Buying A Platinum 3776 - Amazon Or Other Sellers?

[BillPorter]

I have decided to get a Platinum 3776 in Chartres blue. I'm struck by the difference in price between Amazon, where it would be about $80 and Goulet Pens where it is listed at $176. Am I missing something here, or is it a no-brainer to go with Amazon for the purchase?

[cellmatrix]

J subculture has it for even less, $65

http://shop.j-subculture.com/items/detail/3DBC7AEABBA5E0F

[BillPorter]

J subculture has it for even less, $65

http://shop.j-subculture.com/items/detail/3DBC7AEABBA5E0F

Thanks for that information! I might still consider Amazon as it would be free shipping with Amazon Prime and take only a couple of days to get here. I'm 73 years old and don't like to wait very long for purchases to arrive.

[Sergio 46]

J subculture has it for even less, $65

http://shop.j-subculture.com/items/detail/3DBC7AEABBA5E0F

+1 I got an EF from J-sub, delivered to France in about ten days and I'm very pleased with it

[uemuraw]

That's a compelling price difference. Gotta go with the $176. Oh wait, you're not purchasing for the government, are you?

[Snargle]

I got my Chartres Blue 3776 Century from Amazon for $82 (w/ free shipping). An amazingly nice pen. At some point, I'll probably grab the Bourgogne (red) version, also.

[Mr.Rene]

Amazon has a good price but not BB nib option..or I am wrong?

[thatotherguy1]

If I get a 3776 it'll probably come from Amazon, as much as I hate to admit it. I can justify spending $30 extra for a Lamy 2000 (as an example) from Goulet as opposed to Amazon- I can chalk that up to supporting a small business, nice people (REALLY nice), superb service and knowing that if I have an issue they'll take care of me painlessly and quickly. However, a near $100 discrepancy is much harder to justify. Heck, $100 could buy you another 3776 or a Pelikan m200... so I would go with Amazon.

[katerchen]

Amazon has a good price but not BB nib option..or I am wrong?

 

I'm guessing those are hard to come by outside Japan. I just got mine in Bourgogne with a C nib from Bombare ... only $61 with free shipping and it was in my hands in 6 days after auction end.

 

That pen is ...

 

-k

[TradArch]

to me it depends on the seller through Amazon. I know that I will get superb service from the Goulets, so if there is a problem with the pen, they will take care of it. With Amazon, eh. You might get it replaced, if they still have it in stock. Maybe. IF you can convince them that it is flawed. And you will pay for shipping.

 

Is it worth $100? Well, that probably depends on whether you want this to be a daily writer or not. Again, with the Goulets, I know what I will get, and trust the product i receive.

 

As you might imagine from my response, I have been burned by pen purchases from Amazon, and failed to receive an acceptable resolution.

 

On the other hand, I have ordered from sellers on Amazon who have been more than happy to fix the issues. Again, it just depends on who you deal with, and what you hope to use the pen for.

 

Just my 2cents, based on personal experience.

[frogbaby]

I have decided to get a Platinum 3776 in Chartres blue. I'm struck by the difference in price between Amazon, where it would be about $80 and Goulet Pens where it is listed at $176. Am I missing something here, or is it a no-brainer to go with Amazon for the purchase?

 

keep in mind that what you call "amazon" is actually a pen shipped from japan by an amazon associate and will not arrive in 2 days

 

i bought mine from j-subculture and was very happy with the order process and speed of shipping to canada, it was very quick

 

all in i paid about $85 USD including shipping

[ISW_Kaputnik]

I got a perfectly good black 3776 from Amazon for about $80 (actually a third party Japanese seller whose goods were "fulfilled by Amazon"). Well, when I say perfectly good, I ended up aligning and smoothing the nib slightly myself, but I got it to where it's very smooth, with just the right flow. And it didn't come with a converter, but that was only about another $6.

 

If I were going to spend the $176 standard U.S. price, I'd probably go with a seller who did their own nib adjustments and/or modifications.. And with all due respect to the Goulets, who are excellent to deal with, I don't believe they have that service yet.

 

On the other hand...

 

At one point I got a Chartres Blue 3776 from a different Amazon dealer for about the same $80. When it arrived, the nib and feed literally fell right out of the pen. Pushed them back in, they fell out again. I sent it back for a full refund with return postage paid by Amazon, but since they weren't selling it directly, just fulfilling it, they didn't have a replacement option.

 

In both of these cases, the pens were not shipped to me from Japan. Amazon kept the sellers' stock in their own warehouse, and shipped it to me from within the U.S. On the other hand, I did buy a Pilot Custom Heritage 92 from an Amazon dealer who did ship from Japan. $140 instead of $220 as it would have been from a U.S. dealer, and it had a nib and color option not usually available in the U.S. It's one of my best pens.

[jameswatts]

I have decided to get a Platinum 3776 in Chartres blue. I'm struck by the difference in price between Amazon, where it would be about $80 and Goulet Pens where it is listed at $176. Am I missing something here, or is it a no-brainer to go with Amazon for the purchase?

I bought my Platinum ChartesBlur fromAmazon, and have nothing but positive things to say. A great pen.

[Kataphract]

keep in mind that what you call "amazon" is actually a pen shipped from japan by an amazon associate and will not arrive in 2 days

 

i bought mine from j-subculture and was very happy with the order process and speed of shipping to canada, it was very quick

 

all in i paid about $85 USD including shipping

That would be wrong. If it is listed as eligible with Amazon Prime, the item will get to you in two days, usually because the item is warehoused at Amazon, even though the seller is overseas.

[httpmom]

A little divergence from the topic here but...those of you who have purchased the 3776 is the medium nib really a medium nib or is it like other Japanese pens wherein the medium is more of a fine nib? Asking because I plan to purchase this pen and need to know what the actual nib sizes writes like.

Thanks,

C. PS I have purchased pens from Goulet, Amazon, and from j-subcuture. Never had any problems with any of these sellers. However, I only buy pens from j-subculture that are duplicates of what I already like and own or so inexpensive that it doesn't matter if I end up not liking it because they no longer accept returns.

[strictlyobiter]

Can anyone find the BB/C nib 3776 on j-subculture? I've looked but I find it quite difficult to search that website.

[rafapa]

A little divergence from the topic here but...those of you who have purchased the 3776 is the medium nib really a medium nib or is it like other Japanese pens wherein the medium is more of a fine nib? Asking because I plan to purchase this pen and need to know what the actual nib sizes writes like.Thanks,C. PS I have purchased pens from Goulet, Amazon, and from j-subcuture. Never had any problems with any of these sellers. However, I only buy pens from j-subculture that are duplicates of what I already like and own or so inexpensive that it doesn't matter if I end up not liking it because they no longer accept returns.

My 3776 B is similar to a Pelikan M. I presume the 3776 M would be finer.

[martinbir]

That's a compelling price difference. Gotta go with the $176. Oh wait, you're not purchasing for the government, are you?

 

Glad your government has the same fine grasp on finance as ours in UK.

[rwilsonedn]

I assume you verified that the nib and furniture options were the same on the Amazon and more expensive offerings. There seem to be lots of varieties of 3776 pens out there.

ron

[shedberg]

Contact Pisuke2005 on eBay, he's an awesome seller. I've ordered two Platinum 3776s from him and a Pilot Custom 823, all arrived quickly and at a great price. If you send him a message he can find stuff for you that isn't listed on his eBay store.