Customer Reviews

Parker Jotter Retractable Ballpoint Pen, Medium, Stainless Steel with barrel, Colors May Vary (78033)

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I remember when I first heard the Parker Jotter was being outsourced. I collected a few in case the product changed. The product did change...It got even better! I have found these recent Jotters to be more versatile than their predecessors, and I have two pen and pencil sets of this line. Both of them have been versatile, tough, and all around excellent products. I also have a few of the steel pens. I have gathered more of these both in the office and at home since the outsourcing. True, this old American classic pen has acquired a British accent, but it has gone from being a very good pen to being a great pen. British Parker QC is excellent. I wish more companies took this much care in their products.
I advise anyone to buy at least one of these and perhaps more. This and the Pilot Knight are all an office needs. (Of course the pencils are also excellent. I prefer my Staedtler 9505 pencils, but the jotter pencils are a close second.)

For all the thousands of pens available this pen is by far the best value for the dollar. Simple, elegant, inexpensive and no pen cap to lose. My recommendation: buy more than one and give the extra pens to the people who sit next to you at the office. They will thank you.

I have only one complaint of the Ballpoint Jotters- They get slippery to hold when I have a lot of writing to do (especially the slim, solid silver style, which I no longer buy).

With that said, I still have been using Parker Jotters exclusively since 1974. My favorites were three I bought in the early 1990's from a special-order catalog in an Office Depot store. When I couldn't find any Jotters on the store shelves, I asked a salesman where they were, and he showed me their special-order catalog. looking through the catalog, the Jotters with comfort grip handles caught my eye, and I ordered one. When it arrived, the pen's handle changed from dark blue to teal and back when I shifted it in the light. I reordered two more when I found out how comfortable the first one was. I still consider that style as the best ink pen for the money- period. Sadly, they haven't been available for probably 15 years.

Did/(does) the Parker Company feel the Jotter wasn't expensive enough to invest advertising money trying to promote it? The Jotter is a great product and should remain popular even in our current "throw away mentality" market. I would not trade a Jotter ballpoint for anybody's expensive pen.

I usually use a Jotter for a year, then buy a new one with a different color handle. I usually pay about $6 for each. Within the year, I also buy several Parker refills.

Lately, I don't see any nice colored Jotters on the shelves of the office supply companies that I frequent- only "sports car red," pastel green, and "breast cancer awareness" pink. I won't buy online because they won't give me a color choice. I'm a lefty; I'd give my right arm for a half dozen teal Jotters!

I went to high school during the Johnson administration (Lyndon, not Andrew!) and a Parker T-Ball Jotter was my first "good pen". It had a great "click" and a great refill. Also, when you opened the pen to change the refill (we wrote a lot back then) you saw finely molded threads on the plastic barrel and beautifully machined brass threads on the top. When you looked on the back, you saw "Made in the USA" and knew you owned the best pen America had. It was a gem and I treasured it. The refills were always great. You had blue or black ink that never blobbed and a choice of fine or medium points (I took fine) feeding from a gigantic ink supply. One glitch was the clip. It was a force fit onto the top and once it decided to pop off (it did happen if you misused it) it was nearly impossible to force back on by hand.

Today, Parker's Jotters show a real lack of fine build-quality that is endemic of our times. The threads are sloppy looking. Rolled, not machined. That's on the barrel. The top has a cheap-looking plastic insert - Oh the humanity!. The good "click" is still there, not a bit muted by all of the plastic parts. And on the back, the made in the USA is long gone. Made in the UK Ltd. And while the pens still work as intended, underneath I know that there is cheap plastic where machined brass and steel should be.

The refills still rock, especially the Parker Gel refills. They are amazing and I use them in many of the pens I own that take a Parker-style refill. Parker used to make a refill called "Golden Touch" that was vastly superior to the basic refill. But they stopped making them (dunno why, but I guess it was the cost). I did find a small supply in NYC and bought a few but they write so long, (and I have fallen in love with the Gel refills) that they will probably dry out before I get a chance to use them (don't write with pens as much these days).

So I give one star for the click, one star for the refill and one star for nostalgia. I still have a few of the original Jotters and treasure them. The new ones barely qualify as your "good pen" unless, of course, you consider Applebee's fine dining!

I'v got a blue parker, it does look more of a violet than of a blue. It feels great and writes smoothly. The only bad part was that it came with no case. It came in a plastic wrap ;however, this was not a problem because I am using the pen currently. But if you are thinking of giving it as a gift, you can buy from other dealers that provides you with a nice looking case. Overall the pen looks great and feels great. With the variety of the barrel colors, you'll be able to have a wonderful collection of Jotters. You can't go wrong with the classics.

Great ballpoint pen. I needed a ballpoint pen to use on carbon copy forms. I use it daily and have never had a problem with functionality, drying/leaking ink or durability. The Parker Jotter is functionsl and appears professional. This is the only pen I buy. The price is right because I don't have a nervous break down if I loose it... unlike the price that comes with Cross pens. I highly recommend this product.

My expensive pens were always getting stolen at the office, but I wanted a good pen at an attractive price. The Parker pen 'Jotter' fit the bill.

These pens work very well and look great. They last a long time, and are refillable.

I'm sold on these pens, and they are solid values.

I have used the Parker pen for years. I bought several ink refills, but the ink lasts a long time, so I still have some refills. Sometimes I swap out black ink for blue ink for various reasons. I carry the pen in my pants pocket. Sometimes it is right side up, sometimes upside down. I never had a problem with leaking ink. I had a hole in the pocket of some old pants and lost the pen. I bought a different pen at an office supply store. It leaked ink in my pocket. I missed my Parker pen so I ordered another one here at Amazon. Free shipping even without ordering more than $25. You can't beat that! However, THE PEN IS NOT BLACK. I didn't pay attention to "colors may vary" and received a red pen (still black ink). If the color of the pen matters, find another seller here at Amazon that you can choose the color. You may have to pay a dollar more though. I have been using the Parker pen for more than 20 years and have never had a problem with it.

I am so glad I found this pen on line... I have been using the Parker Jotter Retractable ballpoint pen forever (at least 30 years!). I'm not complaining... but I wish someone had sent a variety of colors when they packed the order.

Having used these for more than a decade, I think there is no better value that a Parker Jotter ball point pen. I have purchased these regularly, and not one has been sub standard. My current pen has seen at least 6 refills and it is still going strong. I am careless, and with these I can afford to lose them once in a while.

If you like fine writing instruments and are on a tight budget, get yourself a Parker Jotter.