Do you trust eBay and buy your pens on it ?

[goodguy]

Do you feel comfortable with ebay ?

Do you buy most of your pens on it or maybe you just dont trust the sellers on eBay ?

 

As for me I love eBay.I find it to be a reliable source for pens and for a good confortable prices.

I bought many of my pens on eBay and sold few pens on eBay as well.

I was always very happy with what I got there and never had any real truble with any sellers or the pens I bought.

One thing I need to add I have learned where I can bid and where not and even though there is always a risk involved I think its worth the risk.

[jhill2d]

Do you feel comfortable with ebay ?

Do you buy most of your pens on it or maybe you just dont trust the sellers on eBay ?

 

As for me I love eBay.I find it to be a reliable source for pens and for a good confortable prices.

I bought many of my pens on eBay and sold few pens on eBay as well.

I was always very happy with what I got there and never had any real truble with any sellers or the pens I bought.

One thing I need to add I have learned where I can bid and where not and even though there is always a risk involved I think its worth the risk.

 

[Ghost Plane]

I've only had one dismal experience on eBay and it wasn't with a pen. If it wasn't for Perlson, I wouldn't have one of my best writing pens ever and Lewertowski has become my main source of Carenes. No affiliation with either, just eternal gratitude for JML making my first confused international transaction a pleasant one.

 

There are some shill bidding sites out there tho' and patience exposes them. When the same guy keeps winning the same pen or inkwell for the identical exorbitant bid, it kinda gets obvious... I'm not crazy about the new anonymous system in the high numbers as it hides some of those shills unless you've been on long enough to know where they lurk and avoid them.

[jd50ae]

Feedback and reputation.

[Elaine]

I would not buy a high priced item through eBay unless I know the seller. I'm willing to take a risk on lower priced items. I do check feedback. If there is any negative feedback I check it out - sometimes it's obvious that the problem is not with the seller. I check the response from the seller to negative feedback. Any nastiness and I'm outa there.

[MikeW]

I have bought a large number of pens on ebay. As was mentioned, feedback and rating are key. I have had the chance to develop relationships with a number of the sellers of the pens based on their great service, integrity and quality of the pens that I have acquired.

 

Like most, I have had that one bad experience which caught me offguard. I purchased a number of pens from someone with great feedback and rating, as well as my own good experience. Then wham, I bought a pen that he never sent (I think because the selling price was not what he expected). Paypal recovered my money quickly and painlessly.

 

There is no doubt that there are some bad apples on ebay but there are also some quality sellers. As the old saw goes, "caveat emptor". As a buyer, you must carefully research the seller, consider the product (is it too good to be true?), make sure that your purchase is covered by paypal, provide honest feedback on the sellers for the benefit of others, etc.

[Phthalo]

I've had a few vintage pens come my way with no iridium left on the nib, but had I thought to ask at the time, I could have avoided those buys.

 

Otherwise, I love eBay too. I have had some excellent buys, and found things I couldn't have found elsewhere. I buy and sell (occasionally) on eBay, and just expect the people I chose to deal with to be above-board and hassle-free - and I conduct myself the same way.

 

Because of my location, I'm a relaxed buyer - I automatically expect all packages to take at least three weeks to arrive. If anything arrives sooner, I'm thrilled!

 

If I ever have an issue, I really make an effort to resolve it. To date, I've never left or received negative feedback, or had acrimonious dealings with anyone.

[PAKMAN]

Were it not for Ebay I would have about 15 pens instead of 100. I buy most of what I get from Ebay. I ended up with a fake Mont Blanc one time but the seller took it back. I ended up with a real dog of a Wahl Eversharp Gold Seal recently but again the seller took it back. Only once was I complete ripped off and that was when I was new and didn't realize how quickly I should have reacted to the no show on the pen I ordered. That was back in 2003 when I purchased a Sheaffer Snork and never got the pen from the sellers. Other wise I have been pretty pleased with my Ebay experience. I've safely purchased pens and ink from all over the world. By the way the only three problems I've had were from US sellers that were misc antique sellers and not specifically pen sellers. I would add that even though I buy a lot from ebay and get some really good deals, sometimes it takes watching for many weeks and passing up lots of pens before you get a price you can live with. And as always, watch for shillers and ardently check feedback. Also, make sure before you bid that you can deal with the method of payment required and with how much they will be charging for shipping!

Edited June 19, 2007 by pakmanpony

[lalindsay225]

As there is only a Sharon Luggage here in Raleigh, I rely almost entirely on Internet buying. I have found eBay to be a good source of pens, especially those that have been recently discontinued. (I support pen dealers whenever possible, but often I am a bit slow off the mark and a pen I like is discontinued before I have a chance to buy it!) I make sure to look closely at the seller's feedback, and only deal with those who take Paypal. I only had one iffy experience; the seller had my money for several weeks, and ignored several e-mails from me. He finally shipped the pen about a week after I got his phone number through eBay and called him.

 

Lisa

[artaddict]

Feedback & communication. I usually go with 100% feedback, read the feedback comments, and if I ask a question, judge by the tone & content of the answer. I rarely buy "as is" items. About 20% of my pens were acquired via Ebay. No bum deal yet!

 

Even in my camera buying phase, sellers were very accommodating.

 

But I wouldn't buy a high priced pen on ebay, I'd go to an online store I trust.

Edited June 19, 2007 by artaddict

[Wizergig]

I have bought lots of starter pens through ebay. I would probably by even the more expensive ones, but I have to find a place to hold them, and try them out first. I cant see paying a couple of hundred dollars for a fountain pen, if I am not sure of what it is I want to buy. Some of the lower priced ones I got from ebay are actually pretty nice.

 

[EventHorizon]

So far so good for me. I've purchased 15-20 pens from E-Bay and all transactions went well other than one verified Postal Service mess up. I like most look at the sellers history and if I have a question, and get a prompt answer, I'll bid on the pen.

[Stylo]

I have yet to even open e-bay and paypal accounts. I haven't felt the need to, but if I ever buy stuff from e-bay, it will probably be from well established sellers with "e-bay stores."

[sleek_lover]

Over the years I have done well.  But trust is a fickle thing and I have had my share of flops as well.  Not that I have expected less, but in several instances I was shocked at what I got...

 

On the other hand...a matched pair of P51 desk pens in a cheap plastic give-away stand  $33.  I scored a correct Magnetix double trumpet base in a trade.  

 

As in life...yin/yang.  I am a fatalist.

 

Bill

 

PS...Ironically, the sister site--Half.com...I have scored consistantly good books there...

[Cloud]

I buy on ebay sometimes. I prefer FPN marketplace. Also I won't buy some pens which have a higher probability of being fake on ebay.

[meanwhile]

Do I trust ebay?

 

I don't understand the question. What I trust is my ability to find a deal that is reasonably likely to be a good one, where the benefit outweighs the reward.

 

The alternative for me would be buying at a dealers. A B1 condition black Sheaffer Sentinel Snorkel is £135 at one well-known UK dealer*. I think I've seen better deals at a rival, and I'm a good negotiator - but I doubt I could get them down to the £10 my Sentinel actually cost me (plus a few minutes of nib smoothing) or even the £20-£30 such pens usually go for on ebay. All three of the Targas I've bought on ebay added together (one silver plated lines, one gold plated lines, one sterling chisselle) come to less than than the dealer price for a single duplicate of one of the plated pens. (Of these pens, one needed a new converter, and one needed a fair amount of work on the nib that I hadn't been warned about - I should have negotiated the price down on that one, but I was lazy).

 

But you do have have to know how to work the system on ebay to be reasonably safe - I remember we had an excellent ebay hints thread; perhaps it should be stickied into a FAQ.

 

*But still a bargain compared to virtually any new fp in the UK - remember that the VP and L2K are £100 each here!

Edited June 19, 2007 by meanwhile

[obmike]

i own one of those ebay sniping sites, so i've bought a crazy number of pens. "just testing out the site" i tell the wife.

[white_feather]

I would buy a pen from Ebay, although I have not as of yet. I have either bought them new or from members here.

[tutelman]

Were it not for e-Bay, I doubt that I would be a fountain collector (perhaps accumulater is a better word). Other than the Mont Blanc store at the local mall, I am only familiar with one local b & m dedicated exclusively to pens. Out of necessity, I turned to e-Bay.

 

My first exposure was to use e-Bay to buy a handful of really cheap used pens just to disassemble, destroy, and generally abuse. (That $3 Estie will never be the same! ) Once I played with them, I was hooked.

 

I started cautiously. Since I wanted some new pens, e-Bay and the e-tailers were invaluable. If I saw something I wanted, I'd check the retail prices at the e-tailers before I bid. This helped ensure that I wouldn't get caught in a bidding frenzy. After all, who wants to pay $375 for a Pelikan M800 when a wonderful e-tailer like Pam Braun is selling them new for $249?

 

So part of the accumulation is e-tail; Delta Parthenope, Parker Centennial - Pam Braun, Pelikan M250 - Chuck Swisher, Dupont Fidelio, Conklin Mark Twain - Levenger, Krone Moderne - FPH, to name but a few. But these e-tail purchases are far overshadowed by my e-Bay bargain hunting.

 

With a few common sense rules, I've managed not to get burned on e-Bay. (Okay, I did overpay for that rather used MB 220 that was 'puffed' as being near mint. :bonk: The difference was probably less than the cost of shipping it back though.)

 

What are my rules? I avoid the most commonly counterfeited brands. No new MBs or Duponts from unknown e-Bay sellers and Sonnets only if the seller appears legitimate. (Okay, legitimate appearance is tough to describe, but you can only get burned so much by a counterfeit Sonnet, their prices being lower than the MBs or Duponts. So far, knock on wood, I have only gotten authentic Sonnets.

 

I also avoid bidding on Thai sellers' merchandise, other than that of Speerbob and Puget2005. (I can't for the life of me understand why Thailland is a haven for Internet fraud.) I will bid on the occasional Chinese pen from mainland sellers, but I am extremely wary of their other sales. (It's that counterfeit thing again and, parenthetically, I admit to being part of the problem. When in Shanghai awhile back, I couldn't resist a handful of cheap metal MB counterfeits for a buck apiece any more than my wife could resist the twelve dollar counterfeit Louis Vuitton leather purses.)

 

When you start from scratch, it seems there are just so many pens and so little time, but it makes bargain hunting soooo much easier when you want anything and everything! As a bargain hunter, I just put in that low bid and sit back and wait. It's painstaking and frustrating, but the sumgais go to the patient. After all, where but e-Bay could I buy a Marlen dotCom for $46, a Cross Townsend Jade for $66 or a NOS old-style Sailor 1911, with the little anchor on the cap and a 21K zoom nib, for $74?

 

And besides the pens, there's all the other fun stuff. Thanks to e-Bay (and Luanne) I have all three Lambrou books (although my FPOTW is signed by its previous owner, Jim Gaston, rather than Mr. Lambrou). Of course, e-Bay is my source for pen storage cases, wood and leather, too. And while the Waterman Preface isn't my favorite pen, I love the variety that comes from swapping out its original B nib with one of the six new nibs I picked up for less than $50 on e-Bay.

 

So far, I haven't really seen a downside to e-Bay. Once or twice a pen was just incorrectly described - a rollerball described as a fountain pen and pictured capped, for example. After the problem was explained to the clueless seller , he was happy to take back his purchase and refund my payment.

 

To wrap it up with some philosophical musings: I marvel at how small computing and the Internet have made the world. Sitting here at my computer, I have more computing power on my desk than existed in the entire world when I was born. (Am I dating myself?) I have bought pens from sellers in Singapore, Germany, England, Israel, China, and more. From the comfort of my home, I am communicating with a plethora of international sellers (on e-Bay) and FPN readers. I can go on, but what I am really trying to say is e-Bay provides me with collecting opportunities that never existed before the computer age. WOW!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[hexyr]

Do you feel comfortable with ebay ?

Do you buy most of your pens on it or maybe you just dont trust the sellers on eBay ?

 

As for me I love eBay.I find it to be a reliable source for pens and for a good confortable prices.

I bought many of my pens on eBay and sold few pens on eBay as well.

I was always very happy with what I got there and never had any real truble with any sellers or the pens I bought.

One thing I need to add I have learned where I can bid and where not and even though there is always a risk involved I think its worth the risk.

 

I wouldn't be a collector if it weren't if ebay.

I have been using ebay for years not nessarily for fp. Occationally a bad deal never on a pen

I read feedback. If it is really low and only take mo. (completely avoid) Certain countries Thailand and China.

 

L