FAKE MONTBLANC PENS ON EBAY: PLEASE READ BEFORE BUYING. : eBay Guides

Before you buy a Montblanc pen on eBay can you be sure that it isn't a counterfeit? Here are some tips to help you avoid losing money to someone who is selling counterfeits. When you are looking for a specific pen beware that most counterfeits will be sold on a 1, 3 or 5 day listing, by a fairly new seller with either no feedback, or very few feedback that has recently been left over a few days for buying 1p items. The most obvious Montblanc counterfeits are called 'Mont something Blanc' in the title. The reason why sellers of counterfeit items separate the words 'Mont' and 'Blanc' by placing another word between them is to try to avoid breaching the manufacturer's copyright when they know they are selling counterfeit items not made by that manufacturer. Check that the pictures on the listing are of the actual pen that you are buying, as library pictures from the Montblanc web-site should always arouse your suspicions. Also beware of one blurry picture of a pen where you can't see the nib, bands and clip clearly. Some sellers even show pictures of genuine pens but send counterfeits after you have won the auction and sent payment. So before bidding always check a sellers feedback to see if he has sold similar pens before and received negative feedback for selling fakes. Unfortunately the presence of a serial number is not a guarantee that the pen is genuine, as most counterfeit pens have fake serial numbers on them.

There is a current trend for scammers with new or fairly new selling ID's to list Montblanc pens as multiple Buy it Now listings selling several identical pens for approximately £85- £100 on 7 day listings with free P&P. Although they say they accept PayPal as their payment method, these scammers are fraudsters with no items to sell and you will receive nothing if you pay by an alternative payment method. Always use PayPal as your payment method, so that you have full protection, and if the seller says that his PayPal account isn't working then don't pay by any alternative suggested method.

I will try to help you to see the differences between fake and genuine modern Meisterstucks: If you look at the spacer underneath the bottom of the clip (the bit that keeps the clip away from the barrel) you will see that it has been placed on separately. The end and sides of the clip aren't 'folded in' to make the spacer. If you examine the three gold or platinised bands around the base of the cap, they are perfectly inset into the resin and are flat and level with the cap resin body. The centre band is still inset and it's upper and lower edges are flat and level with the cap, but the central portion is slightly raised, although still quite flat rather than fully rounded, and has MONTBLANC MEISTERSTUCK cleanly engraved into it. The cap bands on the fake Meisterstucks aren't flat and inset, they sit proud of the resin. The lettering isn't cleanly engraved into the central band and feels rough. When you unscrew a Meisterstuck ballpoint, the brass screw thread protrudes out of the bottom of the cap, and screws inside the barrel. The cap doesn't have a screw thread inside that screws onto a resin screw thread on the top of the barrel. When you remove a refill from a Montblanc ballpoint, the spring will not come out, as it has a flared top to keep it inside the bottom of the barrel. The fail safe test for most counterfeit Montblanc ballpoints if everything else looks right, is that a genuine Montblanc ballpoint refill won't fit into them as it's slightly larger than the copies that the counterfeiters make. So I would recommend that you always have a genuine refill on hand to try out in any suspect ballpoint. Unfortunately, the latest counterfeit Starwalker ballpoints pass this test.

All Montblanc ballpoints are twist action pens. With Montblanc fineliners and rollerballs you have to remove the cap before you can write. So if you have a normal ballpoint refill in a pen that needs the cap removed before you can write, it isn't a genuine Montblanc.

For metal Solitaire Meisterstucks the metal always continues up around the sides of the snowcap top, past the clip band. Montblanc don't make Solitaire Meisterstucks that have black snowcaps with no metal around them. Nor do they have any signs of black resin bands between the silver or gold bands around the base of the cap, the metal cap bands are neatly inset into the metal body of the cap. In fact Montblanc don't make any coloured Meisterstucks that have black snowcap tops.

Before you buy a fountain pen please look at some genuine Montblanc nibs on the Montblanc web-site, or on the German fountainpen dot de site. Montblanc don't make any nibs that say Iridium Point Germany (or Italy or Paris - a dead giveaway!). See the pictures below: The left hand nib is a genuine Montblanc nib, and the right hand nib is the Iridium Point counterfeit nib. For modern black resin Meisterstucks the nibs are usually 14ct gold with a platinum inlay. They have Montblanc, 4810 (the height of Mont Blanc in feet) and the snowcap engraved on them, plus 14ct (or 18ct). The 149 has an 18ct gold nib, and the Solitaires have 18ct nibs like the one below. The Limited and Special Editions have specially designed 18ct nibs that refer to the edition. All post 1991 Montblancs now have the trademark 'Pix' on the inside of the metal clip shaft. All post 1991 Montblancs also have a serial number plus 'Germany' etched into the upper cap band. The serial number will start with 2 letters. If you buy a brand new pen that doesn't have the word 'Pix' on the inside of the clip then it is a counterfeit.

One of the most commonly seen counterfeits of a Limited Edition pen is the Writers Edition 'F.Scott Fitzgerald'. So if you want this pen please make sure that you know what a genuine one looks like in every detail. Specifically the counterfeit won't have the correct Montblanc platinum and gold nib, the silver bands are a different width, and there is an extra one around the base of the forepart next to the nib. The counterfeits will usually show black resin through the marbled white resin where the barrel pieces join. I have seen a seller on eBay UK list a counterfeit Fitzgerald with library pictures of the genuine pen, then put in a last picture of his counterfeit that is slightly out of focus and has the extra silver band plus a gold nib rather than the correct platinum one. Any F.Scott Fitzgerald pen not in it's original book box packaging should be considered a serious risk. The genuine version is pictured below. Please note that all Montblanc Limited Edition pens are only made in one colourway. Alternative colour choices are always counterfeits. The Greta Garbo edition only comes with a cream cap and a black barrel and, apart from two very expensive diamond editions of it, hasn't been made in any other colourway. Montblanc only make the Greta Garbo as a twist action ballpoint and a fountain pen. So all Greta Garbo rollerball style pens, or those called ballpoints that have removable caps rather than a twist action are counterfeits. Also, the genuine Greta Garbo fountain pen only accepts small cartridges. It can't accept a converter because of it's shape. All Montblanc Greta Garbo pens come with a special large square leather case that opens down the centre. So any Greta Garbo's that come in other types of Montblanc style boxes should be considered counterfeits.

Counterfeit Limited Edition pens won't usually be in their original special boxes or cases, instead they might come in an ordinary Montblanc box that someone has sold on eBay. Counterfeits sometimes also come in Montblanc leather goods boxes with 'Solitaire Leather Goods' warranty cards and booklets. Genuine Montblanc pens should have a 'Writing Instruments Service Guide' booklet, or 'International warranty'. But sellers of counterfeits also buy boxes and Service Guide booklets sold on eBay. No genuine Montblanc boxes contain white satiny material with a white satiny band over the pen. This box is a Chinese fake and is almost always guaranteed to contain a fake Boheme, Meisterstuck or Starwalker style pen.

Montblanc don't make rollerballs in their Limited Editions although they do make rollerballs in their Special Anniversary Editions. One notable exception so far is the Dostoevsky Writers Edition. So if you see any other Limited Edition rollerball on eBay then it must be counterfeit because Montblanc have never made one. They have recently introduced an Ingrid Bergman rollerball.

To see good detailed images of other ranges such as Boheme, Starwalker and Scenium go to the Montblanc web-site before you buy one. You can also find some good close up pictures on many of the genuine listings on eBay.com or eBay.de. The Montblanc Boheme range has different coloured jewels on the clip, and the colour of the jewel depends on whether they have gold or platinum coloured accents. The Montblanc Boheme fountain pen always comes with a retractable nib and is a cartridge only pen. That was the main idea for Montblanc making this range.

Montblanc make the Starwalker as a twist action ballpoint, a fountain pen with a short rhodium silver coloured nib, and a fineliner with a spring action tip. Although the fineliner can also take a rollerball refill, it isn't sold new like this. So you can assume that Starwalker rollerballs on eBay are fakes, unless one has specifically had it's fineliner refill removed and replaced with a rollerball refill at the point of sale. When you look at the tip end of Starwalkers, the writing tip of the refill only just protrudes out of the end of the barrel. If you can see quite a lot of pointed refill tip then the pen is more likely to be counterfeit, as this is one sign of a fake Montblanc refill. Any Starwalker types with different coloured, marbled barrels are definitely Chinese fakes as Montblanc have never made the Starwalker with a marbled barrel, nor a partly marbled barrel. Although they have recently produced a 'Cool Blue' Starwalker range. Currently there are some very clever counterfeits of the Starwalker on sale, unusually these even accept genuine Montblanc refills. The only apparent difference that can be detected by an experienced eye is a slightly off-centre snowcap, or a larger one than the genuine version, floating inside the perspex top. I personally wouldn't currently buy any Starwalker rollerball or ballpoint on eBay UK unless there was a picture of the warranty certificate, and I had confidence from the sellers previous feedback.

When you go to the Montblanc web-site, if you require a copy of the latest catalogue, they will send one to you. Also, you don't need to buy your Montblanc bottled ink, cartridges, converters or other refills at higher than retail prices plus excessively high P&P from an eBay Seller. You can order these consumables by telephone from any Montblanc boutique or department store concession, at a fraction of the cost. At the time of  writing Montblanc bottled ink currently costs less than £10, converters cost £5.30 and packs of 6 cartridges cost £2.15. Montblanc will post them to you for £1 or £2 P&P. This also helps you to guarantee that you will receive a genuine ballpoint or rollerball refill that hasn't been used, also that bottled ink is genuine Montblanc ink, and is not a refill of a different brand, or watered down old ink.

There are also lots of counterfeit pen pouches or cases on eBay. Compare the following 2 examples: The first one is a genuine Montblanc and the second one is counterfeit. Please note the longer flap on the genuine case, with the loop sewn in much further down the case. On the genuine case the loop is one wide piece of thicker leather sewn into the seam on the lower part of the case not like the counterfeit that has two small and thin pieces sewn together then sewn into the top seam.

It doesn't take much practice to spot the differences between a fake and a genuine Montblanc. Take your time, look out for the pitfalls and you might own your genuine Montblanc sooner than you think. Good Luck! If you've enjoyed reading my guide, then please give me the thumbs up by voting YES below. I would love to stay in the top 100! Thank you very much.