I Just Scored My First 51!

[Inga]

Well, I had quite the deal on eBay, so I just couldn't resist!

Anyway, my grey Aerometric is coming latest on the 31st of July... SOOO EXCITED!!

It's about time to find out what all the hype is about!

[Cryptos]

What do you mean by "quite the deal"?

 

Everything is in the details!

[Inga]

Just under 30 dollars. I'm so happy!

[pajaro]

Ah, yes. Send the link, if you please.

[a-pen-for-a-sole]

my first 51, 21 and 61 are also coming this week. i am also very excited. till today i did not write with a parker fountain pens. hence, i bought them all at once. but they are expensive. but, worth the cost.

Edited July 28, 2014 by a-pen-for-a-sole

[Runnin_Ute]

First off - and Congrats!!

 

Secondly, way to go!! I got my first less than a month ago. I ended up with a 51 Special fp/mp set for $42+shipping - keeping under $50.

Edited July 29, 2014 by Runnin_Ute

[tinysnail]

Congrats! That really is an incredible deal. I have yet to procure my first 51, but I haven't really used eBay before so it'll be a real learning process :/

[furious]

Great deal and welcome to FPN!!

[Raskovnik]

Nice score, no luck with 51s yet

[Inga]

Sorry for the late reply, here's the link:

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/PARKER-51-Aerometric-fill-fountain-pen-in-gray-working-sack-/251598087973?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3a946a2725

[gweimer1]

Nice deal! I just bought a pen from the same seller. I have a Parkette coming soon from him.

[Florida Blue]

Sorry for the late reply, here's the link:

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/PARKER-51-Aerometric-fill-fountain-pen-in-gray-working-sack-/251598087973?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3a946a2725

 

I hate to be a bearer of bad news, but that is not a 51, but a 21 Super with a 51 cap.

 

Read Richard Binder's excellent profile of the 21:

http://www.richardspens.com/?page=ref/profiles/21.htm

 

They were essentially economy versions of the 51. Still the 21 Supers were good pens, very similar to 51s in almost every aspect and should write well.

[Hooker56]

+1 Florida Blue.

It really stinks to be taken on Fleabay. The seller never turned the pen so you can definitively see the '21' markings on the Areometric tube.

 

Inga, the other tell-tale signs are the octanium nib, the clutch ring, and the 'hoop' shaped filler when it is a full sized pen. Many who are looking for a 51 wouldn't know to look for these signs. Unfortunately, the seller knows it's not a 51 because it says so right on the inside tube.

 

Please send it back for a refund and look for a PM. I will make you a much better deal on a true 51!

 

So sorry that you were deceived- Clayton

[OcalaFlGuy]

+1 Florida Blue.
It really stinks to be taken on Fleabay. The seller never turned the pen so you can definitively see the '21' markings on the Areometric tube.

Inga, the other tell-tale signs are the octanium nib, the clutch ring, and the 'hoop' shaped filler when it is a full sized pen. Many who are looking for a 51 wouldn't know to look for these signs. Unfortunately, the seller knows it's not a 51 because it says so right on the inside tube.

Please send it back for a refund and look for a PM. I will make you a much better deal on a true 51!

So sorry that you were deceived- Clayton

 

A couple of additional points to my bud Clayton's points.

 

Most here are aware of my complete non-hesitancy to loose the hounds on a Fleabay seller especially if I think they're genuinely misleading bidders, brain dead or just comatose like lazy. At first glance, I was tending to hold the hounds back on this one. Contrary to popular belief, my first notion is Usually to give someone the benefit of the doubt.

 

The average seller wouldn't know a clutch ring from a clutch pressure plate, nor a P-51 from a P-21 from a rectal thermometer.

 

P-51 Demis and Specials Do have a very similar filler.

 

My suspicion of a "usual" seller was that they probably got this pen the way you see it here, sniffed around on Fleabay and saw 51's with the same cap, those last two living brain synapsi made contact, crackled and sparked and they said, "Ooooo it's a Parker 51!"

 

Then I saw his Fleabay nick. Penengr. <Dogs tugging harder on their lines...> Ok, maybe he drives a train and carries a Bic crystal.

 

Then I pulled up his completed listings. Ugh oh. <SNARL!WOOF!WOOF!SNARL!> Mass quantities of pens sold. Shirley enough of them to have the Slightest wonder why the heck that 51 cap won't go on that 21 worth a damn and causes it to measure (Passed Ruler 101?) longer than it should. Yes, I'd reluctantly have to agree this fellow Should Have known about the clutch ring at the very least. He should have caught the missing 51 on the filler too. (Not to mention as Clayton noted, the Actual 21 on the filler too... )

 

So yes, I guess he indeed needs a good dousing with the Doggie Dinner Attractant Spray.

 

OTOH, and no diss in the least meant towards Inga, I don't think this was a much a get flung into the air by one's ankle cleverly set Fleabay snare as it was a stumble into the hole you didn't see in front of you and sprang your ankle instance.

 

IMO, Caveat Emptor applies as much to Bidders as it does to Sellers. You simply MUST educate yourself on the pens you are looking for. 5 minutes spent on Richard's P-21 and P-51 page and this unfortunateness wouldn't have happened. If you aren't aware of where to go for the info, you can always snip Just The Pics from the listing, post them here and ASK in advance.

 

I'm sorry for Inga here but there Is a slither of bright sunshine here. I THINK that cap may clean up pretty well. A clean 51 cap is worth nearly what you paid for all the rest of it.

 

I also agree with Clayton, send the sucka back. Even if I give Mr. WoooWooo the benefit of the doubt and say he didn't Purposely lead Inga astray, he sells enough Other pens to have known better. Purposeful or not, the pen Is Clearly misrepresented. I Also might be inclined to tell the seller the pen and cap as it is won't work for Anyone and ask if he'd refund 1/2 your money. A clean 51 cap for 1/2 what was paid would be a perfectly decent deal.

 

Bruce in Ocala, Fl

[Hooker56]

I'm not half the wordsmith that Bruce is. I didn't go to the lengths with my reply that he did, however, I have watched many pen listings in the past by this seller and the conclusion that Bruce arrived at using a much broader explanation was EXACTLY my thought process. (Kind of scary for me). I also agree that especially on ebay 'caveat emptor' is the primary watch word.

 

Go back and read Inga's posts at the top of this thread and relive the excitement of getting one of your first fountain pens. It's like Christmas morning. I've been misled on ebay as well and the feeling is like stepping off a curb and finding it to be a ledge.

 

I PM'd Inga and told her that I'll send her a restored 51 for the price of postage (even gave her a color choice), but I'd like for her to send the pen back and ask for her money. The seller really ought to be called out on this. I just hope one day she'll pay it forward.

 

In advance, I'll send anyone else that asks for my 'replacement' deal a big wet raspberry! =)

 

Feeling very philanthropic- Clayton

[Florida Blue]

I PM'd Inga and told her that I'll send her a restored 51 for the price of postage (even gave her a color choice), but I'd like for her to send the pen back and ask for her money. The seller really ought to be called out on this. I just hope one day she'll pay it forward.

 

That's a wonderful gesture Clayton. Hopefully, she won't give up on fountain pens knowing that there are some good people in the community.

 

After reading Bruce's explanation, I think his and your conclusions are not without basis. The seller seems to have purposefully turned the filler sleeve in their photos to obscure the "Parker 21."

 

Edit: Also if you look at this seller's recent feedback they have sold multiple 51s and 21s.

Edited July 29, 2014 by Florida Blue

[pajaro]

You guys all have a lot of experience. Any of us would have instantly noticed the P21 clutch ring in picture 4. That would be all you would need to see. For the new person this would not be apparent, but we have been doing this for years. The buyer should get the money back, and I would open a case for it. This is seller negligence. Seller screwed up, needs to make it right.

[Runnin_Ute]

I think this is the guy I bought my 51 Special set from - the user name is slightly different, but same city/state. Mine: penengr2; Yours: penengr

 

Mine: http://www.ebay.com/itm/201115477081?_trksid=p2059210.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

Yours: http://www.ebay.com/itm/PARKER-51-Aerometric-fill-fountain-pen-in-gray-working-sack-/251598087973?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3a946a2725

 

Mine was pretty accurate.

 

[dave-]

To the OP, dont worry too much. Alot of people have been sold pens with worn out nibs, broken breather tubes, caps that are not right and the dreaded Frankenstein 51`s with nibs from canada, bodies from uk, a cap from usa and sac cage from argentina...

[gweimer1]

Like the OP, the pen I just received from this seller wasn't exactly as described. Not only is the nib not gold, as described, but the "never inked" is questionable since the nib has obviously been repaired, and not very well. The tines aren't lined up. This one is going back.