"The 2006-2011 World Outlook for Fountain Pens"

[Sparky]

Has anyone read this report? It speaks of a "latent world-wide" demand for Fountain Pen's over the next 5 years. It doesn't say why, and at $795, I'd rather spend the money on some pens. But I was curious if any of our members are aware of this report, and perhaps have some insight on it?

[MartiniPundit]

I've seen a lot of market research reports in my time, but never one on this topic! I too would be fasccinated to know whay the author believes there's a pent-up demand for fountain pens. They're not exactly rare or anything, with even Staple and Office Depot tending to carry a few models (mostly Cross, IIRC).

[Sparky]

I found the report on amazon.com. I speculate that the reason the FP's will be in demand maybe because in a "cubicle world" where every office is the same... standard computers, etc, blackberry's etc, that people will want their little piece of uniqueness throughout the day.... and try to achieve that through a fountain pen.

 

Okay this may be over the top but it is fun to speculate....

[RLTodd]

Has anyone read this report? It speaks of a "latent world-wide" demand for Fountain Pen's over the next 5 years. It doesn't say why, and at $795, I'd rather spend the money on some pens. But I was curious if any of our members are aware of this report, and perhaps have some insight on it?

I wonder if they have the reports on the latent demand for spats and percolators comming out next. :roflmho:

[kissing]

with improved technology and sturdier materials, fountain pens are a lot more convenient to use than before (in general).

 

People know that Fountains write a lot more smoother than ballpoints, so its not terribly surprising

 

Young fountain pen fans like me (im a highschool student right now) are a result of this "latency" thingy. Fountain pens had always fascinated me, but i was even more astonished when i realised you could buy cheap ones that write well at office supply stores. They certainly werent around a couple of years ago when an average joe like me could only see the expensive ones at department stores.

[Sparky]

Odd, isn't it, a world-wide report on FP's was prepared and they forgot to involve FPN'ers on the topic. <_< <_< Mmmmm...... I think I'll send the author our link... perhaps he can share some high level insights.

[kissing]

Odd, isn't it, a world-wide report on FP's was prepared and they forgot to involve FPN'ers on the topic. <_< <_< Mmmmm...... I think I'll send the author our link... perhaps he can share some high level insights.

ooo!!

 

Pick me pick me!! i wanna be in an article

[lordjeebus]

If they predicted a decline in demand, far fewer people would be willing to be stripped of $795.

 

I think they're more interested in generating a "latent world-wide demand" for their report.

[Dr.Grace]

If they predicted a decline in demand, far fewer people would be willing to be stripped of $795.

 

I think they're more interested in generating a "latent world-wide demand" for their report.

Good point!

 

But if there IS an increased interest in fountain pens, it might reflect a backlash against the sterility and numbing effects of overdependence on computers, etc. For a computer addict like me, fountain pens reconnect me with a more human tactile experience and a sense of the beauty of a simple functional non-electronic object. Sure, there's technology involved in making fountain pens, but the product is a mini-sculpture that can also be used in your own creative or practical expressions.

[Patti]

In a similar vein, Barry Sonnenfeld (sp?) has a page on FPs and their rise in popularity in the new edition of Esquire. I'm not sure he has his facts quite right, but someone who knows something about all of this (not me) should read it to make a determination.

[HDoug]

The publishers, Icon Group International, also publish a gigantic bunch of other "outlook" and all for $795. For instance you can get the world outlook for "sediment, hydrant, lawn, hose bibs, and sillcock faucets." My guess is that they have access to large databases and then parse everything by components and then sell the reports.

 

Take a look at their catalog: Icon Group International catalog

 

Here's an excerpt from the Amazon page:

 

WHAT IS LATENT DEMAND AND THE P.I.E.?

 

The concept of latent demand is rather subtle. The term latent typically refers to something that is dormant, not observable, or not yet realized. Demand is the notion of an economic quantity that a target population or market requires under different assumptions of price, quality, and distribution, among other factors. Latent demand, therefore, is commonly defined by economists as the industry earnings of a market when that market becomes accessible and attractive to serve by competing firms. It is a measure, therefore, of potential industry earnings (P.I.E.) or total revenues (not profit) if a market is served in an efficient manner. It is typically expressed as the total revenues potentially extracted by firms. The “market” is defined at a given level in the value chain. There can be latent demand at the retail level, at the wholesale level, the manufacturing level, and the raw materials level (the P.I.E. of higher levels of the value chain being always smaller than the P.I.E. of levels at lower levels of the same value chain, assuming all levels maintain minimum profitability).

 

The latent demand for fountain pens is not actual or historic sales. Nor is latent demand future sales. In fact, latent demand can be lower either lower or higher than actual sales if a market is inefficient (i.e., not representative of relatively competitive levels). Inefficiencies arise from a number of factors, including the lack of international openness, cultural barriers to consumption, regulations, and cartel-like behavior on the part of firms. In general, however, latent demand is typically larger than actual sales in a country market.

 

For reasons discussed later, this report does not consider the notion of “unit quantities”, only total latent revenues (i.e., a calculation of price times quantity is never made, though one is implied).

 

You can get much more of this for $795 and I suppose it will actually sell a few copies. Okay, that's as much research on this topic as I'm going to devote on a Sunday morning...

 

Doug

[R.ticle One]

Phew. When I read the title of the post, I misread it as saying that in the next 5 years, fountain pens will cost an average of $795! :blink:

[kissing]

you could buy a hell of a MontBlanc with $795

 

Hahaha~~Maybe the author for that Fountain Pen report is actually a member of this forums, but he/she hasnt found this topic yet :ph34r:

[marklavar]

with improved technology and sturdier materials, fountain pens are a lot more convenient to use than before (in general).

 

People know that Fountains write a lot more smoother than ballpoints, so its not terribly surprising

 

Young fountain pen fans like me (im a highschool student right now) are a result of this "latency" thingy. Fountain pens had always fascinated me, but i was even more astonished when i realised you could buy cheap ones that write well at office supply stores. They certainly werent around a couple of years ago when an average joe like me could only see the expensive ones at department stores.

Strange. I have always been able to find cheap fountain pens, even in the early 1980s when I was a high school student like you.

[Man-in-Need]

I agree that fountain pens are going to be on the upswing again. But it has never been a question of affordability. My local Target sells $7.00 FP's that accept universal cartridges. The problem with fountain pens was that we never had the opportunity to experience their beauty/craftsmanship. School, business, and the like all beat it into us to use only ballpoints. FP's and RB's were detrimental to our writing health or too much to maintain, it was reported. Or if not this, our culture wiped the thoughts from our minds.

There was a sudden shift in writing from my aunt's generation to that of my father. Her generation had inkwells at their desks, but my father used Ticonderoga's (no insult to them) and primitive BP's. No explanation was given because everybody just did it. I am glad to see that the monotony of industrial post-Taylorist production has caught up with people. Between Moleskine notebooks, cubicles, and now FP's, people are now starting to realize the damage that the Mongol hordes of efficiency did to them.

This report is a positive development and a watershed. I believe that once again people may learn that writing is not punishment, and that it involves the whole body not just the fingers. I wonder how many people have hellacious handwriting because they strain under ballpoints as they write from the fingers, rather than flow along with an FP and use the shoulder with the fingers responding tertiarily. I hope we once again see FP high rollers/purchasers.

Now if someone will be gracious enough to link us to or leak the report to us.

[kissing]

Strange.  I have always been able to find cheap fountain pens, even in the early 1980s when I was a high school student like you.

Not much to do with avaliability, but more to do with how publicly known it is to the Average Joes. Sure, i know they would have been around, but I had never noticed it due to a lack of awareness of what Fountain pens are like. Upon being a part of this wonderful forum and using fountain pens for some time now, i have a better knowledge of where to find fountain pens and the price ranges relative to quality. However for people who were born into a world where they have always used ballpoints and have never used Fountain pens before - cheap fountain pens arent easy to find unless you specifically go out hunting for them. Even if they're widely available in Newsagencies and Office supply shops, there is a high chance of them going unnoticed if you're not specifically interested in cheap fountain pens.

 

In the overall population, Ballpoints are the "default" pens. As i notice from this forum, there are lots of people who appreciate the beauty of Fountain pens around the globe, but i havent come across a lot of people from around me where i actually live who use fountain pens. With everyone using ballpoints at school, a lot of people of the younger generation are led to believe that Fountain pens are an inferior writing instrument of the past and is only available these days for specialty circumstances. Maybe not so for a lot of people, but it was like that to me as a kid Fountain pens were a huge mystery, and I ventured into the unknown and met many great surprises /:)

 

A further example may be is, my friends and even my parents (who used fountain pens back at school) think that my hobby for fountain pens is very odd, and I haven't met a single other highschool student my age who is as passionate (obsessed) about fountain pens as i am

 

[edited for typos]

Edited June 14, 2006 by kissing

[ConnallMac]

I have to agree with kissing about this. I was not really aware of fountain pens as a viable and modern technology until I was out of college. It grew from a dissatisfaction with ballpoints, which lead me to discover the new gel pen technology. I got hooked on Pilot's G2, but those still weren't good enough for me. I started reading on the internet about fountain pens and the idea of smoother writing, plus the near infinite colors of ink moved me to purchase a fountain pen. I was hooked from that point on!

 

 

J. Haney

[stormer]

In the US, 30 year olds and younger grew up with rollerballs, glitter-ink ballpoints, and were maybe 10 years old during the 80's FP revival, so forget nostalgia. Probably a no-nonsense calligraphy kit with a software CD to scan in and create home-made PC fonts, advertized by some old Popeil-style pocket fisherman-type TV commercials, aimed at single women, would work. It sounds ugly, but it builds a base.

Now that's market research.

[kissing]

I have to agree with kissing about this. I was not really aware of fountain pens as a viable and modern technology until I was out of college. It grew from a dissatisfaction with ballpoints, which lead me to discover the new gel pen technology. I got hooked on Pilot's G2, but those still weren't good enough for me. I started reading on the internet about fountain pens and the idea of smoother writing, plus the near infinite colors of ink moved me to purchase a fountain pen. I was hooked from that point on!

 

 

J. Haney

I followed a very similar path that led to fountain pens.

Ball points were making my hands ache and I was getting frustrated with its monotony.

 

Then I got hooked onto Rollerballs. Parker Rollerballs seemed like the perfect writing instrument at the time. I had read on the Rollerball refill box "Puts together the convenience of a ballpoint and has the wet-ink feel of fountain pens".

 

That's how fountain pens got into my head...and well...once it's in your head..

 

My only memories of Fountain pens back then were the ones at Department stores that cost a fortune, so I was under the impression that all fountain pens were expensive and therefore beyond the reach of a highschool student such as I. (well, i still enjoyed looking at them behind the glass )

 

I walked into a local office supply store, and I found a Vector Flighter for just $25AU PLUS the owner was offering 20% discount (he must have had trouble finding buyers for it). It was a huge surprise to me because i had NO idea you could get Fountain pens for cheap. I bought it immediately and that is how i got here /:)

[MartiniPundit]

I had a few very inexpensive Shaeffers when I was about nine or ten and used them in school. However, ink got expensive on my allowance at the time, so I gave them up. Later, I discovered rollerballs which were quite similar in terms of liquid ink. I wrote with those through graduate studies, until, on a lark, I bought a Lamy Safari from Levenger. From that point on, I wrote almost exclusively with FPs.