> if you tell me that the best pen in the world was (say) a Parker that you can buy down at Staples for sixteen dollars, then I might have tried it and be forced to disagree with you. But if you tell me that it's some random Japanese pen then I'll have to smile and nod and bow to your superior knowledge of pens.

Meh, that's not really true anymore. With JetPens stocking all the popular Japanese pens, you can experience their superiority first-hand.

In fact, I'd say it's more of a pain for me to go to Staples and get a Parker pen than it is for me to use JetPens (though no doubt I could buy that Parker on Amazon with a similar level of facility).