Is there any demand for pens?

[kejyhov]

A few days ago, I used a nice-ish pen, and now I can't go back to the dollar-store bic pens. So I was wondering, is there any demand for good pens among the LTT audience? I think it would be an interesting product to have in lttstore, a nice pen that won't cost you the same as a montblanc.

[Yoinkerman]

Mitsubishi pens already exist

[manikyath]

yes and no.

 

the problem with a pen is that it's literally a decorative shell around a filling, and the filling determines the "performance" of the pen.

 

the only pen i still write with is a very old pen that's had some repairs, but i keep it in one piece because i like the feel of it.

originally it wrote horribly, but i just stuck a parker filling in it, and it's now the best ballpoint pen you could ever own, because the filling is just good. the shell is pretty much junk, because it's an engraver's pen, nothing special about it.

 

i also have a pen that's blue, black, orange marker, and pencil in the size of a normal pen, but it's VERY expensive, so i dont really take it with me anywhere, and as it turns out writing most often happens when you're at a place to sign a contract. and again.. the "writing good" bit about it is in the good fillings. i actually read reviews about different brand fillings for it...

 

so.. if the merch team would want to make an LTT pen, there's two options:

- a $10 'LTT pen' that's just a normal pen, but made from metal front-to-back so it'll practically outlive you. then stick a high quality filling in it and call it a day.

 

- a $80+ (yes, that's how much my fancy pen cost, some 15 years ago) pen that contains some key unique feature that makes the LTT pen stand out. the problem here is that this would make it even more of a niche product than the backpack and screwdriver combined.

 

either way, the other problem is that the market of pens is EXTREMELY saturated, to the point that 'just about every design has been done', so you really might as well just use an engraving service to make orange pens with an LTT logo, and then source high quality fillings to ship it with, because that'll be orders of magnitude cheaper than trying to produce a pen of your own with so little difference from an engraver's pen that you might have just not bothered.

 

and past that.. there's two limiting factors to the LTT audience that limit the market of a pen:

- how many of us still write enough to actually *buy* a new pen?

- how many of those are interested in a high end pen?

[Erioch]

To me, logo'd pens are only used to be given away by companies.  I've never purchased a company's logo'd pen.  I've been given hundreds of them, though.  Most go right in the trash.

[manikyath]

1 minute ago, Erioch said:

To me, logo'd pens are only used to be given away by companies.  I've never purchased a company's logo'd pen.  I've been given hundreds of them, though.  Most go right in the trash.

there's a difference between a logo'd pen, and a specificly designed pen though.

 

and yes.. stamping your logo on a pen costs pennies per unit.. and most of those are absolute junk.

i'd expect the merch team to at least source propper ink fillings though...

[Erioch]

4 minutes ago, manikyath said:

there's a difference between a logo'd pen, and a specificly designed pen though.

 

and yes.. stamping your logo on a pen costs pennies per unit.. and most of those are absolute junk.

i'd expect the merch team to at least source propper ink fillings though...

I've gotten dozens of "premium" pens from companies (I go to a lot of conferences).  They're all junk.  Junk in a fancy box.

[Erioch]

But I'm sure that if they made pens here, someone would buy them.  I barely use them anymore.

[manikyath]

43 minutes ago, Erioch said:

I've gotten dozens of "premium" pens from companies (I go to a lot of conferences).  They're all junk.  Junk in a fancy box.

again.. "premium" and premium.

 

my "main" pen is a logo engraved pen. the fact it's engraved instead of printed may already be a key difference, but like i mentioned before, past the shape (and not falling apart) all that matters is the ink filling.bulk logo pens use the cheapest available, just upgrading that to a high end filling is leangues difference.

 

9 minutes ago, 2023 said:

Is there are market for a $20 pen? Yes.

 

Take the Staedler 925 as an example. Sub $10 and already "high end" for normal consumer. Entering the market wouldn't be challenging. Take an existing legendary pencil and do a limited edition.

the issue here is how big the overlap between the market for a high end pen, and the market for LTT merch might be.

 

even just a logo stamped pen is bought by the thousands, i'm not sure they have thousands of people willing to spend that sort of money on a pen - also having to assume that the people who care most likely already have a pen with their mechanism of choice.

 

IMO if they want to make this a "success" in an LTTstore market, it would have to be something with unique nerd appeal somehow. just thinking straight BS now, but perhaps the back should be a philips size 1 screwdriver, or it's an actually propper capaciitive touch screen nub on one side, and actually propper pen on the other.

 

11 minutes ago, 2023 said:

Parker for document safe (formfactor, genuine Parker isn't great).

i'm running a parker filling in my main pen, the only thing it doesnt deal well with is sitting in the cold for a while, and then having to write. otherwise i really cant complain about it at all. it *is* a very old filling though.. so may as well be that they're shyte now.

[Chiyawa]

I always use Pilot, especially their G2. I used their G1 before, but now it was replaced by G3, which is a bummer.

 

I mean, LTT can create their pen, but it just add unnecessary cost to the product and their account. But your idea is not bad. If LTT wanted, they can bundle the pen as a freebie like how a few stores do back in those days (but sadly most of them not any more because people would take the freebie pen by a boatload).

[BlueChinchillaEatingDorito]

Muji pens are my go to. Cheap, solidly built, writes nice. 

[manikyath]

2 minutes ago, 2023 said:

Limited colorways are normal within the pencil community meaning it wouldn't be sktechy. For the average fan writing with chepo freebie? Propably pleased to experience a well build pencil. $20 would also be in the range what one might gift for an EDC.

Rotring released a yellow version of their 600 in Japan and it sold out quickly. Add pencil collectors going after it and it should be enough to hit the MOQ for a cooperation. Additionaly it would create an influx of customer who might otherwise wouldn't even know what LTTstore is.

 

Pentel has done such cooperations before. Faber Castell did it. Staedler did it. Ortho did not. Tombow might not. Misthubishi might not. Zebra might not. etc.

 

Most people never heared about woodless (graphite) pencils making them "unique" before even adding any graphic design/engraving: Ultra lightweight and low enough cost.

 

 

pens <=> pencils.

[kejyhov]

On 2/19/2023 at 4:40 PM, manikyath said:

the problem with a pen is that it's literally a decorative shell around a filling, and the filling determines the "performance" of the pen.

That's exactly what I was thinking about. The internal part doesn't have much to be improved after decades of existence, however, the shell could be worked on. Maybe it could be inspired by the design of the screwdriver or something, then attach a stylus in the back(or a socket compatible with the screwdriver bits if feeling adventurous), a nfc chip, and call it a day.

 

On 2/19/2023 at 4:40 PM, manikyath said:

and past that.. there's two limiting factors to the LTT audience that limit the market of a pen:

- how many of us still write enough to actually *buy* a new pen?

- how many of those are interested in a high end pen?

Considering how many people buy decorative pieces from LTT(like plushies, pillows and lately, pins) I don't think that would be a problem, people would buy it if it's not crazy expensive(IMO >50 USD, but varies depending on who you ask).

[Lomac]

On 2/19/2023 at 10:59 PM, BlueChinchillaEatingDorito said:

Muji pens are my go to. Cheap, solidly built, writes nice. 

Currently have one of their highlighters with me at work right now. Much nicer than the basic Sharpie or Avery ones, and a decent fidget toy when needed.

 

Pilot G2 and Uniball Signo pens for writing, however.

 

No idea if there's a niche out there for LTT branded pens, though there probably would be for a limited edition run. Have a nice custom metal casing finished in that pin RGB colouring and it'll probably sell out relatively quickly. Possibly not enough of a market for a regularly stocked item, however.

[angry_wizard]

If they did a fountain pen or refillable rollerball I'd be down for that.

[MartyS]

Not much of a "tech" angle to add to pens.  For specialty pens it's more of a woodworking or machinist type of product.  I got into making them for a short time, got the kits and made some out of various types of wood and a few that were all metal, that hobby only lasted about 3 months before I got bored with it.

 

Maybe if they were made by CNC and had interesting designs that would be a way to go, but production would be slow and they would probably have to charge $50 a pen...