Great Prices On Some Sailors & Pilots And Iroshizuku At J-Subculture

[jjlax10]

Did anyone get emails confirming their orders or shipping? My order is listed on the website.

[Dr.Grace]

First I got a couple of emails saying something like "We trust that your order will be shipped soon." Huh? Anyway, a few days later I got an email saying that the order was shipped.

[morbidsteve]

I was excited when I saw this post and a few others, but as is noted the searching is extremely painful and very difficult to find what you're looking for!

 

The discount that I'm seeing is somewhere around 30% or so (I'll do up the math as compared to Amazon in a few) so it's worth the butt pain to find everything and the small shipping charge, which I will add that the expedited shipping was less than standard for me... weird huh?

 

So either way, one thing I wished when I saw this topic was links from people who bought things on this website, which would make it easier to buy the things that I wanted (a lot based on what users had said they found). So, I've done that for you. Here are some links to some of the pens that I may or may not have purchased.

 

Platinum 3776 Century Fountain Pen - Fine Nib - Black Body

http://shop.j-subculture.com/items/detail/AF14551F6BD93C2

 

Pilot Fountain Pen Custom 74 Black Fine Nib Soft

http://shop.j-subculture.com/items/detail/5330AAA86CC3D04

 

Sailor Profit 21 in fine 11-2021-320 (japan import)

http://shop.j-subculture.com/items/detail/B1964D8983486D8

 

Pilot Prera Clear Body Fountain Pen - Fine Nib - Translucent Black Accent (japan import)

http://shop.j-subculture.com/items/detail/D9791DECC42D42B

 

 

Pilot Fountain Pen Custom HERITAGE 92 Fine Nib - Clear Orange Body - (FKVH-15SRS-TOF)

http://shop.j-subculture.com/items/detail/E65EE8D9424A46B

 

Pilot Fountain Pen Justus 95 Fine Medium Nib - Net Black - (FJ-3MR-NB-FM)

http://shop.j-subculture.com/items/detail/F6D24EA7CE745C9

 

 

There are also some inks that I was interested in. The best way to find the Pilot Iroshizuku ink is to just search "Iroshizuku" and everything they have will pop up.

 

Steven

[morbidsteve]

Here's a crummy price comparison as I'm not an expert here and some of these pens may actually be named differently when not viewed on the Japan market:

 

Iroshizuku Vermillion Red Orange - JS 9.26. AMZN 18.40

Iroshizuku Ochre - JS 12.32 AMZN 20

Iroshizuku Reddish Brown - JS 12.63 AMZN 21.98

Platinum 3776 Century Fine nib, black body - JS 65.22 AMZN 82.92

Pilot Custom 74 Black fine nib soft - JS 63.62 AMZN 82.14

Sailor Profit 21 fine (11-2021-320) - JS 144.43 AMZN 151.44 AMZN 1911LB 218 <— Pretty sure this is the Sailor 1911 Large black (same manufacturer #)

Pilot Prera Clear body Fine - JS 26.36 AMZN 32.63

Pilot Custom Heritage 92 Fine - JS 101.37 AMZN 113.43 OR 220

Pilot Justus 95 FM nib, net black - JS 195.62 AMZN 237.47 (275-300 for US sellers)

630.83 on JS

760 on AMZN using “conservative” prices

That's 17% less

Mind you shipping came out to just under $40, and so that's about $4.50 shipping per item. You would have to pay equivalent shipping (or more) for those "conservative" prices through AMZN.

Now comes the time to research these pens and see if they are as described or if they are actually something else. For example, is the Sailor Profit 21 actually a 1911LB?

I will post back here when I get more information.

[hypnostene]

I can now report that I used the site to purchase something from Amazon and have it forwarded to me. The "something" in question was a Pilot Custom Heritage 912 with a FA nib (with some other things thrown in for good measure). I picked this option, because JS did not offer this particular nib at the time.

 

The process took a while - you first ask for a quotation, and they order the items only after you accept it and pay. Then you pay again for shipping when they get the items (and you have to wait for a shipping quotation). All in all, it might have taken over 2 weeks from my initial order to the package arriving. Perhaps a bit longer.

 

Their fee was fairly low - around 10% of the price. I am not sure how ordering directly from Amazon.jp works, but I know that had I done that, I would have certainly had to pay VAT on the package. I was lucky enough to avoid it via JS. Even with the fee and shipping, the price was better than in any other source that I found. If you are willing to play with your authorities when it comes to import duties and the like, JS actually allows you to determine the declared value of your package. I wouldn't do it myself, by the option is there.

 

All in all, I am very happy with the transaction and can recommend this method. And the pen is just wonderful!

 

P.S. But I did not get the crane some of you mentioned

Edited February 16, 2015 by hypnostene

[Inkysloth]

£103 for a Namiki / Pilot Falcon? Hell yes!

[morbidsteve]

£103 for a Namiki / Pilot Falcon? Hell yes!

Do you have a link to your purchase??

[Manalto]

Just got my Custom Heritage 92 today, ordered it on 1/26. What an amazing pen!

Could you elaborate on why the pen is amazing? Thanks!

 

James

[penviper]

Saving of $$$$ for few bottles of Iroshizuku ink, custom 74 and a con-50 converter!!!! compared to buying from goulet... too bad couldn't get the con-70...

Edited February 19, 2015 by penviper

[Inkysloth]

Do you have a link to your purchase??

I ordered this one: http://shop.j-subculture.com/items/detail/564840048A419A0

 

Of course, I could have made a hideous mistake, but that looks very much like a Falcon, and I couldn't see anything else like it on Pilot's website.

[HollyGolightly]

I ordered this one: http://shop.j-subculture.com/items/detail/564840048A419A0

 

Of course, I could have made a hideous mistake, but that looks very much like a Falcon, and I couldn't see anything else like it on Pilot's website.

If that's a falcon I may have to bite the bullet/take the plunge. Can't open the link at work (they're a bunch of internet facists here) but I'd love to hear about it when you recieve it!

[rutherfordr]

That's the Metal Falcon from Pilot. It's heavier than the black plastic version, but the nib is the same.

 

$160 is an amazing deal -- you can get it from US retailers for $240.

[morbidsteve]

So I made an order on 2/17 and it shipped last night on 2/18. I'm very curious how long it will take to get to me. I'm paying for expedited shipping so I guess we'll see how long it takes to get to MD.

[morbidsteve]

I made a purchase on 2/16 for 9 items, with a pretty substantial total cost. I received the pens today. They were shipped well, with good packaging and I got exactly what I expected. I'm so glad I heard about this site here because I saved a TON of money!

 

That's just 7 days to order and receive pens from Japan, great!

[ailevin]

I ordered two pens, one Feb 16 and one Feb 17, they both arrived yesterday (Feb 23) in Redondo Beach, CA (Los Angeles area). Everything was as advertised and well packaged plus an interesting set of multi-page shipping/customs forms, a hand written note of thanks, an origami bird, and a sheet of advertising.

 

With expedited shipping a Pilot 823 (amber with fine nib) was ~$200 and a Pilot 92 (smoke with medium nib) was ~$100.

 

The 823 fine nib is as excellent as all the reviews have indicated, and the pen is surprisingly pretty. The 92 medium nib is going to be ground to a cursive italic, but I tried it as is and it is broader than I expected, but very smooth with a nice wet flow. The 92 has a much more utilitarian modern look, but in hand it reminds me of a Pilot 400, which to me is very light weight and well balanced.

 

More on the pens later, but I am certainly a happy customer of this vendor. In particular, the 92 was less than half of the going street price of $220.

[treborefir]

I ordered a Capless twister and was very satisfied with the shipping time and execution. The pen is great too

[Darkman]

My experience with these folks has been pathetic so far. On 2/2 I placed an order for a pen and paid middle of the road shipping (not slow boat, not EMS). After a week and a half, they still had not even shipped the product, but appear to have dropped it in the mail the day they received my query. They, however, decided to ship with the lowest priced shipping, and as of 3/2 I am still waiting for it to appear in the states. I have recently filed a complaint that will be escalated into a claim.

 

I have dealt with many different asian sellers, NONE this bad.

 

Good luck,

-DM

[jjlax10]

My experience with these folks has been pathetic so far. On 2/2 I placed an order for a pen and paid middle of the road shipping (not slow boat, not EMS). After a week and a half, they still had not even shipped the product, but appear to have dropped it in the mail the day they received my query. They, however, decided to ship with the lowest priced shipping, and as of 3/2 I am still waiting for it to appear in the states. I have recently filed a complaint that will be escalated into a claim.

 

I have dealt with many different asian sellers, NONE this bad.

 

Good luck,

-DM

 

I am still waiting on my order...I am sure it will come but I agree its annoying.

[jvillan29]

Anybody check the authenticity of the pens being bought from these sites mentioned above. Just a thought since the price difference is alot. Hopefully they are not knock-offs!

[Dr.Grace]

The pen I bought was authentic. I can't believe they'd sell fakes, which I've never heard of existing for these pens anyway.