from Cross recently. Apparently, they are getting ready to ramp up production again. The pandemic really did a number on them but they said they were coming back stronger than before.  It had been two years since she had gotten any stock or even heard from them. 

 

I hope so.... I sent a bunch in and they kept them. No way I can almost replace them for the credit they gave me, but, at least if I can get some working pens based on my credit (over $1000), but they have not had any pens of interest to me available on their web site. 

 

Would have strongly preferred it if they had been able to fix them. I cannot even purchase certain supplies for the pens / pencils that I do have. 

 

I have been waiting for them to have stuff back in stock again. Oddly, I have been able to buy things from other sellers, just not directly from cross where I have the credit.

[Penguincollector]

1 hour ago, pitonyak said:

 

I hope so.... I sent a bunch in and they kept them. No way I can almost replace them for the credit they gave me, but, at least if I can get some working pens based on my credit (over $1000), but they have not had any pens of interest to me available on their web site. 

 

Would have strongly preferred it if they had been able to fix them. I cannot even purchase certain supplies for the pens / pencils that I do have. 

 

I have been waiting for them to have stuff back in stock again. Oddly, I have been able to buy things from other sellers, just not directly from cross where I have the credit.

Wow, that’s a  lot to have at risk. I hope you’re able to find something you like from them eventually.