7 ms·

Am I missing something with Moleskine notebooks? I kept a diary for two decades, going through over two dozen notebooks in the process. In graduate school I al

by spodek 13y ago

Am I missing something with Moleskine notebooks? I kept a diary for two decades, going through over two dozen notebooks in the process. In graduate school I also kept lab notes for years. I used cheap notebooks. Never did I see the value of Moleskines justifying their five- to ten-times higher cost. Am I missing something? They only remind me of this Onion article -- http://www.theonion.com/articles/privileged-little-artiste-writing-something-ohsopr,6938 http://www.theonion.com/articles/privileged-little-artiste-w... Privileged Little Artiste Writing Something Oh-So-Precious Into His Moleskine Notebook SAN FRANCISCO—After gently unfastening the elastic strap keeping his dearest musings safe from prying eyes, little literary artiste Evan Stansky penned a few more darling thoughts into his clothbound Moleskine notebook Wednesday. "These are much higher quality than the notebooks you find at CVS," lilted the auteur, who couldn't be bothered to use—dare it be said—a journal of lesser craftsmanship or pedigree, or one not famously used by such legendary artists as van Gogh and Hemingway. "They're a little more expensive, but I try to write on both sides so I don't go through them as quickly." At press time, the princely scribe was seen finishing his apricot jasmine tea, asking a mere mortal sitting nearby to watch his literary accoutrements, and then prancing off to the Starbucks powder room, light as a feather.

pastylegs 13y ago
Price isn't the only thing that dictates value
- deleted 13y ago
  [deleted]
- _ZeD_ 13y ago
  yes it is
  - hangonhn 13y ago
    If it is then a $500 refrigerator would have the same value to an Inuit as a $500 heater.
  - biot 13y ago
    You get no value from the free air you breathe?
  - alecdbrooks 13y ago
    Market value [0] ≠ value. [0]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Market_value https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Market_value
  - 6d0debc071 13y ago
    One of the underlying assumption of trade is that you both (tend) to gain value in transactions. One party wants the money more than they want the item, and the other party wants the item more than they want the money. If the item was worth the same to both parties, then there'd be no reason to swap.
arjunnarayan 13y ago
They're good quality notebooks. I've had a few. But you're right - at the end of the day they're just notebooks.
- avtar 13y ago
  "They're good quality notebooks." After having used their notebooks for a few years I can't help but feel, like the parent, that when it comes to Moleskine their popularity can be attributed more to brand recognition than quality. The paper they use is pretty substandard which causes ink to dry slower than other paper and if you use fountain pens you have to contend with considerable amounts of feathering and bleed-through. Based on experience Clairefontaine paper seems to be far superior and their notebooks make for a cheaper option if you don't need leather binding[0]. The Rhodia Webnotebooks[1] would be in the same product category as Moleskine notebooks except the former again has better quality paper. [0] http://www.gouletpens.com/Clairefontaine_s/56.htm http://www.gouletpens.com/Clairefontaine_s/56.htm [1] http://www.gouletpens.com/Rhodia_Webnotebooks_s/54.htm http://www.gouletpens.com/Rhodia_Webnotebooks_s/54.htm P.S. I'm not affiliated with any of these manufacturers or Goulet Pens.
  - jamesbritt 13y ago
    What's frustrating is finding the right (i.e. pleases James) combination of features. Good-quality paper, unlined, white or slightly off-white, flexible cover, fits in back pocket. I'd heard good things about Clairefontaine, and the 1917 line in particular. http://www.gouletpens.com/Leuchtturm1917_Jottbook_s/1324.htm http://www.gouletpens.com/Leuchtturm1917_Jottbook_s/1324.htm But, sadly for me, there's no option for unlined. Indeed, the dropdown for "Find by paper ruling" has no such choice. I've been pretty happy with these: http://www.amazon.com/Pen-Ink-Notebook-5-5X3-5Ls-Blank/dp/B006C5TFP8 http://www.amazon.com/Pen-Ink-Notebook-5-5X3-5Ls-Blank/dp/B0... though I have assorted other brands and forms I've been trying out.
    - avtar 13y ago
      Rhodia Webnotebooks use Clairefontaine paper so if you want blank paper you could try those. I really like the dot grid paper which I find to be a great balance between blank and regular graph paper http://rhodiapads.com/images/dotgrid2.jpg http://rhodiapads.com/images/dotgrid2.jpg
kyro 13y ago
I have a ton of Moleskine notebooks because I value the quality. I have 5 or so filled with class notes, another one as my design sketchbook, and another to practice my daily drawing. They stay in much better shape and for longer than almost every other cheap notebook I've ever purchased. The Moleskine pages are bound more securely, the paper is of a thicker and higher quality. I've had my sketchbook for about 2 years now. I stuff it in my backpack, fold it open, toss it on my desk, etc. It gets a lot of use and holds up really well, which is certainly not something I've seen with the FiveStar or other notebooks you can buy at Staples for $3 or less.
- gk1 13y ago
  TL;DR - Better paper quality (that you can feel when you write) and greater durability than cheaper notebooks. That's why I've been buying them for years now.
phaus 13y ago
You're not missing anything. They are overpriced, and the quality isn't anywhere near what they used to be. Moleskins are trendy, that is all. That being said, to an extent the suitability of the paper you are using depends largely on what you are using to write with. So, in spite of the fact that they are overpriced and the paper feels cheap, they still might be one of the best options depending on what kind of pen you use. Personally, I write with a wide variety of vintage and modern fountain pens, and Moleskins just don't seem premium enough to warrant the expense.
deleted 13y ago
[deleted]
GuiA 13y ago
I agree that they overpriced, although they are of really nice quality. I personally use Muji notebooks, which have a nice paper and sturdy cover/binding while being really cheap.
- kyro 13y ago
  Curious: what does overpriced mean?
  - pallandt 13y ago
    I think he's most likely considering the worth of the material that goes into it. For ex. you can buy approx 5 pounds of HP multipurpose paper from Amazon for $6.78 with free shipping (http://www.amazon.com/HP-Multipurpose-Inkjet-Brightness-11200-0/dp/B00005UKAX/ http://www.amazon.com/HP-Multipurpose-Inkjet-Brightness-1120...), while a Moleskine weighs probably under 0.2 pounds, including the covers.
    - phaus 13y ago
      He's probably considering the fact that there are other high-end notebooks that cost the same or less, filled with paper of a much higher quality. Keep in mind that a person's personal preference will play a large role in how that person judges a paper's quality. There's Clairefontaine, Black and Red, Rhodia, Leuchttern, and probably a dozen or so others that I'm not aware of. Some might be a little more expensive than Moleskines, but some of them are much cheaper depending on the size and model you prefer.
  - GuiA 13y ago
    My Muji notebooks are $3.5 a piece for 80 white A5 pages, with a solid cardboard cover and a ring binding (which I personally like better than the "traditional" binding). A 192 page Moleskine is $13 - 50% more expensive per page, and they don't have a ring binding. Also Muji is a Japanese brand - the paper works really well with fountain pens, which are common there. Moleskine paper does not fare as well (as fountain pens are rare in the US). Being French (one of the few remaining fountain pen heavy cultures, with Japan and Germany), I still write daily with a fountain pen and deeply enjoy it. Oh and also I'm left handed, and thus write in my notebooks from last to first page (in western order) - since Muji is a Japanese brand, the notebooks are designed to be used in that way. That's a little detail, but I'm a little obsessive :-)
Swizec 13y ago
They are just notebooks. But so far they are the only notebook I have been able to keep in my arse pocket for months on end without it falling apart. Most other notebooks start shedding pages after a few weeks of being exposed to heavy sweating in the summer, and the general wear and tear of bending every which way when you're walking and sitting down. Moleskine handles it like a champ. I also really like the form factor. Especially for the big soft cover moleskines. I'm not sure exactly why, but the dimensions are just perfect for me and I haven't been able to find anything else that's similar.
- keithpeter 13y ago
  Artists' sketch books can take a beating as well and have thicker paper (Moleskine make sketchbooks as well of course), but sketchbooks by Daler, Rowney et al tend to be in A series sizes here in Europe and that shape is fatter than the Moleskine. 'The Alwych Book' notebooks have really thick creamy paper and heavy blue lines, and the smaller ones will fit in a pocket easily. They are your white-van driver's notebook, basically indestructible. Both are a good percentage cheaper than Moleskines.
  - Swizec 13y ago
    But at the end of the day, I pay 10 euro for 3 backpocket moleskines and it lasts me a year. That's cheap enough for me considering it works perfectly and I have never been disappointed.
    - keithpeter 13y ago
      Good for you. I take it those are the 'cahier' style notebooks with the stitching along the back spine and one fold? Like this... http://www.amazon.co.uk/Cahier-Plain-Pocket-Journal-Brown/dp/8883704940 http://www.amazon.co.uk/Cahier-Plain-Pocket-Journal-Brown/dp...
      - Swizec 13y ago
        Yup, exactly those. See, amazon has them for 5 euro ... how anyone thinks that is super expensive I don't know.
jessriedel 13y ago
I suspect moleskins are status items, but keep in mind that just because something is a small improvement over something else doesnt mean it can't be worth paying 10 times the price. It just requires that the price difference is less than the value difference to the individual. It can make sense to pay 100 times the price for fancy surgical screws even if they're only 2% less likely to strip than the kind you buy at Home Depot. In the end, screws and notebooks are not the cost drivers of having surgery or being a writer.
kmfrk 13y ago
I'm going to assume you write in pen, because as someone who writes in pencil, I've had plenty of notebooks where all my writing would eventually become invisible(!) So Moleskine definitely holds meaning to me as something associated with quality.
lightyrs 13y ago
Yes, what you are missing is that these are notebooks printed from the contents of your digital notebook within the iPad app, "Paper". It seems less about the custom Moleskine cover and more about the physical manifestation of your digital journal.

by spodek 13y ago

pastylegs 13y ago

Price isn't the only thing that dictates value

deleted 13y ago
[deleted]
_ZeD_ 13y ago
yes it is
- hangonhn 13y ago
  If it is then a $500 refrigerator would have the same value to an Inuit as a $500 heater.
- biot 13y ago
  You get no value from the free air you breathe?
- alecdbrooks 13y ago
  Market value [0] ≠ value. [0]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Market_value https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Market_value
- 6d0debc071 13y ago
  One of the underlying assumption of trade is that you both (tend) to gain value in transactions. One party wants the money more than they want the item, and the other party wants the item more than they want the money. If the item was worth the same to both parties, then there'd be no reason to swap.

arjunnarayan 13y ago

They're good quality notebooks. I've had a few. But you're right - at the end of the day they're just notebooks.

avtar 13y ago
"They're good quality notebooks." After having used their notebooks for a few years I can't help but feel, like the parent, that when it comes to Moleskine their popularity can be attributed more to brand recognition than quality. The paper they use is pretty substandard which causes ink to dry slower than other paper and if you use fountain pens you have to contend with considerable amounts of feathering and bleed-through. Based on experience Clairefontaine paper seems to be far superior and their notebooks make for a cheaper option if you don't need leather binding[0]. The Rhodia Webnotebooks[1] would be in the same product category as Moleskine notebooks except the former again has better quality paper. [0] http://www.gouletpens.com/Clairefontaine_s/56.htm http://www.gouletpens.com/Clairefontaine_s/56.htm [1] http://www.gouletpens.com/Rhodia_Webnotebooks_s/54.htm http://www.gouletpens.com/Rhodia_Webnotebooks_s/54.htm P.S. I'm not affiliated with any of these manufacturers or Goulet Pens.
- jamesbritt 13y ago
  What's frustrating is finding the right (i.e. pleases James) combination of features. Good-quality paper, unlined, white or slightly off-white, flexible cover, fits in back pocket. I'd heard good things about Clairefontaine, and the 1917 line in particular. http://www.gouletpens.com/Leuchtturm1917_Jottbook_s/1324.htm http://www.gouletpens.com/Leuchtturm1917_Jottbook_s/1324.htm But, sadly for me, there's no option for unlined. Indeed, the dropdown for "Find by paper ruling" has no such choice. I've been pretty happy with these: http://www.amazon.com/Pen-Ink-Notebook-5-5X3-5Ls-Blank/dp/B006C5TFP8 http://www.amazon.com/Pen-Ink-Notebook-5-5X3-5Ls-Blank/dp/B0... though I have assorted other brands and forms I've been trying out.
  - avtar 13y ago
    Rhodia Webnotebooks use Clairefontaine paper so if you want blank paper you could try those. I really like the dot grid paper which I find to be a great balance between blank and regular graph paper http://rhodiapads.com/images/dotgrid2.jpg http://rhodiapads.com/images/dotgrid2.jpg

kyro 13y ago

I have a ton of Moleskine notebooks because I value the quality. I have 5 or so filled with class notes, another one as my design sketchbook, and another to practice my daily drawing. They stay in much better shape and for longer than almost every other cheap notebook I've ever purchased. The Moleskine pages are bound more securely, the paper is of a thicker and higher quality. I've had my sketchbook for about 2 years now. I stuff it in my backpack, fold it open, toss it on my desk, etc. It gets a lot of use and holds up really well, which is certainly not something I've seen with the FiveStar or other notebooks you can buy at Staples for $3 or less.

gk1 13y ago
TL;DR - Better paper quality (that you can feel when you write) and greater durability than cheaper notebooks. That's why I've been buying them for years now.

phaus 13y ago

You're not missing anything. They are overpriced, and the quality isn't anywhere near what they used to be. Moleskins are trendy, that is all. That being said, to an extent the suitability of the paper you are using depends largely on what you are using to write with. So, in spite of the fact that they are overpriced and the paper feels cheap, they still might be one of the best options depending on what kind of pen you use. Personally, I write with a wide variety of vintage and modern fountain pens, and Moleskins just don't seem premium enough to warrant the expense.

deleted 13y ago

[deleted]

GuiA 13y ago

I agree that they overpriced, although they are of really nice quality. I personally use Muji notebooks, which have a nice paper and sturdy cover/binding while being really cheap.

kyro 13y ago
Curious: what does overpriced mean?
- pallandt 13y ago
  I think he's most likely considering the worth of the material that goes into it. For ex. you can buy approx 5 pounds of HP multipurpose paper from Amazon for $6.78 with free shipping (http://www.amazon.com/HP-Multipurpose-Inkjet-Brightness-11200-0/dp/B00005UKAX/ http://www.amazon.com/HP-Multipurpose-Inkjet-Brightness-1120...), while a Moleskine weighs probably under 0.2 pounds, including the covers.
  - phaus 13y ago
    He's probably considering the fact that there are other high-end notebooks that cost the same or less, filled with paper of a much higher quality. Keep in mind that a person's personal preference will play a large role in how that person judges a paper's quality. There's Clairefontaine, Black and Red, Rhodia, Leuchttern, and probably a dozen or so others that I'm not aware of. Some might be a little more expensive than Moleskines, but some of them are much cheaper depending on the size and model you prefer.
- GuiA 13y ago
  My Muji notebooks are $3.5 a piece for 80 white A5 pages, with a solid cardboard cover and a ring binding (which I personally like better than the "traditional" binding). A 192 page Moleskine is $13 - 50% more expensive per page, and they don't have a ring binding. Also Muji is a Japanese brand - the paper works really well with fountain pens, which are common there. Moleskine paper does not fare as well (as fountain pens are rare in the US). Being French (one of the few remaining fountain pen heavy cultures, with Japan and Germany), I still write daily with a fountain pen and deeply enjoy it. Oh and also I'm left handed, and thus write in my notebooks from last to first page (in western order) - since Muji is a Japanese brand, the notebooks are designed to be used in that way. That's a little detail, but I'm a little obsessive :-)

Swizec 13y ago

They are just notebooks. But so far they are the only notebook I have been able to keep in my arse pocket for months on end without it falling apart. Most other notebooks start shedding pages after a few weeks of being exposed to heavy sweating in the summer, and the general wear and tear of bending every which way when you're walking and sitting down. Moleskine handles it like a champ. I also really like the form factor. Especially for the big soft cover moleskines. I'm not sure exactly why, but the dimensions are just perfect for me and I haven't been able to find anything else that's similar.

keithpeter 13y ago
Artists' sketch books can take a beating as well and have thicker paper (Moleskine make sketchbooks as well of course), but sketchbooks by Daler, Rowney et al tend to be in A series sizes here in Europe and that shape is fatter than the Moleskine. 'The Alwych Book' notebooks have really thick creamy paper and heavy blue lines, and the smaller ones will fit in a pocket easily. They are your white-van driver's notebook, basically indestructible. Both are a good percentage cheaper than Moleskines.
- Swizec 13y ago
  But at the end of the day, I pay 10 euro for 3 backpocket moleskines and it lasts me a year. That's cheap enough for me considering it works perfectly and I have never been disappointed.
  - keithpeter 13y ago
    Good for you. I take it those are the 'cahier' style notebooks with the stitching along the back spine and one fold? Like this... http://www.amazon.co.uk/Cahier-Plain-Pocket-Journal-Brown/dp/8883704940 http://www.amazon.co.uk/Cahier-Plain-Pocket-Journal-Brown/dp...
    - Swizec 13y ago
      Yup, exactly those. See, amazon has them for 5 euro ... how anyone thinks that is super expensive I don't know.

jessriedel 13y ago

I suspect moleskins are status items, but keep in mind that just because something is a small improvement over something else doesnt mean it can't be worth paying 10 times the price. It just requires that the price difference is less than the value difference to the individual. It can make sense to pay 100 times the price for fancy surgical screws even if they're only 2% less likely to strip than the kind you buy at Home Depot. In the end, screws and notebooks are not the cost drivers of having surgery or being a writer.

kmfrk 13y ago

I'm going to assume you write in pen, because as someone who writes in pencil, I've had plenty of notebooks where all my writing would eventually become invisible(!) So Moleskine definitely holds meaning to me as something associated with quality.

lightyrs 13y ago

Yes, what you are missing is that these are notebooks printed from the contents of your digital notebook within the iPad app, "Paper". It seems less about the custom Moleskine cover and more about the physical manifestation of your digital journal.