Chinese Pens On Ebay

[mab52]

I've noticed a whole lot of Chinese FP on eBay. The prices are low enough that I'm tempted to divert some gift money next month and acquire a couple that I can afford on my meager income. I have a fake Pelican Toledo copy that I got on eBay sometime back and it writes rather well with its German nib. Any dogs that I should avoid. I want something I can carry around that works reliably and cheap enough that I can crow about how little it actually cost me.

[KrazyIvan]

Just be forwarned that there are fakes mmm of the the "fakes". I would buy from the reputable sources. Names like yespen and gotoschool come to mind. Isellpens.com and hisnibs.com also sell good quality Chinese pens with the added benefit of not having to wait a month for your pen(s) to arrive.

Edited November 29, 2011 by KrazyIvan

[mab52]

Just be forwarned that there are fakes mmm of the the "fakes". I would buy from the reputable sources. Names like yespen and gotoschool come to mind. Isellpens.com and hisnibs.com also sell good quality Chinese pens with the added benefit of not having to wait a month for your pen(s) to arrive.

 

I'm not so much worried about wait time and I'm not really looking for a fake anything, just something dependable. The one Crocodile I looked at has three pens and ink for a little over $20. If they work well I'd be happy.

[th3]

There have been some reports of counterfeit Hero 616 models. If your not buying a Hero 616 you should be okay. If you want a Hero616 I would buy from the seller yespen, who has a good reputation.

 

I have a Baoer 388 in stainless steel that I really like. Its a beautiful pen and writes very smoothly. There is a review of it in the Fountain Pen review section.

[KrazyIvan]

Just be forwarned that there are fakes mmm of the the "fakes". I would buy from the reputable sources. Names like yespen and gotoschool come to mind. Isellpens.com and hisnibs.com also sell good quality Chinese pens with the added benefit of not having to wait a month for your pen(s) to arrive.

 

I'm not so much worried about wait time and I'm not really looking for a fake anything, just something dependable. The one Crocodile I looked at has three pens and ink for a little over $20. If they work well I'd be happy.

 

 

I have seen those but have not been tempted. I like Hero pens and have been looking into several different models from yespen. I have several Jinhao, Huashilai, Baoer amoung others.

[richardandtracy]

All the Kaigelu's I've tried have been very good. The best of them are the 316's and 319's. It should be possible to get a 316 for $30 inc postage.

 

Jinhao Century pens at under $20 are good. I have seen three advertised today at $99 which is way too much.

 

Regards,

 

Richard.

[Torculus Resupinus]

A couple of reliable eBay sources for Chinese pens are gotoschool888 (already mentioned) and pokydady, both of whom give good value and service, and pretty quick delivery. I've had good experience with both.

[Bo Bo Olson]

Iridium Point Germany....don't mean the nib was made in Germany.

The iridium on the point, was made in Germany where the rest of the nib was made is a guess, China...India just about any place but Germany.

 

Some sort of weird law says, they can say the Iridium Point....was made in Germany.

So what if you think the whole nib was made in Germany.

 

Germany is a major exporter of the 'iridium' tips, for the world.

 

Germany makes Bock, JoWo, and Schmidt.

I don't know of any more German companies making nibs right now.

[celesul]

I really like Wing Sungs, actually. I got a bunch from jewelrymathematics on ebay. They write really nicely. I've bought a Lanbitou pocket pen that I really like from ahai006. I've also adored the Hero 616s I've gotten, but I'd suggest obtaining those from Yespen or ahai006 to be sure of their legitimacy, as they are commonly faked. I've one Bookworm 709, which is pretty but not a terribly good pen. My Baoer 388 seems nice so far. The Pirre Pauls I have are a bit disappointing, but not dreadful. Dukes have a good reputation, but I've not been a huge fan so far. I'm unimpressed with the Hero 001.

 

The more generic Chinese pens aren't as nice, but they do work. They all seem to have the same nib setup: a mostly hooded nail. It's a fairly reliable setup, and nice if you just want a knockaround pen. You can also find Chinese pens covered in cute cartoon characters, which can be fun.

Edited November 29, 2011 by celesul

[Chris]

I have a couple of Jinhao pens and a recently puchased pen with no name that has nine rings round the body.

 

I have praised them and moaned about them in the past and gradually they have moved to the back of the pen drawer. Why? Simply, they do not perform flawlessly, always and without any thought on my part. There is always some problem with ink flow or starting or drying out when I wave the pen in the air whilst trying to solve the crossword. When they are working, they write very smoothly and, apart from the converter, which can ooze ink around the insides and is a bit cheap and tacky, are pretty well made - solid and well finished - but when they stop, I have to fuss with them. This can happen after a couple of words or a couple of pages but I have fallen out of love with them because of their unreliability.

 

Others might be willing to forgive them their idiosyncrasies and so they are likely to be passed on and will perhaps encourage someone else to use a 'proper' pen; and I will return to my other pens where no such concerns arise. OK some were much more expensive but some I bought for a low price on ebay, not as low as the Chinese pens but then I have three of those which I don't use now.

 

Having said that, I cannot fault the service from the good sellers from China.

 

Chris

[stuartk]

I've purchased Chinese pens on Ebay, but none of them were as good quality as the Chinese pens I bought from Todd at isellpens.com. It makes me wonder whether these factories produce pens of varying quality, all with the same label.

 

Rather than waste more time and money, I'll just buy Chinese pens from Todd, and I know I'll get a good one. I know he'll also take care of me if there are any issues with the pen, and I won't have to send things off to China if I need a replacement for some reason.

[KrazyIvan]

I've purchased Chinese pens on Ebay, but none of them were as good quality as the Chinese pens I bought from Todd at isellpens.com. It makes me wonder whether these factories produce pens of varying quality, all with the same label.

 

Rather than waste more time and money, I'll just buy Chinese pens from Todd, and I know I'll get a good one. I know he'll also take care of me if there are any issues with the pen, and I won't have to send things off to China if I need a replacement for some reason.

 

If you are starting out, I agree. I mainly get Chinese pens to practice nib grinding and pen repair. I don't have to worry about destroying an expensive pen if I mess up. Just last night my daughter's Huashilai 3000 was not working right. I took it completely apart. Cleaned out the dried ink on the feed (PR Ebony Green)and reset the nib to the feed. It was not making proper contact. Smoothed the nib a bit since she complained it was a little scratchy. Very good learning experience.

[richardandtracy]

Todd does fiddle with the nibs to make sure they work.

 

I have only had one Chinese pen that worked perfectly straight out of the box, a Kaigelu 319 (with a gold nib & list price of $220 - so you'd rather expect it to work properly!). Only one other almost worked perfectly (a Jinhao Century), and if I had been using really dreadful paper it would have been like a dream, as it was, it skipped.

However, I enjoy playing with the nibs, so all my Chinese fp's with medium nibs now work really nicely. I cannot be bothered playing with pens with fine nibs as I can't stand the chicken scratch they make of my handwriting.

 

Regards,

 

Richard.

[AndreasD]

I've been very satisfied with my Jinhao 250, for $4 including shipping!