Why Buy Expensive Pens?

[Koyote]

People buy luxury things because they make them feel special. It`s a form of compensation.

 

Well made pens don`t have to be expensive in order to make production possible, and high prices don`t guarantee you will receive the best quality.

 

I used to believe that in order to get a good quality pen, I have to look only for the high-end, top of the range pens. But as i found out, that`s simply not true.

 

Word.

[Pen Nut]

Coz I like shiny things and they tend to be expensive.............

 

[akustyk]

Let's be honest here. For most people, spending more than $10 on a pen is considered excessive; ridiculous, even. However, most of us here on FPN, a ten-dollar pen is considered inexpensive. For me, any pen over $50 is definitely in the expensive category. If I decide to buy a pen over $50, it is almost always for its writing performance (nib, flow, ergonomics, filling mechanism) and build quality (precision of manufacture, finish). The only pen I own that I bought for its other, non-writing-related characteristics, is the Visconti Homo Sapiens. For me, the HS is a very unique pen. I happen to love the soft feel of the lava material, and the bronze trimmings. In addition to the uniqueness, the pen is a very, very good writer (I have a medium nib on it). All of my other pens over $50 were purchased due to their nibs, build quality, and writing performance.

[jetsam]

Some folk are satisfied with hamburger.

True. I like the hamburger at Serendipity 3 in New York for $295.

Doesn't paying $50 for a Dollar Pen make it a very expensive Dollar Pen pen?

Of course, it's not our fault that the stuff we like happens to cost more. If people stopped buying Montblancs, the price would plummet.

On the other hand, if everyone suddenly wanted a Safari, (they don't yet, do they?)........

Edited September 25, 2013 by jetsam

[fpconverted]

I chop it up to personal preference. As a pierced and tattooed artsy 30 something, I like nice things that are built on quality but they happen to be expensive. I will eventually pick up a MONT BLANC Le Grande in a precious metal and I don't think that is unreasonable pricing wise for quality. My Loiue Vuitton wallet has been in use now for almost 15+yrs and still is in good like new condition. I paid about 500$ at the time and it's been well worth it for quality. I like nice things and can see the value in luxury brands like MB but whether one decides to buy luxury which is expensive I think largely is personal choice. You can't knock a person to buy expensive as its within their means.

 

But i must agree though that yes expensive pricing never means you'll get the best quality and that is based on judgement and the brand itself. If you are going for a luxury brand you must make sure the price equals the value in what you are purchasing.

Edited September 26, 2013 by fpconverted

[ethernautrix]

True. I like the hamburger at Serendipity 3 in New York for $295.

 

Intrigued by the idea of a $295 hamburger, I looked up the restaurant, eager for a photograph of such an expensive burger.

 

Alas... the menu shows the price as $12.50. Add chili and it's $16.50.

 

There is a Guinness World Record Golden Opulence Sundae which costs $1,000.00 and requires a reservation 48 hours in advance.

 

Oo! The sundae has a wiki page!

 

And here's a photo of it at money.cnn.com.

 

http://i.cnn.net/money/galleries/2007/news/0710/gallery.luxury_expensive_food/images/serendipity_dessert.jpg

[trax]

I think there are as many reasons for buying this or that expensive pen as there are buyers to buy them.

I have a Nakaya Naka-ai black and gold housoge on order. I ordered the pen when I realized I once again had to start on a type of medicine that among other things really messes with my mind. I have in earlier years lost control and gotten into real debt and lots of chaos while on medications like this, as it really messes up self-control and the ability to follow a set plan, or even generally focus.

I ordered the Nakaya to keep me in check, to have an agreement and a time table that I could not break, and to prove to myself that mind over matter I will not mess it up this time!

So for me it had to do with proving something to myself, setting up a real challenge and in the end being rewarded with something beautiful I can take with me on the rest of this life's journey. I could just as well have chosen to save up for a new camera lens, but I chose a pen

[Hejie023]

What I don't understand is why there's even a market for expensive ballpoints and rollerballs.

[jetsam]

Ethernautrix, Le Burger Extravagant at Serendipity 3 in New York for $295.

Kind of like a solid gold TWSBI.

Edited September 26, 2013 by jetsam

[ethernautrix]

Ethernautrix, Le Burger Extravagant at Serendipity 3 in New York for $295.

Kind of like a solid gold TWSBI.

image.jpg

 

 

Ahhh... of course, I needed details.

 

 

New York City restaurant Seredipity 3 unveiled the world's most expensive hamburger, Le Burger Extravagant, this week.

 

Le Burger Extravagant sells for $295.00 (£186.52).

 

Made from white truffle butter-infused Japanese Wagyu beef, the burger is topped with James Montgomery cheddar cheese, black truffles and a fried quail egg.

 

It is served on a gold-dusted campagna roll spread with white truffle butter, and the roll is topped with a blini, creme fraiche and caviar.

 

 

Source

 

Not mentioned in this article is the solid gold, diamond-encrusted toothpick.

 

You know what? I'm not crazy about caviar. I would have to scrape that off. But I would use Chardonnay smoked sea salt on the French fries. There are French fries, right?

 

Looking at the photo - I'd take a bite. But I'm no burger connoisseur. I'd want to taste it, to know what a $300 hamburger tastes like.

 

The last time I was in New York - several years ago - I ate a couple of very tasty burgers. One was that hole in the wall joint in the hotel lobby, lower mid-town. Was it called Hole In the Wall? Maybe.

 

Burger Joint! The Le Parker Meridien hotel.

Edited September 26, 2013 by ethernautrix

[orfew]

What I don't understand is why there's even a market for expensive ballpoints and rollerballs.

Seriously? You really think it makes sense to spend hundreds on an FP but not an RB or BP? Please explain.

[Opooh]

If you give peanuts, you get monkeys. ( sic )

[Tom Aquinas]

What I don't understand is why there's even a market for expensive ballpoints and rollerballs.

Just refer to the most basic law of Economics.......Supply and Demand. There are people who want them and buy them. There is also a similar market for expensive mechanical pencils, and that has existed since Sir Francis Drake was a midshipman. When I want a matched set I buy the lot pen, jotter and pencil, they go together like peas in a pod, and through the extent of the products available I am not alone in my thoughts..

[BrandonA]

What I don't understand is why there's even a market for expensive ballpoints and rollerballs.

I don't understand why anyone would want to buy more than one cheap pen. They are functional items and were never designed to be collected.

 

People who work hard and have disposable income like nice things, be it any type of pen, cuff.inks, clothes, cars, jewellery, houses or whatever. People have to write, most people in society use ballpoints over fountain pens there is therefore a far larger market for quality ballpoints than fountain pens.

[MisterBoll]

I don't understand why anyone would want to buy more than one cheap pen.

 

Well...........sometimes you stop at five or six. Then you stop and focus on the good stuff.

[zap210]

I think the point is not 'Why buy and expensive pen' but 'How to get that expensive pen for much less or nothing'. If you do not already have a vast and valuable collection (which a collector routinely uses for trading up (or down as the case may be)), or have not saved the life of a very grateful person, it becomes more difficult. It is sometimes possible to get incredible deals on the bay, but you have to be patient.

 

If you do buy an expensive pen, make sure you really want it and like it. Then use it constantly. You will at least feel like it was money well spent.

 

but... expensive limited edition pens are like expensive limited edition ladies shoes; instead of wearing art on your feet, you hold it in your hand. They both, though, have a practicle side to them.

[Sailor Kenshin]

Ethernautrix, Le Burger Extravagant at Serendipity 3 in New York for $295.

Kind of like a solid gold TWSBI.

image.jpg

Maybe it's just me, but they can keep the gold leaf.

[chris.uk]

I recently bought the most expensive pen I've ever bought, a parker IM it cost me £15 do i regret being so frivolous and extravagant? not one bit. As someone who is on an extremely low income it was for me a very difficult thing to spend that much on a pen, is it the best pen i've ever bought? no so far the best writer i have cost me £2.95 several years ago and is still my go to pen everyday at my desk. If i had more money would i spend it on more expensive pens? Hell yes! I like nice things and to have the entire Visconti range sat in front of me would be a dream come true. However my brother would happily spend hundreds if not thousands on clothes and i think he's a deeply disturbed and demented individual, but it's his choice and i respect that and the last time he touched one of my pens without asking he got stabbed in the hand with a paper clip, he now respects my choice and has a scar to remind him of it. I guess my point is you buy what you want with your money and to hell with what people think.

[AnnieB123]

Not to mention Vintage. Using a pen thats 50+ years old has a different feeling altogether, its like holding a piece of history from a great era of fountain pens.

 

Precisely this, for me. I got into the hobby because I inherited my father's (and grandfather's) pens. They were both engineers (as was I, before I went back to school chasing a PhD at an advanced age)... and the sense of continuity is very marked for me. I love holding and using pens that have been used for the last 50+ years almost daily and still look nearly pristine. The patina adds to the value for me, it doesn't lessen it.

 

I don't think I'll ever own many pens that don't get used, and I can't imagine I will ever buy any of the LE pens in precious metals, dripping with gemstones (though I certainly don't begrudge others that pleasure, whatever 'floats one's boat' as it were). I -have- considered buying one of the MB John Lennon pens because he has personal life altering meaning for me.. but I haven't done it yet (and I sort of doubt I ever will).

 

Also 'expensive' to me (as a graduate student, even though I'm edging toward middle aged) has a very different value attached than a manhattan attorney or businessman/woman. My 'expensive' (about $250USD) is also likely different than the average college student. My expensive-meter has changed a lot over the last 10-15 years also. When I first moved to Norway, I thought I would pass out from 'sticker-shock' every time I went to the supermarket... everything is so blasted expensive here (a beer at the pub - $15, a pound of ground beef - $7, a pound of grapes - $4-5, a gallon of petrol $12 ) . When I look at the prices on ebay these days, I don't automatically discount bidding casually on pens around $100... I never would've done that before.

 

Interesting philosophical question!

Edited September 29, 2013 by AnnieB123

[fpconverted]

I think everybody has different financial levels and the answer for this question in my opinion is buy what you can afford. Also expensive also does not mean you'll get a high quality pen. I think that is the discernment of the buyer. For me my upper limit is about 2000$ for a fountain pen. Although ive yet to invest in a pen that "expensive", I may jump the gun and splurge on a Mont Blanc in the next few months. Ive had my eye on the Solitaire series.

Edited September 29, 2013 by fpconverted