I know this thread is very old but I thought I would share my own experience of ordering an Ackerman Pen… in the 2020s!
I always research the heck out of anything I buy, so I was well aware of the problems that others had encountered with ordering these pens, primarily from this very thread. Elsewhere I had read that the pens had evolved over the past couple of years and that Mr Ackerman had made some effort into improving delivery. I reasoned that $30 was quite reasonable for a hand made pen and decided to take a gamble…
I ordered my pen on January 22 and bookmarked the tracking page. A week later I was dismayed to find that, although a label had been raised by USPS, the package hadn’t been posted. I wrote a courteous email enquiring whether there was a supply issue. After two days without a reply I decided to change tactics and approach him though his face book page. After a further two days without reply, a full two weeks since I paced my order, I decided to text his mobile phone instead. RESULT!
He replied almost instantly and was very apologetic, stating that there was no good reason why he hadn’t posted the package yet as he had the pen in stock. He assured me that he would post it immediately and throw in a couple of extras. Following day I checked to tracking status at USPS only to find that they still hadn’t received the package. I sent him another text, this time using a tone that I normally reserve for my teenage son when he needs to complete a school assignment (encouraging but firm), pointing out that it was now a full two weeks since I placed my order. RESULT!
Thereafter things moved very quickly. Within two days the package had travelled from Albany CA to San Fransisco, hopped on a plane, crossed the Atlantic and landed at Heathrow Airport in the UK. It sat in the airport for a day (it was a Sunday) and spent another at the customs department, but then, much to my surprise, it was delivered today.
So, 20 days after placing my order I have my Ackerman Fountain Pen. True, if Charles had got his act together I could have had it two weeks ago, but I’m used to orders from Japan taking significantly longer, although I’ve never had to employ coercive emotion blackmail before! Also I was lucky - the average time parcels are held at customs in the UK is usually a week or even two, sometimes even longer in the run up to Christmas.
In the end these pens are artisanal products born of passion and affordably priced. Charles Ackerman is a technical writer who makes his own pens as a hobby, probably in a shed in his backyard. He does not have a factory, nor does he have a team of employees to back him up.
I knew what I was letting myself in for when I placed my order and I’m pleasantly surprised with how it worked out.
I know this thread is very old but I thought I would share my own experience of ordering an Ackerman Pen… in the 2020s!
I always research the heck out of anything I buy, so I was well aware of the problems that others had encountered with ordering these pens, primarily from this very thread. Elsewhere I had read that the pens had evolved over the past couple of years and that Mr Ackerman had made some effort into improving delivery. I reasoned that $30 was quite reasonable for a hand made pen and decided to take a gamble…
I ordered my pen on January 22 and bookmarked the tracking page. A week later I was dismayed to find that, although a label had been raised by USPS, the package hadn’t been posted. I wrote a courteous email enquiring whether there was a supply issue. After two days without a reply I decided to change tactics and approach him though his face book page. After a further two days without reply, a full two weeks since I paced my order, I decided to text his mobile phone instead. RESULT!
He replied almost instantly and was very apologetic, stating that there was no good reason why he hadn’t posted the package yet as he had the pen in stock. He assured me that he would post it immediately and throw in a couple of extras. Following day I checked to tracking status at USPS only to find that they still hadn’t received the package. I sent him another text, this time using a tone that I normally reserve for my teenage son when he needs to complete a school assignment (encouraging but firm), pointing out that it was now a full two weeks since I placed my order. RESULT!
Thereafter things moved very quickly. Within two days the package had travelled from Albany CA to San Fransisco, hopped on a plane, crossed the Atlantic and landed at Heathrow Airport in the UK. It sat in the airport for a day (it was a Sunday) and spent another at the customs department, but then, much to my surprise, it was delivered today.
So, 20 days after placing my order I have my Ackerman Fountain Pen. True, if Charles had got his act together I could have had it two weeks ago, but I’m used to orders from Japan taking significantly longer, although I’ve never had to employ coercive emotion blackmail before! Also I was lucky - the average time parcels are held at customs in the UK is usually a week or even two, sometimes even longer in the run up to Christmas.
In the end these pens are artisanal products born of passion and affordably priced. Charles Ackerman is a technical writer who makes his own pens as a hobby, probably in a shed in his backyard. He does not have a factory, nor does he have a team of employees to back him up.
I knew what I was letting myself in for when I placed my order and I’m pleasantly surprised with how it worked out.