Would You Pay $100 For This Estie?

[Chouffleur]

Clearly I'm missing something here. $99.99 for this ?

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/VINTAGE-ESTERBROOK-FOUNTAIN-PEN-2668-NIB-LOT-1-TUB-EE-/111153934563?

 

Edited August 2, 2015 by Chouffleur

[ScienceChick]

You're not alone; I think we have Sellers in Fantasyland. Maybe we are missing something and someone more knowledgeable will educate us.

[pen lady]

And now many of us have added this pen to our eBay "Watch" list. The seller, who possibly has been smoking something, is going to think he's on to something!

[Chouffleur]

And now many of us have added this pen to our eBay "Watch" list. The seller, who possibly has been smoking something, is going to think he's on to something!

That is sick and twisted, but now I need to go add this to my Watch List. ;-)

 

Wait. It doesn't include the plastic stand?

Edited August 2, 2015 by Chouffleur

[gweimer1]

I went through some of the seller's other items. and found this.

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/3-VINTAGE-WINDSOR-FOUNTAIN-PENS-UNKNOWN-WORKING-CONDITION/111004538182?rt=nc&_soffid=200&_soffType=SaleAndClearence&_trksid=p5731.m3795

[benbot517]

But guys, they're VINTAGE!!! That must mean Rare!

[ScienceChick]

Basic eBay Seller Rule: If you know nothing about it, it must be rare.

[Rach31]

I went through some of the seller's other items. and found this.

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/3-VINTAGE-WINDSOR-FOUNTAIN-PENS-UNKNOWN-WORKING-CONDITION/111004538182?rt=nc&_soffid=200&_soffType=SaleAndClearence&_trksid=p5731.m3795

I dunno, 3 pens that are all bent & melty looking, I don't have any of those. Are you looking for someone to go halfers on those?

[crescentfiller]

It's funny how folks ridicule an ebay seller when the price is "too high" but post rows of little smiley faces waving their arms when the price is below the usual market rate. Not every seller (or buyer!) knows everything; that's the way this business works. But the ridicule seems rather unnecessary.

 

 

Regards,

Daniel

[Manalto]

It doesn't include the plastic stand?

 

I believe the stand is faux crystal, and also quite valuable.

[gweimer1]

It's funny how folks ridicule an ebay seller when the price is "too high" but post rows of little smiley faces waving their arms when the price is below the usual market rate. Not every seller (or buyer!) knows everything; that's the way this business works. But the ridicule seems rather unnecessary.

 

 

Regards,

Daniel

 

I would agree for the most part. I think the rub comes from sellers who deal in what would appear to be volume estate liquidation that may not do any ground base research. The individual seller who starts low is probably the more cautious, and looking for a sale by letting the market work on setting value. I've seen what I might perceive as really high prices, sometimes coupled with a best offer option. In both cases, I'd say each seller doesn't really know the value, and each is fishing from the opposite shore.

 

eBay isn't always the benchmark for market prices. Emotions can run high, sellers and buyers alilke may not know the item listed very well. I'd venture that we've all purchased items that were way too high or gotten for a steal at one point or another.

[Chouffleur]

It's funny how folks ridicule an ebay seller when the price is "too high" but post rows of little smiley faces waving their arms when the price is below the usual market rate. Not every seller (or buyer!) knows everything; that's the way this business works. But the ridicule seems rather unnecessary.

 

 

Regards,

Daniel

Actually my post was only 50% sarcastic. I haven't seen a single Esterbrook in Used/Unknown condition go for anything approaching this so:

 

Plan A: Is this seller with 2859 perfect transactions delusional?

 

Plan B: Am I with 5 perfect transactions missing something?

 

I like to think of it as demi-mockery. ;-)

Edited August 2, 2015 by Chouffleur

[Manalto]

It's funny how folks ridicule an ebay seller when the price is "too high" but post rows of little smiley faces waving their arms when the price is below the usual market rate. Not every seller (or buyer!) knows everything; that's the way this business works. But the ridicule seems rather unnecessary.

 

 

Regards,

Daniel

 

It's only ridicule when it's directed at the person. The chances are slim to none that the seller who listed that pen is a participant here, so it's doubtful that s/he'll ever see the comments which, to me, appear to be an opportunity to make a few silly remarks at nobody's expense. If you want to stake out the moral high ground and criticize activities that are unnecessary, you've got quite a project ahead of you.

Edited August 2, 2015 by Manalto

[pajaro]

At least our less knowing members are warned.

[ahayman]

This is one of those that wouldn't even make it onto my radar as I usually filter everything by price first. I partially agree with others about the seller not knowing the value of the pens. However, he does seem to understand eBay fairly well, looking through his sales feedback. He'll accept "best offers". Maybe by placing such a high price on them, he is inviting potential buyers to offer a lower bid that's slightly higher than they would normally (if that makes any sense).

[pajaro]

A number of regular ebay sellers are high priced on most of what they sell. Some of these are fairly knowledgeable about their wares. I have concluded that they are greedy. When sellers have been in that business for a while, and if they have even a whit of sense, they will become wise to the ways of the ebay marketplace. Pricing stuff high is typical of collectible retail sellers. While it's true that there are overhead expenses, I believe that they just want to extract the maximum profit from everything. Some of the regular sellers are reasonably priced, and some are ripoff artists. When I see a run of the mill pen with a run of the mill nib selling for $99 or some other extravagant price, I just tune them out. Those items might remain for sale for a long time, but eventually someone will bite. Sometimes they bite through ignorance, and sometimes they don't care about the price.

[Manalto]

Where you see a sinister villian twirling his moustache, I see optimistic naiveté.

[Sasha Royale]

I really like the red. Several years ago, I was able to acquire one each "J", "LJ". and "SJ", in red.

The red "J" is nice enough to warrant a price premium, especially if I did not have one. $60 maybe.

$100 is a bit steep. Who knows what goes through the mind of a collector ?

[Charles Rice]

Sure I'd pay that much for the pen. And I'll spend $2.50 for a bottle of water, too.

[pajaro]

 

Where you see a sinister villian twirling his moustache, I see optimistic naiveté.

 

 

In fifty-five years of collecting postage stamps, coins, pens, art and books I have seen the naive and the greedy. It's well to be cautious. A naive seller might be fleeced or unable to sell his wares depending on pricing knowledge or lack of it. So many overpriced pens and parts remain on sale for long periods.