What Can YOU Say About a Pen?

On March 7, 2007, Amazon.co.uk member Matt Williams wrote the first review of this pen:

Since taking delivery of my pen I have been very happy with the quality of ink deposition on the various types of paper that I have used. On the first day when I excitedly unwrapped my pen (thanks for the high quality packaging Amazon!) I just couldn't contain my excitement and went around finding things to write on, like the shopping list on the notice board in our kitchen, the Post-it notes next to the phone, and on my favourite lined A4 pad at the side of my desk.

My pen is the transparent type with a blue lid. I selected this one in preference to the orange type because I like to be able to see how much ink I have left so that I can put in another order before I finally run out.

When the initial excitement of taking delivery of my new pen started to wear off I realised that I shouldn't just write for the fun of it, this should be a serious enterprise, so by the second day of ownership I started to take a little more care of what I wrote. I used it to sign three letters, and in each case was perfectly happy with the neatness of handwriting that I was able to achieve.

It goes on from there, ending with a five-star recommendation:

In summary, I would happily recommend this pen to anyone who is planning on writing on paper.

Of course, as this is the internet as we know it, people followed the lead, with the next reviewer saying this pen was "Perfect For Spooling Leftover Linguini." A few reviews later came the first single-star review:

I must have spent 30 minutes trying to figure out how to work this blasted thing, only to have it scratch my $700 LCD monitor to the point that I can no longer make out the picture. Then to make matters worse, the tube of complimentary Concord grape jam inside the stylus tasted like ink! So now I'm out the money and the toast! Shame on you, Amazon!

For the last two and half years, 188 people have left their reviews, the latest one coming only two months ago, complaining that the pen did not write for 2 kilometers as promised, but "it is still excellent value for money even if you write for only a kilometer and a half."

The Amazon.com members were quick to follow. The first review came as early as July 2007:

The black ink lasts for months--unless you write a lot with these every day in which case they will last a shorter amount of time.

The latest reviewer, Jake, is also a big fan:

This shouldn't even be called a "pen". Calling this BIC brand ballpoint pen a "pen" is like calling an atomic bomb a grenade. It's a whole new thing on its own!

This pen is a game-changer, alright.