Pelikan Price Increases

[suttong]

Unfortunately, these pens are really starting to get out of hand with pricing. One of the reasons I love Pelikans is that they are great pens and still at an accessible price. The high prices that the Montblancs command just because they are Montblanc really turns me off to that brand. If Pelikan continues to go in that direction, I think they will lose a little something.

 

Agreed, Montblanc price without the Montblanc lifetime warrenty

[parnesh]

The price of gold has gone up, yes, but otherwise I see no justification for such continuing price rises. Gouging, do you think?

The price of gold has gone down of late. It peaked in 2012. It's some 30% lower than peak.

[parnesh]

I was thinking of picking up a m800 or m1000. At this rate, I will be buying something else, anything else....

[Tadeusz]

What a pity. However, Pelikan pens have seemed to get a bit flashier in recent years. The pre-1997 (I think it was about there) pens did not have all the flashy gold trim on the piston knob or cap top. They were a bit more modest with those pre-97 pens. The logo especially, it used to be just a green colored Pelican, but now it is some gold, flashy thing on the top.

 

As I am look at my 140 (my only Pelikan), it is obvious that it is not there to show off and make a scene( as Mont Blanc pens are wont to do). I actually would prefer if they removed the gold rings on the piston turning knob and revert the logo back to the green pelican or something that isn't as pompous/boisterous.

 

Maybe they could introduce a line of pens where they remove all the flashy gold bits around the section, the cap top logo, and the piston turning knob! I'd bet that would lower the price

[gistar]

I do not like the increases but as usually we can only vote with our wallet. On the other hand as soon as I read about the increases I went and bought an M800 Tortoise at the old price.

[mhphoto]

That's a lot of money for a plastic pen. I was lucky enough to snag my M800 off eBay for $150 from someone who thought it was a M600.

 

Funny coinkydink about that, I snagged my M600 from someone who thought they were selling an M400, also costing about $150.

 

Crazily enough, the most I've ever paid for a Pelikan was the M320 I just got, costing $198.

[inkstainedruth]

I haven't bought a Pelikan in a long while because of the price and I have more Pelikans than any other brand. It's a shame because the product is generally pretty good. For the (over)price of a new Pelikan you can can get a great vintage one.

And in fact sometimes for less. I got a *very* nice 400 brown tortoise with a semi-flex F nib on Ebay a couple of months ago -- didn't even hit my maximum bid (about $25 US under, in fact). I was told by someone on FPN that it's probably from the 1980s-1990s. My husband was kinda freaking about the amount I paid even then (frankly, so was I a bit, because it was more than double my next most expensive pen -- a vintage Morrison ringtop with a filigree gold filled overlay). But I (sort of) calmed him down by telling him that even my maximum bid was still lower than the price of a new 400....

Some people may be able to afford (or at least try to justify) price increases to that extent. But some of us can't. Although I was wondering how much of the price change is due to fluctuations in the exchange rate between euros and US dollars....

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[pajaro]

I haven't ever bought a new Pelikan. Most I ever paid was $225 for an M1000 and same for an M640 Polar Lights.

 

There's always Waterman. There's some kind of real stylin' goin' on there, but the pens write very nicely. Buy them used or NOS.

[fljones3]

I do not like the increases but as usually we can only vote with our wallet. On the other hand as soon as I read about the increases I went and bought an M800 Tortoise at the old price.

 

Did a similar thing as soon as I read here about the price increases. A little OT. Do price increases on new pens affect pricing on the vintage pelikans. My guess would be yes but it might take several months for the effect. Thoughts?

 

Frank

[jaypen]

Pelikans are awesome value for the money. With a price increase though the new ones do become less attractive to purchase.

[TheGreatRoe]

I'm not sure if this is limited to a certain retailer or if it's going to be across the board, but JetPens recently increased the prices of Pelikan Edelstein Inks by nearly 31% (from $21 to $27.50).

 

In the immediate I'll be purchasing an extra Amber, and the Garnet when it comes out. But if this price increase is across the board that may stop me from getting any more Edelstein inks.

[kelleher]

Today i went to www.pelikanpens.co.uk and saw that the prices has increased in about £20 to £35 on every pen. There are a lot of pens out of stock, so I imagine a lot of people bought their Pelikan's before prices increase.

[andymcc]

I can confirm what kelleher said, I've was looking at a couple of places for the M200 and noticed that it's gone from £60 to £80.

I can't see how Pelikan can justify a jump of £20, I won't be paying £80 for a new M200, I think I'll start looking at a different pen, which is a shame as I really like the 2 Pelikans I have

[DrCodfish]

Whether or not this price rise is also responsible for the prices of second-hand pens, I cannot say; but I <do> notice that on ebay there are now plenty of 100s and 400s being offered from places like Bulgaria, Roumania and parts of the former Yugoslavia and very often these are <poor> specimens with visible damage or faults (tortured nibs!) Perhaps these sellers have just recently discovered the joys of selling per this route (who knows?); but I shall not be buying anything else from that region...

 

There is <one> seller I trust implicitly; but he is an engineer, very straight-forward and <loves> pens -- my beautiful Kaweco Dia (1930s) came from him. He is based in Germany, so slightly different.

 

Has anyone else noticed this trend?

 

I've noticed too and wondered if it was just me or if more pens from eastern Europe were showing up on the market. The only place I have noticed this is on Ebay. I bought a couple items from these sellers (typewriter ribbon boxes, one Bakelite and one tin) with no surprises. I've looked at a couple pens, the ones I was interested in were seriously worn and I deemed not worth the cost and trouble of getting the furniture re-plated given that the sellers were asking for prices more appropriate to pens in very good or better condition..

[afruba]

This leaves a big gap between the Pelikano en the 200 series. We don't hear much of the Pura and the Epoch anymore. The 200 was considered to be an entry level pen when I first became interested in fountain pens some 7 years ago at about $60 to $70, but I don't think that a starter will pay $120 to $130 for his first fountain pen. If I were a starter now I would buy something for a more modest price, somewhat between $30 and $70. There are acceptable pens in that range, but no Pelikan

Edited April 20, 2014 by afruba

[AustinMalone1999]

I keep trying to save up for an M800 and every time I about get there they do a price increase. I am just settling for a few M200's. Maybe I'll be gifted one as a graduation gift.

[fpc]

I quit buying Pels about 3 years ago, when the M800 started upwards.

 

Don

[prf5]

Can anyone report on how Pelikan sales figures have correlated with price increases? If sales are down, management might raise prices to maintain a profit margin.

[Ecriveur]

I was thinking of a 605 or a 1000 but with price increases like that I'm not so sure. You can sell high end pens at high end prices, but there comes a point where your quality or esthetic advantage over some upstart competitor just doesn't justify charging double or triple or quadruple the price.

[Fabienne]

Massive increase 2012. That was about the year that the Recession was declared over by corporations.