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Has any of the following members bought anything from Rakuten. How much time do they generally take to ship order and how much time does it take shipment to arrive. Do we have to pay any custom...??? Also how reliable is this Ecommerce platform for international buyers....

Hi, so, since most of us who love fountain pens can't really seem to stop buying pens, I thought it'd be cool to see how many pens you have in your pen collection. So, How many Fountain Pens do you have in your pen collection so far?

I am not an addictive person. I own 11 fountain pens. Does a Pilot Kakuno count? I think I covered the major countries: Japan, Germany, Italy When is enough? Is it a number? Is it a gut feeling (like when your spouse reminds you in the love handles) Is it a limit on brand/model acquisition? My collection ranges from stinky Ahab to brightly sweet Aurora 88 I don't intend to sell my pens and all bought with hard earned dough. I'd say there's no irresponsible spending and yet some start a pause because they cost more than a laptop. Yet every time I think this is the last, very last, final, ultimate, "one", some thing else pops up. Are you sated yet?

I am relatively new to the fountianpenworld and I've been lurking in the low range section for quite a while and I decided to step up get some mid range fountain pens. I got most of my pens from Goulet but my biggest problem with Goulet is that Im not in amerika Im actually not even in the Eu, I live in switzerland which makes the shipping costs a real pain in the ass (last itme I paid 30US Dollar for the shipping) I decided to get a Pilot Custom 74 and a Stella 90s thats when I discovered Japan import via Amazon. The pens sold on Amazon are really way cheaper for me than buying them from Goulet I got my Custom 74 from a Japanese seller JSUBCULTURE it arrived today it didnt come with the original packaging nor the con 70 but it seems legit. I bought it for less than half the price i would pay at Goulets or any other American retailer. I was wondering what is your go-to-seller for japanese fountain pens if you're on a budget?

I'm sorry if this is a repeat question, I didn't see any recent answers when I searched. I am looking to buy a M800 (not a special edition) and am looking around for a deal. Penbox (UK) seems to have them for $320 plus shipping, that's the lowest I've seen them. Is there a place I can find a lower price than this? Also, will buying overseas make getting support difficult? Thanks!

Hello, I have decided to purchase some pens that I can actually use, rather than a bunch of cheap pens that fall apart. This is sort of a challenge, I guess. I have set a budget of $200-$250 USD, how much bang for my buck can I get in terms of fountain pens? I am not looking to spend $200 on a single pen, but rather see how far I can stretch the cash. I really enjoy vintage pens, so I have been searching for the following: Aurora 88 (the piston filler) Lamy 27 (metal capped version) Parker Vacumatic Parker 51 Vacumatic Pelikan P1 Onoto Plunger Filler Sheaffer Imperial Touchdown with the inlaid nib (with a metal cap) Other Pelikan Piston Fillers Omas Piston Fillers (Just in case hell freezes over and people want to dump off their pens for cheap prices! ) Suggestions The problem with many modern pens is that they are usually cartridge converter, and I just cannot stand such a filling system (I don't know why). Unfortunately, many retailers and producers charge a premium for piston, vacuum, plunger, etc. filling pens, so that cripples my purchasing power to one pen. However, a few manufacturers seem to make self filling pens that are reasonably priced, I have been looking at the following: Lamy 2000 ...... open to suggestions I would like to obtain as many nice pens as possible with my budget, instead of spending all of the money in one place. I am shooting for at least 3 or 4. Basically, I am asking where one can find user grade pens like those above for realistic prices. If you happen to have one of the pens like those above, and you are willing to sell it, then that's excellent as well I have not had very good luck with eBay (a vacumatic listed in good condition....with a section glued to the barrel on with elmer's white school glue, but it wasn't expensive) If it helps, I am a right handed writer and am open to most nib sizes. I think this is the correct forum section for this, but if it isn't, just tell me!

We've all been there, last month you got a new pen and you are very happy with it. This month you are looking endlessly at pictures and reviews of a different pen. At the back of your mind you know that you have more pens than you know what to do with, no more than a quater of which are filled at any time. The object of my current desires is a Visconti Homo Sapiens - Bronze with a fine nib. I have done the FPN review search, Flickr and google images, I even know where I would buy it from... is it inevitable? Have you been successful in averting, or significantly delaying, the next in a long line of purchases? If so, what have you done to push it back?

After falling in love with several Diamine colors, I've decided to take the plunge and make a good sized order to Diamine in the UK. Being in the US, the markup on Diamine products is horrendous. For example, the best price I've seen in the US for 30ml amounts of Diamine ink is Goldspot, who charge $7 per with free shipping. If I buy direct, however, the cost falls to about $3.50 per with a shipping cost of $16 approximately. This puts the break even point for a UK order at 4-5 bottles. Obviously, it pays to bunch the purchase owing to the flat shipping rate from the UK and to buy more rather than less. My anticipated purchase size is about 12 bottles. After reading many reviews and trying some samples, I have my heart set on: Sargasso Sea Oxblood Eclipse Black-green Which leaves about eight bottles in play. I am hoping that the good people of FPN can help me fill out my order. I love deep, dark blues, shading, sheen, and non-smearing inks. Being a lefty, the last is an important quality. Slow drying is death to an overwriting lefty. I have a lovely Pilot Custom Heritage with a Falcon nib that works wonders at flex, so sheen is definitely a consideration. My plan is to choose based on the eight or so most popular responses. I am interested in the best in show, the Diamine colors that are exceptional examples of whatever color family they draw from. In the event of ties, I will favor greens, yellows, oranges, and browns, which I have fewer of than other colors. But, that being said, please give me your best in show opinion irrespective of my underrepresented colors. I will report back on what I order and provide some reviews on the ink forum as to my impressions. Thanks in advance for contributing to this most important project.