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I apparently had a lot to say on this topic!

The Gamification of Fountain Pen Collecting cjs-wunderkammer.ghost.io/the-…

#FountainPens #collecting #gamification #marketing #FOMO


The Gamification of Fountain Pen Collecting

A little while ago, the Penfount Mastodon account posted a question: "Why do so many of us struggle with overconsumption in this or other hobbies? Why is it so easy and appealing to “follow the shiny” when we see something on Instagram, vendor newsle…
Cheryl Lindo Jones (CJ's Wunderkammer)
#fountainpens #marketing #gamification #fomo #collecting

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in reply to Cheryl Lindo Jones

✨🏳️‍⚧️Timelordiroh 🇵🇸
mastodon - Link to source
✨🏳️‍⚧️Timelordiroh 🇵🇸
• •
very well written and very true. I find the constant stream of "Limited Editions" very tiring. i'm still relatively quite new into fountain pens (got my first one in 2023). I think this is ultimately part of the end-stage capitalism world we live in. If a company does as well this year that they did last year, they're considered a failure. That's driving a lot of the same sales tactics and push for overconsumption in many industries.
in reply to ✨🏳️‍⚧️Timelordiroh 🇵🇸

✨🏳️‍⚧️Timelordiroh 🇵🇸
mastodon - Link to source
✨🏳️‍⚧️Timelordiroh 🇵🇸
• •
I know this isn't a unique thought around these parts, but browsing /r/fountainpens really is just a waste. Everyone posts their new pens (and hey, new pens are fun), but that gives the impression that EVERYONE is constantly buying new pens. You then also get the posts of "look at my 100 TWSBI Ecos in a rainbow". Do you really need to matchy matchy that badly? How do you use all those pens?
in reply to ✨🏳️‍⚧️Timelordiroh 🇵🇸

Jim P.
mastodon - Link to source
Jim P.
• •

@timelordiroh
The TWSBI thing I can get to some extent because they aren't terribly expensive and hold ink forever and yes I have 10 of them but I use them all because they *always* have ink when I want them.

But the more expensive brands with hundreds of colors like Sailor are harder to understand.

@✨🏳️‍⚧️Timelordiroh 🇵🇸
in reply to Jim P.

StarSloth
mastodon - Link to source
StarSloth
• •
@jimp @timelordiroh Agreed, I have a pile of twsbi's (but I think I have enough, also around ten), and I have allowed myself to collect Kaweco sports because they're inexpensive and fill that "fun rainbow" slot in my brain. But I am really not getting the, for instance, sailors that people are getting every edition of. I have a sailor, I like it. I don't necessarily need more of them, especially not at that price point.
@Jim P. @✨🏳️‍⚧️Timelordiroh 🇵🇸
in reply to StarSloth

Jim P.
mastodon - Link to source
Jim P.
• •

@silhelm @timelordiroh Between Sailor, Platinum, and Pilot special editions I don't see how people keep up. Lots of people have way more disposable income than I do, apparently. Some of the special editions look awesome, but for a pen that's already expensive, multiplying the cost by 2-4x keeps my goblin brain in check.

My go-to "fun rainbow" filler is Jinhao sharks. When a 12 pack is $20 for that good of a pen it's hard to pass up, but I stopped at 12 (so far).

@✨🏳️‍⚧️Timelordiroh 🇵🇸 @StarSloth
in reply to StarSloth

Cheryl Lindo Jones
mastodon - Link to source
Cheryl Lindo Jones
• •
@silhelm @jimp @timelordiroh Yup, Sailor is one brand I had in mind when I thought of companies that release *so many* pens in a year. I am surprised they've kept up this release frequency for so long.
@Jim P. @✨🏳️‍⚧️Timelordiroh 🇵🇸 @StarSloth
in reply to Cheryl Lindo Jones

Jim P.
mastodon - Link to source
Jim P.
• •
@silhelm @timelordiroh One benefit of getting into these things late is so many limited/special editions have already passed and are essentially unobtainable that there is no hope of being a completionist. That helps my goblin brain turn FOMO to JOMO (Joy).
@✨🏳️‍⚧️Timelordiroh 🇵🇸 @StarSloth
in reply to Jim P.

Cheryl Lindo Jones
mastodon - Link to source
Cheryl Lindo Jones
• •
@jimp @silhelm @timelordiroh Heh, for me it just feels like more of a dagger to my heart because I just missed certain limited editions and now will never obtain it. 😅🤦‍♀️ Over time I've gotten over the feeling, and every now and again I'll see someone selling a pen that I thought was forever off the market, so a couple things I try to keep in mind are, "there's always another pen," and "someone might be willing to sell the pen you want".
@Jim P. @✨🏳️‍⚧️Timelordiroh 🇵🇸 @StarSloth
in reply to Jonathan Lamothe

Cheryl Lindo Jones
mastodon - Link to source
Cheryl Lindo Jones
• •
@me @timelordiroh Agreed! I have a similar problem. Because I cooled it on pen purchases, I shifted over to buying inks, particularly ink samples, since they're much more affordable, and I love changing up which inks I use in the several pens I have inked up at a time. There are a few companies who release a ton of inks throughout the year, which just adds to the list of things I have to chill on buying.
@Jonathan Lamothe @✨🏳️‍⚧️Timelordiroh 🇵🇸

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