How many new pen acquisitions per week, month or year?

[Mags]

I hear you .

I have only bought 3 of my 88 pens from an Australian store. Sad but true.

Yep, and it's not like they don't carry many of them.

I've bought quite a few ballpoints as gifts for friends and a couple of bottles of inks from B&M stores in Sydney. However, of the 33 fountain pens in my current humble collection, only two were purchased from stores here and none in recent years.

Some of these stores have been around for quite some time, in prime locations too. So somebody must be buying their pens and not just the Safaris. The question is: "WHO ARE THESE CUSTOMERS?"

I know a company that gives MB pens to employees as farewell gifts, but those are predominantly ballpoints and roller balls at best. Who would pay $520 for a Waterman Carene? Better yet, $985 for a modern Duofold International?

I collect Pelikan fountain pens and there is no way I would pay the prices they ask for them the stores, $800 plus for a M800 when I can get them from Germany or US for under $500. Who buys these pens? People who want to buy them as gifts and don't know better or are worried about being ripped off on eBay.

I am guilty of full retail payment on pens. Why would I pay the premium?

Well I personally pay what is a 25-40% mark up as I have purchased pens worth $200-300 off the internet and while liking the pen more often than not find the nib needing adjusting when I use it as an over writing left handed writer. I have taken the nibs on $150 or less pens and adjusted them for wetness or will smooth a toothy nib with cardboard, nail polisher stick and a smoothing kit with the 1500 and 2000 grits. I am just too nervous beyond the entry level priced pens to sand and polish too much.....

The in store purchases generally allow me a dip and test opportunity in the end I purchase a nib on a pen I truly enjoy. I was able to swap a crap MB 149 medium nib for my perfect OM nib. That exchange took 3 weeks and was inconvenient forcing trips to downtown Toronto and traffic, parking hastles and $25 price. But when I used Laywines or Phidon pens they will let me take my hour to try the pen(s) and be happy when I leave the store. I once grabbed my grail pen the Pelikan M1000 and 5 nibs which for right handers were all likely perfect....I hated them all. I tried 4 M800's and 4 M600's. In the end I purchased the 600! I love that nib because it is perfect for me. When I bargain shop I end up taking risks I prefer to avoid with hit and miss nibbage for lefties. That being said I have purchased a MB 146, Legacy 2 and Parker Vacuumatic by mail order. They all are 4/5 star purchases but nibs all needed or will need adjusting.

I was able to have the 146 adjusted in DC by the seller and my Parker may end up being adjusted one day by Dan or Richard Binder. I think Pendleton Brown may come to Toronto one day soon and I am thinking he could make it less toothy the way I hold it. The pen nib is like glass smooth and juicy for right handers.

So there are those of us walking in to stores paying full retail and the better the discounts they would give me the more repeat purchases they will enjoy from buyers like me. In observing others the bulk anecdotally of others buying know little or nothing about fountain pens but seem from what I overhear to be buying themself a gift for a successful bar exam, thesis defense, or are buying a luxury accent gift for someone they love and want a full refund and exchange offer.

Last time in to a bricks and mortar store I watched a Dad with an enthusiastic preteen and the boy had excellent taste in his choice of pens and his Dad had no spending limit. It was fun to watch and listen to his energy and to over hear his knowledge of pens as he was well.read and researched what he wanted for sure.

Mags sent from my blackberry playbook using tapatalks

[79spitfire]

I wouldn't feel one bit 'guilty' buying pens from a retail shop. I'm glad for you that you can! I bought both of my Pilot Knights and my Sheaffer 'friends of winter' from the local pen shop. It's nice being waited on once in a while.

[kaisnowbird]

Hi Mags, thank you for sharing your point of view and it's really nice to hear stories like that father and son buying a fountain pen together.

The pen boutiques in Sydney may have moments like that too, and some of them offer quality services. Unfortunately, the mark up here is prohibitive. Just last week, I was checking out some Sailor pens. A Pro Gear with the standard 21K nib retails for A$520, that's US$495. I know for about US$180, I can get the same one delivered from Japan to my office any day of the week. Remarkably, their MB Starwalker entry level model is priced at 33% higher than the same pen in the MB boutique a few blocks away.

Would I ever buy a Montblanc from its boutique? Probably yes, when I see a special/limited edition that I love and can afford.

[VertOlive]

New here and bought 3 pens in a week, the most expensive one being $56.00...But:

Argh! While waiting for my Monteverde Prima I've
been on the prowl questing after more pens now! I'm
drooling on pens way above my experience level. There are some Japanese pens making me swoon. So, I have to ask, where/how is the smart way to buy an expensive pen on the internet?

[Sailor Kenshin]

New here and bought 3 pens in a week, the most expensive one being $56.00...But:

Argh! While waiting for my Monteverde Prima I've
been on the prowl questing after more pens now! I'm
drooling on pens way above my experience level. There are some Japanese pens making me swoon. So, I have to ask, where/how is the smart way to buy an expensive pen on the internet?

Depends what you mean by exoensive? In some cases, you find a dealer you trust (I bought a MB and a Waterman Carene from such a dealer on fleabay). Otherwise you learn all you can about the pens that interest you, and haunt the classifieds along with fleabay.

Some people have great luck at yard sales and antique stores. Me, not so far.

[AndrewW]

The very most will probably be 2 pens in one week (this week), and that's because I got *slightly* eBay trigger-happy. Granted, $48 for a cartridge/converter Parker 51 and a 45 Flighter is pretty darn good, especially considering the 51 has a broad nib.

...And to think that I'm supposed to save money in college!

[kaisnowbird]

New here and bought 3 pens in a week, the most expensive one being $56.00...But:

Argh! While waiting for my Monteverde Prima I've
been on the prowl questing after more pens now! I'm
drooling on pens way above my experience level. There are some Japanese pens making me swoon. So, I have to ask, where/how is the smart way to buy an expensive pen on the internet?

Depends what you mean by exoensive? In some cases, you find a dealer you trust (I bought a MB and a Waterman Carene from such a dealer on fleabay). Otherwise you learn all you can about the pens that interest you, and haunt the classifieds along with fleabay.

Some people have great luck at yard sales and antique stores. Me, not so far.

Hi VertOlive. As you would expect, the best deals aren't all under one roof. For example, a few trusted ebay stores are really good for bidding on Japanese FPs from their top manufactures, some websites are really good for classic/vintage German pens, and a few others sites/ebay stores are great for Chinese pens.

Below is a thread that hasn't been active for a while, but still contains useful links.
http://fpgeeks.com/forum/showthread....r-Ink-Websites

Good luck!

[VertOlive]

Well, I'm smitten over the Platinum Makie King of Tigers. Looks like $600-$800. That's what I mean by expensive pen, for me anyway. In one sense I realize that I'm only going on looks and can't really appreciate that level of pen yet. On the other hand I hear the smart advice that $20 pens you don't care much about can add up fast and leave that grail pen out of reach.

Thanks for helping me think this through

VirtOlive

[kaisnowbird]

Hi VertOlive, if this is useful to you at all - there is a kind of consensus among many pen users (not necessarily collectors) that in general, the writing pleasure to price ratio starts to decline beyond the $200-$250 price range (street price). This means statistically speaking, a $600-$800 Platinum Maki-e King of Tigers pen is not likely to give you much greater writing pleasure than a $200 Platinum President. The extra we pay goes into pleasure in terms of aesthetics and collecting a limited edition object.

[AndyT]

What constitutes "expensive" is something people have to make up their own minds about I guess; however it's probably not very controversial to say that the law of diminishing returns sets in with a vengeance at about the Lamy 2000 / Pelikan M400 level. At that point you're looking at piston filling pens made to last a lifetime with a wide selection of gold nibs to choose from, after all. So as Kai says paying extra is more to do with aesthetics, exclusivity, pride of ownership and so forth - which is fine.

Whether there's a close correlation between price and writing pleasure I very much doubt though. It's still possible to pick up nondescript vintage pens for $50 or so with nibs which will run rings around anything being made today especially if flexibility is desired, and a dip pen nib for $0.80 trumps everything else if a steep learning curve and some inconvenience are tolerable.

[VertOlive]

This makes utter sense. I will stand down and think a bit. I do have a guitar I could sell to make the trade-off, otherwise spouse would be seriously griev-ed!

VO

[Sailor Kenshin]

You also have to figure out your Personal Pen Style. For me, it took decades of buying everything I could afford and one or two treats.'

I discovered that I was more about the nib, and how comfortable a pen is for my hand, than anything approaching beauty or rarity or whatever that elusive thing called 'status' denotes. Most of my fps have to be something I can grab, and scribble with, and not worry about.

Apart from those, I needed at least one MB, two Carenes, and some Sailors, and one high-ish end Sheaffer. Of all of them, I would not repeat the Sheaffer, but I'm reluctant to sell it.

You will probably discover that your PPS is quite different.

[rob]

I'm peaking on addiction, I'm probably averaging about £200 a week at the moment, though some are ones I buy 'speculatively' convincing myself they're a bargain and I will sell them on.

[penguinmaster]

Good grief, I wish I had a firm answer for this question. I went for two years before not buying any pens and selling many. Recently I've bought way to many and have to slow down. I'd say I like to keep it to 1 pen a month. Now that my massive buy-back phase is done I hope to stick to that. Actually until I pay off some of the debt incurred the last 2 months it'll probably be nothing for a good few months.