So.... Where Do You Guys Buy Namiki Pens From?

[PingleiHe]

I live in Europe and I'm going to buy a Namiki pen. (Not the mass produced ones but the Maki-e pens)

The prices of japanese pens are ridiculous and I'm just wondering where I can buy Namiki pens at a reasonable price online.

Thank you.

[Frank C]

I haven't purchased any of the Maki-e pens from this place, but I do buy most of my pens from nibs.com.

 

http://www.nibs.com/PilotNamikiPensPage.htm

 

I know that Europeans often purchase Nakaya pens there as well.

[perth]

The price is unlikely to be much lower anywhere. Perhaps in Japan they cost a little less, but shipping charges and customs may bring it back up. Which maki-e pens are you talking about? If they're the Emperor/Yukari collections, then getting one for a "reasonable" price is pretty much out of the question.

[PingleiHe]

The price is unlikely to be much lower anywhere. Perhaps in Japan they cost a little less, but shipping charges and customs may bring it back up. Which maki-e pens are you talking about? If they're the Emperor/Yukari collections, then getting one for a "reasonable" price is pretty much out of the question.

Thank you.But I did found the price on nib.com about 30-40 percent cheaper than the price in Europe. Not affiliated or anything.

"Reasonable" does not necessarily mean "inexpensive". But sometimes the pricing strategy of Pilot is not very understandable.

Of cause, maki-e pens are generally expensive. You can't get an "inexpensive" gucci,but at least they are less expensive in Europe than in China right?

I saw that the pilot vanishing point costs 220 euros in a pen shop and I got mine at 68 euros that's why I wanted to make sure that the namikis in Europe are not that "over-priced".

[Quantum]

I buy most of my Japanese pens from Japan. I find that it is cheaper overall to do so. I live in the U.S. though so not sure what options we have compared to what Europe has.

[Frank C]

Thank you.But I did found the price on nib.com about 30-40 percent cheaper than the price in Europe. Not affiliated or anything.

"Reasonable" does not necessarily mean "inexpensive". But sometimes the pricing strategy of Pilot is not very understandable.

Of cause, maki-e pens are generally expensive. You can't get an "inexpensive" gucci,but at least they are less expensive in Europe than in China right?

I saw that the pilot vanishing point costs 220 euros in a pen shop and I got mine at 68 euros that's why I wanted to make sure that the namikis in Europe are not that "over-priced".

 

Part of that savings is that we have no VAT. I would guess that Customs in Europe would take care of that.

[Dr.Grace]

You could try sellers on Rakuten (search FPN for a thread on buying from there.)

[Algester]

getting a namiki is as elusive but perhaps one day you can fund yourself a trip to tokyo and drop by the usual shops that people go to for their pen fix...

last I heard Stephen Brown's 823 costed him 600 euros... <_< seriously... its not cheap you dont want to pay for a pen with twice the cost as it's sold by retail

Assuming your standard namiki would set you back 1K USD that would mean its going to be 2K euros in europe... thats more or less the "standard" price then

with that in mind if your going to buy in the european states if you can get it for say 1.5K euro... you should be fine at a "reasonable" cost but yeesh man European Euro is really suffering at this point

maybe next time I see it pelikans will now cost thrice as more than they are now in a few months... <_< I dont want to imagine MB

but yeah... I would say go buy your pen in Japan while the Yen is at it's lowest point before the olympics... I dont want to imagine what kind of inflation would occur after the olympics

Edited May 4, 2015 by Algester

[Betweenthelines]

I grab all of my Japanese pens straight from Japan, of course. Engeika, Rakuten, J-Subculture, or a few select ebay sellers.

[PingleiHe]

 

Part of that savings is that we have no VAT. I would guess that Customs in Europe would take care of that.

No, this is a marketing thing. The matt black capless is 40 euros cheaper than the rhodium plated ones.

And the pilot custom 823... ehh..... twice more expensive than in the U.S.

[Sergio 46]

Recently, I bought a Namiki Falcon metal and a pilot custom 823 (I consider the two as my best japanese purchases) from j-subculture site in Japan,their prices seem to be rather fair and moreover, they are very nice to deal with!

[Drawing61]

For the assurance that everything will be done correctly, nibs.com. The anti-hassle factor is worth it.

[shedberg]

Try sending a message to pisuke2005 on eBay, he's my go-to guy for Japanese pens.

[nibbling]

Japan. Their prices tend to be cheaper and there are, imo, more second hand options.

[Sergio 46]

Japan.

I bought my last Pilot Custom 823 and Namiki Elabo metal from J-subculture at a good price, even sent to France, and better than my previous purchases on Amazon.

One bad experience, however: I bought a Pilot Custom (the basic one , without numbers) and had to pay 30 euros to the customs

[pen tom]

I grab all of my Japanese pens straight from Japan, of course. Engeika, Rakuten, J-Subculture, or a few select ebay sellers.

Could you share the names of the eBay people?

[______Zaphod_Beeblebrox]

Alway buy from an authorized dealer. There is probably a reason why buying a pen from a European dealer cost more than buying direct.

 

When you go outside the "network of dealer" and buy from an unautherized dealer, say on eBay, How do you bought the real thing? What if you have an issue and new warranty work. It most likely will be a headache because it will not be covered under warranty. Then the cost of currency exchange. Cost of shipping. If you go to a local euro dealer you can try the pen out before you buy, buying outside the authorized dealer you do not get this Customer service. And it would be highly unethical to go to a local dealer just to try the pen out knowing you are going to buy it online somewhere else just because it may be cheaper.

[Algester]

Alway buy from an authorized dealer. There is probably a reason why buying a pen from a European dealer cost more than buying direct.

 

When you go outside the "network of dealer" and buy from an unautherized dealer, say on eBay, How do you bought the real thing? What if you have an issue and new warranty work. It most likely will be a headache because it will not be covered under warranty. Then the cost of currency exchange. Cost of shipping. If you go to a local euro dealer you can try the pen out before you buy, buying outside the authorized dealer you do not get this Customer service. And it would be highly unethical to go to a local dealer just to try the pen out knowing you are going to buy it online somewhere else just because it may be cheaper.

yes but do take note a custom 823 costs like 600 euros in euro (retail mind you)... thats expensive...

you could buy an 845 with that amount of money heck even a KoP outside euro

going by todays exchange rate as of this posting thats roughly

84K yen... an 823 in yen only costs 30K yen...

which should be 214 euros +-

i'm not sure who put up these prices... but... jebus

unless Stephen unwittingly had to pay for 2 pens to get an 823 SF (as the 823 really never came with those soft nibs)... then I could understand the exuberance of the price...

Edited June 18, 2015 by Algester

[Dhruv_Sood]

I don't know whether you or the seller would be comfortable with it, but you can ask the seller to mark down the price for custom purposes. If he agrees then you are lucky, most don't agree. You lose out on insurance since you are insured only on the declared value.

 

But on the other hand, no more 600 pilot custom 823. You can buy 2 for that price with a lot remaining. Or get both custom 845 and 823. CFP won't do this though, that's why I will never buy from them.

[socrates469]

You can buy Namiki pens from Goulet pen company. Prices seem reasonable.