Please Take This Survey

[mr twit]

I am doing a business studies coursework piece on Bic. It'd be great if you could quickly take this survey, it'll help me a lot. Ta.

Just to make sure you know what it's about:

Bic. Cost: about 15p

Mont Blanc ballpoint pen. Cost: Upwards of £100.

The Survey:
1. Have you ever bought a Bic brand ballpoint pen?

2. Have you ever bought a Mont Blanc, or other exclusive brand ballpoint pen?

3. If you answered yes to both of the above, did you feel that the difference in price between the two is justified? Was the exclusive pen worth it?

4. If you answered yes to both of the above, why did you buy the expensive pen?
a. Better quality
b. Status symbol
c. I'm incredibly rich

5. If you have never bought an exclusive pen, why have you not?
a. Did not feel the need for an expensive pen
b. Wanted one, but did not want to spend so much
c. Had never seen such expensive pens
d. Other

6. If you have never bought an exclusive pen, do you feel that Bic or other disposal pens are adequate, or do you think they could be improved?

 

[Ernest]

1. Yes
2. No
3. n/a
4. n/a
5. a
6. I think that most disposable pens are adequate, they do their job and at the end of the day all you do is write with a pen regardles of whether its 15p or 100 odd quid.

 

[Mark]

1) Yes
2) No
5) a
6) They're fine. A pen is a pen.

 

[mattmagoo]

1. Yes
2. No
3. n/a
4. n/a
5. a
6. I prefer reusuable inexpensive pens for roughly £1.50, i find bic pens too uncomfortable over long stretches of writing, but are fine for things like maths. Expensive pens seem ridiculous unless they have something the competition doesnt thats worth the price difference

 

[Tobriand]

Hmm... I'm a little outside this survey since I've *been* bought an incredibly nice fountain pen (bar-mitzvah present), but not bought any expensive pens myself. However, if you'll let me replace the bic with a WH Smiths own brand fountain pen (about £4.99 plus cartridges) and the expensive one with the bar-mitzvahy present, I'll answer...

1) Yes (the WH Smiths pen at least; though I've used a bic pen. They write but they're *horrible*)

2) Kind of (the bar-mitzvah present). Never bought or been bought an expensive ballpoint though - again, I have used them on occasion, though.

3) Definitely for the pens I'm talking about. Firsly because the more expensive pen *is* better to write with - feels a LOT smoother - though it is possible to get that kind of feeling by taking 2 or 3 steps up the pen ladder and paying £20-£30 rather than 10 steps up and paying £100. Secondly because of the materials my pen s made of - basically, its a piece of Jewellery that you don't wear. Which of course ups the worth a lot, let alone the designs on the pen itself and such. Basically, yes because of ease of writing and, simply, artistic quality.

Bear in mind in the original qeustion, there is no worse pen to write with than a bic - their ink cuts out, the nib wobbles, and they feel horrible. Again, no-where near as large a jump (15p to 100 quid) to get a pen much nicer to write with, but any jump is a necessary one.

4) Present from a rather wealthy great uncle for a very special occasion. So none of the above. Were I to have bought it, the quality is for the first step - art and craftsmanship is the rest of the way though.

5) No money - like I say, mine is a present. Were I to have the money, though, I wouldn't buy as high as £100+ simply because you don't need to spend as much to increase the quality sufficiently to make it easy to write with - which is the important thing.

6) Bic: no. Disposables: Yes - especially the gel pens. Its hard to beat a gel pen for reasonable price and ease of writing. Those things ROCK.

 

[LHC]

1. Yes
2. No
3. N/A
4. N/A
5. Did not feel the need for an expensive pen
6. Bic stands for "burst in coat".

The pens that release loads of ink and are great and they write fantastically but cost ~£3 for too are the best.

 

[Steve-O]

1. Have you ever bought a Bic brand ballpoint pen?

YES

2. Have you ever bought a Mont Blanc, or other exclusive brand ballpoint pen?

hhhmmm, does a £5 - £10 PARKER PEN count as exclusive?

3. If you answered yes to both of the above, did you feel that the difference in price between the two is justified? Was the exclusive pen worth it?

The Parker Pen has a much nicer feel, but the BIC pen is Well worth the money (They only cost 10p each at reception at school )

4. If you answered yes to both of the above, why did you buy the expensive pen?

a. Better quality

6. If you have never bought an exclusive pen, do you feel that Bic or other disposal pens are adequate, or do you think they could be improved?

BIC Pens are excellent

 

[Goity]

1 yes
2 no
3na
4na
5 a
6 They are ok for 15p but they make your writing terrible and don't always write. I use a 70p tesco cartridge pen

 

[mr twit]

Thanks for all the responses, they'll be really helpful.

 

[Horscht]

1. Have you ever bought a Bic brand ballpoint pen?
No

2. Have you ever bought a Mont Blanc, or other exclusive brand ballpoint pen?
No, but my father has quite a few of them

3. If you answered yes to both of the above, did you feel that the difference in price between the two is justified? Was the exclusive pen worth it?
Answered "NO"

4. If you answered yes to both of the above, why did you buy the expensive pen?
again, I said "NO"

5. If you have never bought an exclusive pen, why have you not?
d. Other: I never buy any pen, pencil or something else to write. I always use these free pens you get from parties (the political ones, not the booze ones ) and companies. Why pay anything, if you can get them for free?

6. I think they are good enough.

 

[Squidge]

1. Have you ever bought a Bic brand ballpoint pen?
Yes.

2. Have you ever bought a Mont Blanc, or other exclusive brand ballpoint pen?
No. The most I've paid for a pen is £1.99.

5. If you have never bought an exclusive pen, why have you not?
a. Did not feel the need for an expensive pen

6. If you have never bought an exclusive pen, do you feel that Bic or other disposal pens are adequate, or do you think they could be improved?

Adequate for the purpose I use them for.

 

[Bingo Jesus]

1. Yes

2. Never, I don't make mearly enough money to justify buying that

3. n/a

4. n/a

5. a. Did not feel the need for an expensive pen

6. I think the're perfectly adequate for the price they retail at, so don't need to be improved

Hope that helps

 

[woogal]

I'll answer this 3 times for you. Once for myself, and twice for a couple of guys I work with (I know what their answers will be because they never shut up about their mont bloody blanc pens).

1. No
2. No
5. d other (can't remember the last time I used a pen)
6. see above

1. Yes
2. Yes
3. Yes
4. (in order) bca

1. Yes
2. Yes
3. Yes
4. (in order) ba