Fountain pen experiences...

[MrPeeps]

I was recently in a local branch of WHSmith where I purchased 2 pens (cheap own branded ones but surprisingly nice nonetheless!) and a couple of bottles of ink, when I handed them over the lady on the till exclaimed how popular fountain pens had become recently explaining she had seen many buy them, I just smiled and thought you have no idea... Curious if you have had similar experiences?
Thanks all, Luke!

[SteveE]

Not a likely experience for me. Almost all of my pen and supply purchases are from specialty shops, either in person or via the internet. I don't think more than one shop within 20 miles of where I work or live carries fountain pens, and even those are specialty shops.

I can't even remember the last time I saw a fountain pen in a general stationery shop. We don't have any shops like that -- only the big names like Staples and Office Depot/Office Max, and they just carry the cheap mass market Bics and Biro's. . .

[Kaputnik]

The only convenient store for me that sells fountain pens is a local Staples (a US office supply chain). They have a display of pens which cannot be removed from the rack, and with the nibs deliberately bent at a 90º angle for good measure, in case anyone can figure out how to get one out of the rack. If you actually want to get one, or just look at an undamaged sample, you'd have to ask a clerk to get it out of stock for you. They have a range of Parkers, Sheaffers, and Cross pens (maybe they're cross because someone bent their nibs) from around $40 to maybe $150. They also have Pilot Varsities which are unprotected on the shelves with the ballpoints, presumably because nobody would bother to steal them.

I've bought almost all my pens on line. The only fountain pen conversation I had with people at the Staples was to order a Pilot Metropolitan, when they were running a special and selling them for $10. I ordered it at the store, but they just shipped it to my home, no shipping fee. I don't know if it even clicked with them that I was ordering a fountain pen, it was just a stock number that I gave them.

They must sell some of them if they find it worthwhile to keep them in stock, but I suspect it's pretty rare. I've given a few fountain pens to friends, family, and at least one coworker, but I've only seen one stranger using one that I recall. Of course, that may just be the difference between the OP's England and my home in New England.

[erpe]

Almost all office supply stores (kantoorboekhandel in Dutch) has at least a few Lamy's and Parkers, often some unbranded as well, the supermarkets in Germany where I go regularly carries Pelikano's and Happy's, Herlitz, Parker, Lamy, Schmidt and a range of cartridges in different brands colors, no bottled ink I noticed. Then there are the specialty store's for the high end where they also sell medium range pens. There are not many medium range B&M stores I am aware of but they are on the web.
So, I guess we are pretty well of in this area and with the growing popularity, I think it will last my days at least ;-)

[inklord]

Chiming in with Erpe, yeah, in my native Germany FP's are not a rare thing at all, and never went out of style - just had to face some stiff competition, and moved on. Here in the United States, and specifically in Wisconsin, I practically never meet anybody who knows that Fountain pens still exist, except...
...when I go to Anderson's in Appleton, where we can indulge in pen-fondling to the nth degree. A friend who teaches environmental sciences and sustainability once challenged his students to a study showing how FP's make a lot more sense environmentally, especially when re-filled from bottles; otherwise everybody looks at me whipping out a L2k or Sailor 1911, saying "And that thing really works?"