Today’s post is the second installment in a series of answers to questions that I regularly get in my mailbag (both “snail” and virtual). I had so much fun with the first round of Q&A that I went ahead and did another addressing questions about how I choose to stock the shop and my overall retail philosophy. Here goes!

What is your shop philosophy, and in general, why have a shop at all?

What actually drew me into the world of “curated retail” was a frustration with emerging retail and marketing trends in the greater online pen community. As pens and other analogue tools have grown in popularity over the past decade, this higher profile was accompanied by an increase in analog-related internet content - some of it thoughtful and high-quality, but a lot of it simply FOMO and acquisition-driven noise that amounted to little more than paid advertising for inferior products and/or affiliate link farms. As someone who had been working mainly as a blogger/reviewer for several years, manufacturers and retailers were sending me products that I didn’t feel added much to the larger picture, and which weren’t nearly as good as products already on the market. I didn’t enjoy reviewing them as much as I enjoyed writing about things like the joy of finding a Workhorse Pen or experimenting with notebook systems. Morever, it felt as though the proliferation of review and social media content on “the next big thing” was starting to drown out more helpful content targeted to those primarily looking for a reliable “first” pen or a daily driver that they intended to use for everyday writing.

Towards the latter half of 2019, I decided to let paid advertising expire on the blog and unlinked my affiliate accounts, with the goal of becoming 100% self-sustaining. I opened a Patreon account, placed an order for Book Darts and Write Notepads (thanks guys!) and took a table at the 2020 Baltimore Pen Show. While running a shop involves a LOT more daily work than relying on income generated by referrals, I prefer this method of operating for three reasons that are very important to me personally:

Independence. I no longer have to navigate the politics of offering a negative or lukewarm opinion on a product given to me by a paid monthly sponsor or advertiser. While there’s always going to be some degree of tension - I still review products made or provided by those I consider friends and colleagues - the lack of a paid relationship removes a layer of complications. I can choose to write my own content and/or review what I want, when I want, without having to worry about preserving a business relationship or ensuring that my site remains appealing to potential advertisers. If someone loans or gives me a pen that I want to review on a one-off basis, I simply disclose that fact. In a bit of internet heresy, I ignore site analytics as they have little value to me. Knowing whether people choose to support me by buying from the shop or pledging Patreon is enough.
Accountability. If I recommend a pen and you purchase it from a third-party advertiser or referral source, I have no control over the customer experience, whether at retail or in after-market customer service. On the other hand, if I’m selling directly, I can do whatever I can to ensure the customer experience is positive, and address any customer service or warranty issues that may arise myself.
Transparency. In my opinion, selling directly and not relying on third-parties is one of the most transparent ways to generate revenue. Any business has to navigate conflicts of interest, particularly when reviewing products or offering opinions, but under my current model you all know exactly how I get paid: through the shop or Patreon. If I write about a product or brand sold in the T.G.S. Curated Shop, I try to be as objective as possible, but to the extent there is a conflict of interest readers know exactly what that is. Third-party relationships with affiliate networks and advertisers get murky, and in my opinion many blogs and websites (not just in the pen world but all across the internet) fail to adequately disclose both the existence of these relationships and the extent/nature of the financial compensation being paid. I’m not throwing shade - the “rules” (where they exist at all) are murky and involve all sorts of judgment calls. Personally, it felt like the right choice to just remove the issue from my own business model as much as I possibly can.

Has Your Philosophy/strategy Evolved or Changed over the years?

I first launched the T.G.S. Curated Shop in early 2020, with the goal of offering a small selection of handpicked goods that best reflected my philosophy of how I use stationery. In short, I chose practical, well-made goods within a moderate price range, targeted to those who use their stationery on a daily basis for work and study. Over time, in response to reader/customer feedback and what I perceive as the needs of the market, I’ve branched out a bit to include some special editions and products that are just “pure fun,” but at the end of the day I would say that the mix of products in the shop is weighted 80/20 to my original philosophy, and occasionally I find myself dialing it back to return to my original focus.

What’s The Plan for T.G.S. in 2024? Do You Plan to Open a Physical Shop?

Right now, my family and I are just trying to survive the holiday season, but if I had to set a goal for 2024, it would be to further grow the shop while refining the product selection, including more custom and exclusive items. Our collaboration with Hinze Pens was extremely successful, we sold out of our second run of the T.G.S. Penwell, and in October we were proud to become one of a handful of retailers in the U.S. to carry Roterfaden. If I had to point you to an area of the shop where we test product categories and experiment in areas where we are actively considering expansion, check out the “Reading and Desk Accessories” page, which also offers a lot of insight into my own personal interests and hobbies. We are also looking to expand our selection of woodcase pencils, in response to what we perceive as a gap in the market. And while we almost certainly will have a permanent physical location in 2024, it remains to be seen exactly what that will entail as so much depends on a local real estate market that is incredibly unfriendly to small business.

Joe's Analog Library, including Roterfadens in front of a Bookshelf — My house is basically a museum of the analog life.

In terms of content, I don’t review as many “new releases” as I used to, and this is by design. Longtime readers may wonder why I often circle back to pens I’ve previously reviewed, such as the Lamy 2000, Pilot Custom 74, or Pilot Custom 823. The reason relates to what I alluded to above - there are new users entering this hobby every day, and the internet (and social media) often suppresses older content in favor of the new and shiny. Those searching for a “best first fountain pen” can miss out on an excellent recommendation because the reviews of said pen were published eight years ago. While it’s important to stay current on new trends, the priority of T.G.S. is to offer a well-rounded perspective on what’s out there as a whole, which includes regularly coming back to the basics.

I do get a lot of mail, and unfortunately there just aren’t enough hours in the day for prompt responses. Please know that I read everything! I try to get back to everyone eventually, but as the readership grows it may not be possible logistically to do personalized replies.

So I had grand ambitions to finish a couple of reviews in-progress this weekend, but the combination of Thanksgiving, Black Friday, shipping, etc. didn’t leave me enough time for the photography stage. So, I decided instead to jump-start a project that I’ve been wanting to do for some time: answer questions I receive via e-mail, DM, etc.

I do get a lot of mail, and unfortunately there just aren’t enough hours in the day for prompt responses. I try to get back to everyone eventually, but as the readership grows logistically it may not be possible to do personalized responses (though please do know that I read everything that comes my way). I figured a happy medium might be to take some of the more common or interesting questions and publish the responses in a new series of posts. Enjoy the first three!

Written Correspondence Cards — From artisanal correspondence cards to a simple A5 or A4 writing pad, there are many different options for letter writing.

Question 1: What is the best paper for written correspondence, such as letter writing?

I get this question at least twice a week. It’s by far the most frequently asked, and to answer categorically, since people respond to letters in different ways. For example, some people love to adorn their letters with calligraphy, ink washes, mixed media, etc. - which necessarily requires thicker art paper - and some people simply like to respond to letters with postcards, especially if they receive a lot of mail and can’t respond at length to everybody.

That said, generally speaking, I offer three specific recommendations. For standard A4/A5 writing paper, the gold standard is Clairefontaine Triomphe, which is bright white, fountain pen friendly and showcases ink well. It’s also fairly inexpensive. Fans of laid paper enjoy both G. Lalo and Original Crown Mill, both of which are excellent though I’d recommend trying textured paper once or twice before stocking up, as it can be an acquired taste. For something special, check out the lightweight onionskin Life Airmail Paper. Of course any quality paper works for writing letters - you don’t need to limit yourself to “letter writing paper” - but these are good options specifically advertised by their manufacturer for that purpose.

Question 2: Where is the best place to sell used pens?

This is a question I get all the time, but is another hard one. Certain resellers (Peyton Street Pens and Chatterly Luxuries are two that come to mind) sometimes purchase secondhand pens for trade or resale, but given that retailers need to maintain a margin, you will nearly always get less money selling to a dealer or retailer than by selling to an end-user directly online. Whenever I look to offload pens, I first try to sell directly to friends and acquaintances at pen shows or my local pen club (so they can see the pens in person), but barring that I use direct channels such as the Pen Addict Slack Group, my Patreon, and the Gently Used page here. In the past, I have sold via forums such as FPGeeks and Fountain Pen Network, but it’s been years and can’t vouch for them as current options. Many people use r/pen_swap on Reddit and/or Discord Channels, but I have no personal experience.

I still have a LOT of “old” Tomoe River Paper, shown here in my Nanami Paper Cafe Note

Question 3: Which notebooks still use “old” Tomoe River Paper?

Right now, it’s safest to assume that nearly all notebooks being sold are the new Sanzen Tomoe River paper unless expressly stated otherwise by the seller in a product listing. While I’ve heard that the 68gsm paper currently on the market is “old” paper (i.e. non-Sanzen), I’ve also heard rumors that there is a “new” 68gsm paper being made. Most makers don’t specify because they either have mixed stock or don’t want to create expectations when they can’t be guaranteed a supply of the old paper going forward.

Submit Your Questions to TGS!

I’ll plan to do this periodically, and keep a running list of questions that might make for interesting responses. You can submit questions through the “Contact” link on the header, which is by far the easiest way for me to keep track. While I do read and sometimes respond to comments, those get buried and are hard to manage, especially recent comments to posts published years ago.

Note: All Thanksgiving Weekend Specials run through Monday, November 27 at 11:59pm. Many thanks to everyone who has supported us so far this year! The Gentleman Stationer is supported entirely by purchases from the T.G.S. Curated Shop and pledges via the T.G.S. Patreon Program.