My apologies if this is the wrong forum but as this is the place that things are bought, sold and valued I thought this is the best knowledgeable place for my dilemma.

I bought a pen on eBay advertised as mint. It isn't. I have no reason to believe the oversight was done on purpose. The marks are not huge but they are there. Here are two pictures. One picture is the broken box the other is of the scratches on the pen. I'm not too concerned with the box but the scratches on the pen do bother me. How much should I ask for as compensation for the marks? I bought the Montblanc Bach pen on eBay for $550. The seller is asking me how much I want back. How much do these scratches take away from the value of the pen? What would you consider fair compensation?

The pen hasn't been inked and is otherwise is perfect shape.

Thanks,

Dave

1. Ask for the difference between what you paid and what you would have paid had you seen the scratches before hand.

Or

2. Ask for the cost of repair, by someone who really knows what they are doing.

According to my book (Schneider & Fischler):

"...subtract 20% if the condition is extra fine, 30% if in fine condition, and 50% if only in good condition. These are retail prices."

IMO, you should subtract at least 50% of the mint value.

Personally, I don't think I could live with those scratches - so I would return it.

I think, in large part, a pen's value is dependent on what it is worth to you. Ask yourself at what price point you'd be happy. If you had known about the scratches beforehand, would you have paid $500? $400? Less? I think another important consideration is whether you intend to use the pen or if it was purchased for a collection. As a user pen, I'd expect a bargain price. For a collection, I'm not sure I would even want the pen. Ultimately, the value of a pen is what reasonable people are willing to pay for an item with full disclosure. If the flaws had been mentioned in the auction, how high would you have bid...