New Inks: Elixir Colorist Collection

[Chrissy]

Uncial, you're right, of course. I would pay $40 for a bottle of Tanna too.

[grainweevil]

...a tulip bottle of Fujiyama Blue sell for €330.

 

How very apt, as the whole ink thing frequently reminds me of the Tulip Mania in the 17th century.

[inotrym]

buying inks just for bottle design is another addiction in its own....with loads of followers .

 

guilty as charged.

[horationelson]

Just to put a different perspective out there...

 

Its easy to forget that Montblanc is (or at least positions itself as) a high end brand - its not a peer of, say, Lamy or Parker. A bottle of ink from Lamy could well cost the same price as one of their pens.

 

If someone is prepared to spend, as a minimum, £400-£600 for a basic MB fountain pen, then its not so absurd to think that they might be prepared to spend £30 on a special ink (e.g. Writers Edition if Great Characters) and a bit more for something more exotic. As for those spending £2k+ on PoA pens and the like, adding another £50 to get one of these Elixir inks isnt madness.

 

Personally, I cant say Im sold on these colours (they look too similar to Beatles, UNICEF/Miles Davis and Exupery). If they had a racing green or brown I could be tempted.

[Chrissy]

At least we can say with conviction that Montblanc inks are a very well-known high quality brand that has known inks that have performed exceptionally well in the past. Plus they have faced any problems head-on with speed and sincerity. Newbies like Colorverse have just jumped on a "let's make some random inks and see if we can sell them at a high price" bandwagon, have their fingers crossed, and are hoping nothing bad happens soon.

[lgsoltek]

Bye Montblanc!

[dapprman]

At least we can say with conviction that Montblanc inks are a very well-known high quality brand that has known inks that have performed exceptionally well in the past. Plus they have faced any problems head-on with speed and sincerity. Newbies like Colorverse have just jumped on a "let's make some random inks and see if we can sell them at a high price" bandwagon, have their fingers crossed, and are hoping nothing bad happens soon.

Except for mold in some inks, uninspiring colors in others. Not necessarily going to disagree with you over Colorverse though.

[littlepen]

Im really tempted by the azure . The colour looks very nice and I do like the look of the bottle a lot . As for the price £50 in the uk Im still very tempted .

[Chrissy]

The price of £50 in the UK compared with $71.50 plus tax in the US seems almost like we've got a bargain....... Of sorts

[littlepen]

Thats the price listed on the UK Montblanc site ( sadly not in stock)

[inkstainedruth]

Sorry, no. $71 US for a bottle of ink? I paid less than that for a FULL 8 oz. bottle of vintage Quink Permanent Violet on eBay. Even with buying bottles to decant the ink into didn't cost me $71 (I was also buying bottles to decant the 3/4 full PINT bottle of Skrip Peacock into).

As long as people buy into MB's hype, they're going to get away with this sort of price gouging. And that's what it is. Price gouging.

Some of us choose to not buy into the hype. I have a bottle of MB Lavender Purple (which is nice, but I have other nice purples as well, and some cost less than the $19 of Lavender Purple). And I have a bottle of Leo Tolstoy LE, which I think I paid $23 bucks for (plus whatever the heck NYC sales tax is these days in Fountain Pen Hospital a couple of Christmases ago). And that's it. Almost bought a bottle of the Beatles LE ink when I was there this year, but put it back on the shelf and bought a bottle of Platinum Classic Lavender Black IG ink inkstead. I like iron gall inks, and it was roughly $20 less.

This is turning into that thread about MB pens and whether their market aimed at "writers" or "collectors" over again isn't it?

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[Matlock]

Sorry, no. $71 US for a bottle of ink?

This is turning into that thread about MB pens and whether their market aimed at "writers" or "collectors" over again isn't it?

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

Well if people are stupid and gullible enough to pay the prices that MB charge. Good luck to them.

[Uncial]

How is it that you can all get so angry over something you have no intention of ever buying? It's like packs of wolves constantly out on the scout for something to worry. It's all very strange.

[Studio97]

they are making it more diffucult for me to remain a loyal customer. They are pricing many of us out of their newer products.

[littlepen]

Nobody is forcing anybody to purchase the ink . I am a little saddened by being called stupid and gullible.

[inotrym]

How is it that you can all get so angry over something you have no intention of ever buying? It's like packs of wolves constantly out on the scout for something to worry. It's all very strange.

 

Because it opens the door for other manufacturers to do the same, which will either dramatically limit our range of available products (pushing us away from the hobby) or force us to eventually overpay.

 

I am not saying people who will buy it are idiots and if you can afford it more power to you. I just don't want this to become the norm. Is that unreasonable?

Edited February 13, 2018 by inotrym

[Chrissy]

Nobody is forcing anybody to purchase the ink . I am a little saddened by being called stupid and gullible.

 

Even those of us who are not even considering buying them have been called "not the sharpest knives in the box and they will fall for just about any marketing ploy."

[Matlock]

How is it that you can all get so angry over something you have no intention of ever buying? It's like packs of wolves constantly out on the scout for something to worry. It's all very strange.

 

I am not at all angry, just a little sad that people can be taken in by this sort of marketing.

[encremental]

I'm more sad than angry. This sort of malarkey cheapens the brand, I think.

 

John

[Matlock]

 

Even those of us who are not even considering buying them have been called "not the sharpest knives in the box and they will fall for just about any marketing ploy."

 

You failed to fully quote me Chrissy, what I said was: MB know that most of the people who are attracted to their products (I'm not talking about us pen enthusiasts) are not the sharpest knives in the box and they will fall for just about any marketing ploy. I was referring to the folks who regard a MB product as a status symbol rather than an excellent writing instrument. I have 17 MB fountain pens and a few ballpoint pens and pencils but the last one I paid the full price for was back in the early 1990s, back when the prices were fairly realistic..