Over the last month, I have been repeatedly asked by fellow pen lovers as to why U.S. prices for Pelikan’s fine writing instruments far exceed that which is available elsewhere. It’s no secret that over the last few years, an increasingly growing number of U.S. consumers have awakened to the realization that Pelikan fountain pens can often be had for significant savings when purchased from overseas vendors. The U.S. market has seen a steady increase in the price of Pelikan’s fine writing instruments, the last swell coming in February of 2016. Consequently, authorized United States’ retailers have historically had to offer their Pelikan wares at significantly higher prices than competing international merchants. Regardless of what factors may have contributed to that discrepancy, the end result was a tilted playing field that made it incredibly hard for US vendors to compete in what is clearly a global economy. I have always questioned the disparity in pricing and wondered why U.S. customers are dealt with so differently? It’s a passionate issue for me because I have a deep affection for the brand but their marketing strategy has prevented me from recommending even an entry level Pelikan pen to anyone starting out in this hobby since these too are often priced higher than competing brands.

For the last month, I have done extensive research into the economics of why Pelikan’s U.S. pricing might be the way that it is and that is what I intended to present to you today. Just as I was preparing to publish that article, Pelikan/Chartpak called an audible on me and therefore I have scrapped that entire post in favor of this one. What I present to you now is evidence that there may be a major shift in U.S. pricing silently occurring and our domestic vendors and their customers are likely to reap the benefits.

Let us begin the discussion by way of an example of recent market pricing that illustrates the situation of the last several years. For this case in point, we will look at a 2017 model, the highly popular M800 Renaissance Brown. The EU/German MSRP was €480 ($558.62) and the pen was available at retail for €384 early on ($446.90) and currently sells for €480 to German buyers (including their standard 19% tax). The U.S. MSRP was $800 and the pen was sold at retail for $640 to domestic consumers. The Renaissance Brown was available to U.S. buyers from overseas vendors for approximately $400, a significant savings over domestic pricing and even cheaper than what consumers in Europe might pay. Even when taking the value added tax (VAT) into account, U.S. buyers still paid more, $100 – $200 more in this example per unit if bought from a U.S. retailer. A similar story has unfolded with most of Pelikan’s releases over the past several years.

I cannot say whether it has been Pelikan, their North American distributor Chartpak, or a combination of the two that has historically dictated the market strategy for the U.S. Whoever is responsible, examples such as the one above have likely caused many North American customers to balk at domestic pricing and look for ways to purchase at lower prices, namely by looking to international retailers. Pelikan has also risked a backlash from higher paying customers who have begun to doubt the perceived value that they are receiving from the premium prices paid which can result in a feeling of being taken advantage of. Below you will find a table detailing several M8xx releases from Pelikan over the span of 2012-2017. This table is not all-inclusive but it gives you a fairly good idea of the North American asking prices for several M8xx sized Souverän fountain pens. The MSRP has averaged somewhere around $820 over that period and has remained somewhat constant though markedly higher than what has been available from overseas.

M8xx Model Year MSRP US Retail M800 Tortoiseshell Brown 2012 $750 $600 M800 Burnt Orange 2015 $845 $676 M805 Stresemann 2015 $800 $640 M805 Vibrant Blue 2016 $875 $700 M800 Grand Place 2016 $850 $680 M800 Renaissance Brown 2017 $800 $640

With the announcement of Pelikan’s newest M805 model, the Ocean Swirl, we have confirmation that Pelikan/Chartpak may indeed be altering their pricing policy in the North American market. This was first hinted at by the pricing of the recently announced but yet to be released M605 White Transparent. The U.S. MSRP for that pen is just $475 with a U.S. retail asking price of $380. That is just about identical to what you can order this pen for from overseas vendors (€319.67 or $382.04 excluding VAT), essentially negating any advantage to purchasing abroad. This is unusual because the M600 Pink from 2015 had an MSRP of $625 and sold for around $500. Likewise, the M605 Marine Blue (2013) and the M600 Vibrant Green (2014) had MSRPs of $595. I cannot recall any instances in recent memory when pricing for almost anything actually fell, can you?

My conclusion at the time the M605 pricing was announced was that it was too soon to know whether this represented a change in policy or whether it was a one time freak occurrence. I have learned today that the U.S. MSRP for the M805 Ocean Swirl will be just $650 with a minimum advertised retail price of $520. That MSRP and retail price represent a 19% reduction over what was asked for the Renaissance Brown. Remember that the European retail price for this upcoming model is €430 (~$505.68) for US customers (minus the VAT). Just like with the White Transparent, current U.S. pricing seems to be in parity with that of overseas vendors. Perhaps it is too soon to tell whether or not this reduction is part of a broader stratagem to bring the U.S. market more in line with the international stage thereby boosting sales in said market. If this is part of some greater strategy, then I commend Pelikan/Chartpak for the somewhat overdue effort.

Why now is anyone’s guess. My suspicion is that savvy consumers in the US have been reaping the benefits from shopping overseas which has likely pressured Pelikan/Chartpak into rethinking their marketing strategy due to lost sales in the region. Of course, no data is available to support this supposition but it is a reasonable consideration. Some fairly significant factors likely had to play into the pricing of these two models for the U.S. market and I can’t imagine anything more motivating than profoundly declining sales data. The winners here are US customers and hopefully, this will extend to their preferred local retailers. U.S. purchases have always come with a 30 day nib exchange and 3 year warranty serviced through Chartpak which certainly adds to the value of a pen purchase and should not be overlooked.

What are your thoughts on this developing trend? If all things are relatively equal, will you bring your purchases back to those retailers in North America? If this persist, will it change your purchasing habits? Are you more likely to buy more Pelikan pens in the future? I’m sure that Pelikan/Chartpak are hoping for an affirmative answer to all of the above questions. The continuation of these much more attractive prices may very well depend on it.