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A Slowly Turning Wheel...

Cryptos

By Cryptos
in Fountain & Dip Pens - First Stop

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Cryptos Antique

Cryptos

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...but it is turning!

 

Just had a quick look at my eBay page and note that for the first time in over a year I have nothing in my watchlist. Nothing at all.

 

Second to this, I have now selected the following 8 pens to be disposed of:

 

Parker 51 burgundy, fine - from Rick Krantz

Eversharp Skyline burgundy, fine, near perfect gold presentation cap - restored by WriteOnTime (yeah...)

The Moore Pen, medium maniflex, in a kind of candystripe green celluloid

Parker Striped Duofold Debutante (first year of manufacture), fine - restored by Danny Fudge

Sheaffer Sentinel TD, black, extra fine - from Peyton St Pens last year

Sheaffer Statesman snorkel, burgundy, extra fine triumph PdAg nib - restored by Danny Fudge a couple of months back

Sheaffer Compact I, burgundy, fine

Sheaffer Prelude, maroon, medium - was the ex-wife's. She's gone, this must go!

 

 

Not quite sure how to go about the disposal. eBay is probably the best option for me I guess. I have no idea what any of this is worth. I only know what I paid. This will cut my collection in half. It's a start I suppose. Now I have to learn how to use a camera. Yay! a new skill to learn. :rolleyes:

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Cryptos Antique

Cryptos

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It's interesting. I ask around, not just here, and about half the people say go for eBay, and the other half say not to. I have sold one pen on FPN - got a fair price, daresay it may have been better on eBay. And one pen on eBay that I got totally stiffed on. Not a big enough sample to make a decision on. The other thing is I am really a soft touch, and people do take advantage of that quite mercilessly at times. Big bad old world!

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BookCat Extremely Rare

BookCat

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Decide how much you want for a pen. If you put one into an ebay auction, set a reserve; if it doesn't meet the reserve, you can always relist it and try again.

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Cryptos Antique

Cryptos

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If only I could convey just how non-commercially minded I really am... you'd be pretty surprised I think.

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AAAndrew Antique

AAAndrew

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There's also the consideration of finding a good home. I prefer to list on FPN because I know the buyer is most likely going to be a lover of fountain pens. There's always the chance I'll get a higher price on eBay, but I may not, and listing here is easier, fewer fees (as in, none) and it goes to a good home.

 

eBay makes it less personal, FPN brings it closer to home

 

“When the historians of education do equal and exact justice to all who have contributed toward educational progress, they will devote several pages to those revolutionists who invented steel pens and blackboards.” V.T. Thayer, 1928

Check out my Steel Pen Blog. 

"No one is exempt from talking nonsense; the mistake is to do it solemnly."

-Montaigne

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Cryptos Antique

Cryptos

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The last time I listed anything here I had one quick sale and one highly insulting offer. I wouldn't say the experience was that encouraging.

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ThomasB Donor Pen

ThomasB

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Ebay has the most upside as to exposure to more potential buyers and price...It does make it a little less personal, but looking down the list of people who have purchased a pen from me on ebay in the last year shows many names that pop up here on FPN as well as PT and Zoss...Ebay and pen forums are not mutually exclusive

Thomas
Baton Rouge, LA
(tbickiii)

Check out my ebay pen listings:   tbickiii's Vintage Fountain Pens

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Larry Barrieau Vintage

Larry Barrieau

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Geez, don't take the insulting offer personally. The person who wanted that pen probably thought, "I know I won't get it for this price...But what if I did!" He took a shot. Just reply with, "Thanks for the offer, here's the absolute lowest price I will consider." In the grand scheme of things it's not worth being bothered over.

 

Looking for a black SJ Transitional Esterbrook Pen. (It's smaller than an sj)

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Cryptos Antique

Cryptos

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Geez, don't take the insulting offer personally. The person who wanted that pen probably thought, "I know I won't get it for this price...But what if I did!" He took a shot. Just reply with, "Thanks for the offer, here's the absolute lowest price I will consider." In the grand scheme of things it's not worth being bothered over.

 

In general I agree, and if it had been on eBay that would be par for the course. I guess I had a notion that members of an enthusiast community would be a little less sharkish when dealing with fellow members. What can I say? I have a strong romantic streak in me.

Edited by Cardboard_Tube
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Cryptos Antique

Cryptos

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Well, the money would be handy. I am past the point where I have any sentimental attachment. Guess I'll just have to put up with the fact that having no seller's reputation means I will be taken to the cleaners on every one. Inevitable I suppose.

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Larry Barrieau Vintage

Larry Barrieau

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You're the one who decides what price to accept and which ones to decline. Being a "soft touch" leaves you open to disappointment. Be a fair barginer instead. If you can't make the sale, put them away and try again in a few months or years. I'm sure this experience of trying to sell pens will make you a better buyer of pens in the future.

 

Looking for a black SJ Transitional Esterbrook Pen. (It's smaller than an sj)

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BookCat Extremely Rare

BookCat

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Go into selling expecting the potential buyer to make cheeky offers. Haggle. Or decide how much you want for the pen, put a reserve on it, and auction it on ebay. If it doesn't make the reserve, don't sell. Simples.

 

Do you have a tougher friend with a little more buisiness acumen who can help you with this? It has been really helpful to me, when participating in ebay auctions, to have a friend who understands how ebay works. Although I'm tough (thick-skinned) and have some business acumen, the extra advice about ebay was useful.

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atomic_doug Near Mint

atomic_doug

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I guess I had a notion that members of an enthusiast community would be a little less sharkish

 

Quite the opposite. Members of an enthusiast community are probably ten times worse than the fleaBay public. They know exactly how much a given pen is worth and know that there's always going to be another one of the same thing for sale. With eBay, all you need is one buyer out of millions to click 'OK' and you can sell something for far more than it could be had for on this site.

 

It's a little better here, though. On Rolex enthusiast sites, the lowball offers are probably the least insulting thing you'll experience trying to sell.

Pelikan | Pilot | Montblanc | Sailor | Franklin-Christoph | Platinum | OMAS


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JotterAddict62 Collectors Item

JotterAddict62

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I am in the same boat as you. I have a number of pens I am planning to sell which ones TBD.

I buy most of mine at local auctions and learning to restoring, testing them out and still need more practice on polishing to remove the heavier scratches. I have sold on ebay & esty but have yet to try here on FPN. My goal is to add to my funds on buying a wood chipper as I have $400 from the sale of an older lawn tractor. I could even sell some if I get my garage cleaned up and have a small garage sale and sell all the unwanted items that were in the house when I bought the house from my Grandmother in 2003.

 

So to the OP you know what you have invested in your pens, sell them with a reserve where ever you do decide to offer them up on.

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