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gbryal
September 25th, 2014, 11:03 PM
So, at Pen Chalet and Goulet Pens I see these (the black 14k) for around $180 with a non-music nib, but now I see them on Amazon and Ebay for more like half that.

What do you think is going on? Are those lower prices legit?

Zhivago
September 26th, 2014, 12:23 AM
I can't speak for Amazon, but the Japanese sellers I've purchased those pens from on ebay have been fully legit. They are cutting out the middleman, so can sell them at the reduced price they sell at (I assume) in Japan.

oldstoat
September 26th, 2014, 01:25 AM
Interestingly on amazon.co.uk the 3776 Century is £59, compared to £99 elsewhere though the music nib variant is £159 there and at Cult Pens. I recently bought a Sonnet from Amazon for about £40, well below the price at other online dealers

RuiFromUK
September 26th, 2014, 02:16 AM
At Cult Pens there are no shipping charges and if one orders from Japan through Amazon usually one needs to add transport costs, 20% VAT at customs and £8 to the Post Office.

KBeezie
September 26th, 2014, 11:05 AM
I've gotten both of my Century 3776 from the Bunkidou store on Rakuten for 90$ shipped or less (the second one was $72 shipped because I had enough Rakuten points to get $20/2,000 Yen off my next order). It's legit, it just sells a lot cheaper in Japan than it does in the US. The model number reflects the manufacture's retail price ie: pnb-10000 which you'll notice the little price sticker that comes on the Century 3776 tends to be 10,000 yen (though it's sold for less by some of the Japanese retailers), all but the one with the music nib which seems to be in high demand. Same deal with my Platinum 18K PTL-10000 (where as the 14K version of the "Standard" is PTL-5000).

Also I noticed that on Platinum's warranty card from Japan, the warranty only covers pens valued over 10,000 yen.

Shipping from Rakuten mainly with the Bunkidou shop is anywhere from 12 to 15 USD, and the $90 or less price I mentioned was after shipping was applied. For example this Burgundy one is roughly $78 USD, http://global.rakuten.com/en/store/bunkidou-shop/item/pnb-10000-71/ after shipping it will be closer to 90.

tandaina
September 26th, 2014, 04:14 PM
I got mine from the same place. $90 and there was a discount so ended up being about that shipped. I like the pen (after Pendleton made the nib interesting) but wouldn't pay more than I did for it.

Zhivago
September 26th, 2014, 09:02 PM
I like the pen (after Pendleton made the nib interesting) but wouldn't pay more than I did for it.

Was the nib originally deficient in some way (too dry or something like that)?

tandaina
September 26th, 2014, 09:32 PM
Way too fat and wet. I ordered a B assuming it would be a western medium. It was a very, very fat Western B. ;)

Zhivago
September 26th, 2014, 10:58 PM
Way too fat and wet. I ordered a B assuming it would be a western medium. It was a very, very fat Western B. ;)

You definitely had the B and not the double B 'C' nib? I ask because the B nib 3776 I had wrote pretty much like a Western M.

I've yet to have an issue with any 3776 nib; they are really first rate pens.

KBeezie
September 26th, 2014, 11:17 PM
Way too fat and wet. I ordered a B assuming it would be a western medium. It was a very, very fat Western B. ;)



Way too fat and wet. I ordered a B assuming it would be a western medium. It was a very, very fat Western B. ;)

You definitely had the B and not the double B 'C' nib? I ask because the B nib 3776 I had wrote pretty much like a Western M.

I've yet to have an issue with any 3776 nib; they are really first rate pens.



I like the pen (after Pendleton made the nib interesting) but wouldn't pay more than I did for it.

Was the nib originally deficient in some way (too dry or something like that)?


I've not had a problem with either Century 3776 I had, nor the PTL-1000 that came with a Medium Nib (smaller but 18K). I could see the music nib being way too wet for some people though :P.

reprieve
September 27th, 2014, 08:23 AM
Way too fat and wet. I ordered a B assuming it would be a western medium. It was a very, very fat Western B. ;)

You definitely had the B and not the double B 'C' nib? I ask because the B nib 3776 I had wrote pretty much like a Western M.

I've yet to have an issue with any 3776 nib; they are really first rate pens.

In my experience, the Platinum/Nakaya broad nibs tend to vary a little bit. I have one that writes more like a western medium, one that writes much wider like a fat western broad, and one that's in between. They're all great writers but produce slightly different line widths.

The soft nibs seem to vary quite a bit as well--some of the soft fine and soft medium nibs are quite stiff with hardly any give at all while others are almost comparable to vintage semi-flex.

tandaina
September 27th, 2014, 09:19 AM
I ordered B and it was marked B. Smooth lovely nib, I just wanted more precision.

jadehawk
September 29th, 2014, 02:00 PM
Like KBeezie & Tandaina I also got my Burgundy 3776 from the same store $92 shipped to PO box in less than a week. It did not come with a converter I had to purchase that separate after I got the pen.. Still a great pen and fantastic prize..

set2374
September 29th, 2014, 03:03 PM
I just received my Platinum 3776 Century in Bourgogne red from seller on eBay with a fine nib. I paid $99.00 plus $13 for shipping to the US. The pen arrived in perfect, brand new condition. I inked up with montblanc magic black and it writes beautifully. I am not sure if I am covered by Platinum's warranty, so buying from a US retailer may provide better after-sales service. For $112, I was willing to take my chances.

I will review the pen separately after I have a chance to enjoy it for a while, but the section appears to be made from injection molded plastic...there is a seam in the plastic. This is kind of cheap, if you ask me. There is no seam in the bode or cap though. Platinum clearly cut corners with this pen, but the nib is a real beauty.

Zhivago
October 5th, 2014, 12:43 AM
I will review the pen separately after I have a chance to enjoy it for a while, but the section appears to be made from injection molded plastic...there is a seam in the plastic. This is kind of cheap, if you ask me. There is no seam in the bode or cap though. Platinum clearly cut corners with this pen, but the nib is a real beauty.

As much as these pens have going for them and as well as they write, I don't think the fit and finish is as good as it could/should be. I recently got a Sai 3776 Century. It is a beautiful pen; but when I looked at it more closely, I noticed that the barrel had a number of light scratches. That is something that shouldn't happen with a demonstrator at that price point.