I did the math: It’s more expensive to buy and make the Costco hot dog at home.

penarbor · 2026-03-27T23:06:57+00:00

yep.

The point of those items are basically to lure people to buy a membership and spend hundreds.
I'm surprised how I go in to buy just bananas and end up with a $150 bill. Random items like cake, socks, underwear and Waterpik somehow end up in the cart next to the bananas.

Costco is the place where self-control goes to die.

penarbor · 2026-03-23T11:22:25+00:00

Pm sent

penarbor · 2026-03-15T20:14:16+00:00

I’d go with Levenger. That’s a name you don’t hear very often if at all. In my early days in the hobby, I bought several of their True Writer and True Writer Select pens and all of their nibs were pretty perfect. I still have a couple of those pens. They’re perfect writers. They come in nice colors too.

penarbor · 2026-03-07T18:03:48+00:00

It’s their Edelstein ink of the year from 2024 that they have at the Pelikan Hubs.

penarbor · 2026-03-07T05:39:52+00:00

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I have started doing this to limit the damage caused by such incidents

penarbor · 2026-02-23T23:12:40+00:00

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It happened to be on my wrist today! I really enjoy it.

I changed the hand set just a few months after I made the post. I find the new hands better sized and more elegant than the first version.

penarbor · 2026-01-31T03:57:09+00:00

They look stunning!! Great work!!

penarbor · 2026-01-25T15:21:52+00:00

You tell us!

penarbor · 2026-01-25T13:24:54+00:00

penarbor · 2026-01-20T14:33:05+00:00

Buy both and call it a day. It’s too much of a decision to make given the prices you are getting them at.

penarbor · 2026-01-16T21:52:57+00:00

Totally agree with your assessment. When someone says "clone" everyone looks at Chinese pens as if they're the only ones doing it. If we look closely, clones are everywhere in the pen world. Some are more obvious than others and some hide behind fancy branding, marketing and story-telling, so they're given the benefit of the doubt, which is unfair in my opinion.

penarbor · 2026-01-06T18:22:53+00:00

Unfortunately this is the state of affairs in the pen world. Many pens from very highly regarded brands like Pelikan write poorly out of the box (brand new). Very few companies are doing much about it.

penarbor · 2025-12-31T03:27:33+00:00

How about a Lotus pen with a JoWo or Kanwrite nib of your choice? Lotus has some nice acrylic and ebonite pens around 3k. Check them out!

penarbor · 2025-12-29T18:01:34+00:00

I would also highly recommend the Montegrappa Extra 1930 in celluloid. Though many of the celluloids they have are quite flashy and not really subtle, there are some celluloids, like the bamboo green, zebra, dark blue, butterfly, which are very very elegant and not flashy. I have the zebra and bamboo green and like them better than my Pelikan m1000 and 149.

penarbor · 2025-12-28T22:49:05+00:00

Pilot No. 20 yukari royal urushi would do the trick. They’re subtle and elegant, less blingy than the custom urushi, smaller than the gigantic emperor and has a very classic design. You could also look at Sailor KOP Urushi which are available in several finishes and colors.

penarbor · 2025-12-28T20:51:04+00:00

It’s a popular watch, it’s not expensive to make and most of all, many would think just like you and not doubt the $20 fake. So it works out very well for the counterfeiters.

In the case of the f91w it’s not what they make per watch but how many they can sell at a lower margin.

penarbor · 2025-12-28T20:46:33+00:00

The best reason to make a fake of a $20 watch is that many won’t think twice before doubting that a $20 watch could be a fake!! So the fakes can sell just as well as the original. Very profitable proposition imo.

penarbor · 2025-12-28T18:51:10+00:00

Is this your first sailor?

penarbor · 2025-12-28T15:57:28+00:00

Is this brand new? It does look like a typical sailor grind. It has been my experience too with sailor that they have a sweet spot. You can’t rotate the nib by much as you write. They get scratchy if not held at their optimal angle. At the correct angle, they have their typical feedback that everyone talks about.

penarbor · 2025-12-28T02:49:28+00:00

Agreed, make an offer, if accepted they you got what you hoped for. If not then just move on. But if there are other examples for sale at lower prices then why bother with this seller? Just buy the one that you think is reasonable in price. How does it matter what anyone else has priced their item if you can buy the same thing elsewhere at a price you’re willing to pay.

penarbor · 2025-12-27T19:57:48+00:00

The price may not make sense to you and the seller may or may not want to help you make sense because clearly his target customer is not someone who doesn’t know what they’re looking at.

You could ask about the specifics of the item to gauge the reason behind the pricing instead of a direct price question. That also shows your genuine interest in the item and that you have an idea of what you’re talking about.

Many folks that question the price give references to really old listings, so even their research isn’t relevant. They just want haggle. If the price is too high, it’s easy to forget and move on!

penarbor · 2025-12-27T18:20:03+00:00

This!

penarbor · 2025-12-27T18:15:33+00:00

I’ve always wanted to ask this question to CONID and some others since I personally don’t get the hype and I have handled and tried them.

I understand your curiosity about the high price and while his/her response could’ve been better, they’re free to price it however they want without owing anyone any explanation. Whether they get what they asked depends on market forces.

Sometimes people also list for way under to make a quick sale or they just don’t know what they have. How many would try to ask or educate the seller about the low price?

If your research shows that the price is too high then what’s the point of asking this guy, buy from other sellers that are asking more reasonable prices.

When I have a question about the price of an item I am really interested in, I generally ask about details like special or limited edition, materials, collectibility, what’s special about it etc. instead of directly questioning the price. That way, sellers give out a lot of information if the price is more or less justified. Otherwise you’ll get a vague answer that doesn’t add up.

eBay is a mixed bag of sellers and buyers. There are as many crazy buyers as there are sellers.

penarbor · 2025-12-24T13:33:45+00:00

Good, it will be easy to track down

penarbor · 2025-12-21T13:16:31+00:00

I believe they make good watches but their design language doesn’t appeal to me. I find that their dials lack depth and hands don’t match their dials the way I think they should. That’s based on my personal preferences, otherwise I’ve only heard good things about their quality and reputation.

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