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Pelikan Price Differences And U.s. Warranty

Wandering Man

By Wandering Man
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BillH Collectors Item

BillH

Posted
Posted

Yeah I was, unsuccessfully, trying to point out we're only socialist when it comes to collecting tax money. When it comes to common good, "such as lower prices so more people can afford nice pens", we're capitalists.

 

Pelikan is a rare exception of goods that are cheaper in EU than they are in US, even though disposable income is generally lower than in US.

 

 

I noticed that the current LAMY Cabbage Patch Kid Petrol is available at one UK vendor for 17.90GBP inc VAT. What's that, $23 or so? With VAT, so no tax advantage for out of country buyers on that one. American pen dealers are in the $30-34 range, if they have it in stock. No warranty issues there either, so make of it what you will... full disclosure, I haven't the faintest idea what Lamy's distribution looks like, and whether or not they use a middleman/distributor like Pelikan does.

 

Is anyone else uncomfortable with the idea of "means based" price structures, i.e. charge the "rich" more for the same item? I know that probably runs right up to the wall of separation between politics/religion/fountain pens... feel free to ignore that last comment.

"Inspiration exists, but it has to find you working." -Pablo Picasso


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Penman222 Vintage

Penman222

Posted
Posted (edited)

The Lamy point is interesting. A Lamy 2000 black (a very high quality fountain pen) costs $159 plus shipping from a popular American pen sales website. The same pen retails for 135 GBP in the UK after the VAT tax is removed for non-EU buyers, which is about $168 with free shipping, and the pen will arrive in the USA in 10 days. Essentially the same price for the same pen from a European and American seller. This is certainly not what I see with Pelikan prices.

Edited by bhbarto

 

 

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invisuu Extremely Rare

invisuu

Posted
Posted (edited)

 

 

I noticed that the current LAMY Cabbage Patch Kid Petrol is available at one UK vendor for 17.90GBP inc VAT. What's that, $23 or so? With VAT, so no tax advantage for out of country buyers on that one. American pen dealers are in the $30-34 range, if they have it in stock. No warranty issues there either, so make of it what you will... full disclosure, I haven't the faintest idea what Lamy's distribution looks like, and whether or not they use a middleman/distributor like Pelikan does.

 

Is anyone else uncomfortable with the idea of "means based" price structures, i.e. charge the "rich" more for the same item? I know that probably runs right up to the wall of separation between politics/religion/fountain pens... feel free to ignore that last comment.

Lamy 2000, a pen which I am a huge fan of, is certainly much more expensive in EU than it is in US. From the top of my head, I'd say the very cheapest I've seen it go was for ~150€, while with a bit of patience you can get one for ~100€ in the US. That is a whopping 50% increase. Don't even get me started on Vanishing Points, which normally start at around 220€ for run of the mill production models.

 

As for the pricing thing, I come from a background that can not afford looking at communism with rose tinted glasses, so I firmly believe the american way is the best way (yes, even with the anomalies one can see in full blown capitalism) and that means the price is exactly right once it has been paid. Free market will regulate itself. That is my personal opinion and I am sorry if I have derailed the thread to politics with this paragraph - that was certainly not my intention.

Edited by invisuu
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sargetalon Antique

sargetalon

Posted
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I've really enjoyed this thread, particularly the contributions about the supply chains and what actually goes into pricing an item so thank you for that insight. I still don't think the large disparity in pricing is fair but at least I now have a better understanding as to some of the variable that might be contributing to it.

PELIKAN - Too many birds in the flock to count. My pen chest has proven to be a most fertile breeding ground.

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THE PELIKAN'S PERCH - A growing reference site for all things Pelikan

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BillH Collectors Item

BillH

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I notice from both Instagram and from the M800 Renaissance Brown thread that some of the European vendors have the Brown in stock now and are starting to ship (LCdC says "saturday" BTW)...

 

Does anyone know if any American vendors actually have it in stock to ship yet? I would be curious to know and that info kind of fits in our discussion here.

"Inspiration exists, but it has to find you working." -Pablo Picasso


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sargetalon Antique

sargetalon

Posted
Posted

I notice from both Instagram and from the M800 Renaissance Brown thread that some of the European vendors have the Brown in stock now and are starting to ship (LCdC says "saturday" BTW)...

 

Does anyone know if any American vendors actually have it in stock to ship yet? I would be curious to know and that info kind of fits in our discussion here.

 

 

US vendors typically get stock a few weeks after those overseas start shipping.

PELIKAN - Too many birds in the flock to count. My pen chest has proven to be a most fertile breeding ground.

fpn_1508261203__fpn_logo_300x150.jpg

THE PELIKAN'S PERCH - A growing reference site for all things Pelikan

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Barkingpig Collectors Item

Barkingpig

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I received an email from Fahrneys this morning that implied the pen was in stock & available for shipment. List price of $800, discounted 20% to $640.00. I went to the listing & there is no indication that it was a "preorder" ot reservation, it merely asked that you specify personalisation, if desired.

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sirgilbert357 Antique

sirgilbert357

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I received an email from Fahrneys this morning that implied the pen was in stock & available for shipment....marked up to $640.00...

 

Fixed that for ya ;)

(at least in comparison to European vendors :lol: )

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addictedtoink New

addictedtoink

Posted
Posted

Hello,

I´m from Germany, and normally I'm just reading quietly the topics of this forum.

As a Pelikan Fan I wondered why it isn`t that popular in the US.

The above mentioned Pelikan M800 sells in Germany for 384,00€ = 431,98 U$, two days ago I purchased the Lamy petrol for 17,80€ = 20,00U$ .

Maybe it sounds better if I tell you that the price difference of Parker Pens is nearly the same. So maybe the whole thing is about protecting the local markets.

Hopefully I could express myself understandable :blush: , now I`m going back to my silent reading spot. :)

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Bo Bo Olson Ancient Artifact

Bo Bo Olson

Posted
Posted

You expressed your self just fine.

In reference to P. T. Barnum; to advise for free is foolish, ........busybodies are ill liked by both factions.

 

 

The cheapest lessons are from those who learned expensive lessons. Ignorance is best for learning expensive lessons.

 

 

 

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invisuu Extremely Rare

invisuu

Posted
Posted

Hello,

I´m from Germany, and normally I'm just reading quietly the topics of this forum.

As a Pelikan Fan I wondered why it isn`t that popular in the US.

The above mentioned Pelikan M800 sells in Germany for 384,00€ = 431,98 U$, two days ago I purchased the Lamy petrol for 17,80€ = 20,00U$ .

Maybe it sounds better if I tell you that the price difference of Parker Pens is nearly the same. So maybe the whole thing is about protecting the local markets.

Hopefully I could express myself understandable :blush: , now I`m going back to my silent reading spot. :)

 

You expressed yourself perfectly fine, please join in on discussions, the more the merrier! Welcome!

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Olya Vintage

Olya

Posted
Posted

Hello,

I´m from Germany, and normally I'm just reading quietly the topics of this forum.

As a Pelikan Fan I wondered why it isn`t that popular in the US.

The above mentioned Pelikan M800 sells in Germany for 384,00€ = 431,98 U$, two days ago I purchased the Lamy petrol for 17,80€ = 20,00U$ .

Maybe it sounds better if I tell you that the price difference of Parker Pens is nearly the same. So maybe the whole thing is about protecting the local markets.

Hopefully I could express myself understandable :blush: , now I`m going back to my silent reading spot. :)

You're right, the same as many in Europe & the US (& Oz) are infuriated over the steep prices of Japanese pens compared to what they are sold for in Japan, so many of us order directly from Japan..

I read many times over how Pelikan seems to aim for the Montblanc path in the US, but in (most of) Europe you can get Pelikans for quite decent prices still (and them becoming a luxury brand only is highly unlikely), so I don't know what they are thinking or what's happening in North America..

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Eccles Vintage

Eccles

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Posted

Shopping for the M800 Renaissance, I checked the prices at my usually preferred UK Sellers, Niche Pens' & Cult Pens. Their GBP 490 incl tax cannot compete with LCdC's price, Euros 490, incl tax at the same rate. It seems crazy that even in UK it's cheaper to buy from Holland. With the tax free advantage, and a discount code for LCdC it was no contest.

Glenn.

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invisuu Extremely Rare

invisuu

Posted
Posted (edited)

Shopping for the M800 Renaissance, I checked the prices at my usually preferred UK Sellers, Niche Pens' & Cult Pens. Their GBP 490 incl tax cannot compete with LCdC's price, Euros 490, incl tax at the same rate. It seems crazy that even in UK it's cheaper to buy from Holland. With the tax free advantage, and a discount code for LCdC it was no contest.

Glenn.

 

IguanaSell and Fritz-Schimpf has quite a bit better price for it than LCdC.

Edited by invisuu
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