How to tell Montblanc Replicas?

Bozack wrote:
I was going to add that a great example of "overpriced" is the person
who buys an Aurora, Pelikan, Omas or whatever brand at a retail store
for near full list or at best 20% off and then later discovers they
could have had the same thing with minimal effort (in most cases less
than buying retail) for upwards of 40% off...I know if I had purhcased
something at full list and then found 40% off was just a few mouse
clicks away I would be pretty steamed....

I paid full retail for my Omas from my local pen store. Why? I *like*
having a local pen store. Yes, I could have paid less, but I wouldn't be
able to walk in and have a clerk say, "I think you'd like this new pen
we got." Or, "Would you like to check out our new Perchin?"

So, I'm not steamed. I respect that a lot goes into operating a store
front, especially in a mall -- the next closest pen store is 40+ miles.

--
_Deirdre web: http://deirdre.net blog: http://deirdre.org/blog/
"Memes are a hoax! Pass it on!"

Juan wrote:
Omas pens can't be put in the same category as pelikan or aurora. Omas
pens are handmade by a small company. If we forget about the celluloid
and other ultraexpensive series, you get what you pay when you get an
Omas. Let's see:

A handmade ebonite feeder (how many modern manufacturers offer that?
They are ultra light weight
Vegetal resin bodies and cap
A flexible and great nib
Piston filling
What else?

Some pretty spiffy looking design work too. I really like my 360.

--
_Deirdre web: http://deirdre.net blog: http://deirdre.org/blog/
"Memes are a hoax! Pass it on!"

You know you are right, I really shouldn't have lumped Omas in the same
category as Pelikan or Aurora, and really I was reluctant to at first given
their price point is much higher and IMHO their quality much better (however
many will argue and I will not disagree that Pelikans are some of the most
reliable and also consistant in terms of writing out of the box). The only
point you make which I don't necessarily agree is a plus is the "ultra light
weight" as many seem to prefer the hefty pens, however I myself like them
lighter. Omas is on my short list of pens to own, too bad for me pricing is
and lack of discounting is what keeps them out of reach.


Omas pens can't be put in the same category as pelikan or aurora. Omas
pens are handmade by a small company. If we forget about the celluloid and
other ultraexpensive series, you get what you pay when you get an Omas.
Let's see:
A handmade ebonite feeder (how many modern manufacturers offer that?
They are ultra light weight
Vegetal resin bodies and cap
A flexible and great nib
Piston filling
What else?

Compare for example a Omas MoMA and a parker duofold centennial, which are
around the same price and compare features. It's that simple.IMHO, a modern
Omas is the closest you can get to a vintage pen (and by vintage I mean in
this case "pre parker 51").
Juan

Personally I agree with you and have no problem with paying full price if
the local shop's service warrants it, however there are many here and
elsewhere who are not willing to pay and would rather save money than get
local good service. Personally I am finding myself drawn more to mail order
and net sales as the service locally isn't very good, the products are
somewhat manhandled and the prices are full boat....

The only pen stores relatively close though are situated in a mall and while
I can appreciate what goes into it, I cannot appreciate the rude service
people and or the lack of service...and no neither are MB botiques


I paid full retail for my Omas from my local pen store. Why? I *like*
having a local pen store. Yes, I could have paid less, but I wouldn't be
able to walk in and have a clerk say, "I think you'd like this new pen
we got." Or, "Would you like to check out our new Perchin?"

So, I'm not steamed. I respect that a lot goes into operating a store
front, especially in a mall -- the next closest pen store is 40+ miles.

--
_Deirdre web: http://deirdre.net blog: http://deirdre.org/blog/
"Memes are a hoax! Pass it on!"

"Free Citizen" writes:

"Bozack" wrote in message
...
As in the end, they are all overpriced and not worth a fraction of
what us fools pay for them.

I am new here but I can't help noticing your comments. I can't speak
for Montegrappa nor Omas. But John Mottishaw would vouch for
Omas. As for Pelikan and Aurora, I have to respectfully
disagree. Pelikan do make affordable models and so do Aurora. But
they also make higher-end priced models. But if you consider these
as work of art and take into account the labour that go into each
pen, you will come to the conclusion that they too are not
overpriced. Sadly, I cannot the same for MontBlanc.

Well, how much do you think it costs to make a Pelikan M400? And how
much more do you think it costs to make the M600, M800 or M1000? The
productions costs are probably very similar but retail prices are
not. At the higher end, somebody is making more profit than at the
lower end (I don't know if the margins are different for the dealer
on higher versus lower cost pens).

The steel nibbed Pelikano and Pelikano Jr.'s are hard to beat.



"Free Citizen" wrote in message
...
In view of what you write, I have to concede that you have some very
good
points. But I am a sucker for lower priced Pelikans. Can't find a
comparable
pen for less.

--
Best regards,
Free Citizen
Rambling Snailer

"Bozack" wrote in message
news
Hello,

While I respect everyone's own opinion I just cannot in good
conscious
agree
with you. Every luxury product you buy which includes Omas, Pelikan,
Aurora
and virtually every other brand of nice fountain pen no matter what
the
discount you recieve is grossly overpriced compared to materials and
production cost.

With regards to "affordable" models I guess it truly depends on what
one
deems "affordable" I most certainly don't consider a $50 pen
affordable
when
I can get a bic stick for under $1 which writes well, and no I do
not
consider any mass produced pen a "work of art", possibly some of the
very
nice (And grossly overpriced) limited editions are, but the regular
production lines are nothing more than "really nice" pens, IMHO far
from
works of art.

So no, I will not nor ever come to the conclusion they are fairly
priced.
The simple definition of luxury product is that which is overpriced.
Also
the term "overpriced" is never correctly used, people like youself
apply
it
in situations when comparing to similar yet different
products/brands....unless you can buy the exact same thing from
someone
else
at a much lesser cost then the item is not overpriced, so while a
Montblanc
to you might be a poor value as you can get a "comparable" product
for
less,
to others it may be the deal of the century.

On Mon, 16 Aug 2004 06:54:23 -0400, "Bozack"
wrote:
While I respect everyone's own opinion I just cannot in good conscious agree
with you. Every luxury product you buy which includes Omas, Pelikan, Aurora
and virtually every other brand of nice fountain pen no matter what the
discount you recieve is grossly overpriced compared to materials and
production cost.

With regards to "affordable" models I guess it truly depends on what one
deems "affordable" I most certainly don't consider a $50 pen affordable when
I can get a bic stick for under $1 which writes well, and no I do not
consider any mass produced pen a "work of art", possibly some of the very
nice (And grossly overpriced) limited editions are, but the regular
production lines are nothing more than "really nice" pens, IMHO far from
works of art.

Do you have access to manufacturers' financial statements to back this
up? You seem to place great emphasis on "materials and production
cost." Do you include amortization of production facilities and
tooling? Remember, Bic is producing millions of pens, while fountain
pens are produced in far smaller numbers.

If you simply object to paying more than, say, $1 for a pen, just say
so. I'd respect that opinion, although personally I am willing to pay
more. (I've even paid more for a mechanical pencil!) What's OK for
me may not be for you, and vice versa.

Pat
Email address works as is.

On Mon, 16 Aug 2004 17:41:03 -0500, Tim McNamara
wrote:
Well, how much do you think it costs to make a Pelikan M400? And how
much more do you think it costs to make the M600, M800 or M1000? The
productions costs are probably very similar but retail prices are
not. At the higher end, somebody is making more profit than at the
lower end (I don't know if the margins are different for the dealer
on higher versus lower cost pens).

That's probably true, although I suspect the dealer's cost is higher
for the M800 and especially the M1000, based on lower volume and
correspondingly higher cost of goods. Almost anybody can write
comfortably with the M600, but it takes bigger hands than mine to
control an M1000.

Pat

Email address works as is.

Bozack wrote:
Personally I agree with you and have no problem with paying full price
if the local shop's service warrants it, however there are many here
and elsewhere who are not willing to pay and would rather save money
than get local good service. Personally I am finding myself drawn more
to mail order and net sales as the service locally isn't very good,
the products are somewhat manhandled and the prices are full boat....

One of our problems as a country (America, that is) is that we think the
numbers in front of the decimal point really matter more than they do.
We go for quantity rather than quality.

And we wonder why our jobs get outsourced.

The only pen stores relatively close though are situated in a mall and
while I can appreciate what goes into it, I cannot appreciate the rude
service people and or the lack of service...and no neither are MB
botiques

Oh, well, I have a great pen store that I love.

--
_Deirdre web: http://deirdre.net blog: http://deirdre.org/blog/
"Memes are a hoax! Pass it on!"

Bozack wrote:
You know you are right, I really shouldn't have lumped Omas in the
same category as Pelikan or Aurora, and really I was reluctant to at
first given their price point ....

Back when I first got on this ng, I said, "Oh, I'll never own an Omas.
Too expensive." I bought one six months ago and it's now my every day
pen -- has been every day since I bought it.

I have an Aurora (Mare), but no Pelikans yet. They aren't really "me"
I'm afraid.

--
_Deirdre web: http://deirdre.net blog: http://deirdre.org/blog/
"Memes are a hoax! Pass it on!"