The interwebs have made FP more expensive? Or cheaper?

[jmkeuning]

It is so dangerous to post a poll like this, bc I know what you all are thinking.

 

My answer to most questions is the same: "in the aggregate."

 

 

[kernando]

I don't know, but those are check boxes, instead of radio buttons, so people could check multiple answers, and then you couldn't quantify what people think the answer is.

[Ondina]

Sites like FPN supply a wealth of information, on what you were looking for and what you stumble upon along the way, triggering wants and needs you did not even know you had. Collectors are always avid of "yet another one" pen/ink/paper..etc. Is natural.

Being your question specifically addressed towards pens, and being the vintage ones a limited market by its own nature, the more the demand, the less the number of pens and the higher the prices. As for the new production ones, I don't follow the logic, but prices have gone significantly up in the past years.

 

If I can add a comment that is very bad a a mid-long term policy. A pen is just a writing instrument. If you make them so expensive that young people cannot access them, or cannot make the jump between a basic one and a mid or high end piece, then they are killing the goose that laid the golden eggs. But is very into the moral of modern corporations; grab what you can now and run.

 

 

[PatientType]

I voted cheaper. With the Internet, pens of all types are readily available. On line forums provide a mechanism to become educated faster and to have a better appreciation of what market value is for a pen.

 

In days of yesteryear, one would go to a brick-and-mortar shop and buying from a limited selection based on what friends might have recommended or a clerk's sales patter. Now, with sites like FPN there is a wealth of knowledge, opinion and experience for the asking. It doesn't take long to be a better informed buyer.

[1michael1]

With increased information and access to vendors, I think there is greater competition among venders then in the past, resulting in lower prices. On the other hand, for collectables that are in demand the price has probably increased (but I don't have any data on that) for similar reasons. So, it all depends on what kind of pens you purchase. For me, the price has decreased.