Can a pen come in a wrong/different box?

[penworrymaster]

Hi! I have just bought a Pilot Custom 823. It seems to be packaged inside of Decimo/Vanishing Point box with cartridge and manual for a C/C pen. Do you think I got a fake pen? Or it is normal for suppliers/retailers to just put the pen/mistakenly put it in wrong box they like? This is somewhat similar to my Lamy Al Star that came in dark gray/blue box instead of the cheap usual cardboard.

[jchch1950]

Some companies send their pens in special boxes for transport and the boxes separately; others send the pens inside their boxes but the dealers can take them out to verify them or to show them to a customer.  They are many reason why certain pen can be sent in the wrong case.

[I-am-not-really-here]

12 hours ago, penmaster6969 said:

Hi! I have just bought a Pilot Custom 823. It seems to be packaged inside of Decimo/Vanishing Point box with cartridge and manual for a C/C pen. Do you think I got a fake pen? Or it is normal for suppliers/retailers to just put the pen/mistakenly put it in wrong box they like? This is somewhat similar to my Lamy Al Star that came in dark gray/blue box instead of the cheap usual cardboard.

Did you purchase the pen from an Authorized Dealer?

[inkstainedruth]

I once bought a pen in an antiques mall about an hour east of Erie, because it was in an Esterbrook box.  Turned out to be IIRC, a Parker Parkette.

As for new pens?  I dunno.  

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[Number99]

The catalog lists the special case for both the Custom 823 and the Capless as "Z-CR-GN".

 

Pilot 2024-2025 catalog from mediapress-net.com.

https://dcs.mediapress-net.com/iportal/cv.do?c=21781180000&pg=19&v=PLT12001&d=PLTD001&pp=R

 

The gift box that comes with the bottle ink with reservoir is sold separately.

 

From Pilot Corporation website.

https://www.pilot.co.jp/products/pen/fountain/fountain/custom823/

 

 

P.S.

The Japanese instruction manual for the 823 can be downloaded by clicking on the blue letter "プランジャー式万年筆のご使用方法" on the product page of the Pilot website in the second link.

 

 

Edited February 22 by Number99
Added link citation source display.

[mke]

You can see the official case for a number of Pilot pen models (including for the 823) here:

https://en.2ndstreet.jp/goods/detail/goodsId/2333930936650/shopsId/31022?srsltid=AfmBOoqJEDl7ztFm4_VWV3GXGo3FxVfcByrq5dug15R783IEFBgborFP

 

 

There are a number of brands who offer different cases (with different prices) for their pens.

 

 

[Number99]

7 hours ago, mke said:

You can see the official case for a number of Pilot pen models (including for the 823) here:

 

 

 

There are a number of brands who offer different cases (with different prices) for their pens.

 

 

Why quote an image of a product from the website of a well-known vendor who buys and sells waste products, and didn't you think the OP would be extra bothered by it?

 That is a Black Market-like price.

Edited February 22 by Number99
The mistranslation has been corrected. I removed the link from the quote.

[mke]

1 hour ago, Number99 said:

Why quote an image of a product from the website of a well-known vendor who buys and sells waste products

 

He talks about one of the big second-hand shops in Japan. Oh my, I once bought a waste product called Montblanc 221 in one of these shops for a good price. 

Search at 2ndstreet.jp for fountain pens: https://en.2ndstreet.jp/search?keyword=万年筆&page=1 Not very much, but sometimes ...

 

 

[Number99]

24 minutes ago, mke said:

 

He talks about one of the big second-hand shops in Japan. Oh my, I once bought a waste product called Montblanc 221 in one of these shops for a good price. 

Search at 2ndstreet.jp for fountain pens: https://en.2ndstreet.jp/search?keyword=万年筆&page=1 Not very much, but sometimes ...

 

 

Grade B used a empty box of fountain pens is sold for the high price of 4000JPY.

You probably bought the pen, convinced that it was used.

However, the OP purchased his first gold nib fountain pen as new. Why would you be so cruel as to associate his prized fountain pen with a used box?

 

 

Edited February 22 by Number99

[mke]

4290 Yen for a Pilot Custom 74 with box and papers, gold nib in F? Similar price as you find them on Yahoo Auctions.

The box sold at 2ndstreet with the Custom 74 (Z-CR-GN) is the same box with which a Custom 823 is apparently sold by Pilot.

So, the OP can compare his box and see if it is the same.

If still in doubt contact Pilot and ask.

 

[PithyProlix]

On 2/22/2025 at 6:11 AM, Number99 said:

The catalog lists the special case for both the Custom 823 and the Capless as "Z-CR-GN".

 

Pilot 2024-2025 catalog from mediapress-net.com.

https://dcs.mediapress-net.com/iportal/cv.do?c=21781180000&pg=19&v=PLT12001&d=PLTD001&pp=R

 

The gift box that comes with the bottle ink with reservoir is sold separately.

 

From Pilot Corporation website.

https://www.pilot.co.jp/products/pen/fountain/fountain/custom823/

 

 

P.S.

The Japanese instruction manual for the 823 can be downloaded by clicking on the blue letter "プランジャー式万年筆のご使用方法" on the product page of the Pilot website in the second link.

 

Great detective work, @Number99!

[Chris1]

I've several pens that came in what seemed the right box (brand, size etc.) but the little sticker on the bottom or side wasn't 100% right. I suspect the boxes got mixed up in the shop when several pens were taken out for a customer to check and then put away incorrectly. Not all assistants are meticulous in this respect.

[Monophoto]

I have three Lamy pens - two were purchased in a shop, while the third was a prize in a drawing.

 

In both instances where I purchased pens in a shop (one was a Safari, one an Al Star), there was a rack that displayed a number of pens.  After I made my selection, the sales clerk opened a compartment at the bottom of the display to extract a generic box for the pen.  As I recall, the boxes were compressed, and had to be unfolded for use.  So those experiences suggest to me that there is no 'right box', especially within the Lamy brand

[inkstainedruth]

Good to know.  Although when I went to the Lamy SoHo store in NYC over Christmas, and bought one of the "Harry Potter" al-Stars, it was in a box that had a clear front, so you could tell which one of the series you were getting.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[jchch1950]

The Harry Potter Al-Stars come in a special box dedicated to this edition. But not every limited edition from Lamy had a special box.

[inkstainedruth]

Yeah, I figured as much.  But I was in NYC at Christmastime anyway, and so hopped on a subway from midtown, going first to FPH (which is back open and in their original digs on Warren Street) and then to the Lamy SoHo store (which also gave me the excuse to hold a Lamy Studio -- which I've been eyeing fo several years now -- only to learn that that model is a little too heavy for my hand... ).

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth