Greetings, this is my first post.

I've always been into high quality items. I’m by no means wealthy or snobby yet i do believe owning a few well built reasonably priced items is far more dignified then owning a lot of… junk. I bought my first Omega pre-loved for an exceptional price and now… I’m after a nice, my first, Mont Blanc.

I’ve been admiring for a while and enjoy the Starwalker Metal & Rubber Fineliner. Black with the gride pattern

Now… I require your kind assistance. What is a good way of purchasing a Mont Blanc pen for a reasonable price pre-owned or new. After much research and help, I bought my Omega Wristwatch off ebay and am very happy. Now… I don’t know anything about Mont Blanc and know there are a lot of fakes and grey markets. Can anyone help or advice? Even if you know of a reliable trustworthy online dealer (new or pre-owned) I would be most applicative.

Kind regards
anonymousmoose

...

hey rubber duckee, whats ... mean?

If you're looking for vintage items, you'll find a number of very good resellers who have a few. They won't necessarily be the cheapest pen on the block, but style and "ultra-cool" points, you'll definitely have.

No affiliation to the seller, but I was just browsing Pete's Pen Shop this morning and he's got some great old Montblancs. For new pens, I'd guess that some of the reputable eBay sellers would be a good idea. From time to time, I've seen Montblancs on Speerbob's eBay listings.

Best of luck in your search. If you'll share a little more information as to what types of Montblanc you're looking for, I'm sure that others can chime in with some help. I don't know how many Starwalker fineliners you'll find here in the rank and file of the FPN community, but there might be one or two who can help find one. Another place to check, specifically with respect to the Starwalker, would be to give the fine folks at Levenger a phone call. I know that at one point in time, they were clearancing their Montblancs, but in keeping with the Montblanc policy, wouldn't post their price on the website. But, based on other sales that they were running at the time, I'd bet that if they still have one (their Memphis outlet is the place to call), they're selling it reasonably.

It means that modern MB is notoriously not considered a quality brand in the eyes of most FP collectors. The equivalent of Omega in the FP world would probably be a Pelikan or Nakaya if you were buying a modern pen. In terms of vintage, a 50's MB, Parker 51 (but not the recent Special Edition), Sheaffer Snorkel - lots of others. Read the Reviews section.

Good luck trying to get, and pay for a 50's MB. Way easier said than done. That said, only think about you and no one else when it comes to pen collecting. Do not get what you think you should get; only buy what you want. Always get that which makes you smile first. Also, it would be hard to go wrong with any modern pen; the quality is fine. There's nothing wrong with the much maligned modern MB. Vintage pens are of a different quality because they were thought of as every day tools that needed to hold up to the rigors of daily-use tools. Vintage can be superb. However, if you're not into vintage, so what. Buy modern because that's what "you" like. And, yes while the quality maybe different, it's fine. Checkout "zoss@pens.com", and sign-up for the daily digest/collection of discussion emails. Zossers are among, if not, the best pen folks around. Also, it's hard to beat Fountain Pen Hospital for reputable dealers. And, lastly checkout a pen show if you can.

Hi there

In fact I consider MB a very high quality brand, as do quite a number of FP collectors (not all), in the end get what you want, I prefer the Starwalker Fountain Pen, but also own the Ball Pen, highly recommend them both.

Kind regards and see you on TZ Omega forum.