In this Goulet Q&A episode, Brian talks about MSRP, factory tours, and his and Rachel’s day-to-day!

This week:

• Pelikan Edelstein Garnet
• Pineider Ink Alchemy
• Pen battle video
• 7 Ways to Treat Yourself
• MBTI Bujo Blog
• Esterbook Evergreen
• VP Stripes

Pens/Writing

Sami QR- Facebook (05:17)

What is preventing acrylic maker to emulate the Omas Arco Verde or bronze, or even the vacumatic celluloid ? Is there any other material out there that may emulate this at reasonable price which does not involve explosive compounds ?

• there are some physical properties of celluloid that allow for certain patterns/colors to really pop
• there could be ways to emulate these in acrylic resin, but the techniques may be different and not yet mastered in the same way
• it’s often more than just matching a color, it involves multiple steps of breaking or cutting into pieces, adhering back together, then turning in a specific pattern
• it’s entirely possible to get pretty darn close, it just depends how “mad scientist” a company wants to get to develop an exact match
• the difference you have today is few pen manufacturers are making their own cast resins
• cast resins are pretty challenging to make, especially mastering certain techniques
• I would argue it’s not practical for most pen companies to cast huge lots of resin themselves, they’re usually getting from a supplier for the eyewear/jewelry industry, or other turned/manufactured goods (like vapes)
• huge resin manufacturers will make a host of different colors, but since the pen industry isn’t the primary market for these resins, they’re not making colors/patterns to specifically match vintage pen materials
• it’s possible to emulate though
• Pineider has their Arco, which is a modern take on Arco celluloid
• Dante specifically designed this to be similar, but with his own flare

Ink

Dyuti G- Facebook (20:21)

What is the difference between J.Herbin and Herbin inks? Any reason for the name and bottling variation?

• They’re in the middle of a rebranding effort, so their names will be a little transitional
• instead of everyhing J. Herbin, they’re breaking out into two lines
• Herbin will be their standard line, like the 30ml bottles, sealing wax sticks, stuff like that
• the 1670 and 1798 ink colors will be Jacques Herbin, more of their premium line (like Pelikan Edelstein, Lamy Crystal, Pilot Iroshizuku)
• more may be in development on a Jacques Herbin line that’s being tested right now in France
• No word yet on what that might be for us here in the US
• keep in mind, Herbin started in 1670, so it’s 349 years old!! They’ve undergone a lot of branding efforts, I’m sure!

prrfecone- Instagram (30:36)

I often find the colour of the ink changes considerably depending on how long it has been in the pen and which pen it is in. This change is usually for the worse, the colour is not nearly as nice. Any way to alleviate this?

• this is fairly normal, the water is evaporating out of the ink (more common in winter due to lower relative humidity) and the dye stays behind, leaving a darker, more saturated color
• not letting it sit there more often
• water down your ink a bit
• dip it in a little bit of water if it’s been sitting a while
• use a pen that seals really well (some are better than others) like Platinum 3776 Century, TWSBI, Pilot Custom 74/823
• this is entirely subjective, I actually love more saturated colors so I like when this happens!

Business

colors_and_beads- Instagram (38:08)

What’s the point of MRSP if all retailers have the same “discounted” prices? Should that one be the MRSP?

• MSRP is manufacturer suggested retail price
• It’s the price the manufacturer sets as “full retail”, and is what you’ll often see in print advertisements, at company stores, flagship retailers, and the like
• manufacturers often set their wholesale price off of MSRP, so it impacts the margins that both they and the retailer will get
• because discounting can happen all over the place with certain brands, it helps manufacturers to have an MSRP so they have a target to shoot for in terms of positioning themselves in the marketplace
• retailers can of course discount below that, but you’ll almost always see the manufacturer (when selling direct) sell at full MSRP
• online you see a lot more discounting, because competition is a lot stiffer, and there’s a degree of separation (risk) when buying online that incentivizes lower prices than in-store
• Not to say all B&M’s charge full MSRP or all online retailers discount, but you get the idea
• manufacturers can’t dictate what retailers sell for
• manufacturers CAN dictate what is publicly advertised, through what’s called MAP (minimum advertised price)
• when you have authorized retailers, they respect the MAP pricing (which is set regionally) or else they’re in violation of the manufacturer’s wishes
• we could debate why MAP and MSRP are relevant, but largely it’s for of branding and consistency
• what makes it so tough online is if you see it at full MSRP some places and discounted elsewhere, you naturally tend to think that the discounted price is the true value and that everyone else is charging a premium
• in fact, most retailers in a given region are paying (around) the same price for their goods, so when they discount they’re taking a hit on their margins
• you’ll often see smaller retailers (sometimes a company of one person) with extremely low overhead offer or sell a product below MAP, which they may only have one or two, or even none of! But online you have no idea how big they are or how much stock they have
• it can wreak havoc online, especially in marketplaces where algorithms are triggered to price match or show lowest price first, so it can really go haywire quickly when people go too low
• B&M stores are more cut off from the outside world, so if they are deep discounting one or two pens, it really doesn’t impact anyone else
• you’re still seeing some adjustments in the ecommerce landscape from traditional B&M
• MSRP and MAP help give a floor to the discounting, give consistency in branding, which ultimately provide reliability and stability to the manufacturers and retailers, which is required for growth

Business

Joseph J- Facebook (53:10)

I liked the Lamy plant tour. Any chance on doing others, maybe Visconti?

• I did shoot footage of Stipula, Pineider, and Nettuno, but I have yet to edit it together!
• Others could certainly happen, but I don’t have it planned at the moment
• It’s quite time consuming and requires a lot of effort and coordination, but it’s certainly something I’m thinking about!
• So yes, this could certainly happen, but I can’t promise when

Personal

elisaldez- Instagram (56:27)

What’s your favorite non pen-related podcast?

• I have a few, I mainly listen to audiobooks on self-improvement/leadership/business
• Gary V Audio Experience
• The Way I Heard It with Mike Rowe
• How I Built This with Guy Raz
• TED Radio Hour
• Word on Fire with Bishop Robert Barron

Elizabeth D- Facebook (01:00:21)

Does “a day in the life of Brian & Rachel” stay pretty consistent, or does it change a lot every day depending on what’s going on? We over at the Nation have surmised that you two spent more time signing cards lately

• Oh my gosh, it can change a lot!
• We have some regularly scheduled meetings we try to keep consistent, but there’s a lot going on
• we have young kids that are now getting into activities, we’re involved in our church, there’s a lot in our personal life that affects our schedule
• work stuff is a mix of regular work and project work, so we’re always djing our schedules together
• we have been signing more notecards, though, partly because of our increased volume through the holidays
• we want to help out our team and lead by example, so we’re signing more notes as we can!

QOTW: What pen color/material would you like to see revived? (01:08:03)

Write On,
Brian Goulet

In this Goulet Q&A episode, Brian talks about his 7 deadly fountain pen sins, restoring “found” desk pens, and his favorite fountain pen spotting in a film.

This week:

• Had daughter’s birthday, Christmas, New Years, lots going on at the Goulet house!
• wasn’t planning to shoot Q&A this week, wanted to squeeze it in
• dug into the archives to get questions, keeping it short and sweet
• team has been SO busy here, it’s been way busier than expected!
• lots and lots of closeouts, definitely check those out on the site, started with 180 items on closeout, now closer to 100
• there’s a lot we stocked up on for the holidays, some sold through, some didn’t, so we’re wanting to lighten up our inventory to free up cash to invest in new products and projects for the new year
• we live and die by how we manage our inventory!
• Yafa ink deal extended on select pens, Purple Rembrandt, Violet Aero, Pelikan m800 Stone Garden and m600 Vibrant Orange, a number of inks we’re clearing out that we won’t continue carrying
• Some new stuff will be coming but not a lot for the next few weeks, we and everyone else are getting into the swing of things still
• Coming up on Write Now number 100! Can’t believe it! We’re also going to hit our 10th year selling fountain pens
• Just talked about New Years resolutions, and I’m already making progress towards mine!

Pens/Writing

1) Anonymous- Facebook (12:55)

“What are your 7 deadly sins of fountain pens?

1. Greed- most expensive and inexpensive item in your collection.- Namiki Yukari Moonlight, and I guess free Noodler’s pens that came with my ink!
2. Wrath- item you love to hate.- Flex pens! Any anything eyedropper
3. Gluttony- your most delicious product.- anything LAMY, TWSBI, I don’t even think about it I just get it. And a lot of special inks!
4. Sloth- your most neglected product.- pretty much any pen that needs to be cleaned, though I have gotten better about it!
5. Pride- item you’re most proud of.- Any exclusives or co-branded stuff
6. Lust- the product your really want but just can’t get.- the next pen, whatever that is! Clearly I struggle with FOMO. But really Sailor and Montblanc, let’s be real
7. Envy- who in the pen community do you envy the most?”- really no one, but I do really appreciate the skills of nibmeisters and could have lived an alternate life doing that work full time!

2) Rob B- Facebook (21:34)

Are the sections of the Kaweco Classic Sport and Skyline Sport pens interchangeable? I might know a guy who’s thought about a Mint pen with a Bordeaux grip…or something similar.

• Haha, asking for a friend, eh Rob?
• Yup! Totally interchangeable between these models
• Swap away!

Paper

3) @LucyHoneychurch- Twitter (22:23)

I use the Leuchtturm notebooks as a diary and never quite know what to do with the perforates pages. I use them to try out ink but I never need 8 pages for this. I’m curious what other people do with the perforated pages. Wish you the best for 2019!

• I’ve been using them for years and never torn out a single page
• I don’t think those pages are there for people who use them as regular diaries
• It’s more if you want to use it like a notepad, tearing off directions to give to someone else, making a to-do list you intend to throw out, whatever, it’s literally meant to be disposed of! I’m curious to hear what others do with it

Troubleshooting

4) Curt A- Facebook (26:37)

People keep finding old, abandoned pens in desk drawers. How about a “How-to” for resurrecting them?

• this is something I get asked about a lot, which is tough because i’m not a pen restorer!
• depending on the age, condition, type of pen there could be a lot of steps to be taken, that all vary and need pro advice
• The best I can do is give a few first steps:
  • You can almost always assume there’s ink dried up in the pen that won’t work
  • the dried ink will need to be cleaned out, and it will be difficult
  • the dried ink will often clog the pen entirely, so it won’t be easy to flush the pen
  • you can pretty much assume you’ll need a pen flush, as that’s what’ll help break down the dried ink
  • soaking the grip of the pen will be most helpful, and probably require a couple of days
  • an ultrasonic cleaner does wonders in this scenario, best to just do the whole dang pen
  • if this doesn’t do it, then you’re into restoration territory, and that’s outta my specialty!
  • unfortunately I don’t know of many people that do restoration work, but this is where FPN and Goulet Nation can help

Personal

5) Tyler H- Facebook (38:10)

What is your favorite Movie/TV Show scene that showed a fountain pen?

• truth be told, I haven’t noticed all that many, but there are threads about that stuff on FPN and Reddit
• I guess this is my favorite? It’s at least the most notable and memorable one that I’ve seen: from an old Mickey Mouse short called “Thu The Mirror” where Mickey’s dreaming and becomes miniature in a room where inanimate objects come to life
• He uses a lever-filling fountain pen like a machine gun to fend off invading playing cards chasing him for having danced with the “queen” card
• It’s kinda messed up and a little creepy, but the fountain pen is prominent and unmistakable!

QOTW: What are you looking to accomplish in 2019? (43:59)

Writing Prompt: Write down a SMART version of your New Years resolution (a goal for 2019). (44:39)

Write On,
Brian Goulet