today's pen, the jot retractable ballpoint pen marks no only the last of the dollar store pen reviews (for now at least), but also the first time my preconceived ideas of what a cheap piece of crap dollar pens would be. now, i know that i'm not being entirely fair, out of the last several reviews in this event this is the only model that failed to exceed my expectations.
to begin, these pens come in packs of four, and breaks with the tradition that the body color correspond with the color of the ink, while not universal, it does seem to be more common than not. the pen feels cheap, the clear plastic is cloudy from the glue they used and on closer inspection, the metal parts like the collar (thin band of pliable metal) and the tip cap (red plastic painted with a thin layer of metallic paint) are made with dirt cheap materials. having taken this pen apart - literally - i am hard pressed to guess which piece cost the most to produce, if i had to guess it would probably be the spring or the ballpoint tip reservoir tube. this pen has a very fine line, not bold as advertised but that was actually a plus for me, also it has trouble writing over pencils and certain kinds of paper, the pen stutters, skips, has inconsistent flow, really the only thing it has going for it is that the ink doesn't smudge, and i didn't notice any buildup on the tip while using it, although to be fair, it wasn't working well enough for any ink to build up. further research into the company that makes these pieces of junk revealed that they make a large variety of products, things like fruit cups and pet food and all of these items seem to suffer from some potentially actionable flaws or lack of quality, things like finding wood chips in food, or packaging glitter in small baggies that look like they contain cocaine... not cool.
the final straw, or nail, or whatever was that the company publicly posted a customer service number that doesn't seem to get you in touch with a human representative, and that dissatisfied customers have found a number that actually works and posted it on a reviews and comments section on the yellow pages web listing for the company... lame.
so, would i recommend this brand? yes, brand not model, no. no. no.
i am considering taking both models back to the dollar tree and get some pens that actually did work. like this inc optimus.
i'm sorry to end this even on such a down note,but overall i think that inexpensive pens does not mean cheap, and that some of those dollar store pens are worth the buck.
website:
dollar tree
yp customer feedback on company and it's products and practices ... not so good.
what they say:
Pens deliver bold, medium lines in deep black ink for smooth, clean writing every time! Plus, their rubbery, textured grips provide extra comfort and control for nonstop writing. Great item for offices, schools, churches, bookstores, and resale. Case includes 24 – 4-ct. packs of Jot® Comfort Grip Retractable Ballpoint Pens with 0.7mm tips and black ink
