Montblanc Ordering Question From European Vendor.

[coinlvr]

Fellow FPN lovers,

 

I do not know if this is the place to ask a question about Montblanc 146. I am considering ordering my first ever Montblanc fountain pen 146 Le Grand EF from Appleboom pens. I see that the price quote is Euros 479.34 plus shipping, about $567(https://appelboom.com/montblanc-germany/meisterstuck/?sort=p.price&order=ASC&fa27=Fountain%20pen).

 

A quick question to you is if this prie incudes VAT that is about 20% of the price or it is without VAT? I checked fr the same pen in our US MB site and it is about $705 +10% tax here in CA (https://www.montblanc.com/en-us/fountain-pens_cod22527730565448096.html). So it will be about $770 locally. The problem is I need an EF nib. Local MB only has M and F nibs.

 

The question is has anyone purchased from the Appleboom store. I am not afraid but I have been saving for the past two years to purchase my first MB.

 

Do you have any advice for me? Also, I am failing to understand the large price difference? Maybe I am reading the information incorrectly? Or should I just get a used MB from local dealers in California like Penguin Pen co. or others online dealers like Endless pens.

 

So many choices but price point and authenticity are of concern. Any help you can provide/ insight/ advice to me will be appreciated.

 

Thank you.

 

 

[silverlifter]

They use your IP address to guess your location, so you would be shown the VAT free price if your IP is outside the EU. You can confirm by adding to your cart and proceeding to checkout, and your destination country will be pre-selected and the Tax amount will correspond to that.

[A1979]

I’ve bought many pens (also MB) from Appelboom pens. Excellent service and very competitive prices, especially on special occasions (ex. Fountain Pen Day: they apply a 20% general discount). All my orders were shipped to Switzerland: I didn’t have to pay the EU VAT, but of course the import tax.

Fellow FPN lovers,

 

I do not know if this is the place to ask a question about Montblanc 146. I am considering ordering my first ever Montblanc fountain pen 146 Le Grand EF from Appleboom pens. I see that the price quote is Euros 479.34 plus shipping, about $567(https://appelboom.com/montblanc-germany/meisterstuck/?sort=p.price&order=ASC&fa27=Fountain%20pen).

 

A quick question to you is if this prie incudes VAT that is about 20% of the price or it is without VAT? I checked fr the same pen in our US MB site and it is about $705 +10% tax here in CA (https://www.montblanc.com/en-us/fountain-pens_cod22527730565448096.html). So it will be about $770 locally. The problem is I need an EF nib. Local MB only has M and F nibs.

 

The question is has anyone purchased from the Appleboom store. I am not afraid but I have been saving for the past two years to purchase my first MB.

 

Do you have any advice for me? Also, I am failing to understand the large price difference? Maybe I am reading the information incorrectly? Or should I just get a used MB from local dealers in California like Penguin Pen co. or others online dealers like Endless pens.

 

So many choices but price point and authenticity are of concern. Any help you can provide/ insight/ advice to me will be appreciated.

 

Thank you.

 

 

[coinlvr]

Thank you so much for your fantastically quick replies. I think that I will wait for special days as you suggest. It makes perfect sense. I will go with a new pen for my first MB purchase. I think that Appleboom makes sense given the price differential of 300 USD for me. I have just saved now over 500 so I should be able to achieve my dream.Thanks again.

Edited September 19, 2020 by Penlvr

[A1979]

You are welcome! Keep us posted.

Thank you so much for your fantastically quick replies. I think that I will wait for special days as you suggest. It makes perfect sense. I will go with a new pen for my first MB purchase. I think that Appleboom makes sense given the price differential of 300 USD for me. I have just saved now over 500 so I should be able to achieve my dream.Thanks again.

[zaddick]

La Courone du Comte is another popular authorized MB dealer. They are running a 20% coupon this weekend. You can ask them to send I. The pen to MB immediately for a nib swap and then ship to you.

 

I will say they are notorious for listing items on their site that are not in stock so you can see if they have a 146 before you order.

 

I order from LCDC and Appelboom all the time and live in the bay area. No issues and they are both authorized dealers. The discount code for this weekend is PENSHOW2020.

[coinlvr]

Thank you so much Zaddick. I am writing to them now to see if they have one in stock. Our SF store prices were very depressing for me on a limited budget. Thank you all for your time and effective advice.

[dbs]

Appelboom is your last choice to purchase Montblanc. If you found a hard to find item, for example, Heritage 1914, just go for it --- You do not need to pay EU VAT if you do not have EU address.

 

But Appelboom has its own problems. First, is the long long waiting time. You have no idea of when they will have your pen from Montblanc.

 

Second, it is very hard to communicate with them. Appelboom does not care custom form for your package. If you order a $5000 POA and a $10 ink, they will say $5010 fountain pen and ink. Now your package is hold by US Customs and will be billed duty for only ink, that;s 3%*$5010 instead of 3%*10 because the form said fountain pen and ink. When you ask Appelboom to itemize the item, they will just politely refuse. Sorry I don't understand your language. The average holding time to clear US Custom before Covid is about 2 weeks.

 

You do save some money, and do found some rare items at there. But in long run, you get nothing more than US vendors.

 

 

 

 

Edited September 20, 2020 by dbs

[Mr.Rene]

 

Appelboom is your last choice to purchase Montblanc. If you found a hard to find item, for example, Heritage 1914, just go for it --- You do not need to pay EU VAT if you do not have EU address.

 

But Appelboom has its own problems. First, is the long long waiting time. You have no idea of when they will have your pen from Montblanc.

 

Second, it is very hard to communicate with them. Appelboom does not care custom form for your package. If you order a $5000 POA and a $10 ink, they will say $5010 fountain pen and ink. Now your package is hold by US Customs and will be billed duty for only ink, that;s 3%*$5010 instead of 3%*10 because the form said fountain pen and ink. When you ask Appelboom to itemize the item, they will just politely refuse. Sorry I don't understand your language. The average holding time to clear US Custom before Covid is about 2 weeks.

 

You do save some money, and do found some rare items at there. But in long run, you get nothing more than US vendors.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[praxim]

Appelboom is your last choice to purchase Montblanc. If you found a hard to find item, for example, Heritage 1914, just go for it --- You do not need to pay EU VAT if you do not have EU address.

 

But Appelboom has its own problems. First, is the long long waiting time. You have no idea of when they will have your pen from Montblanc.

 

Second, it is very hard to communicate with them. ... Sorry I don't understand your language. The average holding time to clear US Custom before Covid is about 2 weeks.

 

You do save some money, and do found some rare items at there. But in long run, you get nothing more than US vendors.

I have not bought from Appelboom but have several times from LCdC, and understand them to have much the same reputations. It is possible you have to wait for items to come into stock, delivery time is boring. In the long run, you are getting good and sometimes unique products from reliable firms (whose staff have always communicated in excellent English, and a d--- sight better than my Dutch) at lower prices. If it pays to buy locallyto avoid waiting then go for it. That is the commercial trade-off you are offered.

 

 

Appelboom does not care custom form for your package. If you order a $5000 POA and a $10 ink, they will say $5010 fountain pen and ink. Now your package is hold by US Customs and will be billed duty for only ink, that;s 3%*$5010 instead of 3%*10 because the form said fountain pen and ink. When you ask Appelboom to itemize the item, they will just politely refuse.

 

It appears to me that import duties are exactly your problem, not theirs, that you could have ordered the ink separately (or even locally), to avoid your problem. Taking out your frustrations at your own error on a decent company serving the fountain pen community seems a little off.

[dbs]

It appears to me that import duties are exactly your problem, not theirs, that you could have ordered the ink separately (or even locally), to avoid your problem. Taking out your frustrations at your own error on a decent company serving the fountain pen community seems a little off.

 

The root cause of the problem is, they could not provide Pro Forma invoice.

[praxim]

The root cause of the problem is, they could not provide Pro Forma invoice.

Root causes for all sorts of things depend on how far one delves. I deleted a more detailed reply because you are free to buy where you please on whatever basis you happen to decide.

 

@penlvr: I found at La Couronne du Comte that it gave me VAT-inclusive prices until I specifically said I was from Australia, or logged in. Otherwise, as silverlifter said, just stick it in the cart and have a look at checkout, entering your address. LCdC and Appelboom are usually much cheaper than US alternatives. I have found LCdC excellent, as I earlier noted (nothing against Appelboom, I just have not bought there). Patience can be a virtue; their estimates of how long things will take are not always sound.

[Thymen]

Appelboom will gives a 10% discount using code FRIEND; the price of € 479.34 is excluding VAT.

 

Appelboom offers a nib service. You can request them to have the nib checked, aligned, smoothened etc. before shipping, by Annabelle, their nib specialist. The MB146 I bought from Appelboom needed it's baby bottom fixed, but Annabelle did this quite nicely, and it's now my smoothest fountain pen.

 

I have bought many items form LCDC, mostly because of their regular 20% discounts. For inks and paper, that's ok. But both the MontBlanc 149 and Pelikan M1000 I purchased from them needed quite some tinkering. I was told by LCDC last year they were also in the process of finding/training a nib specialist.

 

I need no more fountain pens, but if I ever decide to go for another..... I want to have the pen and nib thoroughly checked and adjusted by someone who knows how to do so. I find it very frustrating to have spent my entire budget on a pen that needs extra work to get it right.

[N1003U]

I will add another endorsement for the vendors mentioned. To the OP: 480€ for a Le Grande almost certainly excludes VAT, which is still a great price compared to buying from a dealer in the US. If you have some patience, the nib exchange program is also a way to get the pen with an EF, even if the dealer doesn't have an EF in stock at present.

Montblanc has fairly strict price maintenance agreements with its authorized dealers (which is why Montblanc is often excluded from general discount codes/coupons), and typical current prices in the Euro Zone for a Le Grande are more like 550-600€.

Edited September 20, 2020 by N1003U

[meiers]

https://www.fritz-schimpf.de/

 

This is a wonderful authorized dealer in Germany.

[N1003U]

https://www.fritz-schimpf.de/

 

This is a wonderful authorized dealer in Germany.

 

I would also endorse this dealer heartily.

[coinlvr]

Thank you again for all your feedback and advice. A lot to think about now. I had no idea that there can be significant delays due to back order. I am learning. For my Pelikan m405, I ordered a nib from a Dutch vendor. It was on back order for 10 to 12 days (EF). I got an email that it is now on back order 4-6 weeks, but the money has already been collected. It is strange that COVID has thrown all of us very off. So I will have to wait for my nib now 10-12 weeks. So if the same will happen to my MB order, it might be best to wait until the Thanksgiving or Christmas and order during the sale. One cannot generalize about any vendors but experiences count a lot.


As for the customs yes, it is my responsibility. US Customs usually allows 800 dollars worth of goods imported for US Citizens and residents. Perhaps I should just visit Galeria Kaufhoff in Frankfurt and Munich on my next trip to Germany and pick up the pen.


Or simply go to the SF pen show next year, and buy it there from a local vendor. Too much information is a decision killer.

Thank you again for your generosity and advice. Stay well and safe.

Edited September 20, 2020 by Penlvr

[Tom Heath]

I'll stick my neck out here

 

I am a 30 year collector dealer of vintage pens.

 

AS this is your first MB why not buy a good 146 and give it a good work out.

Then decide to Buy your new one being the 146 or 149

 

You can always divest the used one at a price some where close ro what you paid for it. Probably some where in the entry price level of $ 250 to $ 350 also there are many used nibs avail should you wish to go that route

 

Good hunting.. great advise here on this board

 

TJ

[dbs]

As for the customs yes, it is my responsibility. US Customs usually allows 800 dollars worth of goods imported for US Citizens and residents. Perhaps I should just visit Galeria Kaufhoff in Frankfurt and Munich on my next trip to Germany and pick up the pen.

 

 

 

The duty rate to fountain pen without ink is 0, no matter how much you import, US duty only applies to ink, and you need mail in a statement that the ink does not contain some chemical. The whole process will take about 1-2 weeks.

 

But if sender only claim fountain pen in your form, the Customs will hold the package and ask you if this is a bare pen, or a pen with ink. In the later case, you will be taxed about 3% plus a statement that the ink has no come chemical.

 

Professional sellers will claim "fountain pen without ink" to save buyer tons of problems. But, before they can do that, they have to listen buyers complain. This is where the broken link is. People usually call this a "good customer service".

 

We do not ask for a fake statement, we only ask for a Pro Forma invoice that meet US Customs requirement. If you have Fedex account for international business, they have online tool to create this.

Edited September 21, 2020 by dbs

[Lam1]

The duty rate to fountain pen without ink is 0, no matter how much you import, US duty only applies to ink, ...

 

I don't think this is correct.

A while ago I actually went through the trouble to find out, and the rate for FP was (if I recall correctly) 3.25% if above $800.

I don't know the rate for ink, but I do know that FPs are taxable (as they should) if you go above the limit.

 

Incidentally, one of the vendors mentioned above recently (2 months ago) made a mistake and declared the wrong price on a FP I bought (they forgot to take out the discount), and it amounted to $2 more than the limit. DHL charged me 5.4% on the entire purchase + $15 of "convenience" fee. There is no arguing with DHL, so the vendor gave me the amount back in store credit (already have another pen on order ).