Well, I don't lose them very often, can't remember the last time, but losing a $5 pen isn't the worst thing in the world, while losing a $100 pen (several pens mentioned in this thread are above that) would be painful.

Also, I don't just give them out to strangers, I've just given maybe three out over the years (to writer and artist friends.) It's true that they're pricier than a Bic, but they have a beautiful feel when writing that I feel is worth the extra few bucks.

If you want to save a few bucks, you can also get the non-metal ones, the plastic EnerGels are $9.97 for a pack of 8 at Walmart, but I lose them so infrequently that it would work out to maybe a couple bucks a year tops to write with the metal ones.