What Is Really A Premium Writing Instrument...

[Algester]

I just took a survey by Pelikan and a question has popped into my head what is a premium writing instrument (said term was being repeated throughout the survey) I mean considering BPs, RBs, and FPs their prices also vary from one brand to another some can be bought as cheap as 3USD some can be bought at 1K++USD

I mean if you have a BP thats costs 1K++ USD thats considered premium right?

I mean something as cheap as a preppy or a 78G can that be considered as a premium writing instrument when it costs no more than 3USD?

[WaskiSquirrel]

I think price is the main thing. At one point in the survey I remember that there was mention of a specific price, but I don't recall what it was. But I don't think there is a rigid definition. My $20 Konrad costs more than 20x more than a Bic. Does that make the Konrad premium? The Bic user might question my extravagance.

 

My own arbitrary line is $100, but there is no meaning or science to that line. I just know that I'm comfortable spending less than that, but more than that involves some guilt in my pen buying. There is no mathematical reason for it, just the emotional feel of $100.

 

And I agree that premium is not limited to fountain pens. There are premium ballpoints and rollerballs.

[BrandonA]

A premium pen is a pen that the manufacturer says is premium. By that I mean its a marketing term.

[Zanshin]

I think price is the main thing. At one point in the survey I remember that there was mention of a specific price, but I don't recall what it was. But I don't think there is a rigid definition. My $20 Konrad costs more than 20x more than a Bic. Does that make the Konrad premium? The Bic user might question my extravagance.

 

My own arbitrary line is $100, but there is no meaning or science to that line. I just know that I'm comfortable spending less than that, but more than that involves some guilt in my pen buying. There is no mathematical reason for it, just the emotional feel of $100.

 

And I agree that premium is not limited to fountain pens. There are premium ballpoints and rollerballs.

 

I linked to the survey from a post on here and asked, once I completed it, whether there should have been a guideline price for the classifying the pen as premium. The price mentioned mid-survey was $100, but when I started the survey I had a figure of around £200 in mind ($320).

 

You're right though, there is that whole guilt element (let's see £200 on a new M800 or keep the kids fed and watered for two weeks) which is probably more meaningful in showing the value of that pen to you than just the ticket price. I think quality also helps define premium, especially when the comparative quality is clearly not in line with the price tag.

[sirgilbert357]

Well, there's a difference between premium *pricing* and premium *quality*. They sometimes go hand in hand...other times they don't. I prefer to search out the ones that write really well regardless of price...I'd say 120 USD is my mental max right now.

[chas0039]

I look at the company first. Noodler's would not qualify, for example, nor would Jinhao. Then I look at the nib; 14k gold minimum. Then I would look at the filling system. Piston or some variation helps here but is not a deal breaker. Then I look at the warranty and the expectation of follow up customer service. Free nib exchange says a lot about the company and the nature of the company says a lot about the feeling that I impart to a "premium" pen.

 

Last I will look at the material and finish and color of the body and clip and trim and section and where the pen is made. If it just doesn't look right, it doesn't qualify.

 

Parker is a good example. While the 1990s Centennial which I bought back when it was first announced was clearly Premium, the version today is not. The first Centennial spoke of the multiple steps people went through in manufacturing, the hand crafting in the United Kingdom, the fact that it was the largest nib at the time, the quality control and time it took to make and inspect, the free nib exchange, the Lifetime Warranty and the membership in the owners club, the free engraving of your initials, the large number of nib choices, all 18k, the unique blue marble material. All these things lead to Premium. Soon, the Centennial will be solid colors only (not even the black trim for the blind cap) , limited nib choices, none of the lifetime or membership benefits, probably no wooden box and made in Poland. Don't get me wrong, I am Polish. But I don't look in the mirror and see Premium. Neither do I with any Parker made today.

Edited October 17, 2014 by chas0039

[82Greg]

A premium pen is a pen that the manufacturer says is premium. By that I mean its a marketing term.

 

On the nose. "Premium," "Improved," "high-quality," and "luxury" are the terms that marketing prefers because there is no binding definition. Organic was widely used till the FDA defined what it meant for foods to be organic.

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[MKeith]

To me the "Writing",is the key which defines premium. A pen that writes smoothly, consistently,starts up immediately, doesn't leak, holds a reasonably large amount of ink, and looks good fits the bill. Currently my Bexley Corona piston fillers with their Binderized fine nibs meet all my expectations. Also cost alone can't define premium.

Edited October 17, 2014 by MKeith

[Algester]

I mean I can easily consider a 400USD BP already a premium (if price alone is the defining factor) and you can easily get your hands on a 400USD BP via Nakaya...

[NedC]

Some of the folks who buy office supplies seem to think a Bic Cristal is a premium writing instrument and find blobby no-name generic ballpoint stick pens that cost half what the Bic does to inflict upon their employees and the public at large;)

[Baric]

When some researcher or manufacturer says premium, I think "expensive". The problem is what's premium or expensive is very subjective. I'm reading through this thread thinking to myself "that's not premium!". My bar seems to be a bit higher than some, at least $500. But if you look at the posts, everyone has a different definition.

[lmarine0510]

"Premium" is definitely a subjective term. Somebody once noticed and asked about the price of a pilot 78g that I was writing with, and upon hearing that it cost me about 10 dollars, they were flabbergasted and said there was no way in the world that they would spend that much money on 1 pen. His justification behind that was the fact that he could buy 100 ball points for that price. Sometimes, I just feel bad for people living in the cheap BP dark ages.

Personally, the word "premium" doesn't necessarily mean a high price. I have paid a lot of money for a bad pen on more than one occasion (I'm looking at you, Parker Urban). IMO, premium means something of high quality and superb functionality regardless of price.

[georges zaslavsky]

A premium is a pen that lasts very long and that has never ever failed, my vintage pre 1969 sheaffers, my vintage MBs and my vintage pre 1952 parkers are those kind of pens. In terms of modern pens, premium is a brand positionning according to how well made are the pens. I do have some modern pens Omas, Stipula, Nettuno and Conway Stewart that have a very good reliability. A premium pen has also to have an impeccable quality control not a toothy nib, no baby bottom, no inkflow and no filler issues.

[lsmith42]

Can we please keep all the value perception threads together? This is making my head hurt...

 

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php/topic/274567-overpriced/#

[Algester]

I don't think this is a very direct perception of "value" but the words premium automatically connotes to the perception value I don't think I can put this into the overprice thread either...

I'm more into the general broadstroke definition of the "premium writing instrument"

I mean if you pay 500 USD for a pencil does that make it a premium writing instrument? I don't mean to say that's overpriced...

Edited October 18, 2014 by Algester

[redisburning]

the whole premium concept doesn't make much sense to me.

 

something is either good, or it's bad.

 

Ive yet to find a pen that can get past "nice pen". the only thing Ive ever found that I think can seriously distinguish itself from an "inferior" class of objects are planar and electrostatic headphones compared to the dynamics which make up most of the market.

[de_pen_dent]

Premium would be a pen that goes beyond bare utility - into "higher end". And yes, there is a lot of grey area here - not just pens but other things also.

 

De facto, I think pretty much everything that goes beyond what we would use as an EDC is a premium pen.

 

(Redisburning - Audezes for the win!! )

[Algester]

unless we define that a writing instrument has to be a fountain pen then I think it's understood but the term "writing instrument" is also in the broad area since we have pencils, BPs, RBs, FPs or am I tapping into the wrong market here? so should we advise the one who made the survey to be more precise than just going over the broad definition of the "premium writing instrument"

to be honest I chose Pilot as the brand concept in the survey but I could have went and forgone with Bic if thats going to make it silly

Edited October 18, 2014 by Algester

[J85909266]

It's a silly, arbitrary description, and each individual's definition is likely to vary.

 

To me, premium pens are pens that write well and utilize extra features and superior performance. My Uni Signo 207s that I buy for work are certainly premium compared to the Bic Round Stics that my coworkers use.

 

High end would be a better term for what many of you are describing.

Edited October 18, 2014 by J85909266

[fountainpende]

Dear all,

 

I'm the guy responsible for the survey mentioned above. Important: this is not a survey conducted by Pelikan. I am a passionate collector but I also work at the university of Muenster. I work in the marketing department and we regularly conduct market reserach on numerous topics. A colleague of mine had the Idea to conduct a study on fountain pens ... and I, of course, argeed. We then developed the questionnaire and asked Pelikan for help.

 

I am very grateful that Pelikan helped us since this is not a commercial study and we do not have any budget to fund it. However, Pelikan was not involved in developing the questionnaire.

 

I am also very, very thankful to all of you that participated in the survey!!!

 

Together with my colleagues I discussed the topic on "premium" several times. I strongly agree to the following:

"Premium" is definitely a subjective term"

 

We used the term "premium" to make sure that the buying decision described within the survey is relevant and important to the individual decision maker. A Lamy pen may be premium for some ... they will look for information and deliberately compare alternatives. For others, Lamy might not be premium and they might "just buy one" without really thinking about the purchase.

 

Our aim was to make people think about a pen that really involves them. If you follow this definition, they "premium" must be subjective and differ between individuals.

 

(And yes, I know that there is this price of $100 mentioned in the survey. But I would not see thos as a "strict" definition as stated above.)

 

Thank you once again for participating!!

 

Kind regards

Michael

PS: Please see also here for more information on the survey:

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php/topic/276222-please-help-survey-on-collecting-fountain-pens/