We are selling too cheap

[Gary]

Man, we've need to get our prices up! The Fountain Pen Hospital lists in their Winter 2005 Catalog Ebony Rollerballs by OMAS for $690 and Ebony Fountain Pens for $890. They list Snakewood Rollerballs for $710 and Snakewood Fountain Pens for $920.

Acrylics by CONWAY STEWART go from $240 to $495.

They've got oak pens made from Charles Krug Winery oak barrels at $990.

Here's a link for pictures.

http://www.fountainpenhospital.com/manufacturers/manufacturer.asp?MFG=5

 

[ryannmphs]

YIKES, them's some 'spensive pens there!!!

Ryan

 

[KKingery]

Sounds like a plan to me! If I could see a pen for $900, I would only need to make a few each month.....that would leave me alot more time for fishin!

 

[esheffield]

Good grief, I found one there for $13,500! I can't imagine what could make any pen worth that - at least not a new one with no historical significance. []

 

[Gary]

Some people sure have different priorities and more money than I do!

Originally posted by esheffield
<br />Good grief, I found one there for $13,500! I can't imagine what could make any pen worth that - at least not a new one with no historical significance. []

 

[tipusnr]

If I asked half of those prices, I'd need to add a storeroom to the workshop for all the pens I didn't sell!

Good work if you can get it!!

 

[Fred in NC]

Hehe....

Hire a writer... one with a lot of imagination, to do a write-up, and put a pen in eBay, with a very high starting price. Maybe it will work. There have been some ridiculous sales in eBay, like a wood plane for $1200.

 

[Mac In Oak Ridge]

Those $990 Krug pens are a "limited edtion" of 843 pens. That is $834,570.00 worth of pens! I sho am selling to the wrong market.

 

[dougle40]

You don't need to go to those exotic sites to find an expensive pen . Just look at the Mont Blanc pen listed in the "Staple's" catalog .
And that's they're <u>"Everyday Low Price "</u> !!!

<br />

 

[Gary]

And that is for just one pen style. I wonder what the annual sales figure is for The Pen Hospital as a company?

Originally posted by Mac In Oak Ridge
<br />Those $990 Krug pens are a "limited edtion" of 843 pens. That is $834,570.00 worth of pens! I sho am selling to the wrong market.

 

[btboone]

OMAS is my hero.

 

[Mac In Oak Ridge]

Hummmmmm..... I get me a logo and a white star and I can charge $329.00 for a 4
$40 pen.

 

[woodscavenger]

Limited edition?! HAH! 1 of 800 HAH! You want to see a limited edition? Mine are each 1 of 1! [][][] I am definitely underselling. Why would you want to but a pen from a pen hospital anyway? That's like buying a car from your local autobody shop....sure it's never been wrecked.[] I don't want a pen that was sick.[] It's all about marketing.

 

[jjudge]

I have a $300 Mont Blanc that I never use (I'm not into fountain pens, it was a gift).

So, we all need to band together and get some "IAP" pen brand recognition. THEN, people will covet, and want, "IAP pens!" (and pay rediculous amounts for them).

-- joe

 

[PenWorks]

Why do you guys wonder at those prices? [] It is the same principal you deal with every day. You are selling 25.00- 100.00 pens to people who ussually wouldn't think of spending more that .29 cents for a pen.

They are selling 300-1,000 pens to folks that ussually spend 100-200 for pens. At least they are defining their target market. Also it takes awhile to sell out a model. Delta's Julius Caesar was a 1999 limited edition of only 999 pieces for the regular fountain pen. It just sold out last year.

I also like my Julius Caesar FP. Kinda makes my feel like I'm in Rome when I use it []




Anthony

 

[wdcav1952]

Originally posted by penworks
<br />Why do you guys wonder at those prices? [] It is the same principal you deal with every day. You are selling 25.00- 100.00 pens to people who ussually wouldn't think of spending more that .29 cents for a pen.

They are selling 300-1,000 pens to folks that ussually spend 100-200 for pens. At least they are defining their target market. Also it takes awhile to sell out a model. Delta's Julius Caesar was a 1999 limited edition of only 999 pieces for the regular fountain pen. It just sold out last year.

I also like my Julius Caesar FP. Kinda makes my feel like I'm in Rome when I use it []




Anthony

Anthony, I can't quite make out the nib style on your Julius Caesar fountain pen. Is it the Brutus nib? I find that they tend to bleed the ink if you stab too hard at the paper. [}]

 

[PenWorks]

Bill, writes real good with red ink []

But that's why my daughter carries a fountain pen in her purse. since she can't take her gun or neck knife to school, she has to protect herslef some way []

Anthony

 

[RussFairfield]

Some thoughts on the high prices.

Location, location, location. Who is our market?? Where are we selling our pens? We can't sell a $500 pen at a Church bazzar or sidewalk sale. How many of us are willing to pay a $500 entry fee just to get in the door to show our wares? No? That's the price of admission into that market.

Plated parts and tinny threads. The best we can get is sterling silver in 2 kit styles. Everything else is plated, and not that well by comparison. There is a lower high end where plating is used, but it lasts a lot longer than anything we can get. We can't break the price barrier until we start using something that doesn't wear off. Many who complain aren't even willing to spend an extra $5 for the Titanium-Gold plating.

Parts quality? The suppliers make and sell what we buy. When was the last time we told them we wanted something better.

Nibs. The best we can get is a plated steel nib that sells for 6 bucks. We will never break the $100 barrier with that. An 18k solid gold nib will cost us at least $100, and it will require making an adapter because none of the threads are the same. But it will add an instant $200 to the price of the pen by just doing that. It is a good start to a high quality writing instrument. If we don't know the difference, or think it matters, we aren't ready for the $300 pen market.

Name recognition. The "name" has a value. Even amoung our groups of penmakers, there are some names we would pay more for than others. Are we willing to pay the price for the advertising to make our name one that is recognized by the collectors?? The last time I looked, I didn't see any full page ads for wooden pens on the pages of the pen journals.

Finally.... Asking is one thing. Getting it is another. Even among the high priced pens.

 

[Gregory Huey]

When they say call for price you know it's going to be ching-ching!

 

[PenWorks]

All there high prices do, is make the best kit & pen we can offer them, a great value in writing instruments.

Anthony

 

[btboone]

When the pen guy has a loan officer in his booth, you know the pens are high end ones.

 

[woodscavenger]

If you have to ask, it's too much.

 

[Hugob]

I think there will always be "People" that are willing to pay 'BIG' money for Pens......... image thing.
Currently I'm sellling my 'slimline sets' (Pen / Pencil / wooden box) for R200 (South African Rand). That equals to about US$ 35. I rekon I can get about (R800/$130) for a nice looking Jr Gentlemen (I hope).

 

[Gary]

It's all about finding a market. Some people will always pay for the more expensive...they like for other people to know that they can afford it. I saw a 16 year-old kid driving a high-end BMW convertible this week (had a bow on the back that said Happy 16th, Son). Some people just like to flaunt it.

 

[PenWorks]

Gary, you should have followed that beamer. A 16 year old kid, driving a new beamer is going to be paying at least $3,000 evey 6 months for his auto insurance if he is in my neighborhood. []

I bet he could afford a few pens [] (or maybe his dad)

Anthony

 

[Gary]

That's a good point Anthony...and he has probably got a few buddies with wealthy dads!

Originally posted by penworks
<br />Gary, you should have followed that beamer. A 16 year old kid, driving a new beamer is going to be paying at least $3,000 evey 6 months for his auto insurance if he is in my neighborhood. []

I bet he could afford a few pens [] (or maybe his dad)

Anthony