Customer Reviews

I completely disagree with the comment below. This is the most amazing fountain pen. One I put in the cartridge, the ink flowed easily and freely. The ink is beautiful and vibrant. I bought a refill and now I\'m back to buy more because of how frequently I use this pen. I took it with me to a convention along with another bag of pens. This pen fascinated me so much I ended up blowing through 2 cartridges. This is a must buy. At the $, this pen is a great price and quality.

A nice economical FP, writes very well with a smooth flow. If you don\'t write with it for a few days it does tends to dry at the nib but a second of scribbling brings it right back. Definitely recommended for a reliable everyday FP and as a great starting pen. For the $ this is a fine work horse. The purple is a very rich color, more on the violet side but still easy on the eyes.

The barrel cracked along the seam within days of receiving one of these pens...Very poor quality plastic...but when these pens do not crack they are great, they have a very nice nib and are easily converted for barrel fill to use with Noodler's Inks...It would be great if the company that makes these would put more effort into the quality of the plastic especially at the seam.

I bought this pen and the blue one and the black one. it skips a lot at first but after a while it writes smooth. you kinda have to shake it a little bit to get the ink flowing. overall the ink flows well.

Even with the bad reviews, I decided to try this pen. Bought some Blue/Black refills to go with it. I figured at only $3.00 who cares if it isnt so great, right?

wrong. The problem is that with this pen it COMPLETELY frustrates you. It doesnt write to begin with, so you pinch and poke and coax the ink into coming out. It still wont budge. You get determined one afternoon, roll up your sleeves and attack it with everything you have! You get some ink to come out..... And then it stops..

I stored it tip down (Gasp!) for over a week, checking it daily, no, still wont work. Finally, it writes without a ton of effort to start it, but i store it upside down, and recap it when i pause to think what i am going to write next.

Is $3 worth the time and frustration to you? I say give it to a friend to get it started for you and then, just maybe it might be worth it ;)

I ordered this purple for a different color from my usual blues and blacks. At first I was really surprised at its poor performance. My black preppy never acted up at all, but this had so much trouble starting I almost returned it. Finally it worked like my original preppy and I was relieved. I just picked it up after not using it for a few weeks and it started perfectly at the first letter. I love Preppy's - they are lightweight, extremely comfortable to write with (has the perfect girth in my humble opinion) and is a fantastic value.

The purple is more of a magenta color then purple purple. So keep it in mind when ordering if you don't like magenta. The fountain pen itself works pretty good, although for me, sometimes it requires a shake or two. I've been using this pen on a daily basis since I got it, about a few weeks ago. The ink runs out fast if you write a lot. Instead of buying disposable refills, I would suggest that you convert it to a eye dropper or just clean out the cartridge and use a syringe to fill with ink (don't forget to clean the nib if you're changing color!) I'm currently using J. Herbin Fountain Pen Ink - Violette Pensee.

This is my second Platinum Preppy Fountain Pen.

This one works just as well as my first one. I won't give it five stars because it's not really fine point - I'd call this medium. But it writes so well that I am happy to use a medium point pen. The purple is a bit "grape-ier" than I expected, but it's an interesting color. It definitely stands out on the page. I plan to use this for journaling/letter writing because it's too bright for me to feel comfortable using it at the office (I work in a male dominated field).

If only Platinum Preppy would make refills with brown ink. It looks like I'll have to buy myself an o-ring and use bottled ink!

Wow - this purple ink is beautiful! And the pen ain't so bad, either!

Goods:
- ink is clear and bold
Bad:
- mine Brooke in a month!!!!

just got this pen! omg it's so perfect! it's so cheap and nice for a decent fountain pen, it's really a steal. I used platinum converter for this and ink flows smoothly and nicely, no breaking! i will definitely buy more colors of this pen :) it's just amazing !

Nearly impossible to get the ink flowing. Granted, this pen is under $4, but it was still a major disappointment.

Once you get the ink flowing a great everyday pen. THis pen writes smoothly, and I like this color. Highly recommended.....

Exceptional!! One of my best orders from jetpens! There are no flaws in this pen (in my opinion) and I can only say good things. I love the fact that this is a very easy-to-use fountain pen (because some fountain pens can be somewhat of a hassle to use). The color in this pen is beautiful and vibrant, worth every penny, even though it is very inexpensive for the quality! I give it an A and would recommend it to anyone!

I have been checking out JetPens for a while, but never ordered anything until this week. The delivery was quick, especially since I’m on the other side of the country. This pen writes extremely smooth. I’m glad I got the fine point though, because it is a little thicker than I am used to. It is a very lightweight pen. I can’t wait to get another order together to get more of these pens and the refills.

All I can say is WOW! I Just love this pen to death! It's such a beautiful color. And write almost as small as my Hi-Tec-C on my stationary. It writes so smooth. and never gets caught on my paper. I also love the color of the nib. I just all around really love this fountain pen. It's great to hold, and isn't to small, OR to bulky. It's just write (:P) I would recommend this to anyone. Even my aunt who hates fountain pens, found herself loving this one.

I just bought this pen and am waiting for it to come in the mail. It usually takes about 1-2 days to get to me and I've ordered many times from jetpens. I read an article saying you can refill platinum preppy fountain pens with regular bottled inks by just adding an o-ring to the threads of the barrel. I am currently in love with the j. herbin and pilot iroshizuku bottled inks and am waiting on my glass pens and the platinum preppy pens to test them out. I am definitely looking forward to receiving these pens in the mail. I only wish bottled inks were cheaper... $22.50 for a bottle of iroshizuku is really taxing my wallet. overall, great buy though!

I am about to order one of these pens. I must say I am surprised at the negative reviews. People, this pen costs little $!! Don\'t think it will exceed your expectations. It\'s a fountain pen in a plastic barrel. Think about it! You could buy 5 of these for the cost of another pen and will get satisfactory results for your needs. If you\'re looking for better quality, you have to pay for it.

Bought the pen because it was the only one that was 1. $3 and 2. had no negative reviews.
It came with a 2.25" ink cartridge it ran out after about 50 full pages of notes in 3 days for me because your hands never ever get tired... i don't know why...
never bleeds, never leaked, it gets dry if you leave it out uncapped for like a minute, but i'm guessing the drying issue is universal to fountain pens. I learned to just tap the table once before starting to write again and the dryness can be avoided.
Love the fine point; I can't imagine getting a european brand pen, and finding out that their "fine point" is really a "medium point" thickness... For this pen, it says 0.3mm, but realistically, it is about 0.5mm on paper, which is PERFECT.

Absolutely flawless.
Better than any pencil and pen I have ever used. (Dr.Grip, and alpha grip combined)
The fact that I have to change the cartridge frequently motivates me because it tells me that I'm doing a lot of work (unlike other ball point pens where the ink never, ever, ever runs out...)

Contemplating on whether to get a converter.
I absolutely love this pen, I am scared to get any other pens =\.

The Platinum Preppy is one of the first few fountain pens I've owned/used, and as cheap as it is... this is a great pen. I give it good marks for having a very buttery writing experience, as well as good flow even after you ignore it for a few days. The Blue-Black is somewhat light but I still like the slight variations in the shade of blue. If I have anything that I would improve in this pen... well I love fine lines so an extra-fine nib would be ideal, because for me the fine nib seems fairly thick almost like a .5-.7mm ballpoint/gel pen line. Also, probably attributed to low cost and being clear, the plastic in the cap and barrel is pretty fragile. The second time I used my pen, I slightly twisted the cap as I removed it. This cracked the barrel about 3 places, easily remedied with some clear tape... even If I got a defective barrel, I think a matte finished black body on these pens would not only help aesthetics but probably allow more durable plastics to be used. If I return to the Platinum brand on my next order, I might give their Plaisir line a go... they seem like a more robust version of these little beauties.

P.S. the coloring on my nib started coming off almost immediately, now I have a half blue, half silver colored nib... this did NOT effect performance.

I converted all my Preppys to dropper fill just as jetpens suggests. I love these pens. Never once have they given me any trouble. No leaks. I've taken them on airplanes to China and they were fantastic. I have four filled with Noodlers ink: black 05, blue 03, whaler's brown 05, black 03.

It writes like a dream but the barrel and cap are made from weak, brittle plastic. I've been very careful with mine and both the top of the body and the bottom of the cap have developed cracks. This is my second Preppy, which I got to replace the first one that had the same issue.

I know it's only a $3 pen, but I still expect it to not fall apart after a few months of easy desktop use, especially after buying the $8 converter. It's a shame too, because the fine nib writes like a dream, much smoother than many of my "real" fountain pens.

The Platinum Preppys are the best pen for $3 you will ever buy*. If you have ever wanted to try out a fountain pen, the Preppy is a great way to do it. At that price you cant get hurt much if you don't like it.

jeff stiefer

* For a full-sized cheap pen. I actually prefer the Pilot Petit (sold here at jetpens) but its a small pen and my not be good for big hands

For $3.30 I ordered these along with another pen. Just for kicks I thought I'd give it a run. I was totally impressed. the ink flow was silky smooth, almost like writing with a felt tip. The lines are broad for a Japanese pen. I plan to order a couple more to hold colored inks.

Best $3 pen of any kind I own.

I have several Preppy pens, and give them out regularly to friends and siblings. They are a really good pen for the price. I have had several for almost a year now and have only ever had one crack. The crack is in the cap and it only happened because I dropped my seven pound laptop on the pen. This isn't a pen that can take a lot of abuse, but at this price that's not really expected. They are well worth the price.