stupid rant #3
I remember… well, I don’t remember exactly when, but in high school or something, Pentel flooded the mainstream with a great new model of mechanical pencil (I believe it was after the Jansport backpack craze). Everybody had ‘em! They looked so sexy, they worked so well! The tips tended to break when you dug large craters in your desk with them, but they were otherwise pretty sturdy. The only real downside was how quickly the erasers would disappear, then you’d have to try so hard to fit the remains in just right, so you could still erase and not blow your load of lead.
Over the years, they made various improvements, redesigns and such. In college, when you basically sat in a room taking notes while a professor talked for 50-70 minutes, they were invaluable. The mere idea of getting up in the middle of a lecture to sharpen a “No. 2” became downright ludicrous. They pretty much conquered the market.
Apparently conquering the market with a long-lasting, reliable, refillable product is not a good idea. I recently needed more mechanical pencils, but the classic model, or any similar model, could not be found. I don’t remember the name of the economic term, but I do remember the concept of building products that will break so the consumer will have to buy more. I guess I can understand why the classic Pentel mechanical pencil has all but vanished. I mean, it’s not like they could get away with raising pencil lead refill prices to rival gasoline rates. It’s just really frustrating that a superior product has to be removed because it results in less money for the company. I would gladly pay more for a quality pencil that doesn’t spit out so much lead that it breaks off every time I start writing. As cheap as I am, I recognize the value in a pencil that doesn’t fall to pieces when I attempt to refill it. Damn it, mechanical pencil manufacturers and retail outlets, I have demand, you should supply!
Over the years, they made various improvements, redesigns and such. In college, when you basically sat in a room taking notes while a professor talked for 50-70 minutes, they were invaluable. The mere idea of getting up in the middle of a lecture to sharpen a “No. 2” became downright ludicrous. They pretty much conquered the market.
Apparently conquering the market with a long-lasting, reliable, refillable product is not a good idea. I recently needed more mechanical pencils, but the classic model, or any similar model, could not be found. I don’t remember the name of the economic term, but I do remember the concept of building products that will break so the consumer will have to buy more. I guess I can understand why the classic Pentel mechanical pencil has all but vanished. I mean, it’s not like they could get away with raising pencil lead refill prices to rival gasoline rates. It’s just really frustrating that a superior product has to be removed because it results in less money for the company. I would gladly pay more for a quality pencil that doesn’t spit out so much lead that it breaks off every time I start writing. As cheap as I am, I recognize the value in a pencil that doesn’t fall to pieces when I attempt to refill it. Damn it, mechanical pencil manufacturers and retail outlets, I have demand, you should supply!