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Product Description
Clairefontaine was founded in 1890 on the site of a 16th-century paper mill located in the Vosges region of France, which is known to have the ideal combination of clear water, abundant forests, skilled craftsmen, and a thriving textile industry. Family run for six generations, Clairefontaine has established a reputation for manufacturing well known and highly sought after paper products Read More
$9.00 shipping for notebooks? Are you crazy? Where is the savings? I can go to a number of other online retailers that ship for free or less. These drops lately are Ridiculous.
Greetings Sallen and All...
Sallen, I don't know where Amazon HQ is located... But, I am pretty sure it is nowhere close to where I live. :(
I did not intend my comment to indicate that I have been unhappy with any of the items or drops I have chosen to join through Massdrop. I have been very happy with all the drops I joined. I have been happy with the items I received and the savings were great. The products were shipped and delivered in the time and dates Massdrop said they would be. The logistics involved in organizing a drop from start to shipping them out must be enormous. So receiving all of my purchases on time is amazing.
I also have to note that when I messaged Massdrop with questions about one of the drops, I received a very quick reply. The individual that contacted me was very helpful and friendly and my questions/concerns were taken care of. That is another plus for the service through Massdrop.
My comments were regarding the price for this specific drop. They may or may not reflect your own needs and prices you might be able to find for the same item. What may be a good price for me, may not be be a savings to someone else. As a buyer, it is important to check out the drop and compare prices, with shipping, before deciding to join.
Also understand that drops remain open for a number of days, the group order needs to be placed with the vendor, shipped from vendor to Massdrop to be packaged and finally shipped to individual buyers. With that said, Massdrop is not the place to shop for something you want or need right away. I think if you expect to receive your item quickly, you might be better off buying it from an on line store.
To be fair, Massdrop does not promise fast delivery of purchases. Massdrop seeks to give people the chance to save on items when purchased in larger quantities/with other buyers. Leaving a drop open for a number of days increases the opportunity for others to find and join the drop, hopefully unlocking the lowest available price. While I am sure Massdrop works to secure the best price possible, at the end of the day, that price is determined by the lowest price a vendor will offer.
As I said, I think the concept is a good one. While every drop does not always end up being the super savings we'd all like to find.. I appreciate Massdrop for being a great place to learn about things I may not be familiar with and newly released items. It has become a community of like minded people, or at least like minded users of goods. Providing a place for people to ask questions, find information and learn from others. Even if you never make a purchase, Massdrop has something to offer everyone.
I should add.. No, I do not work for Massdrop.
I will continue to watch future drops in the Writing Community and wouldn't hesitate to purchase through Massdrop in the future :)
j-e-gMy comments were also in regards to shipping and pricing of some drops in general - not MD services. MD does not promise quick shipping, which is OK if the price is good.
Lately, a lot of the writing drops continue to be a wash or the local shops (or Amazon Prime) is only a little more expensive (plus near instant gratification - yeah!). I watch all of the writing drops, especially those with fountain pens, good paper, and fountain pen ink.
MD idea is a good one and I can see its application would work by leveraging large purchases for a better deal. Group buys sometimes work and sometimes they do not. Shipping unfortunately, can get pricey especially with bulky, heavy items such as paper notepads.
I too have had great customer service from MD, even when I was being thick. My questions have been answered quickly and politely despite my misunderstanding.
I do not hesitate to join drops when there is something unique (ooh shiny!). I have joined several drops since my earlier comments below and will continue to do so.
BTW - I too do not work for MD or Amazon - probably should have noted that as well.
I have to agree with J-E-G, and MuttonChew, lately it appears that Massdrop pricing with shipping is not better or worse than the local shop. With Amazon Prime, lately Massdrop has been more expensive. Case in point, this Clairefontaine A4 drop.
I love fountain pens, fountain pen ink, Rhodia and Clairefontaine notebooks. I was excited to join drops for ink, fountain pens, and notebooks. Lately, I find myself somewhat disappointed with Massdrop.
Long shipping delays, and pricing (with shipping) that is either a wash, or more expensive than Amazon Prime, negated my participation in many drops that I would have jumped upon normally.
Similar to what J-E-G said, next time I order from Jet Pens or Amazon, I can add a Clairefontaine or Rhodia webbie for cheaper per, than I can get them from this drop.
Now to be fair, I live an hour north of Amazon HQ, so when drone shipping starts, I am so in.
I was kind of excited to see this drop in my e-mail... I have been wanting to order one of these to try out and review.
But, I have to agree with MuttonChew - These retail at a popular pen shop in the US for $ 14.00. The MSRP of 42.00 listed here reflects that - However, with 9.00 shipping, the cost would actually be more. ( the total would be 17.00 each notebook ) The lowest drop price of 31.99 plus 9.99 shipping would be $ 41.98 or about 13.99 each notebook.
Either way, it would save me to just add one the next time I need to order ink or other supplies.
I was excited when I first joined Massdrop. I felt like buying s a group did result in some fair savings. Lately it seems that the drop prices are often the same as vendor prices, sometimes even higher. It does seem like some of the higher end pens/writing drops have better overall savings. Perhaps there is more room for a higher margin of savings.
I know shipping costs have risen. Unfortunately, with drop prices at or equal to vendor prices, high shipping and longer ship/delivery times, I find myself less enthusiastic about Massdrop than I had been . In an odd way, I feel bad about it. I will definitely join future drops, hoping for more drops for average/mid-range shoppers.
I think the overall concept is a good idea and it seems that it should/would be a good way to negotiate better prices with manufacturers. There just seems to be a hiccough somewhere in the implementation.
Keeping my fingers crossed for some fun drops :)
As I said in a similar writing drop... you can get these notebooks WAY cheaper if you buy them direct from a UK site.
Even with international shipping from CultPens in the UK, you can get 5 Rhodia Clothbound Notebooks for cheaper than this drop costs to get 3.
Also, not sure if this was intentional, but shipping to Canada for this drop is $32.25!!!
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