The High Roller

(My apologies for no pics of the meeting this time – I forgot to put the memory card in my camera – doh!)

Today I went to the last pen club meeting of the year. This time we had quite a “full” group – well, full for us, since it normally consists of no more than five people or even less, at a time, depending on peoples’ schedules and interest. Geoff scored a bunch of different pens at wholesale prices from a closeout place called Tuesday Morning, which is similar to Overstock.com. I was truly jealous that he was able to score such yummy pen goodies. Among the treasures he picked up were several Parkers, Watermans, and the Monteverde M3 Mega Ink Ball. I am curious about the Mega Ink Ball myself and have read both positive and negative things about it. I do think it is an interesting concept, having a pen that can be converted from a fountain pen to a roller, and vice-versa.

Debbie brought her green and red FPs, to coincide with the holiday season. My favorite pen she brought was the Prentice or Precipice pen (?), in a jade color. I cannot remember the exact name (I do know the name starts with a P), but even though it was a roller, it was gorgeous! She also had different colors of ink with her in both red and green as well. Frank asked if she knew if there was a better shade of red to write his Christmas cards with since he was dissatisfied with Montblanc’s Burgundy. She pulled out a bottle of Noodler’s Widowmaker and dipped her pen in the ink for Frank to try. He liked that one much better instead, and so did I. I’m always on the lookout for different colors, although I admit, red wouldn’t be my first preference for ink color since I enjoy writing with purples and blues instead. She gave him a tip about mixing a little bit of black with the MB Burgundy, and he would end up with a deeper red color.  She also showed us Diamine’s Umber, which is a rich shade of greenish-brown, and she raved about Swisher’s Turquoise Blue, which is specifically made for them by Noodler’s. I’ll have to check it out.

If I had $100 to give Frank for his Montblanc Noblesse, I would have snapped that sucker up. I’ll admit, I’m a little bit of a MB “hater”. I’ve tested the newer MBs before like the Starwalker and I wasn’t all that impressed. If I want a German pen, I’ll take a Lamy or Pelikan any day, but this FP really impressed me. Despite the steel nib, the ink flowed very nicely onto the paper, no skipping to be found at all. The barrel was a brushed steel, gunmetal gray, with a clean, elegant look. It had a little bit of a dent in the body, but it wasn’t too bad. It’s a slim pen and normally I prefer to write with something a little thicker and heavier, but it had such good balance. Ugh! The disadvantage of being a broke college student LOL. Someday when I can afford it, I’ll be sure to buy it from him, or if not, from somewhere else online because I’d really love to get my first MB, if only to “brag” and say I have one.

Most of the time I observed and listened to the other members, making mental notes of what they liked and did not like about certain pens and inks. I did not say very much unless I was asked a question. To be honest, the pen club consists of older people, so I’m like the “baby” in the group LOL, and sometimes I can feel left out. Next year I am thinking of starting my own pen club in town through Meetup. That has been my idea for a while – to find younger pen friends to hang out with. I’m not saying I haven’t enjoyed my time with the current pen club, but I feel with the right amount of promotion through Facebook and Twitter, I could really get a good group going that consists of more than just a handful of people (under the age of 50 LOL). Hell, maybe I can get at least fifteen or even twenty people to join (which is a large group by pen club standards, I would think). I believe there is a monthly fee to run a Meetup group, but it’s very reasonable. Once I obtain steady employment, I want to get that going. Again, my goal is to have the Sin City Pen Collectors (my name for the group) to meet regularly at VP’s brick and mortar location.

Geoff asked me how VP was coming along and I told him that I was still promoting it through social networking and that it would be a while before I got things off the ground. I bought a book called Small Business for Dummies and the second thing the author mentions is that a business owner should have his or her personal finances in order first before starting a business venture. Believe me, if I had the money, VP would be up and running right now, but because of the depressed state of the economy and my lack of any kind of capital, this will have to be put on hold longer than I expected. Honestly, I would love to start getting things up and running within the next six months, by the time I graduate in June. Next summer hopefully the school will find me a great job (which is what I have been working on for four years) and I will be able to put income aside from my film editing career toward my other love of selling pens.

He also asked if I was going to the LA Pen Show again next year. Honestly, as much as it pains me to say this, I am leaning toward no, but it is not a firm no right now. I have to see where I am financially in February. If I do have some kind of employment by then, I have to find out if I can get the time off. The temptation will be so great when I get there, I know it. It will be extremely hard to go there, look at all the tables of beautiful pens, and having to adhere to a budget. I have never been the greatest at saving money – I can be a spendthrift. I spent way too much money at the 2009 show. Besides, I don’t want to go to LA just for an overnight visit on Saturday and have to leave Sunday afternoon. I actually want to spend the whole weekend there so I can take my time looking at everything and not have to rush.

Even if I don’t make to LA, perhaps I can still make it to the other pen shows later on in the year, like the D.C. Supershow, in the Nation’s Capital. That is the biggest (and the best one, in many peoples’ opinions) in the country. I have never visited Washington, D.C. and would love to go, plus it will be the weekend of my birthday (August 5th). If I don’t make it to that show, there’s always next year. My goal is to travel to all the pen shows in the country as an exhibitor, selling my wares as Vegas Pens. I want to meet as many collectors in the community as I can. I have met so many wonderful people already and I cannot wait to meet more.

Gotta keep the faith!

I met up with the old pen gang at Atlanta Bread Company in Summerlin, an affluent neighborhood located in the west side of Vegas. The club has been going strong for about five years now and they always meet at this place, which is kind of out of the way for me, but always worth the trip. Even though there were only four people in attendance and it only lasted an hour, it was still nice to talk pens and take pictures of them.

The lady who’s in charge of running it, Debbie, was absent, but we did have a new member who was referred to the club by her. Her name is Jeanne and she moved here from Portland, OR. She was a member of the pen club up there and was gracious enough to share her pens with us. You can see some of them in the slideshow I have posted below.

My only “gripe” about the pen club is that there are never enough members showing up. Of course, we have our regulars, but there have been times where even I haven’t been able to make it some of the meetings myself because of other commitments. Although I tweeted about it as much as I could, and posted a thread on Fountain Pen Network, I wish more people could attend. Surely there must be more than six people in the whole city who loves pens?

My ultimate goal is to hold the Las Vegas Pen Club meetings at Vegas Pens’ eventual physical location. It would be centrally located at Town Square on the Strip, which would attract both locals and tourists alike. Not only could we get locals joining the pen club, but we could get tourists coming in asking questions and hanging out with members. Who better to ask for expertise (other than the fantastic sales staff I would hire, of course) than the pen experts who have been using and collecting fountain pens for years? Plus, there would always be free foods and drinks available, so they would never have to pay. It will happen eventually, but like the old saying goes, “Rome wasn’t built in a day.”

These are the brands of pen, ink, stationery, and gift manufacturers that have sent me information thus far for inventory in Vegas Pens online store. It’s a great start and I look forward to bringing them to you at reasonable and affordable prices.

This list will be changing quite often as soon as I find new vendors based on my own research and customer suggestions.

Pens:
Pelikan
Kaweco
Platinum
Conway Stewart
ACME
Taccia
Caran d’Ache
Yard-O-Led
Omas
Montegrappa
Aurora
Libelle
Tibaldi
Aquila
Atelier Simoni
Fisher Space Pen
Curtis Australia
Loiminchay
Mazzuoli

Inks:
Private Reserve
Diamine
J. Herbin
Noodler’s

Stationery:
Clairefontaine
Rhodia
Quo Vadis
Knock Knock
Filofax
Miquelruis
Mazzuoli (Stifflexible notebooks)
Piccadilly, Inc.

Gifts/Other:
TASCHEN
Chronicle Books (Moleskines)
Pillowtalk greeting cards

Plus several talented artisans who will customize fine pens according your specifications.

I am currently in the process of brainstorming for my website layout. Basically, I want it to feel like you have stepped into a virtual vintage Vegas casino, but with a 21st-century twist. A lot of pen retailers are either traditional or sophisticated. Vegas Pens will break the mold by being vastly different from its competitors. Everything about the website will be Vegas-themed. These are names of the various sections of the websites that I am throwing around right now:

Title – Vegas Pens – Pen Lounge and Ink Bar – Free samples of ink with every purchase!
“The House” – Home Page – Featured promotional items of the month (”Now serving in the Pen Lounge and Ink Bar…”)
“Pen Lounge” – Pens
“Ink Bar” – Ink
“Red Ink District” – The “risque” section of the site featuring more “adult”-oriented items (such as erotic art pens or risque greeting cards)
“Swingin’ Sounds” – CDs (such as the Buddha Bar series, local Vegas bands)
“The Count Room” – Paper products (Stationery, journals, planners)
“The Bookie Joint” – Book section (About pens and books about Vegas. Will also have coffee table books by Taschen)
“Casino Loot” – Pen, desk, and other misc. accessories
“Partners in Crime” – Related pen links and affiliates
“The High Roller” – Blog
“Eye in the Sky” – My bio/About VP
“Hit Me” – Contact form for “Chairwoman of the Board” (Yours Truly)

There are currently three major pen stores on the Las Vegas Strip that I will have to keep a close eye on. They are:

1. Montblanc (The Forum Shops at Caesars and The Shops at the Palazzo) – The Palazzo boutique is larger, and features a wide variety of non-pen merchandise such as leather goods, jewelry, watches, fragrances, and cufflinks. The Caesars boutique is smaller and I noticed they feature more pens than the Palazzo store. Of course, they both carry MB merchandise exclusively. I would surmise the Forum Shops gets more traffic than the Palazzo location.

In the Palazzo, MB is located off by itself in a corner. It can be hard to find. I remember the first time I went to the Palazzo I had a little bit of trouble finding it. MB at the Palazzo has a security guard standing outside the front door from time to time. I have never seen a guard outside the Caesars location. Both locations have a very modern, upscale, sophisticated atmosphere. MB is known for their high-end writing instruments and have been in business since 1906. Various celebrities such as Johnny Depp, Nicholas Cage, and Julianne Moore have been featured in their ads, so they have excellent PR.

http://www.montblanc.com

2. W.ink (Wynn Las Vegas) – A very tiny store located off by itself near the Tower Suites. It is isolated and does not get a lot of foot traffic. All the other stores in the Wynn are either located in the Esplanade (the main shopping thoroughfare of the hotel), or down the corridor near the buffet. They also sell designer eyewear. Their selection of pens is very limited. From what I have seen the brands they carry are: Montblanc, David Oscarson (he has designed several pens exclusively for the Wynn), Online, Yoropen, Krone, Omas, and Michel Perchin. Even though it is a small store, it is still competition nonetheless.

The atmosphere is very quaint and stylish. There is a print of a famous love letter on the wall written by Nathaniel Hawthorne to his wife Sophie, which adds a nice, classy touch. The store has a unique, clever name (W.ink stands for “Wynn Incorporated”, also you can read it as the letter “W” and the word “ink”, as in pen, get it?), and it is under the umbrella of the Wynn name, so that brings the store prestige.

http://www.wynnlasvegas.com

And the big one…

3. Paradise Pen Company (Fashion Show Mall) – Easily the biggest competition out of all of them. It has the largest variety of pens such as Montblanc, Cross, S.T. Dupont, Montegrappa, Pelikan, Graff von Faber-Castell, Dunhill, Parker, Retro 51, as well as their own brand, Padrino. They have fountain pen inks, desk accessories, desk sets, laptop cases, briefcases, journals, planners, leather goods, and a handful of timepieces. They have engraving available, a corporate gift program, a catalog, and of course, a website, where they have some lines of luxury pens that are not available in their stores such as David Oscarson and Loiminchay. Their store is also clean and bright, and in a high traffic area of Fashion Show Mall across from Starbucks and close to Neiman Marcus. Their price points for their pens (in-store) range from about $25-$6,500+! They have been in business since 1984 and were an offshoot of Colorado Baggage/Colorado Pen Company. They have an established reputation and have several chain stores in malls all over the country.

http://www.paradisepen.com

But…there are things that my competitors do not have. What are they, you may ask? I’ll never tell (and that’s what I intend to find out), but I plan to report more observations of my competitors in the very near future. It is clear to see that there is definitely a niche market and a demand for pen stores in the area, and I want to make sure I fulfill that demand to my customers!

The first topic I would like to touch on is the value of superior customer service. Above all else, this is what I strive for more than profit. Without happy customers, there is no profit. You can come up with the slickest marketing campaigns, learn all the selling strategies in the world, have the best merchandise, but if your customer service is piss-poor, for lack of a better word, your business will suffer.

Give the people what they want. Keep them happy and they will come back for more. Respect EACH and EVERY customer. Believe in your products. KNOW your merchandise and your craft. Offer goods and services that your competitors cannot. Constantly re-invent your image. Never be content just because you are number one. Your competitors have the same thoughts and you all have to constantly compete against one another. Re-arrange your merchandise and store displays so that your storefront is always fresh, new, and exciting. Your customers observe more than you think they do. Hire the most knowledgeable staff who are truly enthusiastic about their jobs and the merchandise, who are not only there for a paycheck. Always keep in mind the knowledge that customers don’t HAVE to shop at your store, they can always go elsewhere. They don’t always NEED the merchandise you sell, you have to make them WANT IT.

Going above and beyond for your customers absolutely essential. Once you establish a rapport with your customer, make them look at you like a human being instead of a salesperson, lower their defenses and resistance, then you are on your way to earning added value, trust, and respect from him or her. Then you have a customer for life. They will tell their friends and family about how happy they were shopping at your store. After that, selling to them is a piece of cake. It all has to be done respectfully, honestly, and ethically.

Plus, if they truly WANT the merchandise you sold to them, the least likely they are to return or exchange it. It’s all about how you treat them. NEVER make judgments about your customers and how much they can afford. That kind of thinking is deadly to salespeople. Who’s to say a guy wearing an old t-shirt and ripped up blue jeans can’t afford a $4,500 David Oscarson pen? Hell, he may buy five of them! You never know! ALL your customers are valuable, no matter what their temperament may be. Yes, it’s not possible to please everyone; there are always going to be difficult customers, but the best thing I have learned is to be pleasant, friendly, and have a smile on your face, no matter how much they may yell and complain. This is only human nature and part of the business.

Hello everyone!

Welcome to the blog for what will be my future retail digital storefront, Vegas Pens – Pen Lounge and Ink Bar. It has been my dream and brainchild for over a year. I plan to bring a fresh, hip, young, unique, retro-modern spin and the “Vegas Experience” to the traditional pen store I feel is sorely needed on the web, along with personalized, superior customer service.

For centuries the pen and paper have been an integral part of the human experience. Since the first cave dwellings where the ancient people drew their thoughts and experiences on the stone walls, to the Roman, Greek, and Egyptian civilizations, when special scribes wrote down their history, to the feather quill, fountain pen, ballpoint and rollerball, people have been writing for as long as there has been a need to create and fully express themselves.

I am irked when I am asked, “Why do you collect pens, especially fountain pens?” or “Is there really a need for that?” Of course there is, especially in the technological age. Yes, the keyboard has made it much easier for people to send messages to each other via email, Facebook, or Twitter, but how much more personal is it for someone to send you a postcard, letter, or card through the U.S. Mail written by hand? It speaks volumes about how personal it is, to see someone’s handwriting, to know they took the time out of their busy day to actually sit down and write something nice and heartfelt for you. These are the people I am interested in as my future customers, people like you, who appreciate the art of fine writing with a beautiful writing instrument on quality stationery.

I also want to sell a few novelties such as photo albums, mugs, greeting cards, and magnets down the road, but my main focus will be on pens (especially fountain pens) and stationery, particularly brands that cannot be easily obtained on other pen sites. Because of the future customer questionnaire I set up in place a while ago, my customers have suggested awesome merchandise that I never would have known about if it wasn’t for their input. I am open to any suggestions for possible new vendors so I can order their products for inventory in my store when I am ready to go.

My initial plan was to open next month, but because of the struggling economy and my lack of a permanent job for a year, I have decided to wait a while longer until I am financially stable to buy the quality merchandise I need, obtain a business license, do proper market research, and get my website designed. The banks are reluctant to give people loans right now, so I plan to fund VP with my own money. I do not want to go into business for the first time not being prepared. I didn’t realize it was going to be difficult and it would take longer than I anticipated, but I know the results will be worth it once my dream has come to fruition.

I am extremely grateful to those of you who have been patient with me as my fans on Facebook and my followers on Twitter. Without your support I would not be able to have a business. I look forward to serving you in the near future. Thank you.

To find out more about how I became interested in pens and my vision for my store, please click on the “About Vegas Pens” page.