Best. Seller. EVER.

As you may remember, I remarked on having trouble with my "new" Snorkel a few days ago. First, an update on him. As I mentioned then, a good soak and flush got the fill working again, and that half of the problem was happy. As for the cap, I decided to try sealing the hole with wax, as I had seen suggested for Park Sonnets. I didn't figure I could do any harm, as both inner and outer cap are metal, and it'd be easier to undo if it didn't work. Well, it did work, the cap is now air-tight, and we have been good friends since then. He's written well every time I picked him up since, and I plan to leave him in my usual rotation for a while. Well, the seller found the thread in the FPN Repair forum asking if the pen's behavior was normal or not, wherein I discovered the hole in the inner cap with the help of some of the other members. He then PM'd me saying he felt terrible that the pen didn't work. He apologized that, although he had similar problems, he'd thought that the repair he'd done had worked; and explained that he hadn't realized there was a hole in the cap, and that was probably causing the ink to dry out, which caused the pen to clog. (All makes sense; that's my end conclusion as well. The cap issue probably undid his clogged snorkel repair.) He reiterated that he felt bad to have sent me a "non-fully working pen" and asked that I send it back for repair or refund. (No! It's mine! Mine, I say! ^_~) I assured him that I'd gotten the problem fixed and the pen was working just fine. If he had the ability to permanently repair the cap, I'd be happy to send that part back once I'd written him out of ink, but otherwise the fix was working and I was happy with the pen. Also, I don't blame him at all for missing the hole in the inner cap, because I don't know what possessed me to check the cap for air tightness to begin with. I think it was because I had recently read a repair thread where that was the problem, but it's certainly not something I would expect for a normal checkout, and it's mainly coincidence I found him. Now, let me say that I don't feel bad about the price I paid for the pen at all. It was completely reasonable, maybe even a little low, for a Snorkel in working condition. Even when it was giving me trouble, my whining aside, I wasn't thinking "I got ripped off!" so much as "well, sometimes you'll see that with a vintage pen". So, seller wrote me back asking me to let him know if the cap started leaking again, and although he didn't have any spare Sovereign caps, he would send me a spare from another Sheaffer the same size. And, because people I buy from see my real name on the payment, asked "Out of curiosity, and considering your name: do you have any Mabie Todd SWAN pen?" Now, for the non-pen people, Mabie Todd is a well known vintage brand that started in, I think, the 1880s and stopped US production in 1941 (continued in the UK for a while). They are upper second-tier/lower first-tier pens (i.e. well regarded today, although not a Parker, Sheaffer, Waterman, Conklin, or Wahl.) Swans were their premier line, intended for upper class users who could afford some extra bling. They are also known for having marvelous nibs. As vintage pens go, their prices aren't as insane as some (at least, not always ^_~), but they are typically not what I would call cheap pens, either. I keep my eye out for them, but I've yet to find one at a price I was willing to pay. I kind of wondered if he was going somewhere with this question, but at the same time, it could also be a very conversational thing to ask another vintage fountain pen user who shares a name with a well-known brand. So I truthfully wrote back that I didn't have one yet, but I desperately wanted one, both on principle and because I hadn't yet found one I liked at a price I would pay. He wrote back that "a nice one" with some "unfixable surface flaws" in the cap would be coming my way. I squee'd. Loud. I love writing with vintage pens, so surface flaws aren't a problem to me on a pen that's structurally sound. (In fact, sometimes they're a perk. They keep people from trying to take my nice pens. ^_~) And the simple fact that he's sending something at all has me absolutely gobsmacked.

1. I didn't contact him with the problem. He actually sought me out.
2. The Snorkel works just fine now; there was just some birthing pains.
3. I'm sure he didn't make a profit on the Snorkel sale. Again, I think I got a good deal, even with the initial issues.
4. He's sending me what I'm sure will be a very nice pen to make up for the trouble.

Best. Seller. EVER.