Great deal on Sailor King of Pen

[Mercian]

1 hour ago, RJS said:

The last two times I received to my home in Germany all the proper paperwork was done, nothing was wrong, and I still had the parcels impounded. On one instance they claimed the box was incorrectly labelled- when I collected it (which ended up costing me an hour thanks to parking issues and a queue), the guy serving was like "oh, I can see there wasn't really anything wrong, they just flag lots of parcels without even checking. You can challenge it but it takes forever." They'd even made up a fabricated "real value" for the item without even opening the box. 🤦‍♂️

This sounds an awful lot like the VAT scam that WH Smith used to pull on the customers of its airside (i.e. legally outside the country, and therefore Duty-free) airport shops here in the UK.

 

As ‘Deutsche Post’ is now just one part of the private, for-Profit, ‘DHL Group’ business, I suspect that the company may be subjecting its captive-market ‘customers’ to a similar wheeze.

 

N.b. you must of course bear in mind that I am not only a curmudgeonly old geezer, but also one who now has a nasty rash starting to develop around the edges of his Tinfoil Hat 😉

[RJS]

2 hours ago, Mercian said:

This sounds an awful lot like the VAT scam that WH Smith used to pull on the customers of its airside (i.e. legally outside the country, and therefore Duty-free) airport shops here in the UK.

 

As ‘Deutsche Post’ is now just one part of the private, for-Profit, ‘DHL Group’ business, I suspect that the company may be subjecting its captive-market ‘customers’ to a similar wheeze.

 

N.b. you must of course bear in mind that I am not only a curmudgeonly old geezer, but also one who now has a nasty rash starting to develop around the edges of his Tinfoil Hat 😉

Sounds about right. Did WH Smith (*spit*) ever stop that trick? Their airport prices remain every bit as high as the high prices in their train station and motorway service stores, based on my visits last year. Everyone's least favourite retailer. Sad, because I liked them as a child, many moons ago, and I believe today they own Cult Pens. As a child I used to look forward to getting a Pilot pen variety set every Christmas there. That was long before the days of Pilot treating their European customers like the enemy.

[james3paris]

On 4/7/2024 at 7:16 PM, lascosas said:

Both the medium & broad are back to around $370, still from our friend Amazon Japan with free shipping, and they are in stock, so US delivery in a couple of weeks:

 

https://www.amazon.com/Sailor-profit-character-11-6001-420-japan/dp/B001TCGP2U/ref=sr_1_1?crid=DUFH8ND63MBY&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.3EwXjh23W1FG3RGaZ4vqojBX323TONDEjScCbQxrY0cmBWhyzkbEGB5N8wzGQxmipr1K76wN2G0tIVSZhMzv4WMg09elD-nB2hzDRCilJ14OHhOjqmUZGUiWk5f550wN_t2c9CffIVAet2KnWKHuqyVpEr3T2k3oUUbUh92sroJkeKSW1vvwoP5i0jb6RyEggIUZ1g5k-aQDHnqx_RMdybKzQO-yL9Z2wl6SgG72AslM83-X1OWVETfDRjHO0FHtgkda-eitmF7J2MKwNcscb-FLEtj9DbcmBqBjUBmUTOU.484WDSPjj9daz5Na4yVHl_2ylhZ_8FsuYoHEexPnesc&dib_tag=se&keywords=sailor%2Bking%2Bof%2Bpens&qid=1712531672&s=office-products&sprefix=sailor%2Bking%2Bof%2Bpens%2Coffice-products%2C146&sr=1-1&th=1

 

https://www.amazon.com/Sailor-Pen-fountain-profit-11-6001-620/dp/B001TCWISA/ref=sr_1_2?crid=DUFH8ND63MBY&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.3EwXjh23W1FG3RGaZ4vqojBX323TONDEjScCbQxrY0cmBWhyzkbEGB5N8wzGQxmipr1K76wN2G0tIVSZhMzv4WMg09elD-nB2hzDRCilJ14OHhOjqmUZGUiWk5f550wN_t2c9CffIVAet2KnWKHuqyVpEr3T2k3oUUbUh92sroJkeKSW1vvwoP5i0jb6RyEggIUZ1g5k-aQDHnqx_RMdybKzQO-yL9Z2wl6SgG72AslM83-X1OWVETfDRjHO0FHtgkda-eitmF7J2MKwNcscb-FLEtj9DbcmBqBjUBmUTOU.484WDSPjj9daz5Na4yVHl_2ylhZ_8FsuYoHEexPnesc&dib_tag=se&keywords=sailor%2Bking%2Bof%2Bpens&qid=1712531753&s=office-products&sprefix=sailor%2Bking%2Bof%2Bpens%2Coffice-products%2C146&sr=1-2&th=1

Prices still holding. 

[RJS]

10 hours ago, Mercian said:

If Amazon refuses to post those pens to the UK, I suspect that it is a market-restriction sales policy imposed by the manufacturer, similar to Pilot’s fatwa against selling its non-‘luxury’ pens or non-‘luxury’ inks to us Brits 😠

[About which restrictions I continue to grumble into my beard, like the curmudgeonly old geezer that I undeniably am.]

I wonder why Sailor would be happy posting to the US from Japan but not to Europe? It seems a bit unnecessary to block out one market they usually price hike in, but not another.

[Chimera01]

On 4/21/2024 at 1:50 PM, Mercian said:

The addition of the Amazon.co.jp delivery charge and the UK VAT charged on both of those sums pushes the price of the pen that I mentioned up to ‘fully’ half of the sum that the UK retailer charges for it 

Amazon JP's pricing can vary from one day to the next so I find it useful to watch an item I'm interested until the price becomes more favourable. 

 

My experience of shopping from the UK with Amazon Japan is that they deduct the 10% JP sales tax from the quoted price on checkout and then add in UK VAT. Delivery to your doorstep in the UK via DHL with no additional costs or surcharges. 

 

I've not had any difficulty having items sold by Amazon JP shipped to the UK. There have sometimes been restrictions by third-party vendors on UK shipping/delivery however. 

 

Finally, if you don't mind assuming a little risk, having them charge you in yen can sometimes work out cheaper than accepting Amazon JP's currency conversion spread [JPY / GBP]. Depends on which credit card you're using, etc., of course some cards offer very tight currency spreads while others do not. 

 

The UK Integrated Online Tariff Commodity Code for fountain pens is 9608300000 and they are zero-rated for import from Japan and, interestingly enough, the EU [ https://www.trade-tariff.service.gov.uk/commodities/9608300000 ]. Good news for fans of Japanese, German and Italian pens!

 

 

[mke]

On 4/21/2024 at 9:50 PM, Mercian said:

To be fair, I didn’t progress as far as checking Amazon.co.jp’s shipping costs, or factor-in the UK VAT.

 

And you didn't mention that the cost of buying pens for Amazon will be levels below that for normal retailers. 

I heard that Amazon gets their pens for 80% off the MRSP while normal retailers only get 50% off. No idea if that is true but I heard similar stories from several sides. 

In addition, Amazon's shipping cost is certainly way below what normal shops have to pay. Shipping companies also give lots of rebates to bulk senders.

 

No wonder that Amazon can sell cheap.

[Muchacho]

Amazon Japan does deliver to EU. I bought 4 pens from them. Surprisingly, i didn't have to pay more than the price of the pen and shipping cost.

[RJS]

1 hour ago, Muchacho said:

Amazon Japan does deliver to EU. I bought 4 pens from them. Surprisingly, i didn't have to pay more than the price of the pen and shipping cost.

I have too. They organise the VAT/duty/handling payments to the EU/UK so there's no extra nonsense added (in theory). But they exempt certain items, which either they won't post abroad or won't post to specific countries.

[james3paris]

Currently at $361---lowest I have seen it.

 

 

https://www.amazon.com/Sailor-profit-character-11-6001-420-japan/dp/B001TCGP2U/

[Mercian]

1 hour ago, james3paris said:

Currently at $361---lowest I have seen it.

 

 

https://www.amazon.com/Sailor-profit-character-11-6001-420-japan/dp/B001TCGP2U/

Hi,

if I were you I would edit your post, so that ONLY the part of the url that I have quoted here is shown.
If you copy that, and paste it into a browser window, it will go to the Amazon page for the pen.

 

The text after what I copied, which starts with “ref=“, is metadata that lists/encodes what Amazon knows about you, and how you found the page to which you linked.

 

Slàinte,
M.

[Chimera01]

20 hours ago, Mercian said:

f I were you I would edit your post, so that ONLY the part of the url that I have quoted here is shown.
If you copy that, and paste it into a browser window, it will go to the Amazon page for the pen.

 

You can also use any of the URL 'shorteners'  https://www.shorturl.at

[james3paris]

23 hours ago, Mercian said:

Hi,

if I were you I would edit your post, so that ONLY the part of the url that I have quoted here is shown.
If you copy that, and paste it into a browser window, it will go to the Amazon page for the pen.

 

The text after what I copied, which starts with “ref=“, is metadata that lists/encodes what Amazon knows about you, and how you found the page to which you linked.

 

Slàinte,
M.

Never knew...thank you!

[mke]

11 hours ago, Chimera01 said:

You can also use any of the URL 'shorteners'

Actually, I don't think shortened URLs should be used in forums. I want to see where the link goes. Shortened URLs are often used to trick you onto a dangerous page.

[Arthur Pewty]

The $361 price is still available. I just got one and was surprised to see this new nib design. "1911", "Sailor", and "JAPAN" are gone, the anchor is more abstract, and there is a new cartouche that says "Ste SPE". I've seen Cross nibs that say "Ste ATC" (Alonzo T.  Cross?). What does "Ste" signify? And "SPE"?

[RJS]

3 hours ago, Arthur Pewty said:

The $361 price is still available. I just got one and was surprised to see this new nib design. "1911", "Sailor", and "JAPAN" are gone, the anchor is more abstract, and there is a new cartouche that says "Ste SPE". I've seen Cross nibs that say "Ste ATC" (Alonzo T.  Cross?). What does "Ste" signify? And "SPE"?

The old one looked nicer...

[deuter]

Sailor KoP bold nib for $520 AUD on Amazon.

[mke]

30 minutes ago, deuter said:

Sailor KoP bold nib for $520 AUD on Amazon.

How about always giving a link in addition to such information?

[deuter]

27 minutes ago, mke said:

How about always giving a link in addition to such information?

Sorry, here is the link.

 

https://amzn.asia/d/adhuh6t

[mke]

10 hours ago, deuter said:

Sorry, here is the link.

Thanks. The reason I mention this is that you cannot rely to always find a special product by searching on Amazon. 80% of the time you find it (again) but it is not guaranteed. So, links are always helpful.

 

-----

In the make: list of shops and private sales: http://mkengel.de/pensales/pensforsale.html (Sorry, it will take a long time. So many other things to do.)

[Chimera01]

On 5/4/2024 at 8:44 AM, mke said:

Actually, I don't think shortened URLs should be used in forums. I want to see where the link goes. Shortened URLs are often used to trick you onto a dangerous page.

Quite right!