Montblanc

[kjervin]

Did you ever notice that people only seem to recognize black montblanc pens? I have a yellow generations that I use at work fairly often and get no comments on, but if I bring either of my Boehms.....it's, "Katie, Bar the Door!!" time!

 

"Hey, that's a Montblanc, right?"

 

"Aren't those expensive?"

 

" Why would you bring such a nice pen here !"

 

etc.

 

Kinda Odd, huh?

 

 

 

 

Secondarily, how do you effectively comparrison shop for Montblanc? I am looking to possibly pick up a 146 in the next month or so (there's another pen I might get instead, but it would be ordered from someone on the board, so I don't want to influence the answer), and the one in the local shop had the tines on the nib across each other (like an "x") so I don't really want that one. I have a couple of people's catalogs, but you can't order them online? Has anyone had a good or bad experience with a vendor they would like to share? While the pen might a pretty much known commodity, I prefer to order when I can see it first. I have a 4 day weekend coming up (after working 12 in a row) so I might be willing to travel somewhere on the east coast, but would be willing to consider a recommendation from a satisfied customer.

 

 

Kj

Edited February 22, 2005 by kjervin

[kjervin]

Man, you guys really have a thing against Montblanc. No help at all? Amazing.

Kj

 

:bonk:

[John]

All I can say to you, sir, is "Belgium"

[Keith with a capital K]

For as much teasing as I do, Mont Blanc pens are very nice.

 

The price and snob factor of the company are what turn me off.

[Maja]

Hi Kevin,

Sorry I can't help you out with an answer; the two Montblancs I have were given to me as a gift (a Noblesse Oblige) and from Ebay (a 122... or is it 121?) The Ebay seller's name is "penprinzess"---Norbert Otto--and he is a really great Ebay seller from Germany...

 

Good luck!

--Maja

Edited February 23, 2005 by Maja

[kjervin]

Thanks Maja ( and others)!

 

I checked back today to see if they just put the one with the bent tines back out once I left, but they actually did send it back to be repaired (good for them!). I guess I could go to another of their stores and pick one up there, but it seems to me that there should be someone out there that traffics in used MB, or if I wanted an old writers series, or something. Maybe I'm wrong. I just figured somebody might "know a guy". I would hate to drive 5 hours for a bad shopping experience. But thanks anyway for the help.

 

Kj

[Maja]

Have you tried posting your question on Pentrace (now at www.pentrace.net), Kevin?

I am sure there are some MB fans there....

[kjervin]

No. This is the only board I belong to. But I will look over there. Thanks!

Kj

[kjervin]

I did pick up the 146 last weekend (I had today off so it's still this weekend for me). It was a bit anticlimatic though, As I picked up some other pens as well which stole a bit of the pens thunder (the 2 Esties, a Conklin, a Wateman Carene) as they were a bit more intesting as I was a bit less familiar with them. Still it was on my list for a long time and I am not disappointed in the least to be able to mark it of fthe list and begin my relationship with the reality of the pen. Honestly, I like holding it , even when there's no ink in it. What a shame.

 

kj

[Maja]

Just out of curiosity.....How did you finally choose a Montblanc vendor, Kevin? (ie. did someone on another pen site recommend a good dealer in your area....or was it just by chance that you found a good one ?)

 

In any case, congratulations on all your purchases! May you have many happy years with your 146 Enjoy!

[kjervin]

I ended up going to the Greensboro branch of the chain store I normally go to (about an hour and a half away). The people there are generic retail teenager types, but their selection can be quite good. I saw it online for as much as $100 less (from a partner of amazon.com), but the store in question had mixed reviews from people who used them. The prices from the big guys were only about $20-50 less then I paid, so I chose to spend a little more to be able to check it out in person before I bought. I was tempted to go with other then an authorized reseller, but I couldn't find one with overall good reviews on the net.

 

The funny thing is, referencing the "Disappointed with Montegrappa" thread, is that the more companies shorten their warranty period, the less penalty for buying a "grey market" pen. After all, if the warranty is only a year, and the penalty for buying grey market (ie from an unauthorized retailer) is that you don't get the factory warranty, it's not such a risk. The better a companies warranty service is, the more incentive to buy through official channels. I bought from an authorized reseller, but that's just how it worked out.

 

Kj

[Bryan]

Kevin,

 

Congratulations on the 146 purchase. I love my montblanc. Too bad we didn't cross paths about a year ago. I came across a company that puts together corporate employee gifts for companies and they had over ordered on their montblanc pens. So they held a sale and I bought nearly half their stock. I was able to get the 146 for $86.00. I even bought a 146 in Sterling Silver for 185.00. Everything was mint and unused. I made a killing on ebay! I do wish that I would have kept that 146 in Sterling Silver

 

Unfortunately, Montblanc found out about the sale and will no longer do business with this company

 

Bryan

Edited March 2, 2005 by Bryan

[kjervin]

Yeah, it also goes to show that Montblanc has Furniture Store type markups (50%ish) as opposed to grocery store markups (5%ish). One of the guys at a local store let out what they paid for a classique and the markup was about $120. Which explains why they are so militant about not posting prices; it would cut too deeply into the prices they could get at their company stores (boutiques - don't you love it when a German company gets fancy by using the French word for store - I thought it was ironic anyway).

 

Kj

[Guest Denis Richard]

Yeah, it also goes to show that Montblanc has Furniture Store type markups (50%ish) as opposed to grocery store markups (5%ish).

I think that is true for all FP manufacturer, at least for their higher end lines. When you ask Pam from Oscar Braun for a quote, it is not unsual for her to give you something around 60% of the list price. Unfortunately for MB amateurs, she does not carry that brand.

 

And that's true for cars too... and I'm sure a lot of other things, but I'd rather not think about it <_<

Edited March 2, 2005 by Denis Richard

[KCat]

yeah - like homes!

 

we were being told that there was a 30% "mark-up" for various things.

 

Well... hmm.. when you do the math, the difference between what was supposedly actual cost and his "30%" mark-up, was 42.8%. Turns out that they do the mark-up by dividing by .7, not multiplying by 1.3. Considerable difference. This may be standard methodology in construction, but it sure sounds deceptive to me. I recall the 300% mark-up in the flower shop I worked in. I also recall being dismissed not long after I expressed distasted over that behavior.

 

but I guess - people gotta make a living right? it's not our way of doing business, but what do we know.

[kjervin]

I really don't have any standing to talk about markups being fair or not because I work as an accountant, so all of what I earn/bill could be considered markup (or most of it anyway). Still, what annoys me a little is that while MB and some others as well, may charge uniformly to their distributors/ retailers, they also try to control what is paid at retail for the pens by restricting information as to the price to the end user. If I wanted to charge less per pen and make it up in volume, I can't because I cannot advertise my lower price and, therfore, my volume won't increase as the price decreases because nobody knows my prices are lower then the next guy. In other words, if I try to be price competitive, I end up losing money. Even though it annoys me, I cannot blame them. It's pretty smart. After all, IBM didn't do that with their PCs and had resellers selling their product for less them IBM did (which made it hard for them to sell anything themselves). I'm sure MB wants to avoid that fate, and I don't blame them too much (except it still irritates me!).

 

Kj

[RSVP]

I don’t think the catch specifically forbids them to advertise the price – as I read it they are not allowed to sell the pen via the Internet.

 

Guess I’m wrong…

 

:blink:

[kjervin]

You may be right, but I noticed that nobody seem to post the price either. Even if you had to call to do the deal, without the prices being posted, there's really no advantage to having lower prices. I do notice that the prices are in their print ads and flyers, but almost never (because never is a long time, I say almost) on the net.

 

Kj