Chinese Pen For Almost $700?!?!?!

[humsin]

I found this on eBay and was pretty shocked. Would anyone pay almost $700 for a Chinese pen??

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/HERO-2009-18K-DRAGON-PHOENIX-24KGP-GOLD-NET-18K-FP-/160831469624?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item25724d7838

[lorr1e1]

wow that some pen, not my taste though, I think that is very steep for something that is brand new, i wonder how much it cost them to make and how much this seller actually acquired it for?

[jd50ae]

http://www.tips21.co...ensive-pen.html

 

Would you pay the prices on the above link?

 

I mean, they aren't Chinese.

 

Hell, that pen is a real bargain compared to this list.

 

Or how about this one, http://www.ebay.com/itm/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=370540171537&item=370540171537&lgeo=1&vectorid=229466 .

Not near as nice but its got the name.

Edited August 12, 2012 by jd50ae

[Chrissy]

I don't know what the seller is thinking of. Maybe he believes that GP is gold rather than gold plated?

[humsin]

http://www.tips21.co...ensive-pen.html

 

Would you pay the prices on the above link?

 

I mean, they aren't Chinese.

 

Hell, that pen is a real bargain compared to this list.

 

 

The key word is "Chinese"

[jd50ae]

http://www.tips21.co...ensive-pen.html

 

Would you pay the prices on the above link?

 

I mean, they aren't Chinese.

 

Hell, that pen is a real bargain compared to this list.

 

 

The key word is "Chinese"

 

What does that mean, exactly.

[olivier78860]

From what I know, chinese craftmanship has quite a reputation when it comes to fine arts. Porcelain anyone ?

I had spotted this pen too, and think the overlay is a bit too heavy. But I tend to agree, it's a bargain at this price, considering the materials. And the nib is beautiful.

[hari317]

From what I know, chinese craftmanship has quite a reputation when it comes to fine arts.

 

True.

[sirach]

From what I know, chinese craftmanship has quite a reputation when it comes to fine arts. Porcelain anyone ?

I had spotted this pen too, and think the overlay is a bit too heavy. But I tend to agree, it's a bargain at this price, considering the materials. And the nib is beautiful.

 

+1

 

I've been looking for a new violin. Lots of people have told me to avoid buying another Chinese violins.... right now I have a no-namer. Violins are supposed to be made in Italy and Germany... right? Well, after test driving a lot of different violins, the best one I have found for the way I play is a Snow. Snow is a Chinese brand.... Snow is a reliable brand... Yo-Yo Ma even occasionally plays one of their Cellos.

 

If there is someone sitting in a shop somewhere, hand tooling a fountain pen from the finest materials... does it matter what is outside the window... be it Ohio, Paris, Hot Springs AR, Germany... or China...

 

Who knows... it could be the deal of the year.... (not saying it is... I would be more suspicious because it is e-bay... than because it is Chinese.)

[jd50ae]

From what I know, chinese craftmanship has quite a reputation when it comes to fine arts. Porcelain anyone ?

I had spotted this pen too, and think the overlay is a bit too heavy. But I tend to agree, it's a bargain at this price, considering the materials. And the nib is beautiful.

 

+1

 

I've been looking for a new violin. Lots of people have told me to avoid buying another Chinese violins.... right now I have a no-namer. Violins are supposed to be made in Italy and Germany... right? Well, after test driving a lot of different violins, the best one I have found for the way I play is a Snow. Snow is a Chinese brand.... Snow is a reliable brand... Yo-Yo Ma even occasionally plays one of their Cellos.

 

If there is someone sitting in a shop somewhere, hand tooling a fountain pen from the finest materials... does it matter what is outside the window... be it Ohio, Paris, Hot Springs AR, Germany... or China...

 

Who knows... it could be the deal of the year.... (not saying it is... I would be more suspicious because it is e-bay... than because it is Chinese.)

 

+1

[humsin]

Well many members know that when buying a batch of Hero pens, most of them are extremely badly made. So why would anyone buy a $700 Dollarama pen?

 

Yes, materials are important but craftsmanship is also key.

 

 

A Snow cello for YoYo Ma is custom made and is "sponsored" by Snow. In reality, their quality is pretty bad. Their strings are pretty close to unusable. There are independent Chinese luthiers that are quite good but they are mid range at best.

[paolino_paperino]

I wouldn't trust Hero. I hope their pricier pens are better made than the others in their line up, but personally I wouldn't risk it.

 

My hero 100, one of their middle range pens, was unbelievably bad: it had the scratchiest nib I ever encountered and bent clutch 'fingers'. I was able to repair it, but even so...

[sirach]

*sigh*

[Nonsensical]

Well many members know that when buying a batch of Hero pens, most of them are extremely badly made. So why would anyone buy a $700 Dollarama pen?

 

Yes, materials are important but craftsmanship is also key.

 

 

A Snow cello for YoYo Ma is custom made and is "sponsored" by Snow. In reality, their quality is pretty bad. Their strings are pretty close to unusable. There are independent Chinese luthiers that are quite good but they are mid range at best.

Well. No. I personally know, from experience, that IF you don't end up with a fake Hero pen, most work just fine. Notice how I said most. Now..when compared to all the more expensive pens that I have purchased, most of which also work fine...I think it's a bit of a stretch to say that most people KNOW that most Hero pens are badly made.

 

You are comparing pens that you paid $1 for, to pens that you paid $30 or more...

Even Hero 100s are faked sometimes, and there's always that one that sneaks through qc - plenty of other brands have this issue as well. The main problem is accessing the lifetime warranty that Hero actually offers on that pen, from overseas.

 

As for chinese craftsmanship, all I can say is that most of your German made, whatever made items are partially made in China. It may have been assembled in Germany, but I laugh at the idea that each and every part was sourced and produced locally. It's simply not financially feasible these days.

 

Pay enough, and you will get the finest craftsmanship from the Chinese. Pay too little, and you get what you pay for. That's the way the world works...

[PatientType]

Hero is a very large Chinese pen manufacturer. It might be considered to be the Chinese "Pilot." The company offers all price and quality ranges of pen and one can find their brand and their inks in most Chinese department stores.

 

I saw Hero pens with steel nibs that were selling for between $4.50 and $30.00 USD last I was in northern China. Of course, those were pens for daily use, not collector editions or premium-quality offerings.

 

So, yes, I'd absolutely purchase this pen at this price. You will see Italian brand, solid gold pens advertized at about $5,000. Hero is not going to sell thousands of these pens - it's got to be a small quantity, prestige item and would most likely be hand crafted. I'd not be surprised to learn that the nib was a Bock but I'd probably inquire before submitting an offer.

 

Well to do Chinese consumers demand the best quality in merchandise. In recent years China has been a primary market for European and American luxury goods. Its no surprise that established Chinese companies are beginning to offer more high quality, high ticket merchandise.

[studiohead]

Well, a quick check on the chinese shopping sites shows that the pen is for sale at 2880 RMB & 2990 RMB with 6 RMB postage within China. That is about USD$450. Not so shock about it but I don't think it is worth it. The pen in question is a Hero 2009 Limited Edition.

 

http://s.taobao.com/search?q=%D3%A2%D0%DB+2009+%B8%D6%B1%CA&initiative_id=staobaoz_20120813

[humsin]

So if Dollarama made a $700 pen, would we trust it?

[sirksael]

I've seen (and own ) worse looking from Hero to be honest. I don't find the price a gigantic reach, and remember, the Chinese are fond of all things gold and blingy.

[jd50ae]

I don't know what the seller is thinking of. Maybe he believes that GP is gold rather than gold plated?

 

I have looked and looked.

Admittedly my eyes are not as good as the use to be, but all I see is 18K Gold marked

[inkstainedruth]

I don't honestly know whether this particular pen is worth $700 or not (no matter where it's made...). But would I pay that? Not a chance. I don't have that kind of money to spend on something that I I don't think is at all attractive looking. Any more than I would have bought the diamond studded Parker that someone posted a link to a while back. Ugly. Kinda tacky looking. Bling for the sake of bling, IMO -- apparently whoever crafted it never heard of Mies van der Rohe....

OTOH, I would (if I *could* afford it, that is) pay that much for a Yard-O-Led Viceroy Victorian because then I would have a beautiful pen.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

 

ETA: YMMV

Edited September 8, 2012 by inkstainedruth