disappointed with $30 Schmidt from Yafa Outlet

[Avi R.]

I'm not a pen fanatic like many posters here at the forum and my budget is low,
so with that in mind I wanted to get an everyday carry that had more going for it than the Pilot disposable Varsity pens that I usually use.

So, on July 1st the Yafa Outlet sent out a one-day sale notice of free shipping with no minimum plus a bunch of sale items, so I bought a pretty generic Schmidt in white plastic with a M nib.
I knew I was not investing in a lifetime highlight experience at just under $30, but even so, what arrived strikes me as more of a just under $9 offering, not a $30 purchase.
The pen arrives in a black cardboard box that is as generic and cheap as can be -- nothing printed on it, nothing fitted about the tray, and containing nothing but the pen,
no paperwork, no extra anything, just a standard cartridge rattling inside the barrel.

First impression is that the pen is strangely lightweight. Balance is off, even with a long cartridge installed. Press-fit cap does not post securely.
Inkflow is on the wet end of the spectrum. Nothing notable to say about the nib feel.
It does look better in the pocket of a dress shirt than a Pilot Varsity.

It's difficult to talk about value-for-money when it comes to pens, just as with wine. Sure, a thing that costs a magnitude or two magnitudes more than another works and looks better but does it work or look ten times better?
In the case of this Yafa Outlet Schmidt fountain pen, I'm not seeing it, especially in comparison to comparable priced Kaweco or Monteverde items.

And I also want to 'fess up to having some sour grapes that I bought this white plastic pen right around when the new TWSBI Eco finally became available,
and I knew that it was coming over the horizon -- should have waited! The TWSBI Eco list price it about the same as the Schmidt special sale price, and the TWSBI comes with an interesting box, and some insert paperwork, and a tool. I guess I'm learning my lesson about resisting impulse purchases, and it's a lesson that didn't cost me a whole lot of money, but it has me being more thoughtful about how much I'm growing to care about the unboxing and the transaction in a way that younger me would have considered frivolous.

[mhosea]

Thanks for the review. Pricing at the lower end is rather a complicated thing. Something might be priced as low as it can be and yet overpriced when compared to competing products. Other times one is reminded of how fountain drinks are priced at the fast food place. The more information on the different options that are out there, the better.

[Sailor Kenshin]

I'm a big fan of low-cost pens, and the Schmidt interests me, but yikes. For that price you could have gotten a Lamy Safari, two Pilot Metropolitans, or (depending on color and vendor) one or two Platinum Plaisirs.

[Avi R.]

Yes, Kenshin, it does seem crazy -- this morning Yafa Outlet has the solid color Schmidt listed at $45 and the colored cap versions on supposed half-price sale for $30, so if you take that pricing seriously, the pen should be a cut above the Pilot Metropolitan or the Kaweco Sport plastic but it really isn't --

I'm now noticing that the cap mouth is just slightly wider than the section circumference, so there is a little bit of noticeable play when the cap is snapped on.

The solid color white does look much better than a Pilot Varsity and several other student pens (and I'm not a fan of the Lamy Safari, just not my taste) but at ten times the price, I think it's reasonable to expect both better workmanship and better boxing/presentation.

At least the Schmidt logo is in one-color silver that pretty much matches the metal clip and band -- I was thinking that if the logo was multicolor this pen would look more like a promotional giveaway!

[Cob]

Or you could have bought a Wing-Sung 590 for quite a bit less; mine cost me £9 ($14) shipped, and whilst obviously it doesn't compare with my vintage pens, it writes reliably and smoothly, is huge (160mm capped), fun, and has an aerometric filling system that holds a great deal of ink.

Cob

[inklord]

It's difficult to talk about value-for-money when it comes to pens, just as with wine. Sure, a thing that costs a magnitude or two magnitudes more than another works and looks better but does it work or look ten times better?
In the case of this Yafa Outlet Schmidt fountain pen, I'm not seeing it, especially in comparison to comparable priced Kaweco or Monteverde items.

Well, I don't even want to start about the €95.-/$125.- Pelikan P200 - the cartridge/converter version of the M200. While well made and attractive, I just cannot imagine that an M200 minus the piston mechanism is still priced the same...
And the higher you go, the more there is a law of diminishing returns at work - and the beauty of each pen often remains, as always, in the eye of the beholder.

[Sailor Kenshin]

Now I see that Yafa was showing a rollerball pen that worked with fountain pen ink cartridges, but I don't see a 'buy' option.