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Bungbox Going Smaller


white_lotus

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Has anybody actually bought this ink in Japan? We're strongly considering a relocation cruise to Japan next year (from Vancouver) and would stay in Tokyo a few days at the end. It might be cost-effective for me to bring a few bottles of ink home.

Too many pens; too many inks. But at least I've emptied two ink bottles now.

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Youza, $50 for 30 ml!? Makes $43 for 50 ml seem like a bargain.

 

I may not like it, but I find it hard to fault a company that's in business to make money for charging a high price on a luxury good that is a level above "normal ink" in that it is a special run of exclusive colors made on commission for a specific store. In the end, the market will dictate what something is worth. If Bungubox inks stop selling like hotcakes then the price might go down. Or the supply might be restricted to create an artificial "demand" for the "supply" (just like the inflated artificial prices of diamonds these days). We shall see.

 

I will say the new bottle doesn't seem like a functional improvement over the old bottles, but I won't know for sure until I use one I guess...

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In my opinion $50 for a 30ml bottle of Bungu Box or Sailor ink is absurd. It all seems so much like the US Pharmaceutical price increases of the recent years...(of course the Pharmaceuticals are MUCH more important than Fountain pen ink)

 

I purchased many Bung Box inks and Sailor inks a few years ago...NONE since the price increases started...

 

I for one will continue to NOT purchase inks from these companies that have executed these huge price increases (including the reduction in bottle size without a corresponding price decrease). Similarly I will not purchase MontBlanc Limited Edition inks that have the exorbitant prices.

 

There are so many reasonably priced inks that are available, that are just as good or better than Bungu Box and Sailor and MontBlanc....and throw in Colorverse too...also overpriced.

 

Yes, I know I am sorting of ranting....but it is such a shame...

 

Luckily I have a lifetime supply of BunguBox and Sailor inks...so I also don't really "need" any.

Edited by Bill P
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I feel the same way as Bill. My current ink collection is modest by many standards (~40 bottles) but should last my lifetime. I like Sailor inks but there are plenty of great ink manufactures who are much more affordable than Sailor's current offerings (and quality new ink manufactures should keep competition for ink high and market prices low for the foreseeable future).

 

 

I expect in a year or two Sailor will change their pricing again after their sales dry up (I feel similarly about their recent price increases across all their pens and doubling the price of their specialty nibs). Until then, I feel bad for the Sailor distributors who will lose a revenue stream. (But I could be completely wrong–Sailor should understand their customers and the pen market much better than me).

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While Sailor is trying this same cash grab with their own Shikiori line (albeit at a somewhat more 'reasonable' $15/20 ml), Sailor is not the bad guy in this instance - they merely supply the ink, it's Bung Box that sets the price.

It's hard work to tell which is Old Harry when everybody's got boots on.

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While Sailor is trying this same cash grab with their own Shikiori line (albeit at a somewhat more 'reasonable' $15/20 ml), Sailor is not the bad guy in this instance - they merely supply the ink, it's Bung Box that sets the price.

 

My guess is that Sailor is certainly a contributor to the increase in Bungu Box pricing of ink because Sailor provides the ink for Bungu Box...so if Sailor raises the price to Bungu, Bungu has to raise their price too because of the increased cost.

 

The unexpected benefit to me, is that this will reduce my spending on inks, as I won't

be purchasing from Sailor, Bung Box or any other ink seller who has these outrageously high pricing structure per ml.

 

Bill P.

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Exclusivity does not come cheap. I can't afford it either, but I'll be getting a friend to bring me a bottle of Hatsukoi from Japan anyway. It's only money!

Add lightness and simplicate.

 

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My guess is that Sailor is certainly a contributor to the increase in Bungu Box pricing of ink because Sailor provides the ink for Bungu Box...so if Sailor raises the price to Bungu, Bungu has to raise their price too because of the increased cost.

 

If Sailor were raising their prices, I think we'd see the other stores with also raising their prices and that doesn't seem to be happening. It seems strange that Sailor would only raise prices to Bung Box. Did the others stores raise their prices when BB raised theirs to $50? It's my understanding that prices stayed pretty much the same everywhere else.

It's hard work to tell which is Old Harry when everybody's got boots on.

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If Sailor were raising their prices, I think we'd see the other stores with also raising their prices and that doesn't seem to be happening. It seems strange that Sailor would only raise prices to Bung Box. Did the others stores raise their prices when BB raised theirs to $50? It's my understanding that prices stayed pretty much the same everywhere else.

 

Actually Sailor has dramatically raised the price of their OWN inks per ML dramatically. They are now selling most of their inks in 20ML bottles vs the 50ML they used to offer the ink in. That has resulted in dramatic increase in price per ML.

 

I don't know who else besides Bungu Box that Sailor makes ink for...so I can't compare that...Similar to Sailor going to 20ml from 50 ml, Bungu Box is now going to 30ml bottles from 50ML bottles.. I agree it would make no sense for Sailor to raise prices only to Bungu Box...

 

Curious, what other"stores" are you referring to that Sailor makes ink for, where the price of their ink hasn't gone up per ML?

Edited by Bill P
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There was a meme that was posted in the Mont Blanc ink price thread which would be veeery suitable in this thread also.

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You truncated my question, which changed the question...this was my question:

 

"Curious, what other "stores" are you referring to that Sailor makes ink for, where the price of their ink hasn't gone up per ML?"

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Apologies for trying to be helpful.

I provided you with a link naming stores that Sailor makes ink for. All you have to do is take a look and see for yourself.

Edited by Karmachanic

Add lightness and simplicate.

 

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I provided you with a link naming stores that Sailor makes ink for. Don't be afraid to do your own research.

 

Thank-you so much for the link..very helpful

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Sailor makes custom inks for several Japanese stationery stores, you can see the various ones in the reviews index under Sailor (12 different shops listed). I don't know about the other stores' prices but here's a link to Rakuten Global Market's page for the Kobe inks - $17.59 for the standard 50 ml bottles; iirc I paid $48 (incl s&h) for 2 Kana-cho a year ago so the price may even have down a bit (or currency fluctuations).

https://global.rakuten.com/en/search/?k=sailor%20kobe%20ink&l-id=search_regular

It's hard work to tell which is Old Harry when everybody's got boots on.

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chromantic:

 

yes, the Nagasawa Kobe prices on Rakatan still look good for 50ml.....let's hope they stay favorable...

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At least for Kobe I haven't heard of them increasing their price.

Kobe has a much larger selection of colours and their inks are also of Sailor quality. I see no reason why choose the greedy Bung Box over Kobe.

+1

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Some personal reflections on the topic: Hatsukoi is my favorite ink, but I've been using it for a couple of years and the bottle is barely below full. (I write three or four journal pages a day and always use EF or Japanese F nibs. Plus, more to the point, I have a fairly large rotation.) I went to the vendor who is (admirably, in my opinion) still selling the 50 ml bottles for $43, and I gave strong thought to getting a bottle of Hatsukoi, and slightly less thought to getting 4B, Clown Tears, L'Amant, Witch, and SPP, which are also among my favorite inks. Are they "worth" the price? If you aren't taking food off the table or depleting the kids' college fund, sure, why not? They are truly beautiful, perform perfectly, and make me (and probably you) happy to apply them from pen to paper. There are some others, but Bungubox inks reliably have a magical complexity that is wonderful. But . . . my second thought was the one that some others have mentioned--when I run out, I'll just deal with it then. A few years ago I got caught up in the seductive aspect of Japanese inks that were almost-but-not-quite impossible to get. (Old marketing trick--tell me I can't have it, and I want it.) So I got some, and I enjoyed them, and now I've sort of moved on. I'm currently having a great deal of fun going through my sample pack of Birmingham inks, which are also beautiful and perform perfectly, and cost 5.99 for 30 ml and 9.99 for 60 ml. Ponder that for a moment. And not to beat the point, but you can get Diamine for less than ten bucks for 30 ml and less than 15 for 80 ml with free shipping from Amazon, and if you want a fancy bottle, Iroshisuku 50 ml is less than 20 with free shipping, and you get a pretty bottle and, in my opinion, ink as good as any, without exception. I don't want to sound like I'm advertising for Amazon, and will always buy from B&M or our favored online vendors, I'm just saying that one does not have to pay $50 for a nice bottle of ink. Again, I concede the point that if you are wealthy, knock yourself out. I'm just glad there are nice inks available at lower prices now that I have had that "Oops, I bought too much ink" moment.

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  • 2 weeks later...

If you want to minimize $/mL, I believe Noodler's will sell by the Liter or Gallon.

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