Pilot Metropolitan <F> To Europe?

[tomkeb]

Hello,

 

Pilot Metropolitan (or MR or whatever…) with <F> nib is not sold in Europe, and the Pilot central refuse to put it to the market (and if they did, they would ruin it with the international cartridges anyway). What is the cheapest way to get them in Europe? Once there was Stationery Art who had them for about $14.50 and the postage was $2… now the cheapest offer I know about is JetPens, but their shipping cost almost equals the price of the pen. Any suggestions?

 

Thanks in advance

Edited August 29, 2014 by tomkeb

[Thuja]

I've bought most of my Pilot pens on Ebay directly from Japan. I don't own any Metropolitans but have several 78G pens. The F nib is really nice and they are cheaper than Metropolitans but they also look cheaper.

[Ste_S]

Pilot's attitude to Europe is weird. It's almost as if they don't actually want to do business here

[tomkeb]

Indeed. It seems like they offer a plethora of variants of products that are not so sought-after (for example the disposable pen in two variants and zillion colors, or the Plumi(ni)x in two variants and zillion colors)… but they can't offer just one or two basic colors of their "flagship" affordable pen with another nib than <M>.

[brunico]

Hi tomkeb,

 

Yes, they offer a zillion variants of the Plumix... but try finding them for sale!

[stephanos]

Huh, that's weird. I just checked some of the well-known EU-based retailers, and indeed, it's anything you like provided it's in Medium. I wonder why.

 

Anyway, your best bet does seem to be i) find it on eBay or similar, or ii) ask a friend to bring one from an overseas trip.

 

The problem with ordering anything from outside the EU is not so much having to pay import on something (that's fair, and on a low-price item like the MR/Metropolitan you're only paying VAT; which is not an awful lot in absolute terms); rather, it's the repulsive handling/processing fee that the carrier charges once the item breaches the magical barrier of (I think) GBP15 (total price, which includes postage). I saw on a thread somewhere else that goods imported from Japan to the US don't attract import charges until they hit the $200 mark. Sounds excellent.

 

Your cheapest option, may well be your slowest - find someone who is travelling to a place that sells them... Hardly ideal in a globalised age, but there you go.

 

(edited to fix typo)

Edited August 29, 2014 by stephanos

[maverink]

check ourt massdrop they had a group buy on metropolitian in both f & M nibs they take quite a while to ship though

[Drone]

As far as I know, the "Metropolitan" is sold in the EU, but it is called the "MR". Yes, it seems they are hard to find in the EU. There are reports that sightings of the MR in the EU show the pen is compatible with "standard" International Cartridges, NOT the proprietary Pilot cartridges. But I have no further evidence of this other than rumors I saw posted somewhere some time ago when the pen first came out.

 

In June 2014 I purchased a Pilot MR (it actually said "MR", not "Metropolitan" on the model number on the box) in Singapore. I bought the pen on impulse in Singapore's Changi Airport for around $15-$20 USD. I think it was at the Times Bookstore in Terminal-3. The pen had a Medium nib and was in plain-gold color. No other options were available for purchase at the time. The "MR" I purchased in Singapore DID use only Pilot cartridges and came with the same lousy converter that comes with the Pilot 78G pens. After experiencing flow issues with Pilot/Namiki Blue bottled ink (of all things) I chucked the inkophilic converter that came with the MR and now syringe fill Pilot cartridges. My "MR" is performing very well now, no flow issues. My MR's the nib out-of-the box is very nice and smooth with no further tuning required.

 

I can attest to Stationeryart in Hong Kong, I have purchased from them multiple times. Their low-end Pilot fountain pen stock has been dismal lately (as of my post time), but they are reliable in terms of shipment provided you trust your local Postal department to actually deliver mail. I think Stationeryart will do a "tracked" via EMS/Hong-Kong Post option for a Dollar or two more if you ask - that helps.

 

FWIW, I got my Pilot 78G pens from Stationeryart. The Pilot 78G nibs will swap into the Pilot MR or Metropolitan just fine. The 78G's B-nib (actually a stub) is a nice swap option. Keep in-mind the Pilot 78G nibs are gold-tone, not silver-tone like the nibs that come with the MR/Metropolitan.

[KBeezie]

Just an FYI whichever way you go.

 

The MR in Europe takes standard international cartridges.

 

The Metropolitan (or Cocoon in Japan) takes Pilot cartridges and converters.

 

I've seen complaints of people who imported a Metropolitan from the US then said their Pelikan converter they got from Cultpen for the "same" pen, didn't fit, obviously because the MR and Metropolitan use two different filling systems.

Edited August 31, 2014 by KBeezie

[Drone]

...The MR in Europe takes standard international cartridges.

 

The Metropolitan (or Cocoon in Japan) takes Pilot cartridges and converters...

 

Interesting. It seems the pen may be also branded "MR" outside Europe but the pen uses Pilot proprietary cartridges. One case in-point:

 

This is the previously mentioned "MR" I bought in Singapore. I verified from the receipt that the pen was purchased at Times Bookstore in Changi Airport's Terminal-3

 

The receipt says "MR1 FP GOLD PLAIN". The dark gray Pilot outer box has a part number "Z-CS-MR2-S1" on it.. The oval shaped plastic inner clam shell box has no labeling specific to the pen. I distinctly remember the sticker on the box shrink-rap with a bar code said "Pilot MR", but I tossed that. Also, the price-label on the retail shelf in the store that said "Pilot MR". Nowhere on the box or receipt is there a reference to the name "Metropolitan" or "Cocoon".

 

So it seems that in Singapore's Changi Airprort T3 at-least, there are Pilot "MR" branded pens (not "Metropolitan" or Cocoon) that use Pilot proprietary cartridges, not standard International cartridges. But who knows if that is just an anomaly specific to only one retail outlet. Also keep in-mind this was in the Duty-Free area of the Airport.

Edited September 1, 2014 by Drone

[KBeezie]

 

Interesting. It seems the pen may be also branded "MR" outside Europe but the pen uses Pilot proprietary cartridges. One case in-point:

 

This is the previously mentioned "MR" I bought in Singapore. I verified from the receipt that the pen was purchased at Times Bookstore in Changi Airport's Terminal-3

 

The receipt says "MR1 FP GOLD PLAIN". The dark gray Pilot outer box has a part number "Z-CS-MR2-S1" on it.. The oval shaped plastic inner clam shell box has no labeling specific to the pen. I distinctly remember the sticker on the box shrink-rap with a bar code said "Pilot MR", but I tossed that. Also, the price-label on the retail shelf in the store that said "Pilot MR". Nowhere on the box or receipt is there a reference to the name "Metropolitan" or "Cocoon".

 

So it seems that in Singapore's Changi Airprort T3 at-least, there are Pilot "MR" branded pens (not "Metropolitan" or Cocoon) that use Pilot proprietary cartridges, not standard International cartridges. But who knows if that is just an anomaly specific to only one retail outlet. Also keep in-mind this was in the Duty-Free area of the Airport.

 

Hence why I specified "MR in Europe", I haven't seen an MR personally listed outside of Europe, but I heard they existed and used Pilot's own cartridge/converter. I suspect the MR available in Europe are made in Europe directly and designed to take standard international because of the possibility that their inks are not easily carried there.

 

MR is probably the name used for that design outside of the US and Japan, and just has different ink fitting for the market it's in (euro, std. international, asia, pilot).

Edited September 1, 2014 by KBeezie

[maverink]

interesting pilot has differnt c/c systems for different folks hence the confusion.

[KBeezie]

interesting pilot has differnt c/c systems for different folks hence the confusion.

 

Kind of like this MR listed on Amazon, but states it takes Pilot/Namiki cartridges.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00EVC946Y/ref=gb1h_img_c-2_1842_0e0bf832?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_t=701&pf_rd_s=center-new-2&pf_rd_r=002Z1JFZKZS8P7V0ZEVA&pf_rd_i=20&pf_rd_p=1725241842

[tomkeb]

Here is my old chart which does sum it up. Indeed it is sold under the name "MR" both in Asia (outside Japan) and Europe, yet the cartridge system differs.

 

I wouldn't condemn the "international cartridge" alternation, if it was possible to use a converter in that pen. I would understand it in the Kaküno, which is meant for school pupils using cheap cartridges… but MR/Metropolitan is a serious pen where the converter is a need.

[Drone]

Is it possible to use the CON-50 or CON-70 converters in the Metropolitan/MR/Cocoon? I really dislike the squeeze converter that comes with the pen.

 

I guess the folks in Europe have the best version of this pen given they take standard cartridges. The rest of use have to struggle with the proprietary Pilot cartridges and converters.

[KBeezie]

Is it possible to use the CON-50 or CON-70 converters in the Metropolitan/MR/Cocoon? I really dislike the squeeze converter that comes with the pen.

 

I guess the folks in Europe have the best version of this pen given they take standard cartridges. The rest of use have to struggle with the proprietary Pilot cartridges and converters.

With the Metropolitan and Cocoon which are both Pilot C/C systems.

 

The MR using the standard international, no.

 

I prefer the Pilot cartridge/converter setup, the opening to that is much wider than standard international, making the feed the only bottleneck for flow. Much easier to clean and syringe refill (a Pilot cartridge holds a decent 0.9ml of ink compared to half that).

 

And "struggle" ?

Edited September 1, 2014 by KBeezie

[Drone]

Wow, I had hopes for the CON-50 but I didn't think the CON-70 would fit in the Pilot cartridge-compatible version of the MR. I thought it would be too long.

 

Struggle indeed. As I stated earlier I found that like the 78G, the Pilot compatible converter that came with my MR from Singapore really hampered flow. All flow problems went away the minute I stuck a Pilot cartridge in the pen. In both cases (cartridge or converter) I was using Pilot/Namiki Blue ink.

 

Since changing to syringe filling the pen with the Pilot cartridge, inks I've tried other than Pilot/Namiki Blue behave well in the pen too. With my 78G pens I syringe-fill Pilot "Mixable Colour" ink cartridges which have steel rather than plastic balls inside.

 

Maybe you are right about the Pilot compatible version of the MR being better than the EU version due to a larger ink passage.

 

So the OP might be best served by trying to buy the pen from Stationeryart in Hong Kong for example. Pick up a package of Pilot cartridges to syringe-fill while you are at it.

 

Unfortunately I just went to www.stationeryart.com to check for Pilot MR stock, and the site is not responding normally. This happens from time to time. I'll try them again later.

 

There is an official Pilot Pen Web site in Hong Kong which lists the MR. Maybe they can direct you to someone like Stationeryart. I know there are others on ebaY.

 

http://www.pilotpen.com.hk

Edited September 1, 2014 by Drone

[tomkeb]

Wow, I had hopes for the CON-50 but I didn't think the CON-70 would fit in the Pilot cartridge-compatible version of the MR. I thought it would be too long.

 

Struggle indeed. As I stated earlier I found that like the 78G, the Pilot compatible converter that came with my MR from Singapore really hampered flow. All flow problems went away the minute I stuck a Pilot cartridge in the pen. In both cases (cartridge or converter) I was using Pilot/Namiki Blue ink.

 

Since changing to syringe filling the pen with the Pilot cartridge, inks I've tried other than Pilot/Namiki Blue behave well in the pen too. With my 78G pens I syringe-fill Pilot "Mixable Colour" ink cartridges which have steel rather than plastic balls inside.

 

Maybe you are right about the Pilot compatible version of the MR being better than the EU version due to a larger ink passage.

 

So the OP might be best served by trying to buy the pen from Stationeryart in Hong Kong for example. Pick up a package of Pilot cartridges to syringe-fill while you are at it.

 

Unfortunately I just went to www.stationeryart.com to check for Pilot MR stock, and the site is not responding normally. This happens from time to time. I'll try them again later.

 

There is an official Pilot Pen Web site in Hong Kong which lists the MR. Maybe they can direct you to someone like Stationeryart. I know there are others on ebaY.

 

http://www.pilotpen.com.hk

 

Stationery Art site is not available and even their Facebook page has obviously been deleted, so I guess they are finished. At the time they were still operating, they didn't stock up on FPs, anyway.

[tinysnail]

Is it possible to use the CON-50 or CON-70 converters in the Metropolitan/MR/Cocoon? I really dislike the squeeze converter that comes with the pen.

CON-50 yes, and I haven't tried the CON-70 but I am almost 100% sure it doesn't fit.

[KBeezie]

CON-50 yes, and I haven't tried the CON-70 but I am almost 100% sure it doesn't fit.

To clarify, yes the Con-50 will fit, but the Con-70 only fits a select few pens (ie: Metal Falcon etc). It will NOT fit the metropolitan, sorry for the confusion in my reply.