Gourmet Pens latest blog post gave me a shock. £5.25 (~$8.15; €7.15) for Coccoina glue? Did Coccoina glue get that expensive? Looking at the price development of wood cased pencils in last week’s blog post was probably really boring as pencils seem to be one of the most price stable items in the world of stationery.
I had a look in my old emails and found Coccoina orders from 2008 and 2009 where I paid £2.50 (in today’s exchange rate: $3.90; €3.40) each. I think at the time another shop sold them cheaper, but postage wise I could combine the glue order with other items so I ordered it for £2.50. According to Measuring Worth £2.50 in 2008 is still less than £3 in 2015.
Well, I guess the message here is pencils are (still) great value for money.
PS: Regarding the shelf life of Coccoina, being mentioned at Gourmet Pens: I always had luck reviving dried out Coccoina with a few drops of water.
It didn’t even occur to me that it may have gone up in price! What a difference a few years makes. I wonder what it costs to actually make it.
Great to hear the shelf life is extended with water. A friend said she stored hers in a humid room and it has lasted a long time, beyond the one year. Thank for that tip!
Thank you very much for your comment.
I also wonder about the cost of manufacturing. My understanding if that Coccoina copied other glues that were on the market much earlier, e.g. Pelikanol, which was available at the beginning of the 20th century – but the ingredients are different.
Starch should be pretty cheap, but if there are real almonds inside it might not be that cheap to make.