Flea Markets, Garage Sales, Etc....

[BT-7274]

I got lucky off of eBay exactly one time, and that was for a NOS Targa 1003 FP in the box. Paid $37 for it at the end of the day, with two original converters (both shot, sadly).

 

 

A while ago though, I was going through a yard sale and found a Parkette desk pen. Sadly, the tipping of the nib was gone and the general condition of the pen wasn't too good, so I ended up passing.

[Tom Aquinas]

So, just an update, I went to an antique shop today called Paddington's Antiques with around 52 antique shops in 1 place in Brisbane.

 

Found:

1. Parker 75 cisele sterling on its own, no significant scratches other than on the end of the pen, the nib looked to be a nice factory stub. But the sale price was quite unrealistic, being 220 AUD..So I decided there wasn't any point in getting that one.

 

2. A full set of Sheaffer Targa 1005 gold electroplated, 1 FP, 1 BP, 1 Slim BP, 1 MP, looks to be in an inked mint condition with a nice red box with complete instructions. Owner asked for 400 for it after max bargaining. Didn't think it was worth that much considering how you can get a nice near mint Sheaffer targa FP on eBay for 50 - 100 AUD easily, and I didn't think the other pens would fetch that much money anyway even as a full set.

 

3. Another Parker 75 cisele sterling, this time with FP, BP, and MP. Owner was the same guy as the sheaffer. Wanted 600 for the whole set. I mean come on, I thought that was a bit dumb considering how online you can't even fetch 220 for the FP, much less the other 2..So no..Declined as well

 

That was fun however, I did enjoy browsing through it all. Quite a fun experience all in all. Planning to go to another 3 large antique places tomorrow (Saturday). Should be good fun.

 

Cheers

Some years ago I saw a Cross hatch pattern sterling 75 in an antique shop which was being sold as a "set" with a cross hatch sterling silver pattern Imperial Flighter jotter....for a total of $A750. I pointed out to the owner that it was not a set and got a defensive diatribe that I did not know what I was talking about. I let him go and when he finished I pulled a complete P75 set out of my suit pocket , and told him he should review his opnion. Later I faxed him some original Parker sales information from old advertisements. I later found out that there are tax advantages in writing off stock over a certain period of time which does not sell. I look in the smaller shops and charity shops , the shops in the trendiod areas, and the inner city suburb of Paddington in Brisbane certainly is, are just too expensive.

[mrchan]

Some years ago I saw a Cross hatch pattern sterling 75 in an antique shop which was being sold as a "set" with a cross hatch sterling silver pattern Imperial Flighter jotter....for a total of $A750. I pointed out to the owner that it was not a set and got a defensive diatribe that I did not know what I was talking about. I let him go and when he finished I pulled a complete P75 set out of my suit pocket , and told him he should review his opnion. Later I faxed him some original Parker sales information from old advertisements. I later found out that there are tax advantages in writing off stock over a certain period of time which does not sell. I look in the smaller shops and charity shops , the shops in the trendiod areas, and the inner city suburb of Paddington in Brisbane certainly is, are just too expensive.

Antique shops in Brisbane are mad. They seriously overestimate their prices. I've seen old conway stewarts in below user grade that all sell above 120-150, even one with a broken nib CS75 that was being sold for 130. I mean..COME ON! Especially the Parker 75 cisele seem to be quite readily available and readily overpriced. I think trolling eBay to be that SUMGAI is a LOT cheaper and more efficient even factoring in shipping costs..

[Paul Raposo]

I later found out that there are tax advantages in writing off stock over a certain period of time which does not sell.

 

^ This is a very important point.

 

I know that businesses here in Canada can take a depreciation on their inventory come tax time. That would explain the absurd prices Is see in some of the antique shops, and malls I visit.

[von Fraker]

I am addicted to the "Hunt". I have close to 175 fountain pens now and at least 50% of them came from "the wild". I hit a lot of antique stores, flea mkts. & and now am getting into estate sales. My recent finds were:

*Parker 51 - antique store - 20.00 flushed it/inked it and writes wonderfully.
*(2)Sheaffer Black & Gold snorkel pens-estate sale-25.00-1 flushed and works great. Other needs seals.
*Esterbrook J green & Parker 21 - estate sale - 22.00 both-estie needs sac/21 flushed and works.
*Gold Medal (brown wood grain 1930s?), White pearl Stafford combo, Green Stripe Wearever - Yard Sale - $10.00 - Gold medal has crack in cap, Stafford cleaned up & still has pliable sac, Wearever needs nib/has the feed.
*Parker black & silver lucky curve button filler & tiny eye dropper fill Japanese pen - 20.00.
* (2) Sheaffer CF school pens and bottle of good vintage Sheaffer Skrip ink - 5.00 - estate sale.
* late 1800s-early 1900s Watermans Woodgrain eye dropper - flea mkt. - 50.00
* Oversize Sheaffer black & gold lever filler - flea mkt. - 35.00
* Sheaffer Black & rolled gold Triumph - flea mkt. - 25.00

These are just what I have found over the past 2-3 months.

By far my best score was :
Parker Oversize Green Vacumatic Pen & Pencil set, Parker Brown Vacumatic Pen and pencil set, Sheaffer Black and gold tuck-away pen, Conklin black pencil and a silver Eversharp pencil all for $60.00 from an estate. http://www.fountainp...raigslist-find/

It is out there. You just have to hunt and be patient and willing to search. Sure, I have made many trips and have found nothing but once I do. I feel it is worth it.

I enjoy the hunt as much as I do getting these cleaned and put back in working order.

I have a Black and chrome Wearever in my desk at work, Cart. refilled w/ Pelikan schwartzblau (blue black) and it works great. It was given to me by a coworker along with some CF school pens, two more Wearevers, and a red Esterbrook SJ that his brother had in a cigar box in his garage. I have a couple of FPs on my desk and it sparks conversation so he asked his brother, got them for free and passed them on to me,. A Factory Rep was in last week. He said he has a Mont Blanc somewhere he hasn't used since college. If he can find it he said he would bring it in. Not sure if to show me, offer to sell to me or (cross my fingers) give to me.

Happy hunting!

[amk]

von Fraker, I think you've hit the nail on the head - some people really enjoy the hunt, and they're the ones who get the bargains.

 

I know I *love* the hunt. That wonderful sense of excitement as I see a mug full of pens or a box of broken pencils... even if, nine times out of ten, I'm disappointed!

[Tom Aquinas]

von Fraker, I think you've hit the nail on the head - some people really enjoy the hunt, and they're the ones who get the bargains.

 

I know I *love* the hunt. That wonderful sense of excitement as I see a mug full of pens or a box of broken pencils... even if, nine times out of ten, I'm disappointed!

Exactly the point, "the spirit of the hunt", and collateral finds not associated with pens increase the enjoyment.

[c4bb0ose]

Snagged a parker 45 the other day for around $8 usd, from the same place I have also gotten a conway 67 with 14kt nib for $13 usd and an unknown model Watermans ideal with a 14k nib for the same price as the Conway. Both had no sacs, but I'm working on this.

 

I got two platignum pens for around $2 usd each, however turns out both have tipping material issues, and have either lost one or both of them with use. I assume this is just how they happen to age.

The same place has a Onoto 14k nibbed pen that is poor condition bar the nib for $21 usd but I turned it down for the time being as I am not to sure if it is worth getting it for potentially just a nib.

Another antique store has a parker 51 aeromatic which appears to be in working order for $16 usd, and some older hard rubber conway and stewerts with 14kt nibs, but they are uncapped, and I do not know how to fix them, let alone take one apart, so I passed on them for the time being.

Their are also a few interesting pens their that I would like to get at some point. But budgets are budgets.

[aalmcc4]

I started this whole fountain pen thing about a year ago with a Lamy Al Star. Nice, but I soon learned that was not my cup of tea. Then I got into the vintage fountain pens and that was when my new hobby went into high gear.

 

Like a few of you have stated, the real thrill is in the hunt. I love the searching. You never know what you'll find. And then the other thrill is getting these pens home and learning about them and restoring them yourself.

 

Here's what I got from the wild in the past few weeks. Now, the prices I got were not so great, but honestly, I'm looking for decent restorable pens that I can write with. I'm not looking to make a buck and what something is worth is only what someone is willing to pay for it. I'm just happy if I find a nice restoreable pen. I've had fairly good luck in antique malls and shops with multiple dealers in them. There''s tons of them in the area where I live, which is in a Mid Atlantic state in the US. Antiques are all over the place.

 

Earlier this week, I stopped by a multi-dealer shop on my way back from a job. It yeilded a Scheaffer Sentinel Touchdown filler for $38.00. I also found a Parker vacumatic (1944) for $95. But I didn't buy the Parkert. A neighboring shop had an Esterbrook Pastel pen with a 1314 stub nib for $15 and a Grey & Silver Parker Vacuamtic also for $95. I didn't get that Parker either. Hmmm.. should I have? Anyway,

 

Last weekend in a multi dealer shop close to home I found 2 Esterbrook Js and one transitional J. I got all 3 for $80. I only needed to re-sac one of them. The weekend before I picked up a Schaeffer Admiral snorkel for $30 in it's box. It was used for sure and in need of restoration, but the box and papers were a cool bonus. And the weekend before that I scored a Waterman #3 that just needed a re-sac and another Scheaffer Snorkel Admiral. I got both for $80. That same shop has a "Toothbrush" Parker Geometric. A little pricy at $75, but it only needs a new sac.

 

My first hunting trip was to an old independent jewlery store that looked like it was trapped in time. It was filled to the gills with estate jewelry, silver, coins etc. That trip yeilded a Parker VS with a gold filled cap (dated 1947) that needed nothing with a beauttiful EF nib for $75 and a Parker Striped Duofold button filler for $75 that only needed a sac. Again, I bit high, but I wanted it.

 

I know the prices I got weren't so great, but in hunting you can find a lot of nice ones out there and get the pleasure of the hunt as well as the conversations you have with a lot of interesting people. The lady I bought the Esterbrooks from was telling me that she used Esternbrooks when she attended school down the road in the 1940's. It was a 2 room rural schoolhouse back then. It has since been converted into the police station.

 

To me, it's not about the prices, It's the thrill of the hunt.

 

Fun.

 

 

 

 

[Gump]

This lot of 43 vintage pens on ebay may fit the bill for some of the more astute members: http://www.ebay.com/itm/LOT-OF-43-VINTAGE-FOUNTAIN-PENS-AND-PENCILS-IN-BLACK-LEATHET-CASE-/300962160275?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4612be1e93

[mrchan]

This lot of 43 vintage pens on ebay may fit the bill for some of the more astute members: http://www.ebay.com/itm/LOT-OF-43-VINTAGE-FOUNTAIN-PENS-AND-PENCILS-IN-BLACK-LEATHET-CASE-/300962160275?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4612be1e93

I've seen that one before, it was a total pile of junk haha.

[sumgaikid]

I've seen that one before, it was a total pile of junk haha.

 

 

Yup......that's what it looks like.

 

 

 

John

[aawhite]

In Denmark, I once visited a country manor house that was having an antique garage sale. In a corner, I saw a cup with some very old looking fountain pens. There were 8 pens; 5 lever fillers and 3 button fillers. Marked on the cup was a price in Danish kroners which at the time was about 25 Australian dollars.

 

So I picked one, the best of the bunch, and just as I was paying, the lady there told me that price was for all the 8 pens.

I had to contain myself !

 

 

 

It took me some time but I repaired all the 8 pens. One had a minor crack but repairable. Four had dried ink but with careful disassembly and soaking, I managed to reasonably clean them. The clips have brasing and the bodies have scratches. All needed a change of sac

 

All have gold nibs and vary from extra fine to medium-fine, with some flex and all write well.

[Sailor Kenshin]

In Denmark, I once visited a country manor house that was having an antique garage sale. In a corner, I saw a cup with some very old looking fountain pens. There were 8 pens; 5 lever fillers and 3 button fillers. Marked on the cup was a price in Danish kroners which at the time was about 25 Australian dollars.

 

So I picked one, the best of the bunch, and just as I was paying, the lady there told me that price was for all the 8 pens.

I had to contain myself !

 

 

 

It took me some time but I repaired all the 8 pens. One had a minor crack but repairable. Four had dried ink but with careful disassembly and soaking, I managed to reasonably clean them. The clips have brasing and the bodies have scratches. All needed a change of sac

 

All have gold nibs and vary from extra fine to medium-fine, with some flex and all write well.

Very happy for you! I had a polar opposite experience this weekend at a similar store.

 

Fountain pens! All sorts! Sailors! Parkers! Sheaffers! And each tag displayed a ridiculously low price!

 

Even as I picked up a somewhat battered-appearing coral vintage Sailor for inspection, my sixth sense told me something was not right. Then the proprietetor called out, 'Wanna know the item price?'

 

She quoted an amount about 40% over what I'd seen similar pens go for in pristine condition at a pen show.

 

All the pens stayed where they were.

[sandy101]

I found a nice gold nibbed Waterman Hemisphere in it's original box, with a converter for £5 in a Sue Ryder charity shop in the UK. I didn't even know I was looking for a fountain pen at the time.

[slippery when wet]

It wasn't to long ago that I traveled from Brisbane to Canberra via the New England Highway stopping in on every available

opp shop open, and came back home via the Bruce Highway. I would have traveled over 2000 km and found only one pen, a Parker 51.

Even though I was disappointed in the amount of pens I came across, there was a sense of anticipation and excitement with every store I entered.

It is easy to be greedy and want for more.

Within Brisbane the pickings are small and when you do find something, it is either damaged or way over priced.

I am also getting to old for the early morning garage sale.

Ebay suits me just fine.

Edited September 17, 2013 by slippery when wet

[georges zaslavsky]

I always buy from my favorite penshop. I have rarely seen something outstanding the last years at garage sales or flea markets

[amk]

Wow! Two Waterman Carenes for 20 euros. (Not 20 euros each. 20 euros for the two.) Pity one's a rollerball...

[kmart_security]

Damn finally found this thread, forgot where it was. Well for people who don't or haven't seen my post on Sheaffer...,

 

I went out on my day off during the week. Went to different garage sales and an estate sale. Long story short, got to the last garage sale and pretty neat stuff. Checked all the tables and came to the last one, sitting on the corner was a sheaffer snorkel for 75 cents. Lady thought I didn't know what it was and I told her this is exactly what I have been looking for. She was so happy and tried to go in the house to find the pen that went along with it.. but failed no biggy though. Went and got change in my car for I spent all my cash. So happy.

[von Fraker]

This weekends find. A Sheaffer Balance (lever fill). Gray greens with red vein. Not sure what the proper name of this is. I haven't seen this color before. It looks great with a bit of brassing in one spot on the cap ring. nib looks great. Needs cleaning and a new sac. The cap does not screw down nice and tight as it should. At this time I am a bit confused why since I have checked with my loop and see no cracks at all in the cap. Due to the cap issue ...the vendor at the flea market sold it to me for $10.00 USD. He said if it fit properly he would have to have had $20.00. He has a few more pens he will bring next month when comes back to town. His son was collecting and he had picked up a few at estate and yard sales for him but his son has decided to do other things now so he said he would bring them for me to see.

 

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/uploads/imgs/fpn_1379904287__sb.jpg

 

I also met a elder gentleman who was set up selling Military Collectables. I have also collected W.W. II Militaria since the 1990s so I was looking at his items in his booth. We chatted for a moment and I asked if he happened to have any fountain pens. He said " why yes, I used them all the time up until the 1970's. I have a cigar box full of them." I told him I was a collector and pulled out a Parker 51 from my shirt to show him and said "see, here is a Parker I use daily". He smiled as he took the pen and said "Oh yes, a Parker 51. I have a red one like this. Used it when I was in sales. A real work horse of a pen." I asked if he would be interested in selling them and he replied "I am 80 years old and yes, I would sell them. If I can find the box I will bring them tomorrow." I went the following day very excited, imagining the box packed with Parkers, Sheaffers, and other goodies but was disappointed to see he had not found them. He said he has allot of cigar boxes around with stuff packed away but he knows it is a Windsor Brand box and he and his wife will search more for it. I left him my card and he said he would call once he found the box. Looking back, I should have got his contact info. just in case he looses the card or just to follow up with him. I hope to hear back from him. Wish me luck.

 

I have made many trips to this flea mkt. and have came back with nothing but this weekend paid off I think.

 

Oh, did I mention before....I love the hunt.