What Makes Montblanc's So Expensive?

[Brian C]

Pens are jewelry. I have one Montblanc that I really enjoy. It's iconic like Harley Davidsons or Colt 1911s. Read any thread here and realize we purchase these pens to collect otherwise we would all just use the free pens with Noodlers Inks. I have never seriously looked into dating a supermodel, buying a Ferrari, or owning a Montblanc WE. I cannot afford any of these items...but I love looking at them and I applaud those that have these items.

[yachtsilverswan]

...I have never seriously looked into dating a supermodel, buying a Ferrari, or owning a Montblanc WE. I cannot afford any of these items...but I love looking at them and I applaud those that have these items.

 

You might be surprised at the low cost of dating a supermodel. Unlike a Ferrari, the supermodel comes with an income stream. Both however require constant attention. Comparatively, Montblancs are low maintenance.

[kaisede]

...I have never seriously looked into dating a supermodel, buying a Ferrari, or owning a Montblanc WE. I cannot afford any of these items...but I love looking at them and I applaud those that have these items.

 

You might be surprised at the low cost of dating a supermodel. Unlike a Ferrari, the supermodel comes with an income stream. Both however require constant attention. Comparatively, Montblancs are low maintenance.

:roflmho:

[Silvermink]

The willingness of people to pay for them.

 

I think some of the "regular" models (e.g., 146) are priced too high when new, but they're available for reasonable prices on the used market. As for my own 146, you'd have to pry it from my cold, dead fingers.

[Rubicon]

I would pay the terrible price for the WE Kafka, but not for the PA Elizabeth I. It's all about personality. The Kafka had a unique killer design that eloquently expresses my personality like no other, and its price is not out of my range. Neither is Elizabeth I, but then you know, it doesn't speak to me. If I'm paying for it, then I guess at least on some levels the price is justified. On the same vein, I wouldn't buy a Meisterstuck, but I'd buy a Waterman Carene. I evaluate based on pens, not brands, and I actually prefer Caran d'Ache's skeleton. The clockwork is amazing. I'm a huge design nerd, so aesthetics is more important than brand, and in that respect, the Kafka is worth any price I can afford. It gets very idiosyncratic at this point, and I'd do things for a pen I truly love that you'd consider irrational. Whatever.

 

Visconti's designs speak to me, but you can argue that some of their regular-line pens are overpriced. In fact, most luxury brand pens are. I don't buy that a resin pen with a 14k nib is especially expensive to manufacture, but the profit margin is very high. So along the same lines you can argue that fountain pens themselves are unjustified (in fact, non-FP people do. "Oh, it's not that expensive," I tell them. "It's just $30." "How is that not expensive for a writing instrument..."). Why should I pay more than $30 for a pen that's more high-end than a Lamy Al-Star? It's one of the best writers out there, no? Why buy pens beyond a Lamy at all? Functionality and price are not everything.

Edited January 23, 2011 by Rubicon

[nchov]

If you have a Snow Flake tippes pen in your pocket, you get different attention/treatment in shops over here. Unfortunetely, not all pens are treated equal.

 

A new 146 wud wipe a freah grad one month's pay. Is the salary here low or the cost of the MB here high?

 

Cheers,

[aget19]

Montblanc make extremely high quality writing instruments, and of the pens that I own (I'm not claiming to be a lifelong collector or anything like that) I find Montblanc pens to be comfortable, ergonomical and pleasurable to write with. Although sometimes writing with a Montblanc will turn heads (especially if using a fountain pen these days here in Australia!), which I sometimes feel very ambivalent about. For me, there is nothing that comes close to the feeling and joy of writing with a Montblanc.

 

Having said all of that, they are not cheap pens, and hence, be 100% certain if you are wanting to buy them as they are a lifelong investment.

[Pen Nut]

"the quality remains long after the price is forgotten"

[rhosygell]

As an ex MB owner, I think I can comment further on the quality value debate - I would gladly have another 234 1/2, that was a well thought out, nicely made pen on a par with its similarly pitched contemporaries. My 144 on the other hand fell to bits - its "precious resin" aka cheap plastic cracked everywhere, the metalwork lost its plating and the piston mechanism packed up. Not a brilliant example of a so called prestige pen.

You do get what you pay for with every premium brand in general, but then again if all you want is a fountain pen, get a Phileas.

[MontMozart]

I am a MB fan...I really like the Mozart pens, if you couldn't already figure that out from my username. In my opinion, brand new MBs from a boutique are expensive, like many other pens, but on the second hand market, you can get some good deals and the pens will retain this value...this is the only way I buy (can buy) MBs - I have over 40.

 

I would say in general, MBs are expensive because of their name. People will pay more for a brand name, especially luxury brand names. Yes there is quality in a MB pen, do doubt about, but I have bought many MB fountain pens that write horribly (therefore I buy mostly BPs now). When you really get down to it, a MB can sign a check in the same way a $.15 bic does; the person cashing the check will get the same amount. Does a Rolex keep better time than a $1.00 digital wristwatch...no. Does a Lexus get you to the store any better than a Fusion...not really. It comes down to the name and the willingness of people to pay for that name.

 

So buy what you like and you will be happy. I like MBs and will continue to buy them. Yes, I would love to go into a Boutique and drop $700 for the latest Writer's Edition, but I can't, so I will wait and snag one from eBay at some point.

 

Thanks and keep on lovin' those Montblancs.

[niksch]

Good points you have made MontMozart. I especially like the "buy what you like and be happy" comment. That is what I do.

 

I am a MB fan...I really like the Mozart pens, if you couldn't already figure that out from my username. In my opinion, brand new MBs from a boutique are expensive, like many other pens, but on the second hand market, you can get some good deals and the pens will retain this value...this is the only way I buy (can buy) MBs - I have over 40.

 

I would say in general, MBs are expensive because of their name. People will pay more for a brand name, especially luxury brand names. Yes there is quality in a MB pen, do doubt about, but I have bought many MB fountain pens that write horribly (therefore I buy mostly BPs now). When you really get down to it, a MB can sign a check in the same way a $.15 bic does; the person cashing the check will get the same amount. Does a Rolex keep better time than a $1.00 digital wristwatch...no. Does a Lexus get you to the store any better than a Fusion...not really. It comes down to the name and the willingness of people to pay for that name.

 

So buy what you like and you will be happy. I like MBs and will continue to buy them. Yes, I would love to go into a Boutique and drop $700 for the latest Writer's Edition, but I can't, so I will wait and snag one from eBay at some point.

 

Thanks and keep on lovin' those Montblancs.

[dapv]

For me it boils down to this ... they are expensive / over valued, and every time I pick one up it works like a charm for me. I wish I could say otherwise, and I have no idea why, but, they fit my hand, and are my most comfortable and consistent writers.

 

What i can't understand is the ever increasing price of Pelikan pens. A great pen to be sure, but yikes.

[perdu]

OP. The answer to your questioning is marketing in the luxury products market. Think Rolex. Well made but there's no relationship between what it costs to make one and the price commanded.

[MidnightBlue]

Marketing costs a lot of money. They pass that cost on to you. Take off the shop retail profit and the advertising cost and I would say the pen costs around 2/3rds more than its true worth. Thanks

[EricJS]

Nothing else looks like a Mont Blanc.....

Edited April 6, 2011 by EricJS

[MidnightBlue]

Nothing else looks like Tiny Tim either, that's just a reason why you like it......but that's not why it's so expensive. Thanks

Edited April 6, 2011 by MidnightBlue

[Blade Runner]

OP. The answer to your questioning is marketing in the luxury products market. Think Rolex. Well made but there's no relationship between what it costs to make one and the price commanded.

 

 

Marketing costs a lot of money. They pass that cost on to you. Take off the shop retail profit and the advertising cost and I would say the pen costs around 2/3rds more than its true worth. Thanks

 

 

At Fountainpenhospital, an authorized US Montblanc dealer, you can buy a brand new 149 (MB's flagship pen) today for $598. Thought it would be interesting to compare the prices of some other flagship (non LE) pens from some other higher end brands from the same website. There other high end brands, but you get the idea.

 

Aurora Optima green/blue marble (piston): $540

Caran d'ache Leman (cartridge/convertor): $725

Delta Dolcevita OS (cartridge/convertor): $556

Dupont Orpheo (cartridge/convertor): $795

Montegrappa Extra (piston): $880

Omas Arte Italiana (piston): $620

Pelikan 1000 (piston) $588

Stipula Etruria (piston): $695

Waterman Blue Edson (cartridge/convertor): $798

 

The other brands hardly do any marketing compared to MB, so what's their excuse?

Edited April 6, 2011 by Blade Runner

[MidnightBlue]

With respect to the original poster, they asked why MB was so expensive.......they didn't ask for a defending comprison. Thanks

[Blade Runner]

With respect to the original poster, they asked why MB was so expensive.......they didn't ask for a defending comprison. Thanks

I thinks it's very pertinent to examine MB's prices in context to other comparable higher end brands. Then it's clear that MB doesn't really look so expensive among its peers.

Edited April 6, 2011 by Blade Runner

[MidnightBlue]

You've compared resin with some celluloids....so it's not a fair playing field. But I'm glad you gave other pen companies a bit of attention. Thanks