Why Are Moleskines So Expensive

[penrivers]

Dear Torstar, I remember last year you finished A la recherché .... by Proust, and that I sent you the memoirs of his maid Celeste Albaret, in it she mentioned that she used to buy

for him to use moleskin note books I don't think she is writing about a trademark but of a kind of material probably fabric but could be fur on the covers, sincerily Idont remember when and wher the trademark Moleskine with e began and I am to lazy to check it. But there is a diference among Moleskine and Moleskin, to begin with, they are diferent trade marks that make notebooks and journals. Greetings.

Edited July 11, 2014 by penrivers

[lapis]

Whatever.... my store, where I don't work, and which always has good prices.... has a lot of these and I don't find them very expensive...

http://zc77.de/cgi-bin/scgi?sid=1&se=1&kd=0&sp=eng&nm=mhtml%2Fpelikanwelt.html&rid=0&ebene=0&tabellennr=2&begriffnr=&sucher=moleskine&x=0&y=0&bef=showsuchergebnis

 

Check that out! Maybe you might find what you're looking for. I hope so!!

 

Mike

[Namru]

you have to adjust to the paper and pen and ink and nib and flow each time you want to write

 

writing on Moleskin isn't the same as other papers, adjustments are required for effective use

 

shape up or ship out

So limit the pen/ink combinations in order to use poorly made, overpriced notebooks with awful paper? Err, McFly?

 

Think I'll stick to my Clairefontaine/Rhodia and use any combination of ink and pen I choose.

[Lyander0012]

The paper in the cahiers is even thinner than in the hardcover bound versions, about 65 gsm, pretty useless for most regular pens.

Oh yeah. I do remember hearing that some time ago. Still, I'm a bit reluctant to go for Moleskine when I'm not 100% sure about the quality. Then again, I may get one of those really nice-looking LEs so that I'll at least have something nice to look at

[napalm]

you have to adjust to the paper and pen and ink and nib and flow each time you want to write

 

 

Thank you for the suggestion. For now I approached the issue the other way round - I get Webbies and Habanas and they automagically adjust to my pen, ink, nib and flow.

Edited July 12, 2014 by napalm

[inkypete]

As much as I dislike moleskin I think the best notebook is the one you like that works with your choices of pen and ink. If that is moleskin, great. I like their general form and their popularity has encouraged many clones. That has been good for the notebook market. Moleskin has encouraged a higher level of notebooks. So moleskin definitely has helped the overall market place. My biggest complaint has been the poor quality paper (for FP use), and the constant variances of paper, even within the one notebook.

[Parker51]

Moleskines are so expensive because of a combination of two forces, retailers who are willing to trade high profit margins for limiting the possible competitors of moleskins in their stores and a decrease in the number of retailers over all such that the remaining retailers have functional monopolies in their geographic market areas. The solution is to support your local Independant that still believes in competition and bringing the best product to their customers.

[GMYoussef]

The thing is that a lot of people buying Moleskine notebooks have never heard of the better quality options like Rhodia, since those tend to be limited to brick and mortar pen stores (which are sadly few and in between in most places) or fountain pen sites like Goulet, neither of which they frequent because they don't use fountain pens. Plus, since they don't use fountain pens, they don't notice the quality of the paper because they're already used to writing on the standard packs of lined paper. Compared to those packs of paper, the moleskine paper actually seems better quality to them. This, along with the admittedly attractive design of the notebook, means that these people don't mind spending the money for them, because they don't realize there are other options out there. So of course, if they're able to keep a strong customer base without having to spend the extra money on better paper, and with keeping the prices unfairly high for what you're getting, they're going to do it.

[dcwaites]

Marketing is one half of the equation, and the fact that people buy them is the other half.

[FountainPages]

+1 to Cryptos...past glories. Inglorius Basterds.

[Ceelo]

I was tempted enough to buy a rather slim and 'cheap' moleskin notebooks to test out. Absolute rubbish. With three different pens and six different inks the feathering was so unbearable its been condemed to the sketch / doodle paper pile. Marketing at its finest.

Edited July 13, 2014 by Ceelo

[Lyander0012]

Someone mentioned the papers in the thin "cahiers" being inferior in quality to the paper Moleskine uses in their full journals. Perhaps you;d have better luck with those, if you're willing to take a shot in the dark again? Only if you're that curious, of course, and if you're dissatisfied with what you're using now in any way, like appearance or pocketability or what.

 

 

Cheers!

Kevin

[Ceelo]

Interesting, I never knew there was a difference between the range. Unfortunately it probably won't make me go back for more - once bitten twice shy, as they say.

[Vpen]

Bought one from Rubberband notebooks and they bleed a lot. Is it similar with Moleskine ones?

http://i.imgur.com/NKHgW3v.png

Edited April 30, 2015 by Vpen

[luvpens]

I've just bought one of these to try and they are pretty good. I must do a review for you guys..

I generally use the large webbie which imo is pretty faultless..

 

http://www.thejournalshop.com/ciak-large-ruled-black-faux-leather-journal-notebook

[Maurizio]

The poor real quality of Moleskine's creates an opportunity for any would-be entrepreneurs. As has been admitted here, the form and the exterior design of the notebooks is attractive, but the paper quality is relatively poor; they're something like an attractive fountain pen which doesn't write well because of poor nib and feed design.

 

Assuming they've got the financing, I'm guessing that a saavy manufacturer could produce similarly attractive notebooks filled with relatively inexpensive sugarcane paper which generally works well with fountain pens, and, if they sold them for significantly less than Moleskine's, they could grab a serious chunk of their market share. I believe Moleskine's are made in China; their manufacturing cost must be relatively low; it's their marketing which creates their justification of a high price.

[Sasha Royale]

If they can get Europeans to pay $30 for an A5 notebook, they are far from

"stupid". They are smart. If enough can be sold at that price, the price will

continue.

 

I intend to continue calling them names, until the price comes down.

[Dickkooty2]

Moleskine …

 

IT'S THE MARKETING >>>

 

 

Here's how they did it … three case histories ( one on the IPO) and two very nice stories on the use of digital marketing.

 

http://www.fastcodesign.com/1663497/unify-simplify-amplify-how-moleskine-gets-branding-right

http://www.helloglowcoaching.com/brand-strategy-case-study-moleskine/

http://www.imagination.com/en/our-work/new-chapter-moleskine-initial-public-offering

http://www.barracuda-digital.co.uk/case_studies/moleskine-case-study/

 

Without the 'e', moleskins are a type of cotton cloth heavy duty trouser and stand as a symbol of the working class, perhaps best remembered for references in 'Juno and the Paycock' (Sean O'Casey) in exchanges between the Boyle's, and Boyle and Joxer Daly

 

Mrs Boyle Go on in at wans't now and take off that moleskin trousers of yours an' put on a collar an' tie to smarten yerself up a bit

 

Must be a different moleskin(e)

[Sasha Royale]

Yep, italians bought from frenchs the rights to make it, then hired Bruce Chatwin to design its journels under his very personal specifications I think he concentrated in measures

against rains and other kind of humidifications it would be wise to investigate the opinion of P. Leigh Fermor about that issue, it should exist. I have one, just to accomplish the

"I must have it" condition of some relatively low cost iconic things in the market, cant see the fuzz, paper is stiff and thick, I never write in it. I have some excelents from walmart with fake suede covers in fade greens, blues, browns and blacks, silky ribbons and elastic rings, in diferent sizes with astonishing good paper. But I am vulgar, for my everyday I use composition note books 80 sheets, 160 pages 4.5x3.25 in, they cost 50 or 75 cents in thrifty stores, originally they are blue and white, but whenever I begin to use a new one (I have maybe 10 or 15 waiting), I paint the paper covers with a black marker totally, and after 10 years of use they are still beautifull.

 

Me, too. I found the MEAD composition books (8" x 10"), I think. They were $0.60 each.

I gathered 20 in a mix of black, blue, and green. The paper is quite smooth. A little

feathering, but I write bigger in these. Serious "bleed-through", so I use every other page.

So, I get half as many pages the $15 notebook.

 

Not so inconvenient. I am not Rudyard Kipling, who traveled the world.

I have a carton of notebooks in my closet. I go home everyday.

[delano]

Because people are willing to pay what they price them as.