Such a deal

[jar]

A friend sent me the following link and wanted to know if I had ever seen anything like it.

 

Pelikan gift set

 

Unfortunately I had. On my cross country trips I often stop to check out any antique stores or flea markets I happen to see. Seldom find anything of interest, but in one I found a stall with about a dozen presentation Pelikan gift sets. A close look showed they were fakes, fairly nice ones, but still fakes. I tried to explain to the person at the counter but he insisted that they were originals that he purchased from a store going out of business.

 

Sheesh. Now I know where they likely came from.

[DougS]

What was the giveaway as to their authenticity?

Edited December 24, 2009 by DougS

[daenghafez]

When you checked the pen at the stall, was the replica pelikan pen a piston filler or catridge filler? :hmm1:

 

It's scary though, if the replica market are now entering pelikan product but this really make me wonder how are they able to replicate a piston filler pen and pelikan nib?

 

From the link posted, it is mind-boggling to see a replica montblanc advertisement with pelikan pen photo displayed. At the same time, I have never seen this presentation gift box in black colour though. I thought the original gift box should be blue colour. As I could recall the blue presentation gift box was for Sony Malaysia M600 blue demo pen together with K600 blue demo pen with royal blue ink.

[jar]

What was the giveaway as to their authenticity?

 

The ones I found at the flea market were C/C pens. Not sure what these are but they look the same. What looks like the piston knob was just trim. You unscrewed the section to find a converter. If they have gone to a piston fill it would be very hard to tell if they were real.

[jar]

When you checked the pen at the stall, was the replica pelikan pen a piston filler or catridge filler? :hmm1:

 

It's scary though, if the replica market are now entering pelikan product but this really make me wonder how are they able to replicate a piston filler pen and pelikan nib?

 

From the link posted, it is mind-boggling to see a replica montblanc advertisement with pelikan pen photo displayed. At the same time, I have never seen this presentation gift box in black colour though. I thought the original gift box should be blue colour. As I could recall the blue presentation gift box was for Sony Malaysia M600 blue demo pen together with K600 blue demo pen with royal blue ink.

 

 

The nibs on the replicas looked great. They were marked as 14C but I imagine they were steel. The Presentation boxes were black as were the pens and I don't remember what color the ink was or even if it was marked.

[Philosophy Student]

Im kinda confused. Why would they be hawking a replica pelikan as a mont blanc? Wouldnt it make more sense to sell a replica pelikan as a pelikan? Also is this an actual pelikan that they are trying to brush off as a mont blanc. I wonder how many of these replicas are out there.

[jar]

Im kinda confused. Why would they be hawking a replica pelikan as a mont blanc? Wouldnt it make more sense to sell a replica pelikan as a pelikan? Also is this an actual pelikan that they are trying to brush off as a mont blanc. I wonder how many of these replicas are out there.

 

They are simply selling Replicas. If it is of value it is replicated. For them a pen is a pen, a watch is a watch, a handbag is a handbag.

 

And there are LOTS of replicas out there, Parkers, Pelikans, Montblancs, Cartier, Dunhill, ST Dupont. Just google "replica <insert a brandname>"

[PJohnP]

Well, I very much recall walking on Petaling Street in Kuala Lumpur about a decade back, and seeing all of the "replica" watches, designer bags, and clothing items.

 

I stopped at a vendor to ask about watches, and he very courteously asked what I wanted to spend. On quoting a (relatively) low price, he pulled out a tray of watches all with "name brand emblems", but none of which were of very good quality (chrome already peeling off, etc.). When I demurred, he progressively pulled out trays of watches, each new tray at a higher price point and corresponding (visual) quality. At the end, corresponding to what I'd say was about ¼ to ⅓ of the best retail sale price, the objects were actually very good (visual) duplicates of the desired items.

 

I saw the same thing in shoes, bags, clothes - there was a distinct tiering of the goods with price and (visual) quality rising in lockstep.

 

 

 

John P.

 

 

 

P.S. Why do I say "(visual) quality" ? In many cases, a great deal of attention is spent with making the replica look as close as possible to the manufacturer's intended item. From what I've seen, the quality control of the functional parts of some of these items is far from that of the OEM.

[Tumbleweedtoo]

Shipping on this Replica is $35.00. Of course, the box is nice looking too.

If someone orders and gets one, please give us a review!

 

All the Best,

T

[beluga]

Well, I very much recall walking on Petaling Street in Kuala Lumpur about a decade back, and seeing all of the "replica" watches, designer bags, and clothing items.

 

I stopped at a vendor to ask about watches, and he very courteously asked what I wanted to spend. On quoting a (relatively) low price, he pulled out a tray of watches all with "name brand emblems", but none of which were of very good quality (chrome already peeling off, etc.). When I demurred, he progressively pulled out trays of watches, each new tray at a higher price point and corresponding (visual) quality. At the end, corresponding to what I'd say was about ¼ to ⅓ of the best retail sale price, the objects were actually very good (visual) duplicates of the desired items.

 

I saw the same thing in shoes, bags, clothes - there was a distinct tiering of the goods with price and (visual) quality rising in lockstep.

 

 

 

John P.

 

 

 

P.S. Why do I say "(visual) quality" ? In many cases, a great deal of attention is spent with making the replica look as close as possible to the manufacturer's intended item. From what I've seen, the quality control of the functional parts of some of these items is far from that of the OEM.

 

 

I used to moderate a watch forum and what you describe is fairly typical.

Fakes come in a wide variety and the more a potential buyer is prepared to spend, the more sophisticated the fakes get.

At the upper end it will become increasingly difficult to spot a fake.

It was amazing how many fake Rolexes and Montblanc pens are offered on the streets of Shanghai.

In other Far Eastern cities you would need to ask for fakes or go to some fairly notorious street markets, but in Shanghai it was extremely obvious and the authorities made no credible effort to stop this trade.

 

 

At home, the best protection is to buy preferably from Internet dealers that have an extensive positive track record (or operate also a brick-and-mortar store), but of course that does not address the issue of vintage watches or pens that are offered in on-line auctions.

Here the common rule is "buy he seller", that is to say check the seller's track record.

Another rule is: If the price is too good to be true, it probably is.

 

 

B

[DeScribe]

Personally, I would not suggest buying replicas. Though they are cheap, quality-wise may be reasonable for some, but I think the entire sale practice is unethical. It is similar to stealing. Putting myself into people's shoes, I wouldn't be pleased to have my product design and branding copied and stolen from me. Though I can't stop people from buying replicas, I make it a point not to buy one no matter how tempting the prices are.

[PJohnP]

Here the common rule is "buy he seller", that is to say check the seller's track record. Another rule is: If the price is too good to be true, it probably is.

 

So true.

 

I've met people who have purchased some of the replicas, but they're most typically people who want to have the caché of the goods without the function, simply to be able to (often) ostentatiously display what they have and own. Anyone who enjoys the function of a fine pen will inevitably find themselves frustrated with the replicas, which, to some degree, self-limits the replicas finding themselves into environments like FPN.

 

 

 

John P.

[Bill D]

Just for the record, FPN does not condone or tolerate selling fakes or "replicas" on its sales forums.

 

Bill

[jar]

Just for the record, FPN does not condone or tolerate selling fakes or "replicas" on its sales forums.

 

Bill

 

The problem is that imaging and computer controlled machining is making it harder and harder to detect fakes. As technology improves it gets easier and easier for the forgers to make fakes that pass even close inspection.

 

It's up to us to become informed buyers and to help each other.

[Underskoterskan]

Here the common rule is "buy he seller", that is to say check the seller's track record. Another rule is: If the price is too good to be true, it probably is.

 

So true.

 

I've met people who have purchased some of the replicas, but they're most typically people who want to have the caché of the goods without the function, simply to be able to (often) ostentatiously display what they have and own. Anyone who enjoys the function of a fine pen will inevitably find themselves frustrated with the replicas, which, to some degree, self-limits the replicas finding themselves into environments like FPN.

 

 

 

John P.

 

 

Indeed. Whenever I meet someone with a fake watch for example I always find myself wondering what else is fake about the person in question. Replicating a Pelikan is not an easy task though considering the elegantly engraved gold nib and rather advanced filling system.

 

Regards,

Undersköterskan

[PJohnP]

It's up to us to become informed buyers and to help each other.

 

 

Exactly on point.

 

As I noted earlier, I think that this will be highly self-limiting here on FPN, because we are a group of people who celebrate and cherish the qualities of fine pens. As such, getting some ersatz replica carries little or no interest - one needs only read the posts about genuine Pelikan nibs not meeting some folks' standards to see that a patently inferior device wouldn't be of interest ! And who wants an imitation Pelikan without the silky smooth piston system that makes the use of these pens such a delight ?

 

At the same time, it's important for us to be aware of the replicas and provide timely information where we see a vendor or site trying to sell these as genuine items, so as to help each other avoid being taken with specious claims. The site noted earlier is a simple case, because they openly sell their goods as replicas, again self-limiting for FPN members, but once these propagate into the larger marketplace, there's certainly the potential for mischief either by commission or omission where the seller puts these forward as the genuine article.

 

 

 

 

John P.

[afruba]

As long s they do not make the fakes any better than this (a Souveran with a converter) we do not have to worry too much.

 

If I were in the fake business, I would not be interested in making a fake Souveran. To make a "good" fake Souveran you have to make a pen that is not really cheap. Most likely you will end up with a fake that will have to cost about $60 or $70, roughly the price of a Tradition M 200. Who is going to buy that?

[PJohnP]

Personally, I would not suggest buying replicas. ...I make it a point not to buy one no matter how tempting the prices are.

 

I most certainly agree. My experiences with seeing various replica watches, designer bags, clothing, have always ended with me walking away shaking my head ruefully. I'd rather have a far smaller number of items that are of the quality and reliability that I enjoy than a vast number of inferior items that bring little pleasure in their use. But then, I don't feel a need to impress others who see me with what I wear or use...

 

Even the pirated software that's so prevalent in some locations puzzles me, because there's little financial return if the software catastrophically crashes the computer system even once. The amount of time and effort to rebuild a computer system from the ground up hugely dwarfs any possible "savings" that one could ever achieve. And that sidesteps the larger issues of security breaches that can occur !

 

No, there are a pretty substantial number of excellent practical reasons on top of the ethical ones to avoid "replica" or pirated goods.

 

As my father used to say pointedly to me when as a child I would try to shortcut with inferior things or steps, "Cheap is dear, my boy, terribly dear."

 

 

 

John P.

[printhardcopy]

I definitely wont buy any replicas of pens or watches to use or wear,

 

if i cant afford a rolex i rather buy a seiko.

if i cant afford a pelikan i rather buy a lamy.

 

it definitely feel better to carry a real lamy than a fake pelikan.

[jar]

I definitely wont buy any replicas of pens or watches to use or wear,

 

if i cant afford a rolex i rather buy a seiko.

if i cant afford a pelikan i rather buy a lamy.

 

it definitely feel better to carry a real lamy than a fake pelikan.

 

The problem is that it is getting harder and harder to tell the real from the fake.