October 3, 2024

Where to buy Fountain Pens

It would be nice to be able to go to a store, see, and try pens, but that is not an option now in Tucson, Arizona. There are many excellent online options.

I used to favor Goulet Pens in Virginia, but their shipping is incredibly slow. Recently (August, 2026) I placed an order on Thursday. Then on Monday, I received an email that my order was "all boxed up" but not yet shipped. What?! I was actually thinking that the package might be arriving on Monday. Of course getting a pen is not life or death, nor do I expect them to get it to me in two days like Amazon, but I would have expected it to ship the next day at the latest. Next time I will try Yoseka or Dromgooles. Goulet is in Virginia, but the order hasn't even shipped 5 days later!

Amazon and counterfeits (avoid)

Amazon is fine for Chinese pens (Jinhao or Asvine), but I would avoid Amazon for top tier pens like Sailor or Lamy.

You see great deals on Amazon, but beware. As they say, if the price is too good to believe, maybe something isn't right. I have purchased two Lamy Safaris on Amazon, both of them leaked and made me hate Lamy -- until I realized they were defective, counterfeits, or something of the sort. Realize too that you aren't buying from Amazon, but from some seller, who is not likely to be an authorized retailer, meaning any warranty that would ordinarily come with the pen will not be honored by the maker. This is fair, since they have no way to know if the pen was used, damaged, counterfeit or what. When I received a Lamy 2000 from Amazon in a plain plastic bag without the genuine Lamy box with warranty papers I send it back.

Buying from Japan via Amazon (circa 2024)

This is (was) indeed a way to get pens at great prices, and even pens that would not ordinarily be available on the US market. In the case of Sailor at least, and almost certainly other manufacturers you get no warranty -- so you have to balance that against a good price. You do get a 30 day return window from Amazon, so you can inspect it, try it out, and verify that you made a good purchase. Ebay is another option for new pens from Japan. All this seems to have changed as of July, 2026 -- prices on pens from Japan have shot up, and are now double or triple the prices from 2024. I not longer see great deals on pens from Japan on Ebay or Amazon.

Another way to buy from Japan (2024)

I have never tried this, but I found this tip in the above Reddit post:
There is another site called Buyee.JP where you can order a pen directly from a shop in Japan. It will be delivered to the Buyee wharehouse and then they write up the customs forms and forward it on to you.
I did it some years ago to get the Yellow Pilot Custom 74 which was a limited edition. Pretty seamless process.

Top tier retailers

These all should be authorized retailers for Lamy, and probably all other brands. I have ordered from Goulet and Goldspot -- Goldspot is great, Goulet is good, but slow to ship.

Cult Pens is in the UK (Tiverton). You have to order over $200 to get free shipping, and shipping is $15 for less than $100, but they have amazing prices and the biggest variety of any that I have seen.

Dromgooles has free shipping over $69.

Yoseka has free shipping over $80.
Goulet has free shipping over $99.
Jet Pens has free shipping over $35, which is great for ink.

Dromgooles sells previously owned pens.

Feedback? Questions? Drop me a line!

Tom's Pen Info / tom@mmto.org