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I thought I snagged myself a bargain last week, when I ordered a Diplomat Elox Matrix on Amazon.com.au (sold and shipped by Amazon Germany) fitted with a steel EF nib; and it felt so ‘special’ that it was only the EF-nibbed variant (which is really the only one I'd want to write with) that was offered for as low a price as (the now-defunct) La Couronne du Comte would have offered me even with my unlimited-use personal discount code, then doubly so when the price shot up by over 36% shortly after I placed my order. Imagine my surprise, although not quite dismay, to see the same pen now available again for nearly 5% less again on Amazon just now.

There are a hand of last year's Platinum #3776 Century ‘Shape of a Heart’ limited edition (of 2000 units worldwide, if I'm not mistaken) fountain pens, in black and fitted with M nibs only, available on Amazon Australia's web site for ~A$304 at the moment, sold and shipped by Amazon Germany. Shipping is free to Australian delivery address. I checked on Amazon Germany's web site, and Amazon itself is listed as the seller, not some third party that the Amazon Global Store has obscured when viewed on the Australian-facing store. That price does not apply to the listings for units fitted with EF (~A$400) or F (~A$518) nibs. You may see minor adjustments to the price as a result of fluctuations in the currency exchange rate; but, as my experience as a shopper tells me, it could jump quite a bit as soon as one unit of it is sold at the low price. (Alas, the M nib is not for me… and I already ordered five new pens in the past 24 hours or so.) The model, upon release this time last year, was ¥31,000+tax. I recall some bloggers in the US mentioning they got the pen about US$312? It is not currently listed on Platinum Pen's website, so I cannot check how the general increase in the brand's retail prices effective 1 January 2023 may have affected it. (It wasn't in the list of pricing changes in last December's advance announcement, either.) Australian retailer Pen City's current price for the model is A$550.