Question About Platinum 3776 Century Pens On Amazon

[ChrisPaul]

Greetings,

 

I'm in the market for a Platinum Chartres Blue and the MSRP is $200. Most of the leading retail lights in our community sell them for $150. Amazon, however, has retailers selling them for $70 to $80!!!! The Amazon reviews on these pens are mostly favorable, but several reviewers question whether these pens are really Platinum pens due to what they view as inferior quality.

 

Has anyone purchased a Platinum 3776 on Amazon? Is there such a thing as counterfeit Platinums floating around?

 

Thanks for any info!

 

Best Wishes,

Chris

[woleizihan]

They are authentic and that is pretty much the street price in Japan or China as far as I know. Great value.

[Olya]

Amazon & ebay (& Rakuten) are always worth a look, these are all authetic pens and sell for as said above the regular price as in Japan. They are much more expensive outside Japan due to import cost, taxes, and a shop's profit margin, but also some brands (in and outside the pen business) dictate their prices, so in some cases dealers have to sell them at set prices and aren't allowed to give discounts or sell them regularly for less.

 

The only pens, so far as it is known, that are regularly counterfeited are Montblancs and Parkers (esp the 51) and Lamys (Safaris).

 

I have ordered pens, inks & pencil cases via the three sites and have always been a happy customer, though I've also ordered "locally" and so far all's been good.

[voltron]

Many places who sell (and ship) directly from Japan offer such low prices. The prices you see on ebay, Amazon, Rakuten etc are what they sell for in Japan. The list prices of Japanese pens in USA, Europe are almost double (and sometimes even more) of what they are in Japan because of heavy distributor & retailer margins. In my opinion, since most of Europe made gold nib pens cost $200+, the distributors feel justified pricing Japanese pens in the similar price bracket as well. Remember just like you, distributors pay import taxes/custom duties as well so you may end up paying a little more than what Japanese sellers charge.

[Lam1]

I bought 3 of them through amazon, for about $70-$80, and all were legit. Just choose a seller with good ratings (>95%) and youll be ok.

[Lloyd]

Beware: Some lack a converter.

[Barkingpig]

I bought my Chartres Bleu from AMAZON, & I feel assured it is authentic; the Seller was Nagasawa-Stationery Store (Kobe in Japan) & the cost was $78.99, with free shipping, provided by AMAZON Prime. I would suspect the reviews that speak about "inferior quality," might be based on their expectations of the $200+ retail prices from other Retail Sellers, which they might assume would provide more than an obviously "plastic pen," with gold plated trim.

 

And yes, the pen did not include a converter @ it's $78.99 price but for $6.13, with AMAZON Prime shipping I was able to secure same.

Edited April 6, 2018 by Barkingpig

[wasteland]

I got mine from Engeika some three years ago directly from Japan and it was in the $80 range. So the prices on Amazon seem right.

[Dr_Jekyll]

Hello!

 

I received one as a black 3776 with gold trim and a soft fine nib as gift for Christmas, purchased from Amazon.ca. It is now my favourite EDC. The converter was sold seperately, but I was lucky that it was also gifted to me I believe the pen was around 100 CAD and the converter was around 10CAD.

 

The pen writes like a dream! I highly doubt you will have any problem with finding an authentic 3776 on Amazon.

[almoore]

Hi

I got mine from a Japanese seller who sells through Amazon for about that price and it's a great pen.

 

Al

[jameswatts]

Bought mine through Amazon. Legit and it came with a converter.

[Kevan]

I have 2 from Amazon...they are authentic. One came with a converter and one didn't, but honestly at such good prices, who cares? I had an extra Platinum converter laying around anyway.

 

If you just want the regular 3776 Century line without any of the special finishes, it's a no-brainer IMO. I also have a Pilot Custom 74 and Custom Heritage 91 from Amazon too. If I remember correctly, all these pens were "Prime" and they shipped via Amazon fulfillment, not from Japan.

 

For me, there's no point paying a 100% markup from North American retailers for these basic models (and sometimes with special nibs if you get lucky, like I did with my Pilot 74 and 91). Sometimes the 14k Platinum desk pens show up on Amazon, too. That's why it's become my first stop if I'm looking for a Japanese pen.

[vaselinepen]

Beware: Some lack a converter.

To my knowledge, all new 3776 lack a converter. Platinum for whatever reason decided to no longer include them.

[Beginnersmind0]

I got mine off of Amazon about three weeks ago. It is a delight! I can leave it sit around for a couple of days and it starts right up flawlessly. I got the soft fine nib and it is just the right combination of firm For everyday notes and yet has enough flex for getting fancy when I want to! I got the Chartres blue. It is a gorgeous color. Looking through it puts me in the serene state of mind I associate with sitting in the soft light of stained glass windows.

 

I left it in my cart for a few days while I decided if I wanted to commit or not and it was interesting to see that the price changed daily. My purchase was fufilled by Amazon, so I got it in a couple of days. Yes, the converter had to be purchased separately. Converter and pen (with the SF nib) only cost eighty-some dollars. No regrets!

[Honeybadgers]

I have bought five 3776's from amazon, some from amazon themselves with prime shipping, others from japan (shipping can take 3-5 weeks)

 

All were legit. I have every nib apart from EF, F, and M. I have SF, UEF, B, C.

 

I just wish I could find the MS nib for under $150.

[amk]

I bought from a well known Japanese ebay seller when I got my 3776 Lilas - pleasantly surprised by the speed of its arrival in France. Buying from Japan is a good way to secure these pens whether on ebay or Amazon.

[Dragonmaster Lou]

I have also bought my 3776 off Amazon and it was also legit. It didn't come with a converter, but no biggie. Amazon also sells converters and at the price savings, it was still a very good deal. What's another $8 or so for a converter when you're saving $70 or so?

[Honeybadgers]

I have also bought my 3776 off Amazon and it was also legit. It didn't come with a converter, but no biggie. Amazon also sells converters and at the price savings, it was still a very good deal. What's another $8 or so for a converter when you're saving $70 or so?

 

The $150 examples sold outside of japan don't come with converters either.

[Smithman]

I haven't looked at 3776 pens on Amazon, but I know that some 3776 pens are sold with steel rather than 14K nibs by some sellers on eBay. That is one detail I always check when seeing a 'good' price.

[Kevan]

I haven't looked at 3776 pens on Amazon, but I know that some 3776 pens are sold with steel rather than 14K nibs by some sellers on eBay. That is one detail I always check when seeing a 'good' price.

 

This is not a fake pen or a seller's attempt to dupe you, though. There is a steel-nibbed 3776 variant. But when the 14k versions are only about $25 more, I don't know why anyone would buy one of them beyond curiosity or to complete a collection.

 

A "good" price for a basic 14k 3776 pen is in the $70-$80 range.