Why are modern Duofolds so expensive?

[mr T.]

Why are modern Duofolds so expensive ? The average price in a B&M shop for a Centennial (Checkers) is where I live about € 480,- The International will cost about € 420,- Even online sellers will sell modern Duofolds for at least € 250,-. It can't be the very limited 2+2 years warranty from Parker that makes Duofolds so expensive. Modern Duofolds are in my opinion basically just nice plastic pens with an ok gold nib. Are modern Duofolds really worth the money (or not)?

[jar]

It's totally up to you whether they are worth the money or not. Many folk think so.

[Xag]

Most luxury products are not worth the money if your analyze their production (and service/warranty) cost. You're buying emotion and this will (hopefully) give you a good feeling.

 

I bought a Parker Duofold Centennial Citrine from J.M.L. He offered them here on the forum for €200 a while back. It's still a lot of money but compared to the list price of €460 a steal. And...I love it!

 

Xag

[Dutchpen]

isn't it the same for the montblanc 149? retail (Holland) €610,- for a plastic pen with a gold nib that even weights less then one gram.

[richardandtracy]

The duofold is an order of magnitude better than any of their current other range. It doesn't necessarily make them worth the money, but I am notoriously reluctant to part with my money, and I do not regret buying it.

I do somewhat regret buying a P100, but not this more expensive pen. There is a real pleasure in its quality and design that I like. The nib, too, is amazing.

 

Regards,

 

Richard.

[czar]

Why are modern Duofolds so expensive ? The average price in a B&M shop for a Centennial (Checkers) is where I live about € 480,- The International will cost about € 420,- Even online sellers will sell modern Duofolds for at least € 250,-. It can't be the very limited 2+2 years warranty from Parker that makes Duofolds so expensive. Modern Duofolds are in my opinion basically just nice plastic pens with an ok gold nib. Are modern Duofolds really worth the money (or not)?

 

Duofold is ...a myth!

You love it or you hate it, but please, don't care about their price!

 

Cesare

[stevlight]

If they were piston fillers I would pay that price in a minute. I love the look of the Parker pens but for a C/C filler--no way!

[Lucky7]

I have tried many different fountain pens over the years and have found the Duofolds to be the absolute best to write with. I'm left-handed and have found some other premium pens to have fairly poor inkflow, to leak at inconvenient moments or to simply make my hand sore after writing for a while. I have never been let down by my Duofolds though. That and the styling, which I think is light years ahead of some other very expensive brands (this of course is a question of taste) makes my Duofolds my first choice every time.

 

Through running the Lucky 7 Pens store I've had the pleasure of discussing pens with some very interesting and knowledgable people (many also use FPN) and one common theme seems to be that people who are really clued up on their pens consistently rate their Duofolds very highly.

 

When I got my first Duofold, my initial impression was that it was very lightweight for an expensive pen. I was expecting something more hefty. Also I didn't know whether the acrylic barrel would scratch and show its age very quickly. I had used other pens with lacquered metal barrels and had found their finish deteriorated and at times even chipped off. All my Duofolds still look like new despite years of everyday use.

 

So, to your original question - are they worth the money. That's very subjective and depends on the value that you place in using a top-quality pen. I am absolutely satisfied with the value for money I've had from my Duofolds and I think they'll keep paying me back for years to come.

[ImolaS3]

Ebay will get you a brand new International form France for £130 and a brand new Centennial for £150 - all are guaranteed and from a dealer.

I've had 3 and am chuffed to bits

[Xag]

And mr. T, have we formed or influenced your opinion on Duofolds?

 

Just curious...

 

Xag

[Leftytoo]

With patience and luck I bought a NOS (new old stock) jade green modern Duofold on e-bay for $168. None of us really want only one pen, but if it was a piston filler, it would fit the bill. It has impecable design, materials, and finish. Better by far than my Sailor, Pelikan, Caran d'Ache, Aurora, Stipula, etc. It is machined out of a block of acrylic composite that is quite hard: clipped to my tee shirt and used outdoors for years (I'm a geologist)it is as glossy as the day I bought it. Can't say that for any other pen I own. The nib, shaped like a golf ball, is soft, very smooth, has perfect flow, and is strangely silent as one writes. The nib is very easy to fine tune. The Parker/Aurora cartridge holds lots of ink and feeds very well.

 

Yes, they are overpriced, but they are unique in many ways.

 

Bob

[clrfarm]

I bought my first Duofold almost 25 years ago, and write with it every day. It looks new! As you get old, there are some nice things to have; such as a really good shaving brush (Taylor's of Old Bond St), a really good knife with a corkscrew (Laguiole), and a really good fountain pen. And lest I forget, a lovely wife that doesn't mind you getting them. Build a bridge, get over it!

[DustyBin]

I've just acquired my 15th Centennial.... I love them! A great size and consistent performance. C/C means there's a better excuse to rotate more often as neither cartridge or converter last anywhere as long as a piston-filler.

 

Newest addition is a 1995 Mandarin.... at £375 (around $535) it's the second highest price I've paid.... I paid £385 for a Norman Rockwell around 3 years ago. I've also paid £220 for a Lucky 8, but only £75 for a 'salmon' orange. Generally, I'm happy around the £120-£150 mark.

 

I think they're actually pretty good value for money.... the LEs & SEs are a little tougher to justify, but some (such as the iconic Mandarin) are must haves if you really love the modern design.

 

And, as a marketing professor, I understand that the intrinsic value of any fountain pen is orders of magnitude less than the extrinsic value.... but it just doesn't seem to matter!

[mr T.]

Thank you for your replies. I'm convinced that modern Duofolds are nice pens but overpriced. Duofolds are in my opinion much better made than most Mont Blanc pens (also overpriced products). Maybe vintage Duofolds are interesting too (can be much cheaper but risky). There are in this price range (€ 200 - € 500) a lot of interesting modern pens (with lifetime warranty like the Caran d'Ache Leman, the M800 or the Townsend). However, most of these pens will not be sold at a discounted price at sites like eBay and higher end Japanese pens are not an interesting option (exchange rate, taxes and duties on will make them very expensive). Getting a modern Duofold at a discounted price from eBay is probably the best option. But a modern Duofold that will cost € 200,- is still an expensive pen. What on earth was the Sanford marketing department thinking when was decided that the retailprice of modern Duofolds had to be over € 400,-?

[RLTodd]

Because Newell Rubbermaid figured out that enough people will pay that price to return a higher net margin, rather than waisting resources on higher production.

 

Personally, I think it is the "FPN Push Effect" that has distorted the retail fountain pen market.

[ImolaS3]

I'm convinced that modern Duofolds are nice pens but overpriced. Duofolds are in my opinion much better made than most Mont Blanc pens (also overpriced products).

 

 

I have 5 MBs and 4 Duofolds, all modern pens and this statement could not be further off the mark.

 

The MBS are leagues ahead in terms of their nibs and 3 of the 4 Duofolds required attention to their nibs - 1 of them a replacement nib for a brand new pen!! All of the MBs were perfect from the box.

 

I prefer the look of my Duofolds and am currently using them more than any other pens I own, but the MBs are certainly better quality pens (I also prefer the MB146/149 filler to the Duofold converter).

 

 

 

As I posted above, when you can buy a brand new Duofold International for under £130, I find it hard to agree with 'overpriced' when compared ot the other pens out there

[colrehogan]

If they were piston fillers I would pay that price in a minute. I love the look of the Parker pens but for a C/C filler--no way!

 

What is a C/C filler?

[mroghmans]

The Parker Duofold Centennial-Black and Gold-is almost indentical to the Sailor full size 1911---plastic c/c filler with a nice nib. Swisher sells the 1911 for 217.00 and the Duofold for 495.00, and there it is. The Pelikan M800 is a brass piston filler, nice nib, and sells for 375.00. If you look at pen per dollar the Duofold offers lousy value, but as Jar said it's up to you. We all know why people buy Duofolds, I have one. It screams Classic Fountain Pen and mine is a great writer and probobly my most comfortable pen. I paid a little over 200.00 for a new one from a member who clearly wanted a quick sale. But if you hold a Duofold in one hand and a Pelikan 800 in the other, well, like I said, there it is.

 

Mark

[Rique]

What is a C/C filler?

 

Cartridge / converter... Pens that use either a cartridge or a removable converter, instead of a fixed filling system (piston, lever, ...).

[RLTodd]

What is a C/C filler?

 

Cartridge / converter... Pens that use either a cartridge or a removable converter, instead of a fixed filling system (piston, lever, ...).

 

Giving it some thought you will see that the coverter is a piston filling mechnism within an inusulated air chamber. This give the advantage of insulating the ink and the air pocket above it, evening out the flow. Plus, one gets the convenience and portablility of Parker/Aurora cartidges.