Pels Going Up 20-30%

[Silent Speaker]

This strategy is explained (by other posters) on the first page of this thread.

 

Pelikan are trying to reposition their brand so that their piston-fill pens (and their luxury inks) become Veblen goods - like Aston Martins, Bentleys and Rolls-Royces. Or Rolexes.

 

Pelikan are trying to reposition these 'luxury' products in such a way that they pique the interest of certain customers; people who are willing to pay a premium for the product because doing so enables them to own something that 'ordinary mortals' cannot afford to buy, and the ownership of which therefore marks the purchaser out as a 'big noise'.

 

As the price of a Veblen good increases, its availability to 'the unwashed masses' decreases, and so it becomes a more 'exclusive' product, and is thus more attractive to people seeking to display their status through conspicuous consumption.

 

I can see any company in a similar position and similar industry attempting this.

 

But, unless the prices of their backbone products (if, in fact, that's what they are) of school and office stationary (and the like) don't increase during the next 12 months, I think that it might perhaps be a bit too premature to be stating that this is Pelikan's goal with their price raises.

 

Could it be that they've just raised the prices of the products that take up only a small percentage of their total sales? (and only as a prelude to a "across the board" increase of all their stuff?)

 

I mean, if they started raising the costs of their general office/school supplies (crayons, paint, pens etc,) in July as well (and none of the other general stationers like Staedler followed suit) then they would be at a price disadvantage with their main selling products.

 

Until I see more proof that it's only their "Fine Writing" line and accoutrements (and some of their "Writing" line like the 200/205) that are going up in price, and none of the other stuff they make and sell, then I can't say that I can entirely agree with your stipulations.

[bizhe]

I don't think Pel. can succeed as a purely luxury brand. While their quality is very very good, Pelikans aesthetically are nowhere near Meierstucks. The double gold bands at the blind cap (?) end and the single gold band at the nib end of the pens scream "I'm actually classier than I appear to be." Of course that mentality appeals to large segments of the market, the people believe they are classier than they appear to be. But Pelikans won't be praised by the artsy trendsetters, they just don't look nice enough.

[Silent Speaker]

I don't think Pel. can succeed as a purely luxury brand. While their quality is very very good, Pelikans aesthetically are nowhere near Meierstucks. The double gold bands at the blind cap (?) end and the single gold band at the nib end of the pens scream "I'm actually classier than I appear to be." Of course that mentality appeals to large segments of the market, the people believe they are classier than they appear to be. But Pelikans won't be praised by the artsy trendsetters, they just don't look nice enough.

*Klaxons wail

*lights flash

*a scream is heard in the distance

*the PA crackles to life

 

SUBJECTIVITY ALERT! SUBJECTIVITY ALERT!

 

ALL PERSONNEL ABANDON THE BASE

ALL PERSONNEL ARE TO ABANDON THEIR PELIKANS AND THEIR PRETENSIONS OF CLASS

ALL PERSONNEL ARE TO PURCHASE MONTBLANC MEISTERSTÜCKS MADE OF GLORIOUS PRECIOUS RESIN

 

THAT IS ALL

[79spitfire]

I have a M200, and while it's a great pen, I don't know if it's worth more than what I paid for it last year. For the price difference I'm pretty sure I could fiddle with a Konrad and make it write properly... (runs and ducks for cover...)

 

(BTW I do have both) Don't flame me too bad plz.

 

My concern from the standpoint of the company being profitable, is which pens do they sell the most of? the M1000 or the M200/205?

 

I know other brands have suffered from becoming more shall we say 'value conscious', not pens necessarily but when it comes to bottom line dollars and cents it often doesn't matter what the product is...

[79spitfire]

glitch!

Edited June 11, 2012 by 79spitfire

[kauloltran]

To say that Pelikan is raising money only to re-bounce from their income losses is bull. Using that silly logic, Montblanc's price inflation in the past 10 years or so must also be the result of them not making any profits. And Louis vuitton, Rolex, Ferrari must also be close to bankrupt before they inflated their prices. Do you really think the small steel nib fountain pen of the M200 range would cost over $150 in wholesale? Everything is machine made nowadays, so the manual labor portion that goes into making a Pelikan fountain pen is rather trivial. The plastic for the M200's barrel is machine made, so are the nibs and feeds. If there is human labor involved in this process, it probably entails the handwork of screwing the nib unit into the barrel and that's it. The argument of "rising"labor cost as a factor in this price hike is therefore invalid..I know pretty darn well that the current prices of Pelikans are indeed less than 35% of their advertised MSRP. Regina Martini has always been selling the M800 for $275, which I presume to also include at least a 50% profit margin on her part. Anyhow, I really don't care to look at MSRP prices because they have no effects whatsoever on what I will actually pay, unless I plan to do my pen shopping at a brick and mortar store. Internet prices from non authorized dealers will always be astronomically lower than the msrp.

Edited June 11, 2012 by watch_art

[reval]

since are quite explicit about the logic of other people, you might consider checking your own:

You pose:

 

If company A is raising prices for a specific reason, other compagnies that rose their prices, must have done that for the same reason.

 

Anyway this thread is getting less interesting. We don't know what Pelikan's motivations are to raise prices, although I suspect pure greed and bullying potential customers are not among them.

 

 

 

 

 

[krbmsw]

I wonder if there would be less outrage or statements like "I'll never buy a Pelikan again", if they moved their production to a low wage country and/or started to use lower quality materials.

Pelikan is losing money the last years, they have to do something. If Pelikan goes bankrupt, we certainly won't be able to buy their pens anymore.

 

Agreed. While I'm disappointed by the increase, expensive Pels are better than no Pels. Or worse, cheaply made/low quality Pels. While a price increase seems like an overly simplistic solution...particularly in a down economy worldwide, I wish them the best. Granted, they've still priced themselves above my reach for the pens I wanted. Especially in a year that I need a fence to reign in my toddler.

[Cerbeos]

I think I have 17 Pelikans at this point. When I started collecting pens 9 years ago a 200 was $55 and a 250 with a gold nib was usually around a $100. At pen shows a new 400 was about $125. I love Pelikans but I am glad I discovered vintage Parkers. I cannot justify spending the same price for a 200 with TWSBIs and Parker 51s being much better deals.

 

:puddle: Why wasn't I around with spending money then!?!?!??! :bonk: :bonk: :bonk:

[Redbarchettayyz]

$165 US for a steel nibbed m205? Glad I bought mine last December, as much as I love that pen I don't think I could justify that price for it.

[ethernautrix]

As I mentioned in another thread about this price increase, I'd been thinking about getting a steel M nib for my Pelikan Toledo, just cos I like how the steel nibs write. I have an EF, F, and B, figured an M would complete the set.

 

Received the Goulets' newsletter this morning, glanced at it, saw the promocode mentioned, and the rest is a white M205 (M) on its way. Ha ha ha. Seriously, I was curious only about what the price would be with the additional discount. I figured... I'd eventually buy the nib, might as well have a pen to go with it. But the 205 will likely be the last new Pelikan I buy.

Edited June 14, 2012 by ethernautrix

[eric47]

$165 US for a steel nibbed m205?

Wow, I think I paid like USD 60-70 for a M200 in a store, but that was back in the early 1990s. And that was before Pelikan switched distributors; after the switch, the prices were reduced significantly.

 

Inflation, it happens. I deal with it.

Edited June 15, 2012 by eric47

[Redbarchettayyz]

$165 US for a steel nibbed m205?

Wow, I think I paid like USD 60-70 for a M200 in a store, but that was back in the early 1990s. And that was before Pelikan switched distributors; after the switch, the prices were reduced significantly.

 

Inflation, it happens. I deal with it.

 

Oh don't get me wrong, I understand why it's happening, and it hasn't sworn me off Pelikans. I'm just glad I bought mine before the jump, because that does seem steep for what the m205 is. The price jump just means that rather than buying multiple pelikans, I'll probably buy pens from other companies (like the sailor 1911 I just ordered) while I save for my Pelikan m1000, rather than progressing through the 400, 800, etc. lines first.

[pajaro]

I do not buy Pelikans new. You can often get a deal on ebay or from another FPN member.

 

Good luck with the Sailor. I found the 1911 Standard underwhelming, not the equal of a MB, or a Pelikan, but a good pen if you haven't been spoiled yet.

[Mathew J]

Late to the party here but reading this out of interest in the subject at hand

 

I have always paralleled pelikan with omega watches, two brands which had amazing histories and made great products that were both undervalued by the masses and represented a great value.

 

Like omega to Rolex, the only place I saw pelikan lacking to their direct competition was that in the area of marketing which in turn led to broader public appeal and lastly snob appeal with demand and resale following as they all seem to go hand in hand.

 

Now it seems both omega and pelikan want to get in the game a bit and I say good for them, as while initially it stinks for those of us who like the value proposition in the long run having companies like mb or Rolex "checked" by solid competition only means good things for consumers, heck I strongly believe that omega is the reason Rolex finally upgraded their stamped clasps

 

The one glaring difference is that omega is upping the marketing heavily, something I have yet to see pelikan do

 

It's my take that moving up is possible esp with a quality product like a pelikan but they need to market heavily to be successful with such a move

 

Interesting is that in forums such as this I am seeing more fans of mb and less of pelikan with prices on the rise, see the same in watch boards but figure it is temporary until marketing pulls in a new generation of buyer that wasn't buying omega or pelikan on the value proposition that legacy buyers were

 

And for the naysayers, look at the Germans and Lexus .

Edited October 29, 2012 by Mathew J

[Genius]

Prices will rise over time with inflation and so do normal wages. 20%-30% may seem absurd but it makes sense if it wants to put itself in a higher status and as a result, expanding the market will require a bit of sacrifice.

 

Let the celebrity endorsements and advertisements begin! :clap1:

[legume]

No! My dream Pelikan may be out of production, but this is really going to hurt my chances.

[rochester21]

 

This is an interesing thing. If one wants to become a status symbol does it happen simpy just increasing the price? If Bic Cristal cost $200 would it become a status symbol?

 

Yes it would, but only if they advertise the pen as being made from "super-precious resin" and gold-plate the cap. Huge presentation box and aggressive marketing would finish the process. From time to time, there would be releases of "limited edition" pens, which would only increase the overall prestige of the company. And i`m only half-joking !

Edited November 1, 2012 by rochester21