Buying Japan Made FP

[jvillan29]

Do you recommend buying your fp from a seller from Japan vs a seller in USA?? Specifically inquiring about the Sailor Pro Gear Series....been hearing stories that the quality isn't what it used to be since they are being massed produced.

[Silverbreeze]

Either works. Just make sure it's an official reseller

I would go with the Andersons
But that is due to trusting Brian and Lisa

[Laura N]

Here's what I learned the hard way. If you buy on eBay, and there's a defect or mistake (for example, the ink doesn't flow, or the pen was sent in the wrong color), by eBay rules you still have to provide proof of delivery back to get your refund or replacement. If you live in the US, return shipping to Japan then becomes incredibly expensive (somewhere around $40 for a pen, if I recall). After that experience (with a Japanese seller who is no longer on eBay but is well-known), I personally only buy from Japan if the item is otherwise unavailable here. I suppose it would also make sense if the price difference were so great that if the item arrived with a flaw it would still be economical to either return it or pay to have it fixed. I do prefer eBay, though, because at least you have buyer protection there, if you run into a recalcitrant seller like I did. YMMV. Many people buy from Japan and have no problems.

I have had great purchasing experiences from cool-Japan and pisuke2005 on eBay, and would buy from either again.

Sailors are sold by a lot of great US vendors, but my favorite is Nibs.com; you don't pay any more, but John Mottishaw will adjust your nib to your specifications, and if there's a problem he'll take it back and quickly fix it. If you can buy in person at a store, that's great, too.

[fountainpenkid]

Here's what I learned the hard way. If you buy on eBay, and there's a defect or mistake (for example, the ink doesn't flow, or the pen was sent in the wrong color), by eBay rules you still have to provide proof of delivery back to get your refund or replacement. If you live in the US, return shipping to Japan then becomes incredibly expensive (somewhere around $40 for a pen, if I recall). After that experience (with a Japanese seller who is no longer on eBay but is well-known), I personally only buy from Japan if the item is otherwise unavailable here. I suppose it would also make sense if the price difference were so great that if the item arrived with a flaw it would still be economical to either return it or pay to have it fixed. I do prefer eBay, though, because at least you have buyer protection there, if you run into a recalcitrant seller like I did. YMMV. Many people buy from Japan and have no problems.

I have had great purchasing experiences from cool-Japan and pisuke2005 on eBay, and would buy from either again.

Sailors are sold by a lot of great US vendors, but my favorite is Nibs.com; you don't pay any more, but John Mottishaw will adjust your nib to your specifications, and if there's a problem he'll take it back and quickly fix it. If you can buy in person at a store, that's great, too.

Thanks for the insight. There are some VERY nice deals on Pilot custom series pens from Japanese eBay sellers, but I've hesitated because the overseas thing seemed too sketchy.

[Art]

I have made two purchases from pisuke2005 from and three from bombare387 and had good experiences with every purchase. Pisuke2005 even sends a couple of Japanese tea bags with the pens. I understand being hesitant to buy from overseas and it took me a while to work up to it. With the the price difference being so large I decided to take the risk.

[Ian]

If you can find a seller in Japan the sells at the Japanese price you can save a lot of money. The Japanese MSRP is much lower than the US price. I went to Tokyo in February. I bought two pens from the Namiki Nippon Art Collection. The price was ¥35,000 each which is about $297 at the current great exchange rate. nibs.com sells one of the pens for $600 and lists the MSRP as $750. They don't sell the other pen I bought in the series. Now that I'm home, I realize I should have bought more and am looking for a dealer that carries the pens I'm looking for. It's hard to find a dealer online that comes close to the selection Itoya carries.

[VertOlive]

I've bought a Platinum 3776 from Engeika once, at a great low price, and the pen arrived and all was well.

But. The communication was sketchy and I felt like I was white knuckling it until the pen arrived. The next 3776's I bought came from US dealers when they went on sale for the same as the Japan prices--without holding my breath through the transaction. I learned I'd rather wait for a sale price and avoid the uncertainty. That's just me....

[tandaina]

All of my Japanese pens (except my Nakaya) I have bought direct from Japanese merchants. Simply because the markup on Japanese pens in the US is so enormous that it doesn't make sense to me. But I've *never* used a FP "warrantee." If my pen breaks it goes to a repair person. It has worked for me.

[Quantum Sailor]

I always end up buying pens from online sources and always end up buying japanese pens from japanese dealers. The difference in price is significant enough to me that even if it has to be sent back the worst that would happen is that I'd be paying what the american dealer charged. I have never had to send a pen back to japan though and I've made several purchases.

One thing to note from some of the Japanese dealers it seems like they don't always have the pen they are selling and something may go wrong in getting it occasionally. I'm not sure how this works but I've seen some negative feedback on ebay because of it and I've had to wait a while because of it buying off of ebay. It seems to occur on the more limited edition pens though. I don't think I've seen it happen on a 3776 or anything.

[alishab]

Notice how the sections have different amounts of flare (see how they flare out just before the nib) and the under color shows differently. Just part of the hand made charm and neither is better -- just personal aesthetic preferences. But I have seen more recently made Tamenuri Nakayas with the sections like mine.

[Ste_S]

I've never understood Japaneses pen companies pricing in the west - it's as if they don't know the internet exists. I can buy a 3776 from a Japanese seller, and including shipping, tax and handling charges it'll still be significantly cheaper than I can buy in the UK.

The real stupidity though comes with Lamy. I can buy a 2000 that's shipped by Lamy from Germany to Japan, I buy from a Japanese seller and have it shipped back to Europe (+tax+handling charge) that still works out cheaper than buying from an authorised european dealer.

[Chrissy]

I've never understood Japaneses pen companies pricing in the west - it's as if they don't know the internet exists. I can buy a 3776 from a Japanese seller, and including shipping, tax and handling charges it'll still be significantly cheaper than I can buy in the UK.

The real stupidity though comes with Lamy. I can buy a 2000 that's shipped by Lamy from Germany to Japan, I buy from a Japanese seller and have it shipped back to Europe (+tax+handling charge) that still works out cheaper than buying from an authorised european dealer.

Is that method even cheaper than the current prices on Amazon.co.uk?

[Chrissy]

I read this article with interest as I was thinking about buying a Sailor Realo. I know the price that cool-japan charges but not anyone else. I must investigate more.

[Ste_S]

I've never understood Japaneses pen companies pricing in the west - it's as if they don't know the internet exists. I can buy a 3776 from a Japanese seller, and including shipping, tax and handling charges it'll still be significantly cheaper than I can buy in the UK.

The real stupidity though comes with Lamy. I can buy a 2000 that's shipped by Lamy from Germany to Japan, I buy from a Japanese seller and have it shipped back to Europe (+tax+handling charge) that still works out cheaper than buying from an authorised european dealer.

Is that method even cheaper than the current prices on Amazon.co.uk?

The cheaper prices on Amazon.co.uk are usually from sellers outside the UK. The current price of £95 for a Lamy 2000 fine is from a Japanese seller. The £120 for the medium 2000 is from a US seller

[Chrissy]

I've never understood Japaneses pen companies pricing in the west - it's as if they don't know the internet exists. I can buy a 3776 from a Japanese seller, and including shipping, tax and handling charges it'll still be significantly cheaper than I can buy in the UK.

The real stupidity though comes with Lamy. I can buy a 2000 that's shipped by Lamy from Germany to Japan, I buy from a Japanese seller and have it shipped back to Europe (+tax+handling charge) that still works out cheaper than buying from an authorised european dealer.

Is that method even cheaper than the current prices on Amazon.co.uk?

The cheaper prices on Amazon.co.uk are usually from sellers outside the UK. The current price of £95 for a Lamy 2000 fine is from a Japanese seller. The £120 for the medium 2000 is from a US seller

It's currently £119 from Amazon prime with free UK delivery. That's not a bad price

Oh I just spotted that's a M nib. I was trying to buy one last week and they only had F nibs

Have you checked how much it would cost you to get it from Amazon.com or Amazon.de, you may be surprised at the closeness of the price.

Or as an alternative there is this one on ebay

[Ste_S]

If you check the seller for the £119 Lamy (great ones for eu) you'll see they're a US seller. As the order is 'fulfilled' by Amazon I'm not sure if you'd still get hit with VAT + handling charge

[Chrissy]

If you check the seller for the £119 Lamy (great ones for eu) you'll see they're a US seller. As the order is 'fulfilled' by Amazon I'm not sure if you'd still get hit with VAT + handling charge

I did check and you don't. When it says fulfilled by Amazon, that means it's shipped from the UK. If you put it in your basket, then go and look at it, in the 'estimate tax and handling' box, it's all free.

However, if you go and look on Amazon.com and find their Prime version, then check out the 'estimate tax and handling' you will see even when P&P and import duty charge is calculated, it isn't that much more.

I was doing this all last week before I ordered my Lamy 2000

[elaineb]

I just received a Pilot Century 74 with a soft fine nib from my favorite Japanese vendor, Japan Subculture.
http://shop.j-subculture.com
It cost less than half of what American vendors are selling it for, and came with a nib that isn't commonly available here. I also got a Prera for $12 and a Kakuno for $6 -- again, less than 50% of U.S. prices. J-Subculture is like a small, Japanese version of Amazon, in that it has a wide range of merchandise available, not simply pens. (I got to know them from ordering other Japanese-related items before I realized they have a wide range of pens and inks available.) There is also a sister site dedicated to the big Japanese auction service on Yahoo-Japan, kind of like Japanese Ebay. They will act as a proxy bidder for you, and then will handle the shipping arrangements on your successful bids. I've browsed there and been interested in what look like good deals on older pens, but I haven't taken the plunge to see how the system works.

Communication with them has always been good, and they include little handwritten notes and a piece of origami with their orders. They also have a storefront on Amazon, though it's not as extensive as their own site, if you want the buyer protection of the bigger name.

[KBeezie]

Depends on the model. If we're talking specific ones like Platinum Century 3776, Pilot Custom 74, 742, 912, etc. I look at Bunkidou shop on Rakuten as the prices are so much better there for brand new and I get the package within 3-4 days of ordering. Got two of my first Century 3776 from them (first one about $92 shipped, and second one at $72 shipped because of the bonus 2,000 rakuten points I could apply to my order). Plus they take paypal and do have a staff that speaks English (ie: if you get an email in Japanese you can reply back for english instructions).

This is all the pens Bunkidou currently has listed under specifically their shop http://global.rakuten.com/en/search/...shop&tl=210246

But some other pens, like say the Pilot Falcon (or Erabo/Elabo as it's called there), or the Century 3776 with a music nib, the price difference becomes less noticeable between getting one in the US or abroad.

Oddly enough, Japan is where I would look for a brand new Pelikan (a german brand), Pen-House sells the M200, M400, M600, and M800 new for ~$100, $200, $250 and $330. ( http://global.rakuten.com/en/search/...room&tl=210252 )

[dr.grace]

Great prices on those Pelikans. And look at the maki-e versions!