Consider this a coupon for $60--OFF on this drop:
See here--unless you've got a major thing for demonstrators, let me hip you to a couple of pen-facts. First, as I'm sure I've mentioned elsewhere on this site, demonstrators are actually a bit of a rip-off. That's because a big chunk of what one would normally pay for in a good pen is wrapped up in the materials the barrel and cap are made of--be that precious resin or enameled metals, or a hundred other materials that are even more expensive. Beyond those material costs, there's the labor involved in turning that raw stuff into something desirable (that usually involves a lot of lathe and polishing work). However, with a clear plastic pen (yup, it's just plastic) the material is much less expensive and so is the labor involved. Add to that, the fact that most clear demonstrators appear on the market only after their original, opaque cousins have been available for ages--meaning all the tool and die costs have long been recouped--and you get a pen that costs significantly less dinero to produce. So, you might ask, with cheaper materials, and cheeper manufacturing costs, why do demonstrators often sell for premium prices?
That question can be answered with one word: "Porsches!"
Yes it's true--there are greedy little people in this world who want to take all your hard earned money so they can buy nice cars--or homes--or vacations or (fill in the blank). I have noting against those things--I just don't want to buy them for folks I've never met.
But what if you really, really want to see a plunger fill mechanism sucking up all the pretty colors of really, really expensive ink you already shelled out for (before I could stop you on each of those drops too)? Well you're in luck! You can get all of those features in an arguably nicer pen for around thirty-bucks, depending on where you find them.
Of course, I'm speaking of a TWSBI, a pen that for the most part, only comes in demonstrator versions. They fill via a plunger, and their steel nibs are actually quite decent to write with. I travel with a TWISB Echo, (and I travel to and through some rather rough and tumble places) and that pen (one of their least expensive models) preforms just as well as my better pens--which never leave the house. But if I ever did lose my traveling TWISB (through carelessness or misadventure), I wouldn't be out a C-Note--would I?
So, there you have it--do a search for: "TWSBI Echo" and spend the other hundred this pen was going to cost you on an expensive bottle of wine or whisky--or anything else that gets your creative writing juices flowing. Alternatively, you can mail the money you just saved to me--I like Porsches as much as the next guy--or not, the choice is yours, but definitely don't spend too much money on a clear, plastic pen.
PS: This is a TWSBI ^