Is It Worth It To Buy A Pelikan M800 From Nibs.com Compared To Appelboom

[bill79231725]

I have been eyeing for a Pelikan M800 broad for some time after acquiring my Pilot Custom 823 Broad and found out the absolute joy of flagship/sub-flagship pens with nice big gold nibs. After watching many reviews from sbrebrown, shout out to him, I found that there's a Dutch retailer called Appelboom that retails Pelikan for a low price for people in North America (Canada). It retails the pen for 327 euros after the discount code by sbrebrown, while nibs.com retails the cheapest Pelikan M800 for 499 USD. However, I have heard a lot of horror stories about Pelikan's quality control on M800s. I wonder is it worth it to pay the extra for the nib tuning by John Mottishaw?

Edited January 10, 2018 by alc3261

[alanshutko]

I've been a very happy customer of Classic Fountain Pens (nibs.com), and in fact just bought a Waterman Carène from there. I've also bought M800 nibs and had another nib repaired.

 

When I bought my M800 originally, the nib was fine. I didn't have a bad experience, but others may have. However, the tuned nibs definitely work much better for me. For me, on a high-dollar pen purchase, it's worth it for me to make sure the nib is tuned out of the gate, even if I end up spending some more to start out with.

 

I'd weigh the price difference (almost USD 100 from your numbers and the current exchange rate) against the possibility you would have an issue with the pen and the inconvenience you would experience if there were an issue. (For example, shipping the pen back to the Netherlands for replacement or getting in the queue with another nib tuner.)

[Shannon]

I don't have any experience with Appelboom, but I've purchased pens from Nibs.com and have had nothing but great luck with them. The pens are better than described and the nibs are as close to perfect as I could want.

[MightyEighth]

You might also consider The Writing Desk in the UK. I am trying them for the first time and have an M800 on the way to me. I think their prices are quite good and they will include testing and tuning. They are the subject of a separate thread and have very good feedback. You won't however get a North American warranty from overseas purchases. I'm taking my chances with that including two other Pelikans I just got from CultPens. So far, so good. On the other hand, I recently got my M800 Burnt Orange from nibs.com because they had that model when no one else did, and it's a winner.

 

- Marc

[Runnin_Ute]

I had a terrific experience with The Writing Desk in the UK on a Pelikan M200 brown marbled. The bulk of TWD's M8xx pens at at 290 GBP (~$489 CAD)

They are at https://www.thewritingdesk.co.uk/

 

Just a satisfied customer.

[BayesianPrior]

Or buy a used pen on the classified for a lot cheaper and have the benefit of discussing the particular nib with the vendor.

[minddance]

I can attest to the excellent service and quality of Appelboom. Joost is a very pleasant man to deal with. I bought a Pelikan m800 medium renaissance brown last year from Appelboom. Joost took the trouble to check the nib and I received the pen in perfect condition, perfect nib alignment and it is not as wet as rumoured.

 

My experience tells me that Pelikan nibs - from Appelboom - do not need to be nibmeister-ed at all to write properly unless one has very specific requirements like regrinding the nib or possibly adding flex(?) or 'adding tooth'.

[Nilstrom]

Think you can get it for about USD60 cheaper at Cult pens in the UK (no VAT see) - and shipping is free to many countries.

[Driften]

Cult Pens seems to be the lowest cost Pelikan Dealer right now. The thing to think a USA warranty is worth he money order from nibs.com, but if you don't mind sending it back to England if it has an issue then you can save a lot of money going with Cult pens.

[Mulrich]

Unless youre looking at a SE I would second the previous comment about buying used. With a little patience you can easily find a like new M800 for about $250 usd (or less). If the pen doesnt work as you like you would still come out way ahaead after paying for a nibmeister to tun the nib. There is something to be said for convenience and more immediate gratification, you just need to decide what those things are worth.

And buying from nibs.com, or anyone for that matter, doesnt guarantee a perfect pen. Ive bought two Nakayas from nibs.com. One worked great but the other had to be sent back to adjust the nib (it was unusably dry). And even after getting the pen back it still was too unpleasant to use (tons of feedback). I was close to giving up on the pen when another nibmeister was able to properly adjust it.