I realize this is a broad question and there are allot of factors involved in determining how much either of these is worth. I'm not looking for an exact price but a range to expect so I don't end up over paying for one on eBay.

I don't actually care for the look of the 51 because the hooded nib throws me, but I've read so much around here about how dependable they are. I'm now intrigued enough to take one for a spin. I really like the look of the Vacumatics!

With that said, what should I expect to pay for a 51 in good working condition? How about a Vacumatic? I'm not looking for something NIB or Gold or anything, juts an average run of the mill pen in good working order and not too dinged up.

Maybe I should say, what is a fair price I can expect to pay for either of these?

I have seen user grade 51's, with no mechanical problems but light wear, start around $55. DocNib is offering right now in the Green Board a lot of them at $51, and if it weren't a slow month for pendom they would have gone away very fast.
Vacumatics can be a bit more expensive ($10?), and you need to make sure that there are not mechanical issues. Very few things can go wrong in an Aerometric. In a Vac, however...

I misread your question, since I did not notice that you planned to get the pen from the 'bay. Everyone has had sumgays, but I would never pay over $30 for an Aero, and even less, considering the chances of having to pay for repairs, a Vacumatic. But that is me.

Realistically, you can expect to pay anywhere from about $35 to a couple of hundred for a Parker 51 on eBay... obviously the high end is rarer collectable pens.
If you are looking for a good user grade 51 Aero figure on about $50+.
If you are looking for a 51 Vac filler and can not do the restoration yourself, I don't recommend buying on eBay, but seeing what is available in the Market Place... the same for Vacumatics...
If you can do the restoration yourself figure on $50+ for a nice user Vacumatic and about the same for a nice user 51.
But again to warn you... you still don't know what you are getting..
You are much better off spending more and buying from someone in the Market Place.... and hope that no one can say they ever got a bad deal from me.

My last two purchases relevant to your question:

A restored cedar blue 1946 vacumatic "51" with a new diaphragm, bought here on FPN from SMG (Steve Baugh) for $90, including shipping. This pen is in what I would call A- condition, no dings in the cap, no significant scratches, good clip with blue diamond, little or no brassing. Bought last August. A great pen all around.

A green pearl 1945 Vac Major, new diaphragm, minimal restoration otherwise, bought at the Dallas Pen Show from a local dealer for $75. This pen would be a C with normal ambering of the barrel and a slight ding in the nib, no significant scratches, brassing of the clip and cap band (star on clip, not blue diamond). Cap band shows quite a bit of wear -- the ///\\\ pattern is a little hard to see in places. Bought last November. I wouldn't call it beat-up, but you can tell it's been around the block a few times. And I still like it and use it every couple of days, just wouldn't take it to a Pen Club meeting to brag on.

Hope this helps. The letter grades are my non-professional assessment, and I may have "haloed" the "51" a bit -- a real pro might call it a B.

Thanks for the quick responses.

I'm not at all opposed to buying from the marketplace or from another collector's website. I just, mistakingly, thought that eBay would be the place to go. I'll keep my eye on the marketplace for a while before going to the bay.

If I had my choice I'd be looking for a blue 51 aeromatic and a Vacumatic with the copper colored striping pattern (what's that cool pattern called anyway?). Both in usable condition with no big visual defects because I'm not yet capable of doing repairs on my own.

Thanks again,
John

The cool copper color on Vacumatics is called Golden Pearl. There were several colors available like blue, green, burgundy, silver, black.

Check Richard Binders website under reference information for more details.

For a good user vac that has been restored and is a run of the mill, probably between $60-75. In better condition and with something special upwards of $90 to $120. Those are for 3rd Gen Majors which is probably what you are looking at. 1st Gens are more expensive and Maxima or OS are quite a bit more so.


BTW, don't think I sold that cedar blue to Bill the Editor. I haven't restored one of those yet. That and my name is Sean!

Cheers,
SG (Sean Gosse)

eBay is fine, so long as you remember that you are very likely getting a pen that has been sitting in a drawer for decades. Most, if not all, that are not listed as restored will need work.

That said, very good bargains are out there if you look (a Cocoa "51" went for $27 yesterday, for instance). I've gotten several "51"s for less than $30.

Vacumatics are a bit more of a problem. They are older, almost always have a bad filler, and can be a pain to fix (see the Repair Q&A section), it's worth the cost to get a restored one if you are not willing or able to do a proper restoration.

Peter