fountain pen question

[cnccutter]

I'm getting more and more fountain pens in stock and was wondering how many of you load the pens with ink before you sell them? I have concerns about having a pen sitting around for any length of time until they sell with ink in them. am I nuts?

Erik

 

[ldb2000]

Don't ink . Fountain pen ink is not like a ballpoint , it is a liquid ink and will dry out and clog the feed and nib . Also most serious fountain pen nuts won't buy a FP that has been inked , most have their favorite ink or even blend their own inks and would be very upset if they had to clean out all the ink that you put in .

 

[SteveG]

I have the same concern as Erik. My market is direct sales to customers at a resort hotel twice a week. The customer base are mostly casual collectors and people just coming across my display and deciding on the spot they "need" a beautiful pen. I will often need to ink up to make a sale. If I were to offer un-inked fountain pens, there would be less sales. So by necessity, most of the FP's have ink. I just don't see any other way to do it. And yes, I am periodically clearing and cleaning those pens to keep everything flowing. Just my experience.

 

[ldb2000]

Instead of inking your pens to let a customer try one just dip the nib in ink , that will give them a chance to try your pen but won't gunk up the feed . A quick rinse will clean them up as good as new and if they want to buy the pen you can just fill it from your ink bottle or pop in a cartridge .

 

[Russianwolf]

Or Have one of each size inked that you carry. Use these for demo, they can be swapped into any body they like. Then if they want it inked, you can ink the new section right then.

You should have one that fits each pen style, usually just the Jr. and Sr., but in my case I have a Stretch also (shorter section).