The pen arrived rather later than I had expected although staff were very helpful when I phoned up to query it. I would have liked to have received an email to advise of any delays given that the newsletter indicated the item was available. When it did arrive it was badly packaged and the pen had come out of its wrapper and the cap had become detached. All this resulted in the cartridge also rolling around loose in the jiffy bag. The cartridge should not have been removed from any original packaging and should have been left for the customer to insert. It could easily have flooded the whole package . Basically the fountain pen was in a cellophane tube which was not closed at the top. Had it been wrapped in paper or bubble wrap before going in the jiffy bag everything would have been alright. Nothing was damaged but I do not think enough care was taken in its packing.