Latest acquisitions and shopping advice

Today I cover some of my latest acquisitions, which include several Watermans, some Esterbrooks, Thornton's disposable fountain pens, a Baoer, a Jinhao, Montblanc 221, Monteverde Indicia; I also cover pen storage, ink sample vials, and the use of and lessons learned from wish lists.

Kritzler Vintage Fountain Pen & the ebay blues

Today I talk about the vintage Kritzler fountain pen I got along with an unbranded pocket fountain pen I recently got. I also cover some of the caveats of collecting vintage pens and purchasing on ebay.

Something to look out for when buying fountain pens on ebay

Today we ran across something when my wife's ebay order arrived for what was advertised as a "Pilot Animal" fountain pen. It is actually a Metropolitan, even though the ebay description said nothing about it.

Don't settle for high costs of diabetic testing supplies

I have seen a lot of people decry the high cost of blood glucose testing supplies lately, especially under the ACA and declining coverage. This is the second time I will share this tip. eBay. For the second time, I scored some test strips at a bargain price. Diabetic testing supplies are OTC items at the pharmacy. WalMart has meters and strips right on the shelf. But even after insurance, my testing supplies were outrageously high priced. My last purchase was for lancets and test strips. I scored 400 lancets and 300 test strips for $111 cheaper than what my online pharmacy wanted to charge me for fewer supplies than that. They work fine with my meter and spring-loaded lancet device. I still have 100 days worth of test strips on the shelf and I just opened a vial of 50 to put with my meter. I just scored 8 vials of test strips (50 strips per vial) for $80 including shipping. That for me is 400 days of test strips plus the 150 I still have, so I am stocked up for a while. I will eventually have to buy more lancets since I have about 250 left, but that will last me more than another 6 months. My point is simply that you can find supplies if you look hard enough and for a price that will not kill the bank. Also, if you buy off eBay and then submit the receipts to your Rx plan, you may or may not get reimbursed. If you don't, the total can still be counted against your out of pocket maximum for the year. That is what happened to me last year. Another thought is that I previously had purchased a brand new (still sealed in the original packaging) duplicate meter that I keep as a spare, use at my work desk, and take with me when I travel.  It was only $10 for a second meter of the exact same model that I was already using. Just a tip.