Scarcity

Recently I wrote a chronicle to report on the new release of Sailor seasonal inks. On that text I also criticized that company for its policy on limited edition inks.

That chronicle became quite popular, much visited. I confess I contributed to that popularity by starting a couple of threads in two different fora (Grafopasión and Fountain Pen Network). But I am afraid my criticism on the marketing policy might have been overlooked by most. Fellow blogger Margana Maurer –Inkophile—, however, did notice it and, even better, she agreed with me. Good to know.

Two green inks by Sailor. On the left, the now discontinued Green. On the right, the seasonal Miruai —Summer 2010—. The difference in price, JPY 600 for the old green, and JPN 1000 for the seasonal.

The question, then, is what is the point of speaking about these inks? That chronicle is free advertising for Sailor. And a good one, for that matter, as is placed in a very specialized forum, where all its participants are potentially interested in those inks.

So, why are we doing this? Why did I write about this company whose strategy I dislike? Well, I guess we all are mature enough to make our own decisions. Information, fortunately, runs wild in these times of computers and global connections. But sometimes, though, I am not so optimistic: fountain pen companies are making a lot of money out of selling scarcity—that is the ultimate goal of limited editions. And a basic capitalist argument.

(Pilot Short pen – Pilot Iroshizuku Yama-guri)

Bruno Taut
(Shinjuku, October 4th, 2010)
[labels: Sailor, estilofilia, mercado]