Why Didnt This Dupont Pen Sell ?

[ForeverStained]

I cant believe that nobody wanted this pen.

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/ST-DUPONT-CHAIRMAN-AMBER-FOUNTAIN-PEN-NEVER-USED-BEAUTIFUL-S-T-DUPONT-/181189912714?ViewItem=&ssPageName=ADME%3AB%3AWNA%3AUS%3A3160&item=181189912714&nma=true&si=j%252FNcMStujGECCWNYC3CH0wLi7Do%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

 

 

 

it doesnt have the box and papers ..... could that be the reason it didnt sell ?

or.... could it be that the seller takes no returns ?

that would stop me from buying anything on ebay.

[Penne Stilografiche]

I cant believe that nobody wanted this pen.

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/ST-DUPONT-CHAIRMAN-AMBER-FOUNTAIN-PEN-NEVER-USED-BEAUTIFUL-S-T-DUPONT-/181189912714?ViewItem=&ssPageName=ADME%3AB%3AWNA%3AUS%3A3160&item=181189912714&nma=true&si=j%252FNcMStujGECCWNYC3CH0wLi7Do%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

 

 

 

it doesnt have the box and papers ..... could that be the reason it didnt sell ?

or.... could it be that the seller takes no returns ?

that would stop me from buying anything on ebay.

Why didn't that pen sell? The world may never know...... I have seen pens worth $10 sell for $100 and pens worth $100 sell for $10. The pen seems to be fairly priced, I guess there wasn't that much of a demand for it. The rollerball version is selling for $614.99 including shipping, with one bid on it.

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/S-T-DUPONT-AMBER-CHAIRMAN-RB-STD-SIZE-NO-RESERVE-/111136510156?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item19e04090cc

Edited August 9, 2013 by collectiblepens.com

[camoandconcrete]

I'm no expert on S.T. Dupont pens but, 650 USD seems like an awfully high opening bid for that pen.

[Parker51]

Have you ever had one of these in your hand? I have, and while I would not refuse one as a gift, I would never pay that price for one. There are just too many other pens which are at, or near that price which I find more attractive.

[ForeverStained]

Have you ever had one of these in your hand? I have, and while I would not refuse one as a gift, I would never pay that price for one. There are just too many other pens which are at, or near that price which I find more attractive.

yes i have one. i LOVE IT ! in fact i love this design. it is DEFINITELY NOT for everybody.

you either like it or you dont.

[olivier78860]

There is a micro ding at the end of the barrel, on the edge, where the barrel meets the cap (pictures 3 & 4).

 

The price would be good for such a rare pen, even without box and papers, if it was NOS. As it is impossible to repair dings on these pens, the value drops importantly, as soon as there is one.

I bought one in black, with small dings on the top of the cap for 150€ (to make it a daily writer), last year, while the usual price is around the double for a perfect one.

http://i.imgur.com/O46OvEx.jpg

It would also seem that the demand has dropped significantly, I see quite a lot of fairly-priced pens at ebay or other websites, which don't get bought these days.

[ForeverStained]

Oliver ? are we talking about the same listing ? that picture is not on the listing i posted.

where did you see this picture you have posted ?

i dont see it anywhere on the listing i posted.

[olivier78860]

That is a picture of the pen I bought last year, to show you why I paid less than half-price for it.

 

You can see the small ding on the amber pen here :

 

http://i.imgur.com/TRdiBdn.jpg

[hari317]

I cant believe that nobody wanted this pen.

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/ST-DUPONT-CHAIRMAN-AMBER-FOUNTAIN-PEN-NEVER-USED-BEAUTIFUL-S-T-DUPONT-/181189912714?ViewItem=&ssPageName=ADME%3AB%3AWNA%3AUS%3A3160&item=181189912714&nma=true&si=j%252FNcMStujGECCWNYC3CH0wLi7Do%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

 

 

 

it doesnt have the box and papers ..... could that be the reason it didnt sell ?

or.... could it be that the seller takes no returns ?

that would stop me from buying anything on ebay.

price was too much for a used Chairman.

 

[georges zaslavsky]

price was too much for a used Chairman.

 

dupont are never cheap pens even in used condition whether they are modern or vintage pens

http://morastylos.com/stylos/collections/de-1910-a-1990/s-t-dupont.html

http://morastylos.com/stylos/occasions/s-t-dupont.html

http://www.nibs.com/PreOwnF_french.htm

If people think that they will find a Dupont for cheap, then they are wrong and should look for a chinese or an indian pen

[rochester21]

Indeed, why nobody paid 650 bucks on such an ugly pen(not even the OP) ??? that is the question.

[inkstainedruth]

I'm no expert on S.T. Dupont pens but, 650 USD seems like an awfully high opening bid for that pen.

Frankly, I'd personally find it an awfully high *ending* (i.e., winning) bid for almost *any* pen (okay, there ARE a few, but I currently can't afford that sort of outlay -- it's getting into "nosebleed" range. I guess there are people on here who could afford it, but I'm definitely *not* one of them....

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[Bo Bo Olson]

There are some simply wonderfully made counterfeits; even with box and papers...actually after once bitten and Jar helped show me, the Box and Papers are a giveaway the pen is a fake.

Fantastic work for a €32 flea market buy. I thought it worth the gamble ....knowing...95% chance it was fake for the 5% chance it could be real. It was fake.

For the work in it, with any half way decent gold plated nib, a €100-150 pen under their own name.

 

Even the underside of a real Dupont clip is as polished as the top. The Rolls-Royce of pens.

 

Even if the seller is 100%, not everyone knows to take a magnet to a 'gold' nib.

There is lots of info on fake Duponts and and the C/C 149's.

Edited August 9, 2013 by Bo Bo Olson

[olivier78860]

rocherster21, this might be your personal taste, but I find this pen to be of exquisite colour, and finish. The ebay pictures don't do justice to it. I have one myself (picture) and the OP has one already, which could be the reason why she didn't want another one.

Here's the colour when properly photographed :

 

http://i.imgur.com/TqgE5.jpg

Edited August 9, 2013 by olivier78860

[Chrissy]

I cant believe that nobody wanted this pen.

 

it doesnt have the box and papers ..... could that be the reason it didnt sell ?

or.... could it be that the seller takes no returns ?

that would stop me from buying anything on ebay.

It was probably too expensive for that pen without it's box and papers, or no-one wanted it for that price.

 

Sellers still put they don't accept returns, but it's meaningless. If an item is SNAD then the buyer can open a case with ebay and if they find for the buyer (almost always) the seller has to accept it back and refund in full.

[UK Mike]

Why didn't it sell?

 

I think the snub-nosed section design has a good bit to do with it and when you look at the actual "pen" part - the nib section and converter, the standard of the plastic grip looks deeply unimpressive for a $650+ pen.

 

Yes the lacquer is pretty, and the step from barrel to cap is beautifully finished but the design is certainly not for everyone.

 

The seller omits to give any details on the nib size or quality

 

The seller has the cheek to ask $650+ for the pen and then adds shipping!

 

"May not ship to United Kingdom" ..... why? If Russia, Romania and Afghanistan are ok, what is wrong with UK money?

 

The seller hasn't even got pictures of the actual pen - posted are library shots of the same (?) pen

 

I may not be an expert on vintage pens, but I have been in selling for over 40 years and there are some fundamental errors in the sales pitch.

 

I like some of the ST Dupont pens but I can't see $650 worth of value there. Start at $300 and there may be some bids, but not from me. Times are hard.

[Edwaroth]

No box, no papers, no returns, priced way too high for a nothing that special pen. And you were surprised?

[olivier78860]

Hmmm. For your information, guys, if it hadn't been for the ding (the seller states only the first picture is stock), $650 would have been a very good price for that model without box. Complete, with the wood box, it is worth around 1000€...

Edited August 9, 2013 by olivier78860

[Paul80]

I suspect the real reason it didn't sell was that it was sold in an incorrect manner for ebay.

 

To have a starting bid of $650 would but a lot of bidders off plus it will hike your listing fees as well which now it has not sold will still have to be paid.

 

Its much better to have a low starting price, say 99 cents and then run it for long enough for enough buyers to find it. Then if it looks like its not going to sell for anything close to what you want you have the option of pulling the auction. After all the bidding could ave gone upto $649 and I am sure he would be happy with that instead of not selling it at $650 or it could have gone for more once a few people get into one of those old fashioned bidding wars that we sadly see fewer and fewer of theses days thanks to sniping services.

 

Or a 99 cent start and a $650 BIN and it could still sell at $649.99 to a bidder or prompt a BIN from a buyer that didn't want to lose it.

 

Paul

[UK Mike]

Hmmm. For your information, guys, if it hadn't been for the ding (the seller states only the first picture is stock), $650 would have been a very good price for that model without box. Complete, with the wood box, it is worth around 1000€...

It is only "worth" $1000 if it is the pen you are looking for, or you know it is a good investment. I would venture the opinion that in this case, the market is going to be very small.

 

And for it to be worth that amount of money it has to be perfectly presented, fully documented and reliably advertised. None of those three elements is present in this case so it would remain a significant risk in going ahead with the purchase.