Buying Montblanc from Authorized outlets

[Ghost Plane]

I love their pens. I don't love their pricing and marketing strategy. I don't buy ANY other MB products than their pens - no interest whatsoever.

 

Guess we'll agree to differ - I shouldn't have to pay a premium to subsidize bad management.

[kazoolaw]

While in Chicago I went by the MB Boutique on Michigan Ave. On my first trip years ago it was about the size of a big walk in closet, and was stocked with pens and pens. Also some Meisterbutten.

Since my last visit to Chicago the Boutique had expanded. It had many glass cases filled with leather goods, and watches, and oh yes, a pen. At least from the sidewalk I could only see one pen displayed. I can't bring myself to pay full price for a new MB pen, but always enjoyed looking. But this trip, seemed like too much work to hunt out the pens among the other star-branded merchandise.

gary

[niksch]

Be that as it may, my point is that you are not effectively telling MB to focus on fountain pens when you don't buy their fountain pens from their distributors.

 

You miss the real point. Price is the major factor for new MB pens. Why should GP pay $800 for a 149 when she can get it for $570 at FPH or her favorite Malyasian MB dealer? That's why she (IMO) votes with her feet for Visconti pen(s) or a non-boutique MB dealer.

Edited July 29, 2009 by niksch

[niksch]

Please clarify the words "a vintage MB" in your original post that I questioned. Define vintage for your purposes and our knowledge. Most of us here define vintage MBs as those pens produced in 1959 and before.

 

Still not clear "as posted above", which is why I asked originally. Say I want to buy a vintage early 1950s flat feed 149, with a 149G imprint on the turning knob. I find a seller here to sell one to me for $XXXX.xx. Your stance in your initial and subsequent posts says that MB Corporate doesn't care...it counted that pen in 195x as a sale. But you go on to say that "The proportion of pen sales vs other items (leather goods, watches, fragrances) just dropped a little bit and the customer registry just missed getting a new name on it. You may have gotten a good deal in the short term, but you shot yourself in the foot in the long term."

 

Are you really saying that me "niksch", a vintage MB collector who wants to buy a 55+ year old pen, is shooting future modern 149 buyers' in the ass because that secondary (or tertiary) market sale negates a boutique sale--even when I never intended to buy a modern 149 to begin with?

 

 

Every time you buy a vintage MB or a grey market fp instead of a new one, you demonstrating that you don't care if MB continues to manufacture fountain pens.

 

I can buy into the argument about grey market pens, but not the argument about vintage pens. Please clarify.

 

Just as a posted above, vintage pen sales don't count as far as corporate cares. They already counted those pen sales years ago when they first sold.

Edited July 29, 2009 by niksch

[niksch]

Every time you buy a vintage MB or a grey market fp instead of a new one, you demonstrating that you don't care if MB continues to manufacture fountain pens.

 

I can buy into the argument about grey market pens, but not the argument about vintage pens. Please clarify.

{snip}...but when you buy a used current production MB you are just taking a sale and a data point away from MB marketing. You might get a better price on a MB146 here, but you are not expressing your interest in MB146's to MB's marketing and steering divisions.

 

 

Oh, I get it. Your definition of vintage pens is "used current production pens". I'd argue that there are differences between a 2008 and 1999 or 1988 modern production 146 pens that make them modern and current, but not vintage. I'd also argue that any 146 after 1973 is not vintage, but that is another topic I suppose.

Edited July 29, 2009 by niksch

[humblescribbler]

All tempest in a teapot. If MB bean counters and board room "decider-ers" declare that briefcases, wallets and silver letter openers take profit away from their company, they'll ditch them. Or they may ditch the pens, much like some thought (wrongly) that Dunhill would ditch tobacco pipes, their original raison d'etre. All of this buzzing is only good for MB, frankly. It adds to their marketing mystique, which is free and impossible to forge without the quality product.

 

If MB gets out of the pen business for lack of profit (read "customers") and a long history of poor choices? Eh -- business. New businesses will open up catering to folks needing MB repairs, and will compete for our coin to repair them better than the next person. And those ex-MB craftspeople will combine and leverage capital and form new companies that will make astonishing pens. (Which will be sold at first for lower prices!)

 

My buying a new MB from other than an authorized boutique (just recently!) forced me later into the MB boutique to get the star on my Citrine Classique Solitaire Citrine replaced. My first real trip in there. They got a new customer. And although I couldn't see many pens other than LE's and a few upper end Classiques gracing the walls, he immediately pulled open a cabinet and had a dozen trays of MB's from all years and models. Offered me a Citrine Classique mech. pencil at a nice discount, which now I'm considering! Nailed!!

 

At the same time, he had to listen to me tell him why I wasn't buying any of the LE's he was offering. Money, money, money! It ain't about quality! Finally, if MB leaves the pen business, so be it. But "Woo-hoo!" We'll all have vintage models and our "previously owned" LE's will go up in value!

 

That is, of course, only IMHO

 

 

[sunnerd]

I've bought from FPH before and I'm in Australia... They do sell overseas for out of production pens (e.g. Writers' series LE) to foreign customers.

 

But were you a previous customer before buying that LE?

 

Nope.

It was a long out of production LE and they were able to sell it to me.

[Ghost Plane]

Be that as it may, my point is that you are not effectively telling MB to focus on fountain pens when you don't buy their fountain pens from their distributors.

 

You miss the real point. Price is the major factor for new MB pens. Why should GP pay $800 for a 149 when she can get it for $570 at FPH or her favorite Malyasian MB dealer? That's why she (IMO) votes with her feet for Visconti pen(s) or a non-boutique MB dealer.

Our hearts beat as one

[Kalessin]

Don't forget also the buying of MB pen-related items helping them stay a pen company.

 

Ink, cartridges, non-fp refills, pencil leads and erasers, pouches and cases, etc, are all high-profit and cheap to produce. If they can keep the quality up, I'm happy to use their product. MB is my go-to for iron-gall permanent blue-black ink, even though I don't use it in my MB pens.

 

While I can't afford their non-pen luxury items, I think they have done a good job of producing high-quality goods. Personally, having the trademark MB star prominently displayed on non-pen items is not to my taste, but if someone gave me an MB briefcase or some such, I'd certainly use it. The doubl,e-snowcap cufflinks, however, I'd probably just leave in a drawer.

Edited July 30, 2009 by Kalessin

[LouisA]

What do we lose if we buy a genuine montblanc from the non authorized channels?

 

I use to love going to the old style MB shops where they had girls in sorta black business suits with really short skits and white gloves and spiked heels show you pens. Now the stores are more about life styles of the rich and famous as they have mostly watches and leather goods out and you have to really look for the pens. So much for sexy.

 

[Ghost Plane]

Now if that had been sexy young men in tight pants...

[pjohno64]

Setting aside corp Mont Blanc......my local boutique in Palm beach Gardens is staffed with great and knowledgeable people.Who always seem to take that extra step.So for me it is worth it to shop there for the experience and for the extra something that it entails.That being said I do not have a problem buying a vintage or second hand pen and they have no problems servicing one.FYI one of their employees is one of only 7 authorized and trained repair techs in the USA.

[harry19147]

You get better service when you deal with MB directly and the associates know a lot more about many things...plus, I believe that all MB product is covered be a two year warranty against manufacturing defects. Wherever you go, always make sure that the warranty gets filled out, otherwise you will have to pay for covered repairs...

[Ed Ronax]

Interesting arguements. In the UK we have the Credit Consumer Act, other countries will have something similar I'm sure. I would think a retailers receipt, authorised or not, is sufficient to get repairs rectified within the first year under warranty. Question, where did these non authorised retailers get their product, wherever, its origins were in Hamburg so a sale must have been done for Montblanc surely. Re the Montblanc brand, is their destiny not in the hands of others, Richemont. I'm sorry, if I can get a genuine good deal for any product, I'm taking it. I'm only human.

[Blade Runner]

Question, where did these non authorised retailers get their product, wherever, its origins were in Hamburg so a sale must have been done for Montblanc surely.

Good question. Anyone?