Acrylics

[Texatdurango]

Today I was at the local office supply store and got to looking at the pens they had on display (the ones behind the glass doors, not the $.49 Bic pens or 10 pack gel rollerballs for $5.99) and got to thinking.

Not one pen was made from wood, while all but a few were plastic and I've got to be honest, some of the $15.95 pens I saw looked nicer than the pens we make using $10 kits and $5 blanks!

To those using acrylics, do you ever get to thinking that your biggest competition is the corner office supply store? I've been reading several threads lately where folks are talking about "sales being down" and can't help but wonder why, could this be one reason?

Don't get me wrong, I love the look of some of the acrylic blanks and started out turning both wood and acrylics and have about 50 acrylic blanks on hand but think if I were concerned about selling them, I would stick to wood in hopes of attracting the customer to something they don't see every day.

I feel that we might be getting carried away within the pen turning community, trying out every new color combination that comes out thinking how great the pens look and can appreciate what it took to make them look nice, while to the average Joe, it's just another plastic pen!

Am I all wrong here, or do the plastic pens sell just as well as the wood pens?

George

 

[DCBluesman]

Based on my experience at pen shows, I'd say non-wood pens outsell wood pens 50 to 1. Almost none of the large manufacturers make wood pens of any variety, yet they sell their non-wood pens by the thousands...and for thousands of dollars. If anything, I think the market for non-wood exceeds that for wood pens by a large margin.

 

[ed4copies]

George,

Keep looking!

At our local "Office Depot", I have seen the actual blanks we use. They are in pens that are selling in the $50 range. Sometimes fountain, other times ballpoint or rollerball. Beauty (and price) is in the eye of the buyer.

 

[barrels]

George,

Remember all those pens you saw behind the glass..ARE MADE IN CHINA[!][!][!]China pricing is killing American Manufacturing and craftmanship.


I would not call them FINE

 

[barrels]

George,

Remember all those pens you saw behind the glass..ARE MADE IN CHINA[!][!][!]China pricing is killing American Manufacturing and craftmanship. I would not call them FINE writing instruments.

Eric


I would not call them FINE

 

[Texatdurango]

Originally posted by barrels
<br />Remember all those pens you saw behind the glass..ARE MADE IN CHINA[!][!][!]China pricing is killing American Manufacturing and craftmanship. I would not call them FINE writing instruments.

Eric

I would not call them FINE

Hi Eric, I really wasn't thinking "China VS America", so I didn't look to see where they were made. I was more interested in thoughts about plastic versus wood and from the comments so far, I was way out in left field with my thinking!

But you mentioned one thing that struck a chord with me...American Manufacturing and craftmanship.

Over the years I have traveled to, and worked in many corners of the globe and believe me, we don't have a corner on the "craftsmanship" market by a long shot. I do not believe that just because I, or anyone else, invests a few thousand dollars in shop tools and supplies that I should be revered a craftsman just because I live in America. And "FINE writing instruments" is just a term coined to help sell ink pens!

As this forum membership clearly proves, there are craftsmen and craftswomen from all over the world and geographical or politacal borders don't dictate levels of quality.

 

[ed4copies]

Remember George,

"Out in left field" is still "in the ballpark" (ain't Americanisms great???)

For marketing purposes, turn what YOU can sell. I turned and sold wood for a year or so before I started acrylics. Just happens that there was less competition in plastic at craft shows. That has matured some, leading me to add the imports that I sell on-line (but I originally started importing them for ME and I still use them to differentiate from other turners - that's MY marketing strategy!)

So whatever makes YOU comfortable. You have to have a reason why someone would buy YOUR pen OR your FAMILY will have a LOT of pens!!![][][]