I Don’T Understand The Authenticity Thing. Please Help!

[ipso]

I’m new and stupid and completely baffled by the fake vs. real thing. I could use some guiding wisdom.

 

(I just got back from the Los Angeles pen show today. Great event, but I didn’t’ find the various things I’m looking for - in pristine quality anyway. This is but one item.)

 

I’ve seen a pen – I want that pen – an everyday workhorse – and am wary of “fakes” but am equally or more disturbed by manufacturers who contractually mandate pens sell for a minimum price to support their grand marketing architecture. That doesn’t wash. Not in this land. Not in my world. I’ll forego their product forever – for generations – if that is their absolute hard fast rule.

 

But then, if you’re finding a $700 pen for $70 you have to wonder… That’s not cool either [China], ripping the creators off (albeit, probably as much of their product as possible is being fabricated there for cheap labor – the hypocritical bastards.)

 

http://www.penmontblanconline.com/

http://www.montblancpensforsale.net/rollerball-pen-montblanc-c-2.html

 

Bottom line: is this website legit? - http://www.mont-blanc-shop.net/ If I buy a pen from them will it be the real product?

 

(There should be a Montblanc “blacklist” for websites that aren’t legit.)

 

OR – am I pi$$ing in the punch – and these websites are selling completely legitimate product – but TO THE HORROR of HQ?

 

I’ve had a Montblanc 163 for decades. I want the Carbon Solitaire. I don’t care about politics, or cliché trends or whatever – I want that pen in my hand now! (But I don’t want to pay double if I don’t have to.)

 

Any help is greatly appreciated regarding the obscure landscape of the faux legit pen.

Edited February 20, 2012 by ipso

[stevlight]

NONE of those sites are legit--I have no idea what you will get but it will not be a real MB

 

I recommend Fountain Pen Hospital--best prices and all real MB's

[jar]

Welcome home. Pull up a stump and set a spell.

 

Of course that site is not legit but they would love to get your legit credit card information.

 

None of those sites are legit.

[osnofian]

I guess you answered the question yourself. Expect to pay for a second hand pen about half of current retail price. 1/10th of the price is certainly a fake.

[Pen Pickler]

I was, i still ami suppose in the same boat as you. I wanted a 146 hematite so i emailed all the trusted dealers mentioned on this site until i found one. Probably the safest way for you and me and to be honest i got NOS much cheaper than ebay and i am guaranteed it is legit.

[Chrissy]

http://www.penmontblanconline.com/

http://www.montblancpensforsale.net/rollerball-pen-montblanc-c-2.html

 

Bottom line: is this website legit? - http://www.mont-blanc-shop.net/

If I buy a pen from them will it be the real product?

 

Answers: No These websites are NOT legit.

If you buy a pen from them it will NOT be the real product.

 

There are currently many more sites like this that are selling replicas. Montblanc do try to have them closed down.

[pen jubky]

How did that saying go? "If its to good to be true it most likely is."

 

We also have another saying in the Netherlands which translates to "Only the sun comes up for free." Meaning if your want it expect to pay a reasonable price for it.

 

As mentioned above; 50% would be the absolute best you could do; provided your extremely lucky tot find that item your looking for. If you must have it at any cost buy the fake. Just spare us the: "Motblanc makes crappy pens" or the "someone ripped off my creditcard account." when the (bleep) hits the fan.

 

To end on a more positive note:

 

Welcome to the FPN.

Edited February 20, 2012 by pen jubky

[torstar]

Buyers outweigh sellers of MB by an uncountable margin.

 

The market is tapped out, there are no superbargains to be had for a real MB in decent condition.

 

Unless you find a seller who has no idea what is in possession.

 

Good luck.

[osnofian]

How did that saying go? "If its to good to be true it most likely is."

 

We also have another saying in the Netherlands which translates to "Only the sun comes up for free." Meaning if your want it expect to pay a reasonable price for it.

 

As mentioned above; 50% would be the absolute best you could do; provided your extremely lucky tot find that item your looking for. If you must have it at any cost buy the fake. Just spare us the: "Motblanc makes crappy pens" or the "someone ripped off my creditcard account." when the (bleep) hits the fan.

 

To end on a more positive note:

 

Welcome to the FPN.

 

+1

[ipso]

Great response. Decidedly then: all those MB pens sold on those “Mont Blanc” sites are not the real deal. I’m thankful for your input and wisdom.

 

And thank you stevlight for the Fountain Pen Hospital reference. I think I’ve already sent them (I think it was them) an email price request. Their response was full retail. But in hindsight, I don’t blame them. I think I was begging for a good price; I might have sounded like “fraud patrol”. Are Montblanc retailers strictly controlled to sell only at retail? I guess I’m assuming that without any facts. A friend across town sells Sony products and told me he absolutely could never advertise or sell certain Sony products below a mandated price or he would lose his corporate deal with them. That’s why you can find advertising “Guaranteed not to find a lower price.” Aren’t there laws against this kind of thing? Collusion or racketeering or price fixing? Something bad, right? I feel like a consumer cow, being fed grain filled with hormones and antibiotics.

 

[Long deep breath – still nursing a need for some kind of enlightenment.]

 

At the risk of broaching a taboo subject – and unnerving the product reps surely among you – who hear has purchased a “faux pen” and been just as happy, or even contemplating superiority in workmanship? Any war stories? Not hard to imagine with, say, a refillable rollerball. Any inside information that shows X and Y Meisterstuck components are made in China/India/etc. – like I’m sure some ?~90%? of MB’s overall luxury products are. Not in Hamburg anyway.

 

Prove to me this forum isn’t just a front for the manufactures and their retail minions.

 

Anyone want to suck it up and say they purchased a fake pen knowingly? You know, ..just so see? I purchased a “Rolex” one time in Mexico for $10. Something about irony. But, to be clear, I highly doubt I’ll ever knowingly purchase a knockoff pen. (However, I am informed by a lovable little purse connoisseur that in rare cases a fake can be a superior build.) I guess I’m curious how those “Mont Blanc” websites can be so open about it and apparently successful at it. By necessity, are some peddling a solid product?

 

I wonder if that is why MB changed everything to “Montblanc” relatively recently. Whereas “Mont Blanc” is perhaps legally un-protectable because of loopholes and history and those pesky mountains and such. I wonder if their legal team made them change the product name.

 

I wonder if those websites are based/hosted in a country that does not recognize patent law? (Like certain countries with DVDs/books and a lack of copyright law and culture – and/or just a general healthy hatred of the filthy rich West)

 

I wonder a lot. Not unlike a reporter who’s searching for that story: “Chung-Fu company sells unauthorized Montblanc Carbon & Steel Solitaire rollerball – but then – they make the pen OEM for Montblanc (along with C.T. Masala Inc.), so it’s not exactly inferior quality.”

 

Or what about stories the other way – being ripped off by the unscrupulous (or just ignorant merchants/sellers) and the pen just fell apart or something. (It imploded from the weight of its own expectations of perfection – “A little black hole appeared on my desk today - a faux-Montblanc singularity”.)

 

This video gets me all wound up to go out and pay -

. But at around 2:40 the rep. mumbles something about “suppliers”. In any case, that’s one hell of a great Montblanc field day!

 

Finally (one more thing to get off my chest on this subject), I hear so much online about having serial numbers under a pen clip or on a band – or about coming with “the paperwork” – but it seems to me these things are absolutely thee easiest thing to duplicate. I’ve always found those proofs irritatingly simple minded; perhaps some kind of vestigial mental dance we perform to convince ourselves of truth. “Comes in original box with paperwork.” OK, now I’m comforted knowing the bad guys would never think of that one.

 

I just want that G. damned Carbon & Steel Solitaire rollerball – the real one – but for this side of $250. Keep your platinum. It’s only on the clip anyway. I’d prefer stainless – or actually titanium.

 

Oh, the pangs of consumerism. MB I hate you. (Maybe this is just some kind of lovers quarrel.)

 

Anyway, thanks for the greetings and lending an ear.

 

(And happy President’s Day to the Americanos)

Edited February 20, 2012 by ipso

[torstar]

MB went to war on its minor carriers over the last 15 years, so it is possible some MB items are still on display at a store out there and they'll chop the price to sell it.

 

But I haven't found this opportunity for around a decade, and that was at a store that had nothing out front to do with pens, but the owner bought up some as a corner display...

[jslallar]

the only 50% off sale that I may beleive in is by a reputable seller / shop on the old stock of discontinued models, with regular prices for newer models side by side on the same site.

 

BTW that too may happen for Cross, Parker and Waterman but have never seen it for Montblanc.

Edited February 21, 2012 by jslallar

[Minty]

It just doesn't make any sense to me. Why would you buy a pen for $70 when you can get one just like it for $750?

[Kalessin]

I believe that the fakes are fairly wretched when it comes to quality -- the strategy of those who make and sell them is to get quick profits from buyers; if the pen breaks quickly, well, the buyer should have known better than to buy a fake.

 

The nib quality is going to be lower, precision parts won't be, the plastics will be cheaper, the metal doesn't have to be of any particular quality, and you'll know you bought a fake and so will people who know pens (who are, admittedly, rare out in the world).

[tadman]

I get my pens the hard way - I long-term borrow them from Dad, who is the pen guy in the family. I'm the watch guy, and I've found that if you don't mind second-hand, it's a great deal to buy best of breed watches (or pens for that matter) second hand than it is to tangle with dicey websites. This gives you a better chance of getting the real deal, but also feeds cash to the primary market buyers, thus allowing them to keep paying hefty prices for new units. Give it a try, it makes a heck of a lot of sense and I've met some neat people that way. I've had a guy in Idaho unknowingly buy two pieces from me about four years apart. He asked for refs, and I said "Sam, how about that watch I sold you in '06?". He thought that was funny.

[torstar]

I get my pens the hard way - I long-term borrow them from Dad, who is the pen guy in the family. I'm the watch guy, and I've found that if you don't mind second-hand, it's a great deal to buy best of breed watches (or pens for that matter) second hand than it is to tangle with dicey websites. This gives you a better chance of getting the real deal, but also feeds cash to the primary market buyers, thus allowing them to keep paying hefty prices for new units. Give it a try, it makes a heck of a lot of sense and I've met some neat people that way. I've had a guy in Idaho unknowingly buy two pieces from me about four years apart. He asked for refs, and I said "Sam, how about that watch I sold you in '06?". He thought that was funny.

 

I'm not using the internet to spend more than $5,000 on a watch.

[Skeet]

Be extra careful and very cautious. I recently purchased (not on purpose) a "new-in-the-box" 145. When it arrived, I knew immediately that it was a fake. However, it was a very good fake right down to the serial #, the red glowing barrel, a gold nib, etc. NTL, a fake. So I'm sending it back to China, where it should have stayed in the first place. But, I can only fault myself. You know the old cliche', if it sounds to good to be true......blah, blah, blah.

 

I will admit that the Chinese are getting very good at re-creating exotic items. So, the only way to spot a fake, is to intimately familarize yourself with the real thing. Do your own research, educate yourself by buying books, etc, and ask questions. When you develop a keen eye and know exactly what to look for; any 30x jeweler's loupe will definately be your best bud.