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Thank you for your perspective. I appreciate your input.

Thank you so much for your kind words.

Poor storage is possible perhaps. I've had mine for 20 years now, and it hasn't cracked, but I have seen pictures on eBay that show some cracking. If it is cracking then you have two choices. Either live with it (although that can be a pain) or remove it, leaving the underlying substrate. On the flip side, the outer leather appears to be excellent. Thanks for your feedback. I appreciate that.

Yes the outside of the filofax is really good. Can see that lasting a long time to come. Thanks for the tips about what to do with the inside. Something to think about... Happy yours is in good condition after all the usage. I'd like to use mine for household bills and other important letters like you suggested. cheers

You are so welcome!

Thanks for your feedback.

Thank you for your kind comments.

Thank you.

I can’t do it right now, but I’ll add a link in the video description later.

Absolutely. Great tip!

Thank you. Glad you liked it.

You are so welcome!

Good choice!

A great price!

I bought a Malden on Amazon, a while back, but had to return it. I think it's best to shop around. I know that Amazon have started banning buyers who return a certain number of items, as have many other on-line operators, and no-one knows just how many returned items will trigger a ban, but I have returned a fair number of items over the last few years and haven't been banned yet.

I can only speak about the Malden I bought a few weeks ago, but all I can say is that I wasn't impressed with the leather, and I was disappointed with the rings. Having said that, at just £52 it was very good value. less than half the full retail price in fact. And similarly, I can only take about the one Van Der Spek I have. And all I can say is that the model I own has good rings, and great leather. Although I had to pay twice as much for the Van Der Spek, even though it was a pre-owned binder. Personally, the Van Der Spek brings me joy, and the Malden brings me disappointment, but I'm obviously aware that many Malden owners love their older Maldens, presumably because they have been lucky with ring quality and perhaps better quality leather.

@@Flatability My current Original has not disappointed for the price paid, the leather is excellent and the rings almost perfect. But after nearly forty years, unless there’s a step-change in Filofax QC it’s my last binder bearing that brand. An off-the-shelf Van Der Spek is not much more expensive but the quality is excellent and-more importantly-consistent.

As you know, I have a "love / hate" relationship with the Filofax brand. Their customer service is first class, but their quality control appears to need improvement. And I cannot think of of any other product where I find myself having to research other buyers' experiences of materials and construction before purchase. Consumers shouldn't have to do that, especially with a product that is marketed as "premium" and relies so heavily on brand "heritage".

Some very good points.

Totally agree.

That is so interesting! That is completely the opposite of what happens here in the UK.

👍🙂

I agree. And thank you for your input.

This is a tricky issue. In the light of so much anecdotal evidence of poor quality control, I can’t imagine anyone not wanting to check the rings of a potential purchase. And with so much perceived variation of leather quality, I don’t think many customers would want to just look at some kind of display model; they would want to see the actual model they wish to buy. Tricky situation, for sure.

That’s very interesting.

I don't know, whether this caused the price increases. 50% margin in that business should be about normal, maybe even 70%. Retailers take a significant risk and stock, which is why they get those kind of margins like in jewellry, watches and other luxury items. However I wonder how customer loyalty rates are? How many customers are ignorant about competition that uses the same ring dimensions and measurements? How many do feel, that they don't have a choice when buying an additional ring binder? How many people are not aware that they can print, cut and punch sheets and buy instead Filofax inserts without even thinking?

You raise some good points.

These ones didn’t specially have a name. They do pop up on eBay now and again. Include the search term, “kid leather” to help with your search.

Yes, I did sell it. This model is incredibly popular at the moment.

I love binders with no pockets. Detailed review in due course.

Absolutely! The actual binder is just a bonus.

I certainly like these vintage dividers. Thank you for your input, which I always appreciate.

Please do!

Agreed.

Absolutely.

Awesome! Thank you!

Yeah, I would have given the same answer about a year ago when I started watching flatability. Two month later I started testing second hand Filofax Minis, only to buy the entire collection of ring binders of a household dissolution: 9 Piccolos (Mini 5 rings), 17 A6 Juniors (6 ring sightly oversized Pocket size ring binders). Incidentally I was really lucky. All except one in super condition despite some being about 60 years old. All made by a great Berlin-based company called Org-Verlag... I am not using notebooks anymore, my archive system is now a A6 index card system. I carry a Piccolo as my wallet, it is small like a Plotter Mini 5, does have flat pockets. For note taking I usually carry oner or two slim Juniors. I am a convert 😀

That's awesome! Thanks for your detailed feedback.

@@fastandcurious That’s really cool, it’s a rabbit hole I certainly didn’t expect to find myself exploring either. My main gripe is that I find the rings too obtrusive while writing. I’m left handed, and while I know that @flatability is as well, I could never find a comfortable position to write. Personally prefer stitched binding in a traveler’s notebook, but I must say that I have been intrigued by some of the binders featured here.

@@aspergersandthedog I completely get that. The Org-Verlag ring binders are very slim. Size wise comparable to the Japanese Plotter ones we don't get in Europe (and which are mighty expensive). Org-Verlag ring binders are all offered in 13mm Krause rings. They are much, much smaller than the Filofax rings which officially measure 13mm but in real life are more like 17mm. Before I just knew those big rings. Some of my vintage ones, especially the Piccolo have Krause 8mm and 11mm rings. The 11mm had become my choice for the wallet. 13mm Krause for the A6 is what Filofax Personal Ultra Slim used to be. When opening a ring binder, I rarely write on the first pages. Therefore when writing on the left, the elevation is most often nearly the height of the rings. Also I rarely have more than 30 or 40 sheets at once, I love to keep the ring binder slim. Not like those stereotypical stuffed ones. I use the Plotter idea of project folders. I use slightly thicker paper. Height the same as my normal paper. Double the with. Then you fold it to like an envelope which later wraps the sheets. Then punch holes in the folder. That trick allows you to easily take out or insert "folders" by subject or whichever way you want to organise sheets. I don't have cash in the wallet, just paper and 5 cards. I guess I need to add all this to the list of videos I plan to make😉

Thank you for your detailed feedback. I appreciate that.

Thank you for your thoughts. I appreciate them.

Many thanks for your feedback.