Buying Pelikan M600/m800 From Rakuten - Opinions?

[katerchen]

Massdrop currently has the M600 up, with the lowest priced option coming in at $260

 

Someone brought up that they are much cheaper from rakuten.jp. The M600 can be found for as low as $210 and the M800 for $260 + the standard $13 shipping

 

I know that some of you (KBeezie ) like to shop there . How was your experience? Is it pretty safe? How is buyer protection, problem mediation (if you ever had to go there)?

 

-k

 

PS: And why is it that much cheaper there anyway although Pelikan probably has giant markups, so even at this price point there's profit to be made. And on a related note : are Pelikan's prone to counterfeiting?

[gerigo]

I have found that Pelikans are very competitively priced in Japan. The prices are comparable, and even slightly lower currently since the exchange rate is in our favor. I guess it's because Japan is one of the last markets in the world where people still write and I am sure Pelikan wants desperately to have penetration of this market. I can't say the same with the prices of other European manufacturers. The Waterman Edson was going for US$2000 and we can get it here for about 800.

 

As for Rakuten, I personally have not bought anything there. However I am very confident there will be very little issues since the Japanese will be HORRIFIED if any transaction is not to the customers liking.

Edited November 25, 2014 by gerigo

[prighello]

Funny, I actually ordered an M600 from there today. We'll see how it goes, but in my experiece ordering things from Japan the service has always been top notch! The last pen I got from Japan came with an origami crane placed in the box lol.

Edited November 25, 2014 by prighello

[tinysnail]

Funny, I actually ordered an M600 from there today. We'll see how it goes, but in my experiece ordering things from Japan the service has always been top notch! The last pen I got from Japan came with an origami crane placed in the box lol.

That's delightful! I'm thinking that my next big purchase will be an M600 and I am pleasantly surprised to hear that ordering from Japan is a smart option. Best of luck with yours

Edited November 26, 2014 by tinysnail

[maverick777]

Funny, I actually ordered an M600 from there today. We'll see how it goes, but in my experiece ordering things from Japan the service has always been top notch! The last pen I got from Japan came with an origami crane placed in the box lol.

 

How do you order and ship to the overseas from the Japanese website?

Edited November 26, 2014 by maverick777

[prighello]

 

How do you order and ship to the overseas from the Japanese website?

 

Go to the global website and select english Link: http://global.rakuten.com/en/

[maverick777]

 

Go to the global website and select english Link: http://global.rakuten.com/en/

 

I did that. However, the Japanese vendors show they will not ship outside Japan when I go to checkout. Do I need to use a mail forwarding service like Tenso?

[prighello]

Well, I just got an email that my order is cancelled. They say they sold out. Who knows? The mass drop deal doesn't seem too bad but the Japanese seller pricing is really great. The markup on these pens must be absurd.

Edited November 26, 2014 by prighello

[harrietthespy]

 

I did that. However, the Japanese vendors show they will not ship outside Japan when I go to checkout. Do I need to use a mail forwarding service like Tenso?

I think so...that is how I order my Tomoe River paper. It's pretty easy once you get your account set up. Tenso leads you through the procedure with their online instructions.

[prighello]

Well, I just decided to go with the Massdrop instead, at least I know they are legit. Sort of like gambling since you never know if enough buyers are actually going to bite to get the price you commited to. We'll see, otherwise it's a sign that I'm not meant to have an M600

Edited November 26, 2014 by prighello

[maverick777]

Well, I just decided to go with the Massdrop instead, at least I know they are legit. Sort of like gambling since you never know if enough buyers are actually going to bite to get the price you commited to. We'll see, otherwise it's a sign that I'm not meant to have an M600

 

It's not a bad option at all. I just wish they had an M605 option. I'm still debating if I like rhodium trim or gold trim better for a blue M60x.

 

EDIT: Decided to go ahead and grab an M600 blue/black in EF through Massdrop. Since I already have 2 M605's, a gold hardware M600 should be a good contrast.

Edited November 26, 2014 by maverick777

[prighello]

 

It's not a bad option at all. I just wish they had an M605 option. I'm still debating if I like rhodium trim or gold trim better for a blue M60x.

 

EDIT: Decided to go ahead and grab an M600 blue/black in EF through Massdrop. Since I already have 2 M605's, a gold hardware M600 should be a good contrast.

 

Wow, three now. Is the M600 your go to pen? I'm moving up from a M200 so I hope I like it

Edited November 26, 2014 by prighello

[maverick777]

 

Wow, three now. Is the M600 your go to pen? I'm moving up from a M200 so I hope I like it

The Pelikan m60x, Pilot CH 92 (I have 3 of these as well), and the Lamy 2000 are my go to pens. They're all perfect sizes for me and I love the designs for different reasons. I also have enough inks at this point to put different colors in each pen so it works out great. I like to coordinate the color of my inks with the color of the pen.

[Lou Erickson]

I'm dithering over what color. The regular Pelikan green? Blue? Red? I can't decide! I have a vintage 140 in green... I like the blue.

 

And what nib? SO HARD.

[tinysnail]

I'm dithering over what color. The regular Pelikan green? Blue? Red? I can't decide! I have a vintage 140 in green... I like the blue.

 

And what nib? SO HARD.

I was in your exact place not too long ago, pal. I believe in you! I got through this and so can you.

(I also have a green 140! I ended up going for the blue M600 with a fine nib)

[maverink]

i got a pelikan white tortoise m400 from thearticle shop on rakuten shipped by japanese EMS i paid by paypal so you have some buyer protection. the pen was original not a fake.

[debraji]

Well, I just got an email that my order is cancelled. They say they sold out. Who knows? The mass drop deal doesn't seem too bad but the Japanese seller pricing is really great. The markup on these pens must be absurd.

 

I just had the same experience. I ordered the pen, arranged to pay for it through Paypal, and the next day I get a notice that the pen is out of stock. Rakuten refunded my money quite promptly--getting the money back from Paypal seems to be taking longer.

 

<sigh>

[Biff]

I was in your exact place not too long ago, pal. I believe in you! I got through this and so can you.

(I also have a green 140! I ended up going for the blue M600 with a fine nib)

I also bought an M600 in striated blue with a fine nib. It's my best pen. Edited December 5, 2014 by Nicolas_Rieussec

[tinysnail]

I also bought an M600 in striated blue with a fine nib. It's my best pen.

Sounds like we have good taste! I'm really excited. The blue is stunning.

 

 

I just had the same experience. I ordered the pen, arranged to pay for it through Paypal, and the next day I get a notice that the pen is out of stock. Rakuten refunded my money quite promptly--getting the money back from Paypal seems to be taking longer.

 

<sigh>

If you don't mind me asking, do you know if the pen was totally out of stock or just the particular binde/nib you ordered? If I end up going for a red M600, I'll probably get it from Rakuten if possible, so I am just thinking ahead here.

[maverick777]

Sounds like we have good taste! I'm really excited. The blue is stunning.

 

 

 

If you don't mind me asking, do you know if the pen was totally out of stock or just the particular binde/nib you ordered? If I end up going for a red M600, I'll probably get it from Rakuten if possible, so I am just thinking ahead here.

Cult Pens is another good option. I bought mine from there last week. It's only slightly more expensive than getting it from the cheapest vendor on Rakuten (about $10 USD more if you take into account the cost for the mail forwarding service). It was worth it for the faster shipping and security buying from an authorized retailer.