Should I Get This Great Deal From Endless Pens?

[AMlines]

In earlier posts, members had suggested buying from reputable sellers such as Anderson etc. How is your experience with endlesspens?

 

1)

I am getting a pretty good deal ($81 + shipping) on the M205 -

 

https://endlesspens.com/collections/pelikan-fountain-pens/products/pelikan-classic-m205-fountain-pen

 

But, do endlesspens give good service? Any reason why I should not go for a pre-order? (I don't mind waiting for a pre-order)

 

2)

I am not sure why, despite being a US based seller, their prices for the Pelikan are so much better than, say, Gouletpens.

 

E.g. The M805 Fountain Pen - Blue Dunes (Special Edition) is going for $620 (marked down from $720) at Goulet, and $475 (down from 775) at endless. The M200 Smokey Quartz is also cheaper by $10 (but that's including the ink).

 

Am I missing something here?

 

Thanks!

[OCArt]

I have made several purchases from endlessness and have been completely satisfied. They often have *very* good prices and offer good service. I haven't found any "catch." I think they are trying to build a business by being very price competitive.

[AMlines]

I have made several purchases from endlessness and have been completely satisfied. They often have *very* good prices and offer good service. I haven't found any "catch." I think they are trying to build a business by being very price competitive.

 

Sounds good. While I am in no hurry to get the pen, they do say that pre-orders can take up to 120 days. Do you have any experience with that? 4 months does sound like a lot of time, and I am wondering if I may not be rushing into this just to save some money.

Thing is, I want the M205 in a dark colour and no one other seller seems to have that for a good price.

[Pensei]

You are not really missing anything as long as you are accounting for the fundamental difference between an authorized vendor and what is often called a grey market vendor. I will leave it to others to define grey market, which has many variations. But the short version is that if you buy from, say, Goulet, you will pay close to retail, but you will be protected, within reasonable care by the user, against any defect in the product you buy. If you buy from anyone other than an authorized dealer, you are sort of rolling the dice. Lots of people will tell you they have gotten great pens at great prices at, for example, Endless Pens. I am among them, in fact. But always read the fine print, and read on this board to see experiences people have had with different sellers.

 

The funny thing is that the more expensive the pen, the more you can save, but the more you risk if something goes wrong. I personally would not pay $500 to anyone other than an authorized dealer, but you can save a lot of money if you are willing to do it.

 

Note also that authorized dealers occasionally have pretty good sales, and get their price close enough that you might decide it's worth it.

[AMlines]

You are not really missing anything as long as you are accounting for the fundamental difference between an authorized vendor and what is often called a grey market vendor. I will leave it to others to define grey market, which has many variations.

Wait, so endlesspens is grey market? I didn't know that. That means any warranty issues will be settled at their end and the pen not sent to Pelikan for repair.

But the short version is that if you buy from, say, Goulet, you will pay close to retail, but you will be protected, within reasonable care by the user, against any defect in the product you buy.

Of course, and that's something I do want to do. I checked the Pelikan websites and there doesn't seem to be any mention of dealers. How do you know Goulet is the authorised vendor? I'd appreciate if you post a link with a link of Pelikan authorised dealers.

The funny thing is that the more expensive the pen, the more you can save, but the more you risk if something goes wrong. I personally would not pay $500 to anyone other than an authorized dealer, but you can save a lot of money if you are willing to do it.

I see your point, and I would do the same. Especially, since I am buying these to serve me for the next several years.

Note also that authorized dealers occasionally have pretty good sales, and get their price close enough that you might decide it's worth it.

I'd appreciate if you point me to these authorised sellers, and also give me a sense of when to expect these sales.

 

Thanks!

[peroride]

Ordered a couple of pens from endlesspens, so far so good but be aware of the terms: https://endlesspens.com/pages/warrenty

which may be different than the manufacturer's warranty from an authorized dealer

[pararis]

I bought one pen from them, and it was bad. A Lamy Aion (m) that barely wrote. I have another Aion from an authorized dealer so I know how it's supposed to perform. I pulled the nib, did some work and got it working almost adequately, although not to my satisfaction. I decided I'd never buy from them again.

 

Then they posted a sale on a Faber-Castell E-Motion at under $100. So, I took a chance. It's horrible. It barely writes. When I examined the nib most of the tipping material is gone. I cleaned it when I first got it, and the nib/feed had blue ink in it. This was not dip test quantity blue ink, but a full feed -- so it was obviously a used or defective pen. Oh, and I have other Faber-Castell pens using that same nib, so I know what the tipping material should look like.

 

This week I'll be sending both these pens back to them.

 

On their web site they talk about an international network. I think what that means is they buy bad pens from all over the world and see if they can salvage (hence "Endless" pens) and resell them. They could also be counterfeits and/or knockoffs.

 

At this point, I wouldn't trust them with an anvil.

Edited September 2, 2019 by pararis

[pararis]

As far as I know, Chartpak is the U.S. Pelikan distributor. chartpak.net

[AMlines]

Ordered a couple of pens from endlesspens, so far so good but be aware of the terms: https://endlesspens.com/pages/warrenty

which may be different than the manufacturer's warranty from an authorized dealer

 

Thanks for pointing this out! I also noted that they have specifically comment on the misaligned Tines issue of Pelikan pens. Looks like it's more common that I thought.

 

Also, the fact that they give only one year of warranty suggests their grey market antecedents? (Unless, I am mistaken Pelikan's come with 3 years of warranty)

[AMlines]

I bought one pen from them, and it was bad. A Lamy Aion (m) that barely wrote. I have another Aion from an authorized dealer so I know how it's supposed to perform.

Maybe I am not looking in the right place, but I can't seem to find the list of Lamy authorised dealers.

I pulled the nib, did some work and got it working almost adequately, although not to my satisfaction. I decided I'd never buy from them again.

 

Then they posted a sale on a Faber-Castell E-Motion at under $100. So, I took a chance. It's horrible. It barely writes.

This week I'll be sending both these pens back to them.

Thanks for bringing this to my attention. I definitely want to keep the pen for several years and realise now that there is no point saving a few score bucks.

On their web site they talk about an international network. I think what that means is they buy bad pens from all over the world and see if they can salvage (hence "Endless" pens) and resell them. They could also be counterfeits and/or knockoffs.

That's quite dodgy.

 

I looked at chartpak.net but can't seem to find exactly where or how I can buy Pelikan from them. Would you be able to point the online store out to me?

 

Thanks!

[Honeybadgers]

$81 is a good deal. Not a great, screaming deal, but a good deal.

 

Endless pens is a reliable vendor.

 

The 205 is a fantastic pen. You won't regret it.

[peroride]

 

I looked at chartpak.net but can't seem to find exactly where or how I can buy Pelikan from them. Would you be able to point the online store out to me?

 

Thanks!

 

@AMilnes ChartPak is the distributor for Pelikan in the U.S. to the authorized retailers which some like PenChalet will note on their website: "is an authorized dealer of Pelikan so you know you are getting quality, authentic Fountain Pens."

 

Is the cost difference between authorized vs non-authorized worth the headache if the pen needs support? It depends. Some retailers have good support, some ...?

 

My first Pelikan was from MassDrop, not authorized, so far so good. I was not too concerned as the M205 purchase was well within budget, plus I was too naive at the time about grey market, groupbuys.

 

Over time, I learned that Pelikans are pretty reliable and can be repaired especially modern ones- going well beyond ChartPak warranty. Next up was Goldspot, which had M600 on sale delivered in a crinkled plastic sleeve as if it were used/grey market. I tested pen and it worked, so far so good. Moving up the tier, PenChalet with their 10% coupon plus periodic sales or nibs.com with nib customization was more important to me than super 40% off. PenChalet actually was below Endless for an M101N.

 

I've bought lots of pens from many retailers and like anyone else enjoys a good sale/deal but in the end with all the sales, and coupons and deals, the hard numerical reality is, the extra savings really was not much as I've spent waay too much already!

 

Over the total cost of the collection, the savings was really is not what I thought it was having never purchased at full retail (20% off MSRP) The money I saved did not make the pen write any better. Same if I paid more. But after seeing so many deep discounts, I've come to realize value is relative and wow some markups are astronomically high!

 

It would only have worked, if I bought maybe a few pens at super clearance closeout coupon deal holiday sale and STOPPED, evermore.

 

If you have that control or comfortable with risk, then maybe Endless Pens is a killer deal. I have not gotten a stinker from them and found their customer service responsive.

 

But if this was my first pen or money is tight, hassle free after service support is worth more than savings.

 

Lemme tell you, the soul crushing agony of having a pen not write right when you've done delivery time and the puppy excitement drains is so yucky, you'd wish you'd got a buncha Wing Sung 601 from Ebay and be done with it.

 

Seriously, who needs a fountain pen these days?

 

Just kidding.

 

So unless you like to tinker around, my advice is get a good pen from a well known retailer like Vanness Pens, Goulet, Anderson's, Pen Chalet, Nibsmith, Chatterley Luxuries, etc

 

You will find that your enjoyment of the pen and support from retailers well known in the community is worth it in the long run. They are so nice people and it feels good to support that!!!

 

Then later down the road after a few good pen experiences, maybe risk toward those killer deals factoring in potential repairs down the road at pen shows from the likes of IndyPenDance or Ron Zorn at Main Street Pens

 

See! there are so many ways this hobby can spread your money around

 

Good luck! and please do share your nice pen from where ever you get it.

Edited September 2, 2019 by peroride

[Bibliophage]

I bought ink from them, and was pleased with the speed of their getting it out to me. Not so pleased with the USPS, who managed to route a box from Florida to Atlanta before heading to Houston.

 

Ink came through exactly as stated, and the packaging was good. No experience with getting pens from them.

[City74]

I have bought from Endless twice without issue. The pens are legit and the price was right. Honestly for an $80 I dont worry about warranties and such. If the nib was bad I would see what they could do to help, but jobs can almost always be changed for cheap anyways so its not a big deal. Honestly I wouldnt pre-order, Id just wait til its in stock in a few months and buy it

[jvr]

Bought several pens from them and had a good experience. As a side note, European authorized retailers often sell Pelikans at similar or lower prices than Endlesspens. No tax, but higher shipping costs. For an expensive pen it’s still a better deal, sometimes by a couple of hundred dollars.

[dapprman]

I have bought from Endless twice without issue. The pens are legit and the price was right.

 

Depends on your definition of legit - they are grey market pens bought from outside of the USA, and not directly from the manufacturer, so are not supported by any of the pen manufacturers or their official suppliers. The only cover you have is through Endless Pens themselves. Some of the offers we've seen also question their legality and whether they are the real McCoy or counterfeits - the Lamy Pokemon set being a prime example where it can only be bought in limited numbers from specific stores and Lamy stores in Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Macau. It is not possible to directly buy them with an address from outside those countries (I know people who have tried) and as said Lamy forbids their sellers of the set from selling more than a small number at a time, precisely to prevent the grey market.

[AMlines]

Bought several pens from them and had a good experience. As a side note, European authorized retailers often sell Pelikans at similar or lower prices than Endlesspens. No tax, but higher shipping costs. For an expensive pen it’s still a better deal, sometimes by a couple of hundred dollars.

 

Oh, that's interesting. I'd appreciate if you could point me to some of these dealers. I might just pick one up from Europe. That way I'll be assured of the quality and still save some money.

[dapprman]

 

Oh, that's interesting. I'd appreciate if you could point me to some of these dealers. I might just pick one up from Europe. That way I'll be assured of the quality and still save some money.

Cult Pens in the UK is the usual one I see people from the USA buying from. Just be aware any problems you'll need to send the pen back to them, not to the US distributor.

[jvr]

Oh, that's interesting. I'd appreciate if you could point me to some of these dealers. I might just pick one up from Europe. That way I'll be assured of the quality and still save some money.

 

Theres Appelboom, PW Akkerman, Fontoplumo, La Couronne du Comte in Holland. Ive bought from the first two, esp. Appelboom.

 

Theres Novelli in Rome, which sometimes has pens others have sold out. And my favorite is Casa della Stilografica in Florence. Ive bought several special editions from the latter and gotten even bigger discounts than the offically listed prices. Casa and Appelboom have also checked nibs before shipping, which is important because returns would be expensive. Casa also once sold me a Leonardo Momento Zero with a flaw. When I pointed this out, they contacted the company which overnighted me a replacement from Italy.

 

Same is true for many Japanese pens, btw: theyre often much cheaper in Japan, but retailers are harder to find, esp. those listing in English, though some are on eBay.

Edited September 2, 2019 by jvr

[Paul-in-SF]

I have bought 5 pens over the past few months from Endless Pens. I have had only good experiences. In one case when I thought I was having a problem, they offered to exchange the pen, but it turned out that it was fine after all.

 

I have not bought from them for a while. If there is evidence beyond speculation that they are in fact grey market sellers, I would like to see it, as it would affect my future shopping there.

 

As for other ways to get good prices on pens online, FPNibs.com in Spain seems to have good prices sometimes on what they carry.