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Caution Flag - Judperl on eBay


J English Smith

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I just have to let FPNers know about a poor selller.

 

I am in the middle of a fairly lengthy and unsatisfying period with this eBay vendor (Judperl) trying to resolve a low-end Aurora pen. The auction closed a month ago. The Aurora Idea pen came after three weeks, was defective (cracks in the barrel and a defective nib), was returned promptly after two days and nearly two weeks later, I still don't have a pen. Judd did refund my money, however. Communication has been sluggish and very, very sparing.

 

Two months ago I defended this seller; now I cannot. Buyers beware. It has been very poor service, slow shipping, poor product and bad communications only when I wrote repeatedly asking for information.

<i>"Most people go through life using up half their energy trying to protect a dignity they never had."</i><br>-Marlowe, in <i>The Long Goodbye</i>

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I recently had two transactions with judperl on Ebay.

 

In one case I purchase a pen described as in "very good condition." The exterior of the pen was very pretty. When I received and opened the barrel of the pen I found a rusty mess. I contacted judperl the same day I got the pen. He agreed to allow me to return the pen and promised to refund my money. I paid the return postage and I did get a full refund within about ten days.

 

In the second case I was bidding on a pen described as having a medium nib. One of the other bidders pointed out that it looked to him as if the nib on the pen in the photo was a broad. I had already posted my bid and ended up "winning" the pen. I was OK buying the pen with a broad nib - I guess - I was able to change the nib later once I had the pen. But, the ad was inaccurate and created the need for me to track down another nib. The only other minor issue with that sale was that when I send a follow up email after the transaction with a question about the pen, the email went unanswered.

 

Did I give judperl a good Ebay rating? Yes. Would I purchase another pen from this vendor? Probably not. While I believe the vendor to be honest, he is not scrupulous about examining his fountain pens before he lists them or careful to post complete and accurate descriptions. Buying fountain pens solely based on sellers photos and descriptions, as one does on Ebay, I expect vendors to do their best to offer full and accurate disclosure. And given the circumstances in the case of the pen I returned, he should have offered to pay for return shipping.

 

I've had very good luck, overall, on Ebay. Most of my vintage pens were bought there. With one or two exceptions, the vendors I've dealt with have been solid and reputable. For me, an occasional deal that works out OK is not worth the aggravation I may have in trying to untangle a transaction gone awry. So, I avoid vendors with few transactions or more than a few negative ratings or the ones that seem a little iffy based on my own experience what I hear on FPN.

Edited by PatientType
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I've also noticed that he's been blowing out Stipula and Marlen models that traditionally came with gold nibs with steel nibs without really being clear about that.

 

It's obvious to me, but I'd rather have all the information accurately.

deirdre.net

"Heck we fed a thousand dollar pen to a chicken because we could." -- FarmBoy, about Pen Posse

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I have bought a number of pens from this guy, but I am also in the probably won't buy again group. Two of the last three auctions I won from him ended poorly. He took care of the situation reluctantly in each case, but the errors he made were egregious enough to seriously shake my confidence in getting what I actually won. I won a Kaweco (likely from the 70s-90s -- not vintage but not a current model nor one I was familiar with) he listed as a piston, but it was in fact a c/c. The second mistake was even more egregious. I won two Pelikanos that were clearly the metal cap/metal clip version that came before the current ones based on both description and photo, and he sent me two new Pelikanos. That one took a while to clear up.

 

I don't think he's a scammer (though the gold nib/steel nib thing above makes me wonder), but I do think he's careless in his fulfillment duties. I have dealt with sellers who made mistakes, but it's not just that. It was a pain to even get an acknowledgment of a problem.

<a href="Http://inkynibbles.com">Inky NIBbles, the ravings of a pen and ink addict.</a>

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I've also noticed that he's been blowing out Stipula and Marlen models that traditionally came with gold nibs with steel nibs without really being clear about that.

 

It's obvious to me, but I'd rather have all the information accurately.

 

Nor does he seem to know what he's selling and/or what you bought. I rather like the look of the dark grey streaky/marbly steel-nibbed Stipula piston-filler (not quite sure what the model is - it's a good half inch longer than a Vedo), bid on one and won it. What I received was a c/c fill tiger eye Castoni with an alarmingly heavy polished metal cap that would make a fairly effective weapon (I can't imagine writing with it posted). I've sent him emails and received no reply. As I didn't pay much for it, and the B nib that came in it is a marvelous stub (I figured I might as well try it), I may end up keeping it (I bought the pen I wanted and its blotchy brown sibling from Regina Martini instead - paid more, but she knows what she's doing and is marvelous to deal with). But I certainly won't buy anything else from him.

 

Simon

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He IS getting sloppy on his descriptions. I've queried him multiple times where he lists one nib size in the title, then another in the description. Then it takes days for him to answer. Once he had a Krone listed as a Marlen, which is a whole 'nother animal.

 

Have bought from him regularly in the past, but the pictures no longer matching the pens and the steel nibbed Marlens in place of the gold are making me hesitant.

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This is a guy who is one of the sponsors of the Chicago show!

I'm not sure whether he's ignorant or lazy, but, clearly, he has no feel for pens. They are items to be bought and sold, as quickly and easily as possible (for him).

One needs to be very certain as to what you see in a picture before engaging in dealings with him.

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My how things seem to have changed since a couple months ago when I complained about his $7.50 to ship A pen.

 

Nothing but a veritable Love Fest then...

 

PS I must say though that he sure must cultivate his connections, I found it interesting that he's selling a metric buttload of raw "Bexley celluloid" now.

 

Bruce in Ocala, FL

Edited by OcalaFlGuy
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I had a situation where he said he would combine shipping and didn't. When I reminded him, he said he'd make it up on the next item. Haven't taken advantage of the offer.

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I just received a shipment from Judperl today of two well-used Kaweco pens (auctioned in a single lot). While he didn't exactly misrepresent the pens, his descriptions of them were very, very poor. I asked for clarifications and his response was to basically paraphrase the already-poor description without adding anything of substance

 

So I bit the bullet and bid anyway, which is my bad. What he failed to say in his description, and what would have never occurred to me to ask, is that neither cap fits the pens properly. They're both Kaweco pens and caps, but where the caps are from, who knows? If I'd known about this, I might not have bid.

 

The good news is that both pens work (one a piston filler and one that takes short cartridges). Both are EF nibs and both are somewhat scratchy. Oh well, they're just knock-around pens and it wasn't a big-ticket auction by any means.

 

Would I deal with him again? Perhaps not. Caveat emptor as always.

Edited by majorworks
Happiness is an Indian ED!
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My how things seem to have changed since a couple months ago when I complained about his $7.50 to ship A pen.

 

Nothing but a veritable Love Fest then...

 

PS I must say though that he sure must cultivate his connections, I found it interesting that he's selling a metric buttload of raw "Bexley celluloid" now.

 

Bruce in Ocala, FL

 

I remember that post. There is quite a difference between now and then isn't there. Although I remember you only having "problems" with one poster in particular and it was more of a "how dare you challenge the cost of shipping" thing rather than a Perl lovefest.

Equal Opportunity Ink and Fountain Pen User.

 

My blog: The Dizzy Pen

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My how things seem to have changed since a couple months ago when I complained about his $7.50 to ship A pen.

 

Nothing but a veritable Love Fest then...

 

PS I must say though that he sure must cultivate his connections, I found it interesting that he's selling a metric buttload of raw "Bexley celluloid" now.

 

Bruce in Ocala, FL

 

I remember that post. There is quite a difference between now and then isn't there. Although I remember you only having "problems" with one poster in particular and it was more of a "how dare you challenge the cost of shipping" thing rather than a Perl lovefest.

 

I wouldn't say that I really "had any problems" with any poster in that thread but certainly the general communal situation with JP has changed from then. Re; the thread in question from July;

 

Not counting my original post, there were 11 posts to the thread that were either ambivilent to the concerns pointed out in the OP or not really related at all to it.

 

There were 2 posts where less than favorable impressions of JP were noted.

 

There were SIXTEEN posts where people were either happy with transactions from him and/or would have no problem buying from him again.

 

Based on that, I'll stick with my prior assessment of it being "a lovefest". (Made even more glaringly obvious to me by the degredation of that spacing in this thread in just 2 months passed time...)

 

Bruce in Ocala, FL

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Hi.

 

Mixed feelings here bought 3 pens I think, happy with one a Geha piston filler, less happy with a Luxor piston filler which described as good working condition, but rather scratched and piston very very stiff, last was another Geha, described as a piston filler but takes short cartridges, always arrive well packaged but no response about the Cartridge Geha, so probably won't buy again.

 

Andy

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I've never bought anything from Judperl(though several times I have

thought about doing so),but this just confirms what I've seen in his

auctions--just barely enough detail to make the pen in question sellable.

There are some sellers on fleabay(and I've seen many like these there)

that are more interested in selling than in giving a good description

about the pen(or other item);when the buyer receives it,it ends up

being less than what was stated and the buyer is understandably unhappy.

 

Sometimes reading a seller's description or watching how they describe

the item they're selling can give a clue as to what they really care

about--selling or giving the buyer a good deal.

 

BTW,honest sellers that have no idea about what they're selling will

tell you that and in the case of a pen won't mess with it either. They'll

just describe what they can see.

 

 

 

John

Irony is not lost on INFJ's--in fact,they revel in it.

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I have bought multiple items from Judperl. I have had very good luck in buying new or recent items (eg, a new yellow Pelikan Citroenpers, one of my best writers, for about $50; an almost new Parker 100 ballpen for $22). He does charge a lot for shipping, but that is factored into my bidding. Less luck with older pens, including an old German Boehler piston filler in his "standard very nice condition," which even Richard Binder couldn't fix.

Very nice condition appears to mean good cosmetic condition, not that it works. I think bargains can be had, but caveat emptor.

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Judperl merchandise does often sell low. I'm inclined to think that may be because a lot of the people that would otherwise bid, such as those on this site, have begun to shy away. When I recently purchased another Pelikan 800 and was looking, he had one in blue that looked great in the picture. But I wasn't bidding on Judperls pen. I looked elsewhere and eventually found an equally good deal on a pen that was fully described and came with papers and a box.

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We all have different energy levels, and I suspect he's buying up collections and re-selling. I'm sympathetic both ways: it takes a lot of energy to put into descriptions and so on, but you'll always get better money if you take that time.

 

On modern closeout pens, he seems to get fairly high prices.

deirdre.net

"Heck we fed a thousand dollar pen to a chicken because we could." -- FarmBoy, about Pen Posse

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BTW,honest sellers that have no idea about what they're selling will

tell you that and in the case of a pen won't mess with it either. They'll

just describe what they can see.

 

 

 

John

 

It makes me laugh how many people call their pen "rare" in the title, and then go on in the description to say how they know nothing about pens.

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It is annoying when there are problems with an ebay seller (although I've had difficulties with a couple of buyers too) because it puts people off from dealing with good vendors - I've bought from quite a few.

 

However, I do have some sympathy with Judperl: it's an awful lot of work to put a listing together properly and then you may end up not selling the item (which costs you) or getting far less than it is worth (there are real bargains out there - I've bough a few and sold far too many at a bargain price). It's easy to get discouraged and look for shortcuts.

 

It's not an excuse, but it is understandable. The best way to liven up the vendor is in Feedback: give him a low rating on description.

 

I've had an enforced break from ebay and FPN because of health and then major computer problems and I'm finding it hard to workup the enthusiasm for putting on new listings (although I'm doing it) and have become quite conscious of a strong desire to skimp on preparation, research and double-checking. So I do understand his problem, but cannot excuse it.

 

 

Regards Richard

Regards Richard

 

Current users:

Striped Conklin Nozac (F/XF nib)

Tortoiseshell Sailor Magellan (F nib)

Grey Levenger Seas Sheaffer (F nib)

Delta Dolcevita (Stub nib)

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