Leather & AccessoriesResearch6 oct 2026

¿Sigue siendo una buena pluma un buen regalo? 30 estadounidenses que recibieron una opinan

30 Americans told us what became of a pen worth $30 or more that they were given in the past five years.
50% still use it often or sometimes.

Research from the Promotional Products Association International finds that pens are among the items people most often receive.
A YouGov survey of British adults found that many prefer a practical present.
Neither asked what happens to a nice pen once it has been given, or why.
This page does.

Recipients 35 and older kept the pen in use far more

Current use of the gift pen, by age (30 U.S. respondents)
Step	Group	Answer	Respondents	Out of
All 30 respondents, by age	Under 35 (13)	Frequent use	1	13
All 30 respondents, by age	Under 35 (13)	Occasional use	2	13
All 30 respondents, by age	Under 35 (13)	Reserved for signing and notes	4	13
All 30 respondents, by age	Under 35 (13)	Storage	2	13
All 30 respondents, by age	Under 35 (13)	Given away or discarded	4	13
All 30 respondents, by age	35 and older (17)	Frequent use	7	17
All 30 respondents, by age	35 and older (17)	Occasional use	5	17
All 30 respondents, by age	35 and older (17)	Reserved for signing and notes	2	17
All 30 respondents, by age	35 and older (17)	Storage	3	17
All 30 respondents, by age	All (30)	Frequent use	8	30
All 30 respondents, by age	All (30)	Occasional use	7	30
All 30 respondents, by age	All (30)	Reserved for signing and notes	6	30
All 30 respondents, by age	All (30)	Storage	5	30
All 30 respondents, by age	All (30)	Given away or discarded	4	30

71% of the 17 recipients aged 35 and older still use the pen often or sometimes.
Among the 13 recipients under 35, 23% do.
The gap between the two groups is 48 percentage points.

Use followed the age of the recipient.
Under 35, most pens were given away, discarded or kept only for special notes.
For a pen going to someone under 35, the chance of regular use is lower.
So why do some pens end up in a drawer?

Stored pens most often had no handwriting to do

Current use of the gift pen, and the reason given by those who keep it stored (30 U.S. respondents)
Step	Group	Answer	Respondents	Out of
All 30 respondents, by current use	All (30)	Storage	5	30
All 30 respondents, by current use	All (30)	Frequent use	8	30
All 30 respondents, by current use	All (30)	Occasional use	7	30
All 30 respondents, by current use	All (30)	Reserved for signing and notes	6	30
All 30 respondents, by current use	All (30)	Given away or discarded	4	30
The 5 who keep it stored, by reason	—	No handwriting occasions	3	5
The 5 who keep it stored, by reason	—	Fear of losing it	1	5
The 5 who keep it stored, by reason	—	Existing favorite pen	1	5

3 of the 5 who keep the pen stored said they have no need to write by hand.
1 of them already had a favorite pen.
Another 4 gave the pen away or threw it out.

The other reasons were fear of losing it and an existing favorite pen.
A pen that stays in a drawer is mostly waiting for something to write.
Before choosing a pen as a gift, it helps to know how much the recipient writes.
So does using the pen change whether someone would give one?

Pen users were likelier than those who stored it to give one

Whether respondents would give a pen themselves, by how they use their gift pen
Step	Group	Answer	Respondents	Out of
The 20 who use or stored their pen, by current use	Still use it (15)	Would choose a pen	9	15
The 20 who use or stored their pen, by current use	Still use it (15)	Might choose a pen	5	15
The 20 who use or stored their pen, by current use	Still use it (15)	Would not choose a pen	1	15
The 20 who use or stored their pen, by current use	Stored away (5)	Would choose a pen	1	5
The 20 who use or stored their pen, by current use	Stored away (5)	Might choose a pen	2	5
The 20 who use or stored their pen, by current use	Stored away (5)	Would not choose a pen	2	5

9 of the 15 who use theirs would give a pen as a gift.
Among those who keep theirs stored, 1 would.
Among the 6 owners who save theirs for signing and special notes, 4 would.
Across all 30, 14 said yes.

Choosing a pen as a gift was likelier among those who use one.
Those who keep a pen in a drawer were less ready to choose one.
Those who have used a pen know what it is like to receive one.

Main reason by current use

Frequent use

Fit with daily writing

Occasional use

Fit with daily writing

Reserved for signing and notes

No single top reason

Storage

No handwriting occasions

Given away or discarded

Existing favorite pen

Every answer, one respondent per row
#	State	Age, gender	Occasion	Current use	Reason	Would give a pen
R01	Pennsylvania	35–44 · Woman	Retirement	Frequent use	Fit with daily writing	Would choose a pen
R02	Illinois	55+ · Man	Retirement	Storage	No handwriting occasions	Might choose a pen
R03	California	35–44 · Man	Promotion or new job	Storage	Fear of losing it	Would choose a pen
R04	Georgia	35–44 · Woman	Birthday	Occasional use	Writing feel	Would choose a pen
R05	Texas	25–34 · Man	Graduation	Occasional use	Fit with daily writing	Would choose a pen
R06	California	18–24 · Man	Birthday	Given away or discarded	Existing favorite pen	Would not choose a pen
R07	Michigan	35–44 · Man	Birthday	Frequent use	Writing feel	Would choose a pen
R08	Michigan	35–44 · Woman	Retirement	Occasional use	Reminder of the giver	Would choose a pen
R09	California	18–24 · Man	Graduation	Given away or discarded	No handwriting occasions	Would not choose a pen
R10	North Carolina	18–24 · Woman	Other occasion	Storage	Existing favorite pen	Would not choose a pen
R11	New York	35–44 · Man	Promotion or new job	Frequent use	Fit with daily writing	Would choose a pen
R12	California	25–34 · Man	Birthday	Reserved for signing and notes	Keepsake value	Might choose a pen
R13	Tennessee	25–34 · Man	Birthday	Given away or discarded	Existing favorite pen	Might choose a pen
R14	Texas	55+ · Woman	Birthday	Reserved for signing and notes	Reminder of the giver	Would choose a pen
R15	California	55+ · Man	Retirement	Occasional use	Reminder of the giver	Would not choose a pen
R16	Florida	45–54 · Man	Promotion or new job	Storage	No handwriting occasions	Might choose a pen
R17	California	25–34 · Woman	Promotion or new job	Reserved for signing and notes	Reminder of the giver	Would choose a pen
R18	Nevada	25–34 · Man	Graduation	Given away or discarded	Existing favorite pen	Would not choose a pen
R19	Ohio	55+ · Woman	Other occasion	Frequent use	Fit with daily writing	Might choose a pen
R20	Colorado	45–54 · Man	Other occasion	Reserved for signing and notes	Fear of losing it	Would choose a pen
R21	California	55+ · Woman	Other occasion	Frequent use	Writing feel	Would choose a pen
R22	Colorado	25–34 · Man	Promotion or new job	Occasional use	Fit with daily writing	Might choose a pen
R23	Texas	55+ · Man	Promotion or new job	Occasional use	Fit with daily writing	Might choose a pen
R24	Pennsylvania	55+ · Man	Birthday	Frequent use	Writing feel	Might choose a pen
R25	New Jersey	55+ · Woman	Graduation	Frequent use	Fit with daily writing	Would choose a pen
R26	North Carolina	25–34 · Woman	Birthday	Frequent use	Reminder of the giver	Would choose a pen
R27	Illinois	18–24 · Woman	Promotion or new job	Reserved for signing and notes	Keepsake value	Would choose a pen
R28	Texas	18–24 · Man	Birthday	Storage	No handwriting occasions	Would not choose a pen
R29	Georgia	45–54 · Woman	Graduation	Occasional use	Writing feel	Might choose a pen
R30	Virginia	25–34 · Not stated	Graduation	Reserved for signing and notes	Fear of losing it	Might choose a pen

In their own words

Age 35–44 · Woman · Pennsylvania
Gift pen: frequent use

“I use it every day at work.”

Age 55+ · Man · Illinois
Gift pen: storage

“I rarely write by hand anymore, so it’s in a drawer.”

Age 25–34 · Man · California
Gift pen: reserved for signing and notes

“I keep it for signing important papers.”

About this survey

Survey

MJC Gift Pen Survey

Conducted by

Modern Japan Crafts

Respondents

30 adults living in the United States who were given a pen worth $30 or more in the past five years

Fielded

October 2026

Method

Online survey.
Respondents named the occasion and chose how they use the pen today from five options.
They explained why in their own words, without seeing options.
Two people coded the open answers independently.
Last, they said whether they would give a pen themselves.

Questions

1. On what occasion were you given the pen? (graduation / promotion or new job / birthday / retirement / other)
2. How do you use it today? (use it often / use it sometimes / keep it for signing and special notes / keep it stored away / gave it away or threw it out)
3. Why? (open-ended)
4. If you were the one giving, would you choose a pen? (yes / maybe / no)

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