Do you often find yourself desperately scouring a website for something to add to your online shopping basket in order to reach the free shipping threshold? You don't want to spend
too much because you're just a few dollars short of the threshold... but you also don't want to buy something cheap that you don't need and won't use....Well, it happened to me a few weeks ago when I was looking for a coffee tamper on Amazon.ca. I was a few dollars short of the $35 CAD minimum for free shipping, so I looked through the Amazon Warehouse Deals section. I didn't
plan on buying a new pen, but I found an inexpensive fountain pen that I'd heard good things about, so I ordered it on a whim.
Meet my new
Waterman 'Graduate' fountain pen...
(all photos by Maja ~ click on images to enlarge)
At $13 CAD, I really couldn't go wrong, even though the condition was listed as
"Used - Good - Small cosmetic imperfection on top, front or sides of item. Item will come in original packaging. Packaging will be damaged."
Because of the description above, I was expecting the barrel and/or cap to be scratched or dented, but there were no visible flaws. I then took a close look at the nib (which was a Fine in stainless steel), thinking
"Something has to be wrong with the nib...", but it looked ok. The small cardboard box, though, wasn't in perfect shape, but that didn't matter to me as the pen wasn't a gift. The pen actually looked in
great shape, and there was no old ink in it, so I suspect it was returned to Amazon unused and listed as being in "Good" condition because of the box's condition.
The 'Graduate' is an entry-level fountain pen, but don't be put off by that--it has a simple, clean-looking design (and the chrome material is super-smooth and very pleasant to the touch), it's well-balanced (posted or unposted), it writes well out of the box and is a great value for the money. Even though it's a metal pen, it's not heavy...but it doesn't feel unsubstantial either (which I like). You can find them on Amazon.ca for less than $20 CAD in new condition, so if you're looking for a pen to give someone (like a graduate ;) as a gift, you might want to consider the Waterman 'Graduate'. Or, buy one for yourself!
The black pen case in the photos above is another recent(ish) new purchase---my new
'Pavia Hexa' leather 6-pen case by Ashlin. I found it on Walmart.ca when I was looking for household products and was surprised to see it priced at $9.99 CAD + shipping because it was listed as $49.99 CAD on Staples.ca! I thought it was a mistake, but the description matched the photo, so I took a chance and added it to my Walmart online order.
It arrived carefully wrapped in fancy tissue paper and its own mesh bag. Classy! This well-made case is made of supple 100% Tuscany cowhide full grain leather (mine is Black, but it's also available in Dark Brown and British Tan) and can fit six writing instruments the size of a Lamy 'Safari' fountain pen comfortably. When I went back to check the Walmart.ca website a few days later, the price of the pen case was $57.75, so I was lucky to have found it for the price I did.
May you be as lucky as I was in my recent online shopping :)
~Maja
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