Should There Be An Etiquette When It Comes To Buying Nos Pens?

[penbrute]

I just bought a nice old NOS never-inked pen with stickers etc in place. Of course, as a non-collector, I intend putting the pen to use as soon as it arrives.

 

Now I got to thinking that this is a rarish pen that's stayed pristine for decades only for a fellow like me eager to ink it. Should I be preserving the pen as-is until I can acquire a used one and then release this back into the wild?

 

In short, is there or should there be an unsaid rule about NOS pens?

[Elana]

Another way of looking at it: by taking this action figure out of the package, you make the MIP ones hoarded in other guys' display cases one unit rarer and incrementally more valuable.

[Charles Rice]

 

 

In short, is there or should there be an unsaid rule about NOS pens?

NO!

[zaddick]

If you just want to flip the pen, don't use it. Otherwise, no time like the present. You can't take then with you.

[AAAndrew]

For me, it really depends on the pen. Is it an Estie J pen with stickers on it? No problem. I'll use it. Is it an original, non-copy Parker Snake pen NOS? I don't think I'd use it. I may also not keep it.

 

I'm currently debating an edge case myself. I have a never-inked Sheaffer triumph amber-striped desk set. The vacuum filler needs to be repaired, but the barrel is pristine as it's never been filled. While not the most rare or valuable of pens, it is in the original shape as it was bought 70 years ago.

 

And as it's a desk pen, will the (relatively) fewer times I ever use it justify the "destruction" of the original condition. I've thought about possibly seeing if I could trade it for an equivalent set that doesn't need repair and I could use.

 

In the end, how much will the collecting world be damaged by no longer having that example to illuminate the history of fountain pens? If there's no damage (i.e. people pretty much know whatever the pen could tell us) and you don't want to trade it or sell it to someone who values the NOS more than the near-mint examples, then I'd say go ahead and use it.

[Nomad]

I would never buy a pen I did not intend to use.

[TheRealScubaSteve]

It's a pen. No need for stuffy etiquette.

[fly_us]

For me, a pen should be used. If i'm not gonna use it, i just don't buy it.

[ac12]

NOS pens with labels intact.

It purely depends on the pen. Is it a common pen or a vintage/collectible pen.

• For the common pens, go ahead and use them.

• For the collectible pens, do NOT use them, sell it to a collector, who would appreciate an unused NOS pen.
  For a collector, the value will drop as soon as you ink the pen.
  Note that collectible can also include some somewhat common pens.

Personally, if I land one of these pens, I would sell it to a collector, and look for a used pen that I would then use.

[jar]

Once a NOS pen is sold it is no longer NOS, period.

 

Even if it has never been used and still has all the stickers on it it is not New Old Stock once sold into the consumer market.

[Sasha Royale]

Sooooooooooo, what kind of pen is it ?

 

Sounds like a "collector" is someone who acquires fountain pens,

then sits around staring at them, like back issues of Playboy Magazine.

Is this what you people do ?

 

I have always thought of myself as a collector of interesting, useful

fountain pens of varying styles. May I, please, be a collector and do

more than stare and drool ?

Edited May 20, 2015 by Sasha Royale

[Freddy]

I just bought a nice old NOS never-inked pen with stickers etc in place. Of course, as a non-collector, I intend putting the pen to use as soon as it arrives.

 

Now I got to thinking that this is a rarish pen that's stayed pristine for decades only for a fellow like me eager to ink it. Should I be preserving the pen as-is until I can acquire a used one and then release this back into the wild?

 

In short, is there or should there be an unsaid rule about NOS pens?

 

 

Congratulations! What did you get ? Do whatever you want..after all..it is yours.....

I wouldn't think of tellin' you what to do with your pen{s}.....

 

In short.....no and no.....

 

Fred

gotta go... tea-sipping time..............................................

[KBeezie]

You can more easily resell the pen to 'users' if you ink it and provide a write sample (or like some people do , dip test only but never actually "ink" it, but that won't verify the filling system is good and working).

 

If you are intending to resell it to people who would pay more for it never inked/used then don't ink it.

 

If you're not intending on reselling at all, and just want to use it. INK AWAY.

 

With both used and new-old-stock, I do a water test first to make sure it can fill and that it's not going to go leaking ink on me on a first fill. Sometimes you have to flush the pen anyways to get rid of oils and debris from the manufacturing process. Not all new-old-stock pens are ready to write, sometimes their sacs (if they have one) can dry up just sitting around in a drawer or box.

[peterg]

It's your pen and you can do as you wish BUT there are no NOS pens being produced and probably plenty of user grade pens around. Personally I would preserve the NOS pen (however common or rare) and wait for a user grade pen.

 

What is it? There are probably plenty of people on the forum who would swap a user pen for it.

[bardharlock]

It's a pen. A tool. It was made to be used, not to hang on a wall or sit in a case. That said, I could make a case for genuinely rare, museum-type pieces (not the artificially rare limited editions of today, mind you) like say the first patented self filler ever made, etc.. I have my eye on a couple of limited editions of my favorite model of pen. I want them just to have in my collection because they have a different color/finish. I fully intend to use them.

[KBeezie]

It's your pen and you can do as you wish BUT there are no NOS pens being produced and probably plenty of user grade pens around. Personally I would preserve the NOS pen (however common or rare) and wait for a user grade pen.

 

What is it? There are probably plenty of people on the forum who would swap a user pen for it.

Well of course there are no New-OLD-Stock pens being produced.

 

but I really think it depends on the pen and your status as a collector. Some pens don't gain any significant value being NOS versus used.

Edited May 20, 2015 by KBeezie

[bbycrts]

It's a pen that has been longing to be used for years and years. Like the Prospector from Toy Story 2 - it will only get old and grumpy if it's kept in the box. Use it, cherish it, and let it run wild!

[Keyless Works]

There is no etiquette as others have said and I ink NOS pens but I do admit that I feel a bit bad about it at first. Then I get over it and just enjoy the using the pen.

[penbrute]

It would appear that I should just use the pen, and so I will. That's what I intended in the first place. This thread was meant to check if its contents could change my mind :-)

 

The pen in question does show up every month or so, so it isn't as rare as my post may have led some of you to believe. That said, unused nos pieces certainly are rare. For some strange reason, I cannot bring myself to identify the pen, so for purposes of this thread, let's assume that it is a mid-ranger like a myu701 (edited).

 

And I chuckled at this one even though I'm not sure the analogy entirely works--

Sooooooooooo, what kind of pen is it ?

 

Sounds like a "collector" is someone who acquires fountain pens,

then sits around staring at them, like back issues of Playboy Magazine.

Is this what you people do ?

 

I have always thought of myself as a collector of interesting, useful

fountain pens of varying styles. May I, please, be a collector and do

more than stare and drool ?

Edited May 21, 2015 by penbrute

[ac12]

It it were a T1, absolutely DO NOT USE IT. You would take a big hit in its collector value.