I saw these and even took some pictures that I don't know where are now...

I bought one of the "faux Moleskines" from Staples to use for this last refactoring of my GTD system, because I didn't have a blank Moleskine around and the nearest store that carries them is a Borders 60 miles away. The one I have has a sort of brown suede-like cover, which I don't like, but my local Staples doesn't have any of the black ones yet.

Good points:

• The notebook is essentially the same size as my small Moleskine, so the two stack nicely in my purse
• The paper is the same beige (more or less) as the Moleskine, which hurts my eyes less than white paper after a while.
• $5.99 is cheaper than the $8.00 or so I pay for Moleskines at Borders ($10 minus a 20% discount because my business has a Borders corporate account)

Bad points:

• The paper is of somewhat poorer quality than the Moleskine; the Fahrney's Private Reserve ink in my fountain pen bleeds through a lot more in the Markings book than in the Moleskine.
• The notebook I got doesn't have a pocket in the back like a Moleskine. (Does someone who has the black Markings Moleskine clones instead of the suede-ish one comment on this?)
• Overall, the workmanship on the Markings notebook isn't quite as good, in my opinion.

My overall impression: The Markings books are okay in a pinch, but I think I'd rather spend the extra money for real Moleskines next time.

-- Tammy

I saw a dark brown suede notebook in my Staples with a back pocket. I remember thinking that the pocket seemed of equal quality to the real Moleskine, but I didn't buy it to check the paper quality. The black non-suede ones had a pocket too.

I just ran across these in Staples this morning. I had not seen them before. They are almost exactly the same size as the pocket Moleskine, maybe 1/8" shorter on each dimension, which might make them more back-pocket friendly. The cover is the vinyl infused paper like the Ru Journals use instead of oilskin cloth. The bookmark is quite a bit wider, polyester instead of silk, cut with a hot wire on an angle, I assume to reduce fraying. The elastic closing strap is as wide as the one on a full sized Moleskine. The back pocket of the notebook does appear to be almost identical to the Moleskine. I use Uniball gels instead of fountain pens, but I have not written in it yet. Touching the paper with eyes closed it's hard to tell the difference between the books - it may be a little coarser.

They have several different colors, with different words on the front of each. The black (really a dark gray) one says "Journal," the orange one says "Thoughts," etc. I recall "Organize," "Plans,", "Ideas," probably a couple more. They all have lined pages, there were no blank ones.

I had to pick one up just because I'm a paper junky like the rest of you. It is a very blatant ripoff of the Moleskine design, but implemented pretty well. For the three or four dollar difference you might as well have the cachet of a real Moleskine on your person, but these would do in a pinch. I mean, I'll go spend $9.99 for a four pack of my favorite microbrew (Dogfish Head 90 Minute IPA) and it's gone in an evening, so $9.99 for a notebook I'll carry for months isn't outrageous. These would probably be good for gifts and such if you're trying to get someone into the journaling habit.

If only they had blank pages...

I went back to Staples and bought a second one of these, and it does have a pocket. So I guess the first one I bought had been sabotaged by some scurvy person. The nerve!

-- Tammy

I popped into Staples again this morning, on another errand. I guess at this point I have become purely a collector, since I had already gathered several of the different colors of the Markings notebooks. They told me it was a "promotion," so I figured that meant the endcap was going to disappear, so I thought if I wanted to have the lime green one, the turquoise one, and the orange one I had better nab them before the display went back to the manufacturer.

Sure enough, the display was gone - but there was a new one with more Markings notebooks... these have these same basic characteristics except for:

• They cost a dollar more ($6.99 versus $5.99)
• The covers are genuine bonded leather (black and brown in slick leather, other colors in suede)
• The covers are a little more flexible than the Moleskine or the other Markings books (still casebound, but not with hard board)
• The cover has stitching around the outer edge, giving it a nice, professional look.
• They smell good.

Anyway, something else to distract us notebook mavens from doing any real work. I'm sure the siren's call will cause me to buy at least a few more before that endcap disappears as well. I'm guessing that these "promotions" help them determine if they are going to add a product to regular stock, so if you like these be sure to buy them while you can to encourage them.

I too just recently came across a Markings notebook, but I happened to find it at a Walmart for $5.00. It has the yellowish pages like a moleskine, nice black hard covers, a back pocket(which I find to be extremely useful), a bookmark, and even the elastic band. It seems to be a cheaper alternative with basically the exact same features. I have only seen one at my Walmart, perhaps there are some at Staples like others have suggested? I’ll have to investigate further because my Moleskine is probably the most useful tool I have ever used, it would be nicer to get an alternative at a lower price.