First, I have not yet started turning pens, but wish to start one day soon. However, I was looking at some of the kits on Ebay a couple of weeks ago and found one seller (4704roberts) that had some nice looking kits. After looking into it I noticed that he is right here in eastern NC! He lives in Beulaville and does this as a side job. I contacted him via email and he offered me a tour of his shop. So, Saturday morning I drove over (about 15 mins) and my daughter and I got to check out his stuff. He was more than gracious and spent almost 2 hours showing us all the exotic woods he sells as well as explaining to us the characteristics and intricacies of each kind. He had several different species on hand (Bocote, African Coral, Zebra, Purple Heart, Wenge, Chakte, Leopard, Cocobola, Honduras Rosewood just to name a few). He has some amazing stock and does all the work himself. I would STRONGLY suggest you look into what he has to offer. An up side to it is that you are supporting a fellow NC woodworker. I know that once I get started on it, I will get all my supplies from him. If anyone wants anything, please let me know and I will be MORE than happy to go pick it up for you (although he does ship world wide).
Ken