AliExpress experiments - Non-watch products

[If you see Kay]

Still waiting for my multiple shipments since April 9. Still considered early. I ordered something from eBay last week and I already received that.

 

[Bkdpotato]

I ordered a set of MB cuff links and a Boss wallet. Cuff links showed up in 2 weeks. It's been 4 weeks now, and the wallet order was just canceled. Apparently no payment was processed on vendors end, which is BS as my CC has been debited. Definitely going to contest this. Beware.

Cuff links are mint though. $8.

 

[xpletiv]

....PHOTOS...we need PHOTOS!!!

Zeesh.

 

[Mendota]

How are the fountain pens compared to low or moderately priced gens like Cross or others? Do these replica fountain pens clog, leak or gum up like cheap fountain pens do? I had a low priced fountain pen and even a moderately priced Cross fountain pen and they were both pure crap. They would clog, dry out, and become useless even with brand new cartridges. I'd rather use a 50 cent Uniball gel pen than a sh#tty fountain pen. If these are nice, however, then I'm definitely interested.

 

[Ruski91]

Hey [MENTION=13513]Mendota[/MENTION], i cant answer that for two reasons. First is I have not filled up the fountain pens yet with ink and 2, i have never had the pleasure of writing with a gen fountain pen. Well some cheapie disposable ones but nothing that will be worth a comparison. I have always liked the way fountain pens look and decided to get a couple to try them out. Now i just have to stop by and pick up some ink.

Honestly for a couple bucks, i recommend picking one up and trying it out. Worst case is you dont like it and loose 10 bucks. I am sure there will be members on here who will pick it up for the same price if you list it m2m anyway.

 

[Mendota]

Hey @Mendota, i cant answer that for two reasons. First is I have not filled up the fountain pens yet with ink and 2, i have never had the pleasure of writing with a gen fountain pen. Well some cheapie disposable ones but nothing that will be worth a comparison. I have always liked the way fountain pens look and decided to get a couple to try them out. Now i just have to stop by and pick up some ink.

Honestly for a couple bucks, i recommend picking one up and trying it out. Worst case is you dont like it and loose 10 bucks. I am sure there will be members on here who will pick it up for the same price if you list it m2m anyway.

No worries and thanks for starting the thread. Be sure to post back when you get them filled and working. I might go for it. I like the look of that textured one that you bought. I went back through your post and got the seller name. You said it was free shipping, too, to CONUS? That's awesome. :thumbup: You are totally right, too - M2M is a great option if something ends up not meeting an individual's expectations.

 

[minty007]

How are the fountain pens compared to low or moderately priced gens like Cross or others? Do these replica fountain pens clog, leak or gum up like cheap fountain pens do? I had a low priced fountain pen and even a moderately priced Cross fountain pen and they were both pure crap. They would clog, dry out, and become useless even with brand new cartridges. I'd rather use a 50 cent Uniball gel pen than a sh#tty fountain pen. If these are nice, however, then I'm definitely interested.

Hey @Mendota, i cant answer that for two reasons. First is I have not filled up the fountain pens yet with ink and 2, i have never had the pleasure of writing with a gen fountain pen. Well some cheapie disposable ones but nothing that will be worth a comparison. I have always liked the way fountain pens look and decided to get a couple to try them out. Now i just have to stop by and pick up some ink.

Honestly for a couple bucks, i recommend picking one up and trying it out. Worst case is you dont like it and loose 10 bucks. I am sure there will be members on here who will pick it up for the same price if you list it m2m anyway.

Hi [MENTION=13513]Mendota[/MENTION], as a follow up to your fountain pen question, I've found that my rep pens write surprisingly well. I did take a stone to one of the nibs to smooth it out and make it write a bit narrower to fit my tastes. Regarding your comparison of Uniballs and fountain pens, I think you need to confirm your understanding and expectations of fountain pens. While roller pens are "buy it and forget it" products, fountain pens are not. Even the best of them require regular care and maintenance to work properly. Like a high performance car, they need to be used regularly and cleaned periodically to keep them happy. They also need to be cleaned and stored properly when they are not used. Most pen manufacturers recommend thoroughly cleaning a pen every 2-3 weeks when in use, before changing ink colors or types, and before they sit unused. Skip the maintenance and clogging, gumming and drying out that you mention become inevitable, regardless of the pen's quality.

 

[Ruski91]

No love for the Hermes Case guys?

 

[minty007]

No love for the Hermes Case guys?

It looks great in the pics - the leather appears surprisingly nice and I like the color. Tell me how it works... does the phone cover lift out of the larger case or do you need to remove the phone from the case entirely to talk?

 

[Mendota]

Hi @Mendota, as a follow up to your fountain pen question, I've found that my rep pens write surprisingly well. I did take a stone to one of the nibs to smooth it out and make it write a bit narrower to fit my tastes. Regarding your comparison of Uniballs and fountain pens, I think you need to confirm your understanding and expectations of fountain pens. While roller pens are "buy it and forget it" products, fountain pens are not. Even the best of them require regular care and maintenance to work properly. Like a high performance car, they need to be used regularly and cleaned periodically to keep them happy. They also need to be cleaned and stored properly when they are not used. Most pen manufacturers recommend thoroughly cleaning a pen every 2-3 weeks when in use, before changing ink colors or types, and before they sit unused. Skip the maintenance and clogging, gumming and drying out that you mention become inevitable, regardless of the pen's quality.

Thank you for the clarification [MENTION=11849]minty007[/MENTION]. That is exactly what I experienced in the past and I had no idea that I needed to regularly clean and maintain it. I was misusing the pen. Now that I am older and wiser, I think I am ready to venture back into that world of fine writing instruments.

So how do you clean it? Next, what do you do if you only plan to use it occasionally? Can you remove an ink cartridge and store it for the next time you want to use it? Then you drop the cartridge back in when you want to use the pen and go to town? I don't have a need to write with one daily, so it would remain on my desk or in my briefcase until I need to use it. I'm gathering that for this type of use, I should leave it empty and then drop in the cartridge before using it and then remove it again when I'm done?

 

[Ruski91]

It looks great in the pics - the leather appears surprisingly nice and I like the color. Tell me how it works... does the phone cover lift out of the larger case or do you need to remove the phone from the case entirely to talk?

So its a flap close cover. The phone should fit snuggly inside the enclosure on the right hand side, and then the left side will flap over and close it when not in use. When in use, you fold the left side over to the back and hold it like a regular phone when speaking. When i had the iphone 5 i had a similar case at one point. Its ok for those who dont mind constantly flipping the cover. It got annoying for me after a while, but my mother in law loves this style of a case and has had like 5 of them so far. My only concern is whether or not the phone will fit snug within the enclosure on the right hand side. If not, its useless, if it does, should be a nice little present. But like you said - quality of the leather (if its even leather) feels fantastic for the money.

 

[minty007]

Thank you for the clarification @minty007. That is exactly what I experienced in the past and I had no idea that I needed to regularly clean and maintain it. I was misusing the pen. Now that I am older and wiser, I think I am ready to venture back into that world of fine writing instruments.

So how do you clean it? Next, what do you do if you only plan to use it occasionally? Can you remove an ink cartridge and store it for the next time you want to use it? Then you drop the cartridge back in when you want to use the pen and go to town? I don't have a need to write with one daily, so it would remain on my desk or in my briefcase until I need to use it. I'm gathering that for this type of use, I should leave it empty and then drop in the cartridge before using it and then remove it again when I'm done?

I think you'll find that it's worth the effort. My regular maintenance routine consists of simple cold water flushes through the feed/nib (after removing the cartridge or piston reservoir). I let the water run through in the same direction as the ink flow until it runs clear, then let it dry completely before reassembling. If things get really buggered up over time, you can flush with an ammonia solution or you can buy a pen cleaning solution.

I've found that it's important to keep the pen capped when you are not actually writing - even if it's only going to be parked for a few minutes. That helps immensely to reduce drying and eventual clogging. Different pens and nib types dry out at different rates, so let your own experience be your guide as to how quickly you need to re-cap your pen. Storing for more than a few days? Remove the cartridge and flush the pen. A cold water flush only takes a minute or two, so it is not a big deal once you get into the habit.

Here's one example of some potentially helpful pen maintenance info out there: http://www.nibs.com/PenMaintenance.htm

Happy writing!

 

[Mendota]

I think you'll find that it's worth the effort. My regular maintenance routine consists of simple cold water flushes through the feed/nib (after removing the cartridge or piston reservoir). I let the water run through in the same direction as the ink flow until it runs clear, then let it dry completely before reassembling. If things get really buggered up over time, you can flush with an ammonia solution or you can buy a pen cleaning solution.

I've found that it's important to keep the pen capped when you are not actually writing - even if it's only going to be parked for a few minutes. That helps immensely to reduce drying and eventual clogging. Different pens and nib types dry out at different rates, so let your own experience be your guide as to how quickly you need to re-cap your pen. Storing for more than a few days? Remove the cartridge and flush the pen. A cold water flush only takes a minute or two, so it is not a big deal once you get into the habit.

Here's one example of some potentially helpful pen maintenance info out there: http://www.nibs.com/PenMaintenance.htm

Happy writing!

Wow! Huge thanks. I just gave you reputation points for this. I really appreciate the information.

 

[Ruski91]

So i got this shirt from Alie yesterday. I wish i listened to the seller and got a 2xl. I wear a us size medium and this xl was a tad bit snug. So i would either need to loose some weight or sell it on the forum here. Do you guys think this would acutally sell on here? Not trying to arrange a back door sale or anything of that nature, just wanted to see if there was any interest at all. Shirt itself looks fantastic and for 12 bucks i think its quite nice. I think that anyone who wears a size small (US size Small) this thing would be perfect.

 

[Ruski91]

This wine aerating mini decanter also came in. Looking forward to actually trying it out before posting judgement. Even if it works a little - for $5 its not that bad. Looks good too with the stand.

 

[P4GTR]

Reviewed a knife today, posted a thread over on rwg.

 

[Ruski91]

Cant see it Dan, is it in the VIP only section? Cmon, post it up over here!

 

[Mendota]

Sweet! Can you PM me the link for this one? My other aerator broke after 10 years of solid use. This looks like a nice one. I've been using a little handheld IKEA milk frother (you know those things that have a wire stalk with a coiled disc on the end that spins at insanely high RPMs to froth milk or mix drinks? It works amazingly well as a wine aerator in the glass, as well. One of the top execs at Microsoft is also a wine expert and he advises even using a kitchen blender. Anything at all that can aerate it.

This wine aerating mini decanter also came in. Looking forward to actually trying it out before posting judgement. Even if it works a little - for $5 its not that bad. Looks good too with the stand.

 

[If you see Kay]

How long are you guys waiting for your shipments to arrive. Seems like forever for mine.

 

[minty007]

How long are you guys waiting for your shipments to arrive. Seems like forever for mine.

2-4 weeks has been typical for me. Most closer to 4 weeks...

Sent from my CONTROL shoe phone inside the Cone of Silence