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Hero's Safari Clone

wieniawski

By wieniawski
in China, Korea and Others (Far East, Asia)

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Harlequin Collectors Item

Harlequin

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I think the greed implied in this situation was directed more toward that of Lamy (or the Lamy distributor). To use a recent situation here in the States as a comparison, the Sailor distributor dropped Goulet as a vendor b/c they wouldn't stock all of Sailor's products (I am going based on memory, if that is not correct to the details someone will say so I'm sure). That is, to me, unadulterated greed on the part of the distributor. I suspect that the Lamy distributor did something similar by keeping the base price of the Safari so high for retailers that the end price they had to charge was ludicrously high for what a Safari is. Still nothing but greed in my book.

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Inkstone NOS (New Old Stock)

Inkstone

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After some eavesdropping at penbbs, I think I got some inside scoop. First, the clones are made by Lishui branch in Zhejiang ((They are separate entities but Lishui is authorized to manufacture and sell products under the brand name so Hero would take responsibility for everything Lishui does) without the Shanghai Hero company knowing. The company who commissioned the Lishui branch to clone the pen was actually a seller of legitimate (parallel import) Lamy pens. They were selling really well since their price is comparable to the European retail) before it got sued.

 

The problem was that there is already a so-called official distributor of Lamy pens in China, and they usually market it (even the cheaper Safari line) as high end pens and sell them at counters for around 60USD a piece. The distributor got jealous at how well the parallel imports are selling on Taobao, they decided to sue the biggest one (aforementioned Taobao/T-mall store). Things get ridiculous (consider it was a distributor, not even a Lamy's Chinese representative) when the court ruled that the Taobao seller lost and ordered them to pay 170,000RMB in damage. So at the end, the seller just went "Well, since you don't want us to sell Lamy pen, we will sell Hero pens instead!"

 

 

I hear you. but the trouble with that view is it's always someone else who arbitrarily gets to decide how much you can have, all too often at gunpoint.

 

None of us have any idea what Chinese retail chain for the Safari looks like...how much of the end price is reflected by high transportation costs, labor costs, import fees, store rents, re-stock fees, or whatever else may be.

 

Something to consider before people toss in the 'greed' card.

 

I think the high price caused by greed because I cannot find any other reason to explain why the parallel importer mentioned by wieniawski can sale the Safari at that very reasonable price while the distributor cannot. I assume that the distributor should get better deal from Lamy than the Taobao seller.

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Seele Vintage

Seele

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The average price for the safari on amazon.com is around 24USD. If the difference between amazon price and the retails in Australia caused by higher tax rate in Australia, when people pay $50 for the Safari, they contribute money to local education, public transportation and so on. If the tax rate is not that high, I can't find any reason for such high price except greed. Greed is not bad thing but must be limited legally and naturally.

 

One of my best friends spends most of his working life in the retail business, in particular, professional photographic equipment sales and stock control. His opinion is that the Australian retail price is kept high due to the very significant mark-up on the importers' part; out of a $1000 piece of gear the retailer would be hard pressed to make $20 profit, and the customers would still press for a discount, because they can indeed get them through mail order from overseas. The importers still tend to think like in the old days where they're the only sources for the products so they're free to put as high a mark-up on them as they liked, but lately they are wising up, putting on more reasonable mark-ups to make their products saleale. But of course, nobody ever comes good with their pledges of international warranty. This is just a counterpoint to your statement, nothing more.

No, I am not going to list my pens here.

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jptech Mint

jptech

Posted
Posted (edited)

Here's my Hero Summer:

 

The nib is actually much smoother than all the other chinese pens I've tried with the exception of a BAOER and a JINHAO.

The converter and six ink carts it comes with are the larger diameter like lamy.

CAM03034.jpg

CAM03032.jpg

CAM03027.jpg

CAM03029.jpg

Edited by jptech
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jptech Mint

jptech

Posted
Posted

Using it for an hour or two, it doesn't feel at all like you'd expect a clone to feel. It's almost as substantial as a real safari.

 

It feels decent. I've gotten bad Lamy nibs before and this is a pretty good hero nib.

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Sailor Kenshin Museum Piece

Sailor Kenshin

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Using it for an hour or two, it doesn't feel at all like you'd expect a clone to feel. It's almost as substantial as a real safari.

 

It feels decent. I've gotten bad Lamy nibs before and this is a pretty good hero nib.

Thanks for the photos and writing sample. Where did you purchase this?

 

Love the pen's color.

My latest ebook.   And not just for Halloween!
 

My other pen is a Montblanc.

 

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jptech Mint

jptech

Posted
Posted (edited)

Thanks for the photos and writing sample. Where did you purchase this?

 

Love the pen's color.

 

got it from the bay. The ink is kind of crappy. But the cartridges have a cap on the bottom instead of being a single molded piece.

 

The Hero barrel is 1.44mm in wall thickness, 12.55mm O.D. and 9.18mm I.D. and 74.48mm in length.

The Lamy is 1.66mm in wall thickness, 12.33mm O.D. 9.1mm I.D. and 74.52 in length.

 

It's so accurate a clone that the barrels and sections are interchangeable. The O-rings are a different thickness so Hero's barrel doesn't turn all the way straight with the nib like Lamy's does.

 

CAM03043.jpg

Edited by jptech
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Mesu Extremely Rare

Mesu

Posted
Posted

The color is gorgeous.. Thanks for the pics and your feedback.

 

Link to ebay please. Couldnt find it in my search.

 

 

Here's my Hero Summer:

 

The nib is actually much smoother than all the other chinese pens I've tried with the exception of a BAOER and a JINHAO.

The converter and six ink carts it comes with are the larger diameter like lamy.

CAM03034.jpg

CAM03032.jpg

CAM03027.jpg

CAM03029.jpg

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79spitfire Donor Pen

79spitfire

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http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=111174416690&fromMakeTrack=true&ssPageName=VIP:watchlink:top:en

 

I don't think it's a bargain, but again I'm tempted too.

 

I bought a real one form Bureau Direct in UK for that much, but paid shipping (watching the exchange rates has it's advantages!)

 

I guess I'll grab one, morbid curiosity has gotten the better of me....

Increase your IQ, use Linux AND a Fountain pen!!http://i276.photobucket.com/albums/kk11/79spitfire/Neko_animated.gif
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Mesu Extremely Rare

Mesu

Posted
Posted

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=111174416690&fromMakeTrack=true&ssPageName=VIP:watchlink:top:en

 

I don't think it's a bargain, but again I'm tempted too.

 

I bought a real one form Bureau Direct in UK for that much, but paid shipping (watching the exchange rates has it's advantages!)

 

I guess I'll grab one, morbid curiosity has gotten the better of me....

 

You can say that again!!

 

But i will wait till it becomes dirt cheap. Thankfully, I have quite a few new pens to keep me busy

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brewerjeff Mint

brewerjeff

Posted
Posted

My white Hero 359 arrived a few days ago. I must say, it is an excellent clone, a piece of molded plastic, like the Lamy, at about half the price if you include the converter. The Hero Logo "jewel" on the cap is actually better looking than the Lamy Cross.

 

I don't have a Safari, but an Al-Star. The Al-Star fine nib was actually wetter than the Hero medium, nicer writing. That is until I swapped the nibs around. The nibs are interchangeable. Then suddenly the Hero nib on the Lamy feed was better. On careful examination the feed system of both is identical, and interesting. there are two long thin slits in the feed which supply the ink to the nib. When / if I find something thin enough I might try to work on the Hero slits to widen them, or maybe one, a bit. It looks like it would be easy to do real damage so....

 

The cool thing is the interchangeable nibs. I read somewhere that Hero will have additional nibs available.

 

No time to post pics now.

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TMac Vintage

TMac

Posted
Posted

I just received my purple Hero. I am very surprised at how smooth the nib is, right out of the box. The pen really looks like the Safari, but feels lighter. If Lamy ever produces a purple Safari, I will still buy one but I have to admit I like this pen.

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nomadhacker Rare

nomadhacker

Posted
Posted

Any confirmation on whether this takes international cartridges?

http://stubblefield.me Inks Available for Sample Exchange: Noodler's Black, Blue Black, Apache Sunset, Private Reserve Black Cherry, Sherwood Green, Tanzanite, Velvet Black, De Atramentis Aubergine, J. Herbin Lie de The, 1670 Rouge Hematite, Bleu Ocean, Lamy Turquoise, Rohrer & Klingner Salix, Sheaffer Skrip Blue-Black, OS Red Rubber Ball, Parker Quink Blue (India version)

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