Large Price Increase

[Edwaroth]

I was about to purchase a pen that I have been desiring for a year now and finally had the cash to do so...Ooops, the two sources that had these pens both increased the price from 396USD to 556USD in one fell swoop. I'm crushed that I can no longer afford to buy this pen but I think that's excessive for one price increase...almost 30%. Anyone else in the same boat or feel the same way?

[BrandonA]

It would help if you told us what pen you are referring to.

 

Also are you buying new, or vintage?

[Blue_Moon]

That's a pretty huge increase. I'd like to know which pen also. Depending on the pen, maybe you could get it from a dealer in another country and just pay for shipping, which would be cheaper than paying the increase.

[av8r172]

Pelikan M800?

[rwilsonedn]

You might try contacting the sellers and asking if you could buy one at the earlier price. They might surprise you.

ron

[jethrobrink]

Could it be a Pelikan? They increased their prices recently (astronomically in some cases).

[Sallent]

Seven years ago I would recommend Pelikans to everyone, but these days there are better deals to be had elsewhere. Pelikan prices got me to look towards Japan. I now have some lovely Japanese piston fillers and will soon be buying my first Japanese vacuum filler (Pilot Custom 823)

[rochester21]

If you can save 400 dollars for buying one fountain pen, surely you can add 160 more- it`s only a matter of time and desire.

 

Besides, the price of any fountain pen is the product of circumstance. Maybe if you wait and search long enough, you will be able to buy the same pen for 200 or 300 dollars later.

 

Example: These days i can pick a brand new Pelikan M400 or M600 for half the store price, but i really won`t bother, since they are not worth it. Unfortunately, it appears that Pelikan is trying to become more like another german company which produces overpriced pens. I understand that fountain pens are no longer used on a large scale today, while production costs soared, but compromises like this simply don`t appeal to me.

Edited April 17, 2014 by rochester21

[Sallent]

Unfortunately, it appears that Pelikan is trying to become more like another german company which produces overpriced pens. I understand that fountain pens are no longer used on a large scale today, while production costs soared, but compromises like this simply don`t appeal to me.

 

You really don't have to spend Pelikan money to get a 14K pen with an internal filler mechanism, or classic looks and design.

 

The Japanese have a few between the $200-$350 range, and most of them can be had for street prices that are much lower than that. I got my Pilot Custom 92 pens for $142 and $157, though some dealers were selling them for as little as $125 (but I wanted to go with more established dealers, so I paid more on purpose.)

 

Edison pens are also becoming a bargain compared to Pelikan. You can get a nice Edison with some cool internal filler mechanisms in the $350-$450 range. Compared to the near $800 for a Pelikan M800, they look like a good bet to someone looking for classy pens with internal filler systems.

 

Then there is also Richard Binder's gate City Pens. For around $160-$300 you can get something truly classy and also with some pretty interesting choices in internal filler mechanisms.

 

And although they are exclusively only with steel nibs (not that there is anything wrong with that) you can also get TWSBI pens with internal filler mechanisms from $50-$80. They are also decent pens, though there were some issues with them not long ago (although TWSBI addressed them through excellent customer service).

Edited April 17, 2014 by Sallent

[lightless]

Either the modern black resin Aurora 88 or Optima are probably the pen in question. I agree - it was a pretty dramatic price increase. It seems like the price increases are going around big this year. They went from being a little over a Pelikan M600 before Pelikan's most recent price increase to being a little under or even above a current domestic M800, depending on the vendor.

 

There go the goalposts, huh?

Edited April 17, 2014 by lightless

[andymcc]

If it's Pelikan you're talking about I know how you feel. I was debating getting either an M200 or a Pilot Capless but then the prices jumped £20 overnight for the Pelikan and I changed my mind, I can't see how such jumps can be justified.

A nice thing came of this though, I stumbled upon the Pilot Custom 74 with SF nib on Amazon so for the old price of an M200 I got what will hopefully be a better pen

[mrchan]

Dude, its only 160 more, if you really really want it, you can just put aside even 16 bucks a month and you'll own it within 10 months..But yes, I'd love to know which one you are talking about. eBay sellers like martina may be able to reach your prices.

[Edwaroth]

Aurora Optima Resin. And Dude, that's not the point. I'm sure they didn't make the pen 160 bucks better overnight like they raised the price. I can save till the cows come home but I'll be damned if I pay 556 for a pen that was worth 396 yesterday.

[rochester21]

The Japanese have a few between the $200-$350 range, and most of them can be had for street prices that are much lower than that.

 

Well, i didn`t want to bring the japanese into this, since they there is no argument about their capacity of making very good quality pens at correct prices. There simply is no substitute on the market for pens like custom 74, or ptl5000 at their price points(unless you go with steel nibs or nos).

Edited April 17, 2014 by rochester21

[jethrobrink]

If it's Pelikan you're talking about I know how you feel. I was debating getting either an M200 or a Pilot Capless but then the prices jumped £20 overnight for the Pelikan and I changed my mind, I can't see how such jumps can be justified.

A nice thing came of this though, I stumbled upon the Pilot Custom 74 with SF nib on Amazon so for the old price of an M200 I got what will hopefully be a better pen

Pelikanpens.co.uk are having a sale this weekend on their line of souverans. Maybe have a look. Not affiliated.

[rochester21]

I stumbled upon the Pilot Custom 74 with SF nib on Amazon so for the old price of an M200 I got what will hopefully be a better pen

 

The SF nib on the custom 74 is....ok, but the SFM is noticeably better. And the difference in line width is minimal- anyway, the SFM nib is the equivalent of a F Pelikan nib, so that`s not an issue. Quality wise, i`d still prefer the Pilot nib at any given size.

Edited April 17, 2014 by rochester21

[lightless]

Aurora Optima Resin. And Dude, that's not the point. I'm sure they didn't make the pen 160 bucks better overnight like they raised the price. I can save till the cows come home but I'll be damned if I pay 556 for a pen that was worth 396 yesterday.

Yeah. Hard for me to feel as desirous about a pen after having been around to see it go up in price, especially with such a significant increase. 40%!

[Sallent]

Once a fountain pen starts to get into the same price category as an Ultrabook Laptop with Windows 8.1, touchscreen, and an Intel i5 core processor, then yeah...it's gotten to be way to much. Specially when talking about the Aurora Optima or the Pelikan M800. I've owned both, and they were nice pens, but I honestly don't see them as being so special as to command those prices, given the other choices in FPs out there.

 

That being said, I'm sure there are people out there who will pay those prices. In a few months when Pelikan raises the price of the M800 to $760, they'll say 'It's only $50 or $60 more," and when Pelikan raises the price again at the beginning of 2015 to $820 for the M800, they'll say "It's only another $70" and cough it up. They'll probably be saying how the M800 is great bang for your buck when it reaches $1000 in 2017 (quite possible at the rate Pelikan is increasing it's prices).

 

Not me though, last time I was interested in a Pelikan M800 was in 2007 when I could find them for around $260 or so. I bought my Aurora Optima only a few years ago for around $280. And don't say inflation, because it really wasn't that long ago, and gold has dropped, and the Euro is nowhere near an all time high against the Dollar, or whatever other excuse people make to justify it.

Edited April 17, 2014 by Sallent

[abritdownunder]

I've got a couple of Pelikans (M1000 and M200 Demonstrator) and am very happy with them (and am considering a M605 at the moment), I paid full store price and don't regret the purchase. They are lovely pens, great writers and, at least to me, look fantastic. Sadly, because there are people, like me, who are willing to pay the price Pelikan asks, Pelikan can set their prices high... I believe it's called supply and demand. They control the supply and we the demand. However, a near 30% price hike like this is a bitter pill to take.

[Sridhar]

I've got a couple of Pelikans (M1000 and M200 Demonstrator) and am very happy with them (and am considering a M605 at the moment), I paid full store price and don't regret the purchase. They are lovely pens, great writers and, at least to me, look fantastic. Sadly, because there are people, like me, who are willing to pay the price Pelikan asks, Pelikan can set their prices high... I believe it's called supply and demand. They control the supply and we the demand. However, a near 30% price hike like this is a bitter pill to take.

You have a point there. But somewhere they might stretch that elasticity a wee too much….and i already see some leanings towards Japan. The 1911 and 823 do put up pretty competetive alternatives.