Availability Fountain Pens Pilot

[mr T.]

Where I live (in The Netherlands), I can get at my local penshop most fountain pens from the major brands. Buying whatever model from Parker, Pelikan, Shaeffer, Lamy or Waterman is not really a problem because specialized penshops here have them all stocked. However, they never have fountain pen products from Pilot. Only the Vortex and the VP/Capless (and sometimes the Bamboo) are available as a special order. When I ask them, for example, if they can sell me a Knight, a Lucina, a Custom or a Prera, the answer is always no. Of course I can buy them online, but that makes the pens just quite expensive because of packaging and posting costs (and of course the custom fees). It seems as if Pilot wants to lose customers this way. Does anyone know why some of the nicest fountain pen products from Pilot aren't available in the part of the world I live? Are there more places outside Japan where the availability of these Pilot products isn't good?

[Ged]

The problem is a lack of distributors. Here in Australia we get Japanese rollerballs, gels, etc by the truckload but no one carries any Japenese fountain pens. I asked why at the only specialist pen shop in Brisbane and the answer was there is no Australian distributor and the brands aren't that well known, hence their reluctance to carry them. In short, not worth their while.

 

Time for me to go into business or something

[Reisho]

Where I live in Germany, it's very difficult to find japanese writing products in general.

Even finding a Pilot cheapy roller for the office is an ordeal: everywhere you get the choice between Faber-Castell, Pelikan, Rotring, Staedtler.

As for FP, the brands available are the ones mentionned above + Lamy, Parker, Waterman and MB.

I asked Pat what shipping charges would be to send me a Sailor. She kindly asked why I didn't find one in Europe.

But here you have the choice between paying a lot more (not even mentionning shipping charges) or buying somehting else because most japanese brands aren't available at all.

 

I don't think it's a Pilot policy. In France (meaning Paris), it's not that difficult to find a Pilot Custom.

Sailor and Platinum are a bit more on the rare side.

Edited June 2, 2007 by Reisho

[HDoug]

Pilot doesn't export much of its fountain pen line to the U.S. either. Oh well. I hope those internet sellers who allow us to buy Japan market Pilots continue to offer a broad selection. I sure would like to walk into a real store and try some of them out, though.

 

Google translation of the Pilot Japan fountain pen page

 

Doug

[kissing]

Pilot fountain pens are hard to come by in Australia indeed. The only Pilot fountain pens I've ever seen in Australia have been the disposable Pilot V-Pen and a particular Pilot fountain pen (Bamboo?) at a pen store...can't remember what the model was, but I remember it being horribly overpriced.

 

I'll goto that store to check what pen it was...

 

But no - you won't find many Pilot FPs, such as Knights, outside Japan

[donwinn]

The culture of Japan is fascinating, especially to a western mind. Japan was not open at all to contact with foreigners until 1853, when US Navy Commodore Matthew Perry opened trade with Japan. Prior to that time, any seaman who had the misfortune to be shipwrecked and wash ashore in Japan was summarily thrown into prison.

 

In the 1970s & 80s, I was on active duty in the US Navy, and made a few stops in Japan. It was interesting to me that in the port cities, some of the restaurants, coffee shops, or other shops selling various merchandise had signs posted prominently at the front door, stating in 3 inch high block letters, JAPANESE ONLY! Prior to being allowed to leave the ship, we were all cautioned about this, and strongly counseled not to violate this stricture.

 

Having observed the behavior of some of the Americans in the "liberty areas" (read sailor town, bars and hookers) of these cities, I full understand their sentiments. I have also observed similar behavior from proprietors in US cities where navy ships tie up and unleash people looking for a "good time" which they will be hard pressed to remember the following day.

 

We look at their culture from the outside, and think they are overly prideful, and exclusionary, because they think their culture is superior, when we know for a fact that OUR culture is superior (tongue firmly in cheek here). Perhaps the reason they do not seek a market for fine fountain pens in the US is their perception, not wholly incorrect based upon their limited exposure to Americans, that Americans would have no appreciation for such fine items. Sort of a "pearls before swine" attitude. I cannot, however, speak to why they might have the same attitude toward other countries.

 

Donnie

[Ernst Bitterman]

In light of the last entry, I'm interested at the irony of this thread being started by een Nederlander, since prior to Peary's opening of Japan the only foreigners allowed to trade with Japan were the Dutch, in one tiny area of Kyushuu near Nagasaki, and there is still a fondness for the Dutch in Japan. Perhaps Mr. T should write a nice letter to Pilot enquiring why the French can more easily get at their pens (even better if some university student can include a Nihongo gloss of the letter's contents).

[Taki]

I think Pilot is doing a lot of business with G-2 and other writing instruments than FPs (it was in the CEO's statements on Pilot site) overseas, and just don't think there is enough demand for regular, non-makie FP's. I think may be we should send snail to them asking to expand their FP line overseas.

Edited June 2, 2007 by Taki

[mr T.]

Where I live in Germany, it's very difficult to find japanese writing products in general.

 

I saw on the German Pilotpen website a link to a Pilot webshop. I mean this one. But also here just very limited choice in available models.

 

In France (meaning Paris), it's not that difficult to find a Pilot Custom.

 

Maybe they are from a shop that does parallel-imports. The French Pilotpen website shows also very limited choice while even the European headquarters of Pilotpen are in France. :mad:

 

Perhaps Mr. T should write a nice letter to Pilot enquiring why the French can more easily get at their pens (even better if some university student can include a Nihongo gloss of the letter's contents).

 

A very good plan indeed.

[Inkanthropist]

I found a wonderful fountain pen shop called Timmermans in Gent, Belgium (not too far from you, I suppose), that stocks Pilot models I haven't seen elsewhere in Europe. (Well, they did when I was there a little over a year ago.) I can't remember precisely what they had, but they definitely stocked the Custom 74 -- I know this because I bought one -- and I think that they also had the Bamboo on display. If your part of the Netherlands isn't too far from Gent, I'd really recommend a visit: it's one of the nicest pen shops I've been to.

 

Neil

[Nihontochicken]

Perhaps the reason they do not seek a market for fine fountain pens in the US is their perception, not wholly incorrect based upon their limited exposure to Americans, that Americans would have no appreciation for such fine items.

 

Whether this is the operative consideration with respect to Pilot pens, it seems to have historical precedence. Prior to WWII, and for a while thereafter, Japan used to have the reputation for the cheap and tacky. Cheap was the key. Japanese manufacturers didn't believe Americans would pay for quality that they were indeed capable of producing. Witness the Zero, the best fighter plane in the Pacific at the beginning of the War. I remember when the first Japanese cars were imported to the US in numbers, they were considered laughable. But despite the original funky styling, people who bought them discovered how well they worked and lasted. By that time, I believe there were some quality laws passed in Japan, and the shoddy was excluded from export. Japan took W. Edwards Deming and quality control to heart, unlike the USA, where it has been more ad copy than governing force. So now Toyota is the number one auto maker. Still, this doesn't explain why Pilot won't attempt to sell to a potentially interested market, as by now I would think that entrepreneurship would eclipse prejudice.

[kissing]

...then it's probably due to a lack of awareness by the company. Is our group here in FPN even known to such companies?

[meanwhile]

Still, this doesn't explain why Pilot won't attempt to sell to a potentially interested market, as by now I would think that entrepreneurship would eclipse prejudice.

 

It's almost certainly a business decision: the big money to be in fountain pens in the West is in branding small sticks of black plastic as status symbols rather than in writing instruments like the 823, or works of art like Pilot's Makei. Pilot probably consider that a Japanese brand won't have the necessary romance of a French, Italian or English one, especially when it is also associated with disposeable pens. If this is the case, I'm suspect that they're right.

[RLTodd]

Probably no profit for anyone to import the standard lines. I notice the high end hand laquered stuff is available.

 

afterthought...

 

I guess you could look into importing them yourself into your market, ginning up a business plan, looking into financing, licensing, etc..... Most people just find it too much of a bother.

Edited June 2, 2007 by RLTodd

[Nihontochicken]

It's almost certainly a business decision: the big money to be in fountain pens in the West is in branding small sticks of black plastic as status symbols rather than in writing instruments like the 823, or works of art like Pilot's Makei. Pilot probably consider that a Japanese brand won't have the necessary romance of a French, Italian or English one, especially when it is also associated with disposeable pens. If this is the case, I'm suspect that they're right.

 

Could be the case. Certainly the FP market is orders of magnitude smaller than the auto market. But it is what it is to those companies that choose to compete there. And Toyota has proven that a substantial percentage of Americans will pay for quality at both ends of the cost spectrum, aside from those looking for sexy Euro cars. Of course, Toyota went to the marketing ploy of inventing a new badge, Lexus, to go after the upper end, as did Nissan with Infiniti, but it worked, though it certainly took years and years of hard and intelligent work. Might it not work also for Pilot/Namiki, were they willing to put in the relative equivalent time and effort???

[RLTodd]

.... Certainly the FP market is orders of magnitude smaller than the auto market. ....

 

I think it is an order of magnitude smaller than the mechanical pencil market which is itself a magnitude smaller than the ball point pen market.

 

BTW, I checked, both Swisher and Moltishaw are carrying some of the Pilot/Namiki fountain pen line. If the OP wanted something they are not currently selling he might inquire there as to the posibility of getting one.

[korsten32]

Hi,

 

I'm also in the Netherlands and surely recognize Mr. T's problem. I've asked several well know dealers in the Netherlands about this, and they all told me the same two reasons:

- as the Japanese pens are not that well known by the most clients and therefore aren't asked for, they think these pens will not sell enough;

- Japanese pens are quite expensive to import to the Netherlands, or to the EU, in general, so the prices would not be competitive enough.

 

This combination of reasons indeed leads to a disappointing availability of Japanese pens.....

In my expererience, Platinum pens are not sold anywhere; Pilot and Namiki are carried by 2 or 3 dealers in the Netherlands, but that mostly are the expensive makie models and sometimes the VP. The more 'normal' Pilot cannot be found indeed.

Sailor is also quite difficult to find, although one dealer (Penhotel) has recently started selling them.

Fortunately enough, there are quite some very good dealers on the internet.

 

So, I think it is not the case that Pilot is not interested in selling its pens, but it's the other way round: these pens are not asked for enough.

 

One advantage though: if you have managed to get one, you can be quite sure not much other people own the same pen

 

cheers

Luca

Edited June 3, 2007 by korsten32

[stan]

I beleive the answer lies in the question of how many pens they can sell.

 

Can the Dutch, German, American, or any other market sustain 1,000 quality fountain pens a year? 500? 200? Given the cost of being a distributor and ther limited market, who is going to take on the challenge.

[karenfromatlanta]

Sears, around 1961-62 sold a felt tip pen, I think the manufacturer was Pilot, through the catalog. It might have been a special sale/clearance type item. I am sorry to be so nonspecific, but I was 8 or 9 years old at the time. I remember either the picture or the actual package itself, was about 8-12 pens laying flat, wrapped in plastic and heat sealed.

 

There was no expectation these would be any better or worse than ballpoint stick pens, just different. They were good writers, I recall. Pilot Pen's US website says they've only been in the States since 1970.

 

Maybe Pilot/Namike is still too busy working on relationships, in that stereotyped Japanese way, to distribute very many fountain pens.

 

In four decades they still aren't providing many fountain pens to the stereotyped American barbarians.

 

I wrote them an email to see if they could confirm when the first Pilot general-market pens were sold, post-war, in the US and mentioned FPN. So, at least the media department will know about FPN now.

Edited June 4, 2007 by karenfromatlanta

[Jerome Tarshis]

I have tried to restrain myself from saying the obvious thing, because I've been hoping someone else would, but I can't resist temptation any longer: Pilot is very happy to sell fountain pens to non-Japanese people. As East Asian FPNers can testify, Pilot has been selling tons of FPs to the Chinese and the Indians. Not to exclude Malaysians. Or Thais. East Asia has offered a huge market for relatively inexpensive fountain pens. And for some rather expensive pens as well.

 

Even today, when fewer Asian schools are requiring FPs, a large number of young Asians will write at least for a short time with a fountain pen. If our Indian or Chinese members didn't grow up writing with Hero pens, they may well have grown up writing with Pilot pens.

 

Compared with those populations, the Netherlands is rather a small market. Europe has its own pen manufacturers. As various posters to this thread have pointed out, it isn't that Pilot is xenophobic, but that the money isn't obviously there. Pilot is already selling FPs in large quantities outside Japan. I would not be surprised to learn that San Francisco, where I live, has easier access to various Pilot FPs than most of northern Europe. We are nearer the Pacific Ocean. The Pilot Capless/Vanishing Point and Knight are all over the place.

 

The availability of upmarket Pilot fountain pens in Europe may improve as the demand for upmarket fountain pens improves, if in fact it does. Today it is something more than a mere hobbyist's market, but whether it is enough more to interest Pilot remains an open question. Selling cars involved an entirely different set of numbers.