Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Sorry Mont Blanc, I will not be purchasing any product from you in the future

twitter.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

11–20 of 46 posts

Re: Sorry Mont Blanc, I will not be purchasing any product from you in the future

#11

Post by syntheweave »

mikestew wrote: post #5
Y_Y wrote: post #3

Why would you buy a watch from them anyway? It's really lame business practise, but hardly surprising from a "luxury" brand. The good news is that there aren't proprietary electrons yet so if you can get something that fits and gives the right voltage you should be fine.

The good news is that there aren't proprietary electrons yet so if you can get something that fits and gives the right voltage you should be fine. The battery maker is under NDA, I'm sure Mont Blanc made sure you're not going to find something on AliExpress. And, yeah, I hate to blame the victim here, but who buys high-tech electronics from a maker of...fountain pens? (And maker of fine fragrances, too. sigh )

Mont Blanc's pens have been quite competently cloned by Chinese firms. I have a Jinhao x159 which performs well at a fraction of the cost.

So I can see how this is a way of making a moat for themselves, it's just also a terrible way of doing so.

Re: Sorry Mont Blanc, I will not be purchasing any product from you in the future

#12

Post by bluesquared »

syntheweave wrote: post #11
mikestew wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The good news is that there aren't proprietary electrons yet so if you can get something that fits and gives the right voltage you should be fine. The battery maker is under NDA, I'm sure Mont Blanc made sure you're not going to find something on AliExpress. And, yeah, I hate to blame the victim here, but who buys high-tech electronics from a maker of...fountain pens? (And maker of fine fragrances, too. sigh )

Mont Blanc's pens have been quite competently cloned by Chinese firms. I have a Jinhao x159 which performs well at a fraction of the cost. So I can see how this is a way of making a moat for themselves, it's just also a terrible way of doing so.

Yes, the Jinhao's of the fountain pen market make pretty decent pens, but that's not a fair comparison. That's like saying a Timex and a Rolex both tell time just as well, so why does Rolex exist?

Re: Sorry Mont Blanc, I will not be purchasing any product from you in the future

#13

Post by iancmceachern »

My wife and I absolutely love Monte Blanc, for their Fountain pens, Inks, leather and luxury goods. They are wonderful products and add a great deal to both our lives.

That being said, I would never, ever, buy electronics from them. They simply aren't an electronics company. You wouldn't buy a fountain pen or leather bag from Sony and expect it to be a premium product would you?

Re: Sorry Mont Blanc, I will not be purchasing any product from you in the future

#14

Post by znpy »

bluesquared wrote: post #12
syntheweave wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Mont Blanc's pens have been quite competently cloned by Chinese firms. I have a Jinhao x159 which performs well at a fraction of the cost. So I can see how this is a way of making a moat for themselves, it's just also a terrible way of doing so.

Yes, the Jinhao's of the fountain pen market make pretty decent pens, but that's not a fair comparison. That's like saying a Timex and a Rolex both tell time just as well, so why does Rolex exist?

> so why does Rolex exist?

So rich people can show off their wealth.

Re: Sorry Mont Blanc, I will not be purchasing any product from you in the future

#17

Post by hammyhavoc »

syntheweave wrote: post #11
mikestew wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The good news is that there aren't proprietary electrons yet so if you can get something that fits and gives the right voltage you should be fine. The battery maker is under NDA, I'm sure Mont Blanc made sure you're not going to find something on AliExpress. And, yeah, I hate to blame the victim here, but who buys high-tech electronics from a maker of...fountain pens? (And maker of fine fragrances, too. sigh )

Mont Blanc's pens have been quite competently cloned by Chinese firms. I have a Jinhao x159 which performs well at a fraction of the cost. So I can see how this is a way of making a moat for themselves, it's just also a terrible way of doing so.

Relative to what you can buy from other more reputable brands for a similar price point, it's actually not great. Nib usually needs work due to poor QC, they creak, and they're just generally a lacking experience. I'm also not endorsing spending a grand on a mass-produced pen, but there's a sensible middle ground of not buying junk nor overpaying for something that doesn't enhance your writing experience. Equally, price isn't a reliable indicator of quality.

Re: Sorry Mont Blanc, I will not be purchasing any product from you in the future

#18

Post by hammyhavoc »

sschueller wrote: post #4
Y_Y wrote: post #3

Why would you buy a watch from them anyway? It's really lame business practise, but hardly surprising from a "luxury" brand. The good news is that there aren't proprietary electrons yet so if you can get something that fits and gives the right voltage you should be fine.

It's actually a good watch. Vanilla WearOS and a nice design. A crown that let's you navigate and it's made out of titanium with sapphire glass. I have a battery that fits but the connector is different. It is too small for me to replace and the risk of destroying the connector in a such tiny flex pcb is very high.

Is it? It's a grand, and it isn't repairable once the battery goes. I'd say that's a pretty shitty smartwatch (not priced to be disposable), and an even worse general watch.

Re: Sorry Mont Blanc, I will not be purchasing any product from you in the future

#19

Post by mft_ »

iancmceachern wrote: post #13

My wife and I absolutely love Monte Blanc, for their Fountain pens, Inks, leather and luxury goods. They are wonderful products and add a great deal to both our lives. That being said, I would never, ever, buy electronics from them. They simply aren't an electronics company. You wouldn't buy a fountain pen or leather bag from Sony and expect it to be a premium product would you?

That’s not really the point though, is it?

Irrespective of whether a company is expert or not in a particular domain, they can choose (independently) whether their policy is to engage in customer-unfriendly business practices.

Post reply on HN