1. First Impressions
I had heard some good things about Jinhao pens so I went to ebay and found a reliable seller (gotoschool888) who had this pen at a very reasonable price. I got it for $2.99 plus $7.99 for shipping from China. Not bad in my opinion. I was drawn to this pen because of its attractive look and history. Its the Bejing Olympic Torch Pen, and since this will be a historic olympics (and very controversial), I thought it added a nice effect. The seller had his account suspended right after I had made the purchase and I got concerned. A day or two later the seller emailed me and said not to worry, hes a reliable seller, hes just having some problems with his account, and my package had shipped. I got the package 6 days after it had shipped. That made me very happy, i expected it to take a lot longer. It came in this small, blue case, nothing special.

2. Appearance and Finish
When I opened the package up, there was a great looking pen. Its black (i think lacquer) and gold. On the clip is a flame and a blue stone. The pen looks shiny and pristine. This pen does not look like a $3 pen.

3. Design/Size/Weight

This pen is a little heavier and longer than most pens I use (Lamy 2K and Waterman Expert II). Its heavy and long, but not to the point of being uncomfortable. I don't post this pen because that makes the pen really long.
Capped: 5.5"
Uncapped: 5"
Posted: 6.5"

4. Nib Design and Performance
I'm still fairly new to fountain pens, so I don't consider myself a nib guru. I was expecting this to be a poor performing pen. The nib is excellent!!!! Its so buttery smooth! I love it. The seller called it Bold, but I'd consider it between a Fine and a Medium, which is perfect for me. I guess they have different nib widths in China. The pen seems to write neither dry or wet. The nib says 18 kt on it. Its mostly silver, with a gold dragon in the middle. The detail is very interesting. This pen will become one of my daily writers because of the nib. It far exceeds my expectations.

5. Filling System
The pen is a cartridge converter pen (converter is included). It functions well, like most standard converters.

6. Cost/Value
I don't know what this pen sells for usually. Isellpens.com has the same model, but different colors for $27. For $3 this pen was a great value. I am extremely happy with the purchase.

7. Conclusion
This pen will probably become a daily writer for me. Its an amazing pen for the cost. I am extremely happy with the purchase.

If you have any other questions let me know.

Nice review.
Yes, I sell this pen and it's suppose to come in special packaging of a light colored wood box. It's not a $3.00 pen and I can not even buy them near that cheap along with the high cost of importing.

Yea i didnt get the nice box. That might be why the price was cheap. I guess its nice to find really good deals on ebay. This most certainly isnt a $3 pen.

I have bought pens from this seller myself and found that the service, prices and quality are all excellent, perhaps better than traditional market leaders who charge 100x the price.

For many of the Jinhao pens, there is a Presentation Version, which is what iSellPens and comeon1788 sell, and there is the cheaper non-presentation version that gotoschool888 was selling.

Not only is there a difference in the box (gotoschool888 uses generic little blue pen boxes) but in some cases there is a difference in the barrel and cap.

You gets what you pays for...

I have dealt with all three vendors, and will deal with all three again.

I just received this pen in brushed yellow/gold and it is a really amazing thing! The finish of the pen is immaculate. The nib is perfect and if only it had the "six point star" on the cap, this same thing could have sold for more than 100 times its actual cost. Well thats how MB makes all the money..... I payed $17 including shipping on ebay.

Jinhao is the best company ever, they perform better than most expensive pens,,, their makers are people who USED TO work in brand name FP companies so they are almost always the best pens around with a surprising price