Pilot Custom 912 Model # Question

[DustyR]

Hi all. I've searched and not found an answer to this question, but may have missed an earlier post (please direct me there if I have).

 

The Pilot Custom Heritage 912 w/FA nib seems to be listed online under two different model numbers: FKVH-2MR-B-FA and 71619, and the latter pens are uniformly $50-80 more expensive. The appear identical. Does anyone know whether there is a difference?

 

Thanks!

Edited July 17, 2018 by DustyR

[rutherfordr]

Model number FKVH-2MR-B-FA is used by the Pilot corporation in Japan for the pens that are sold in the Japanese market.

 

Model number 71619 is the number that Pilot USA uses for those same pens that are sold in the US.

 

Pilot USA has strict rules for pricing their pens. This particular model retails for $280, and retailers are only allowed to give up to a 20% discount at most, so you'll typically find it for sale online and in stores for $224. (The 20% max discount is generally true for all Pilot pens sold in the US.)

 

Pilot Japan, however, doesn't have those same rules in the Japanese market, so you can find the same pen being sold by Japanese retailers (typically on eBay) for a lower price.

And considering that "express shipping" to the USA only costs about $15, and takes about 3 days to get to its destination in the states, it's still a much better deal than you can get in the states.

 

This is complicated by the fact that some of the Pilot pen models & nibs aren't available through Pilot USA, so the only way to get them is from a Japanese retailer via eBay. And once you've figured out how to order a pen from Japan that isn't available here in the states (e.g. a Pilot Custom Heritage 912 with an Posting (PO) nib), there's nothing to stop you from getting any other Pilot pen you'd like to have, for less money than it would cost in the states.

 

Don't blame the American retailers for this state of affairs, though. They have to follow the rules from Pilot USA, or they won't get any Pilot fountain pens to sell, and Pilot USA takes its orders in turn from Pilot Japan. This is just another example of how the Internet has broadened a marketplace, and taken control away from a company that used to be able to make its own rules.

[DustyR]

That's a big help. Thank you. I agree that the pricing structure puts US retailers in a bind. The cost difference is probably worth it if a pen is bought from someone like John Mottishaw and comes with his skilled set-up, but if it's just someone putting a pen in a shipping box in the US or doing the same thing in Japan for $75 less then Japanese sellers would seem to have the advantage.