As I’ve stated previously, my current pen rule is to be more thoughtful with my pen purchases. I’m doing my best to purchase pens that will make me happy to own, not just happy to buy.
It can be difficult sometimes. Pens may have misleading marketing photos — I’m looking at you, Sailor Pro Gear Slim Red Supernova — or zero size reference, for example. So, pens you think will be be fabulous may turn out to be not so great, or even totally wrong for you.
The question then, is what do you do? My plan was always to immediately return any pen that didn’t make me 100% happy upon unboxing. I put that plan in place after the Red Supernova debacle. In theory, it was a great plan. In practice, it hit a major snag the next time a pen didn’t meet that standard.
The Pen That Didn’t Make the Cut
On Christmas Day, I bought the Norseman Sleipnir from Genesis Pens. The Instagram posts of that pen were gorgeous. And, since it was on sale in December, I went ahead and got it. The catch? Genesis pens is in Hong Kong.
The pen took a bit to arrive, not surprising considering COVID delays. But, it did finally arrive, and I was really excited. Unfortunately, when I opened the package and box, I had a moment of sinking disappointment.
The Sleipnir was very pretty, but it was seriously girthy. I didn’t think to measure it, but the Sleipnir puts the Homo Sapiens, and even an OMAS 360 to shame.
Norsemen vs. Homo Sapiens 
Norsemen vs. OMAS 360
I knew, as I handled the pen, that I wouldn’t be able to comfortably write with it. But, I knew I couldn’t return it easily. I’d likely have to pay shipping and wait until it got back to Genesis for a refund. I didn’t want to deal with that.
A Moment of Weakness
I actually considered just keeping it. Maybe I would come to love it. It’s not outside the realm of possibility. I also considered the fact that I’d been feeling down all day, so maybe I was just being overly critical. So I set it aside for a couple of days.
Sadly, when I opened the box again, it was not magically more appealing to me. I don’t know what I was expecting. The problem wasn’t with the way it looked. I could accept that keeping the Sleipnir made no sense. And since I wanted to avoid the hassle of a return to Hong Kong, my last option was to sell it.
Rebound
So that’s what I did. I listed it for sale as brand new, never inked, on my local pen crew facebook group for what I paid for it. My hope was that I’d be able to sell locally so that I could avoid shipping fees and hassles.
Thankfully, one of my fellow pen crew-ers had been eyeing the Sleipnir for a while, and was happy to get it at a discount. We arranged a handoff, and they were happy with the pen, which would be good for their hands.
So, happy ending for everyone. Ultimately, I’m proud of myself for sticking, as well as possible, to my plan and goal, despite my moment of “weakness”. With this first “letdown” out of the way, hopefully future ones will be easier to deal with. Both from an emotional standpoint and a practical one.
Have you returned a pen you didn’t love, or sold it if returning it wasn’t an option? How did it go? How long did it take you to make the decision? Leave me a comment and let me know.
