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Product Description
Diamine has been making fine inks in Liverpool since 1864, and its new Shimmertastic Ink is quite literally a shining example of what makes the brand so highly regarded among fountain pen enthusiasts. Available in a wide range of colors, these inks contain metallic gold or silver particles that will make your writing stand out on the page Read More
OK, well you keep that thought. A retailer would not sell to their competition (Massdrop). So when you are in the business and not a consumer trying to save a dollar by purchasing grey market goods, then you can state facts about what is going on. That applies to not just this product but all products the "pen community" wants to save a dollar on. When they put their retailers out of business, good luck with trying to satisfy your needs for new products in writing instruments. So until then, discussion closed.
penman8Exactly what I expected lol
No response to clarify what you're claiming the actual issue is with the PRODUCT here. No response to how a sale "trashes" a brand's name.
To be honest, I'm not that big in this hobby, haven't used Diamine inks before, but if I like them based on this sale that got me to try them, maybe I'll look for more. And if I do, it means I'll be looking for a steady retailer where i can get what I want at any time....so in that sense it's a win win. That's generally how sales work to introduce new customers to new products and hopefully turn them into loyal customers.
I've been on the selling side of business in the past too. And as a consumer, often times my preference goes 1)local product 2)local business 3)trusted retailer 4)anywhere else based on price... don't make assumptions about who I am, what experience I have, or what my intentions are.
Sorry to have to break this to you, but competing with online retailers, flash sales, bulk buys, Black Friday deals, Amazon, eBay....that's all part of doing business today. I think the least of your concerns should be a group buy site who is selling a couple hundred bottles worldwide over the course of a week a few times a year. Or, in the case of other items here, running a one time sale.
I wonder if you do this to all your competitors when they run a sale below what you're allowed to sell an item for?
Ordered this the last go around and one of my bottles came to me completely shattered, leaked through the box and ruined my carpet, so I must say I'm hesitant to participate in another ink drop from Massdrop.
There was zero packaging in the box to protect the bottles from slamming into each other. I fail to see the need for your sarcasm. Something other people might want to be aware of.
ZaavatarIt's subtle but noticeable with a Medium Pilot Metropolitan, and smacks you upside the head with a broad italic nib. In bright lighting both are pretty noticeable.
I got a few bottles on a previous drop and I’m in on this one too, because I enjoy them immensely. I have a pretty good supply of Diamine inks, both the regular and the shimmering kind, so permit me to make this observation. Diamine has been in the business for quite some time and they produce excellent inks. If you’re going to get the shimmer inks, there are a few things to be aware of. First of all, please scroll down the page a bit to Radil’s comment, where he shows a photo of a nib feed that has become clogged with the glitter. Remember that these inks contain a zillion very fine particles, and they don’t remain in suspension very long. When you fill your pen, get everything ready, then shake the bottle vigorously to free the glitter from the bottom. Keep shaking to distribute it as uniformly as you can. When you are satisfied that you’ve shaken the bottle enough, quickly remove the cap and immediately insert the pen and start filling. If you‘re too slow, the glitter will settle and you won’t get as much in your pen. Next, please don’t use a Pelikan, Montblanc, or any pen with a piston fill mechanism. Again, I refer you to Radil’s photo. Use only a pen with a converter. Also, I would advise against using any high-end pens. (Radil again.). And always, when you get to the end of your pen’s fill, disassemble and throughly clean all the parts. This stuff gets everywhere, and you’ll want to use a squeeze bulb to clean the feed, etc. It’s fun using these inks, but you really need to keep everything clean. Thanks to AdamGH for his enlightening photos. Nib creep is an issue with Safaris at the best of times, but when you add the glitter factor, well... Anyway, these are great inks and are meant to be enjoyed.
Does anyone have experience with how gunky this ink is if allowed to sit in a pen for a few days? I know stormy grey has that rep and that some diamine inks (I'm looking at you, ancient copper) do as well: is this combo doomed to be an ink you don't dare look away from? How does it perform?
DvanaI have three of these inks (Night Sky, Blue Pearl, and Magical Forest) and find that they're VERY, and unpredictably, pen-specific (as are the shimmer Herbins). The Diamines work perfectly in one cheapo Jinhao pen but not at all in another, for instance. The first pen starts instantly and writes beautifully, even with the ink in it for two weeks, while the second gave me the hardest start I've ever had, every single time — I had to force ink into the feed by lowering the piston on the converter and then shaking the pen, after which it wrote fine (until I capped it and picked it up a few hours later, when I had to repeat the process). You may need to try a bunch of pens until you find one that loves the ink, but after that you shouldn't have any problems with it.
These inks mix really well, BTW: make your own silvery teal by mixing Blue Pearl and Magical Forest!
What was massdrop thinking when they add this ink in the essentials for writing section?!?
This is a great ink, but the shimmer properties makes it one of the most high maintanance inks to be found out there, because of the potential of clogging the feed.
I don't think it should be recommended to anyone who is not comfortable with disassembling a fountain pen for proper maintenance and who is willing to spend longer times in the cleaning process than with any other ink.
Every time Diamine ink is dropped this discussion comes up. I have tried buying direct from the UK and depending on the weight of the package the total cost to me is slightly to significantly lower than joining the drop.
I guess the reason Massdrop can't beat direct-from-the-UK prices is that they are obliged to deal with Diamine's US distributor, whose prerogative is to have a slice of the pie. The best they can do is come close.
The "real rub" is that buying direct is significantly faster than joining the drop.
You can blame it on a strong dollar and cheap gas.
Ironically, if it wasn't for the Massdrop discussion it would never have occurred to me to consider buying direct.
You can get these inks from The Writing Desk, including shipping, at cheaper prices even when compared to Diamine's own website. And shipping for me means to the other side of the world to Malaysia. At today's rate the shipped price of 2 bottles is only about USD29+. Plus no waiting for drops to end.
No affiliation with the good folks at TWD. Just a head's up for the community.
Hi folks! if you order straight from the Diamine homepage, you got to pay 9.95 GPD, ruthly 12.50 USD, per bottle for the Shimmertastic inks. If you order 2 or more bottles you will get a 5ml free ink sample.
Note: I am not trying to talk massdrop.com's prices down or anything.. maybe it really is cheaper to order 2 bottles here on massdrop.com than it is to order them from diamineink.co.uk or a third party reseller if you are in the US/Canada
But here is my case:
In my case, ordering from Austria/EU, it's cheaper and MUCH faster to order straight from http://diamineinks.co.uk/. Last time i ordered a bottle of Blue lightning and a bottle of Appleglory i waited 4 work days (ordered at 9th jan, in the evening arrived at 14th jan.)
More often then not it is cheaper, or just more convenient(faster), to order straight from the retailer or a third party seller just because shipping costs will be much lower.
(I assume that you are always paying a part from the shipping cost to Massdrop's distro center and then the full shipping cost from there on to your destination.)
While i do not count the free ink sample a huge benefit, sales and other goodies from first or thirdparty retailers can sweeten the deal by a bit.
This is a pretty great deal for 2 bottles of the Diamine Shimmertastic inks. I see them typically at $ 20 USD from most US suppliers... Add the shipping from most vendors and your well over $ 40.00 . I would gladly join the drop, except I already have a bottle of each. Some from a previous drop. They are very nice inks, I have nothing bad to say about them. I haven't put these inks in any of my better pens, so I can't speak to how they perform in those. I had purchased a few boxes of student/art pens for a classroom. I thought I'd try the shimmertastic ink in one because the feed is simple, no fins. The pens are fairly inexpensive and have a simple built in plunger fill. The nib and feed together work excellent with this ink. I have left the ink in these pens for weeks at a time with no problems. No clogging and shows off the shimmer of these inks.... If anyone is interested in the pens, I'll be happy to let you know more about them. These are great inks for greeting cards !
Got mine yesterday. The package was in good condition but for some reason both bottles had a slow leak leaving a small amount of ink over the inside of each box...is this normal?
Does your area still have freezing temperatures? Diamine fills their bottles well, so sometimes when the weather is cold these inks can freeze before getting to you.
Please make sure to contact our Community Support team through your transactions page, and send some photos if you can. We'll take care of you!
LizIt wasn't freezing but it was below 7c for sure...that could have caused enough expansion for the small leaks I had. The amount of spillage is no where near enough to justify any corrective action but I very much appreciate your offer.
Thanks Liz. Now I wait for the Diamine 5-pack to arrive.