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Help, How Do You Curb Your Urge To Buy (Another Fountain Pen)?


fpenluver

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The thought of selling a pen is foreign to me. I'd rather have a bunch of nice pens than one really nice pen. I refuse to carry a credit card balance. That's how I avoid buying too many pens

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Instead of looking at ebay, look at what you have. Go over them. Are you using them? Make a program to use them all, to appraise them and to feel their differences. How do they go with different inks? Buy a common ink you lack instead of a pen (slightly dangerous advice, that last).

 

At worst this should slow down your next purchase, perhaps make it a better fit.

X

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Go start another expensive hobby, like semi-serious amateur level photography.

Camera + lens will cost you about $1,500 - 2,000, a GOOD carbon fiber tripod and head about $1,000, and the list goes on.

If you get serious, the camera cost goes up from there, WAY UP. $$,$$$.

 

Or HIGH END audio. $$,$$$

 

Bottom line, is like any addiction, you have to have discipline to control yourself.

If you are tempted by eBay, STAY AWAY FROM IT.

Correct, I have been down two of these addictions before (pro series Canon cameras and Wilson firearms). With each one you have to learn to control it, to find your own solution. Mine is get the best to satisfy the urge rather than building up through years of expensive iterations.
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A lot of good suggestions. Thank you guys.

It seems that opening current collections and use them is one method. May be I am on the right track.

I will try to do 1 pen after xx months method too I guess.

but for staying away from ebay....err I think that is my weak spot, especially with a mobile phone...on hand (literally). :)

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I know what you mean, I think once you begin with this hobby it is very difficult to stop. I got some new pens and ink yesterday and am looking again today! The best thing I can suggest is to turn off the computer and go do something else for a while. Sometimes that works for me. I have a pretty good collection of pens and ink now but will still get more - will just limit it to every few months instead of every few weeks. Perhaps you could just stick to the pens you have and change the ink colours more often. The ink is a lot cheaper (usually) than buying another fountain pen and you can enjoy the process of cleaning the pen and refilling with a "new" ink. I'm sorry I couldn't be more helpful but at least you know you're not the only one.

Well, the computer could be off, but there is a smart phone on hand. :D . Will try to exercise self control.

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After buying pens for about 10 years, I have about 12 that I use most of the time. A few have never been out of my rotation. They are perfect for me.

 

I rarely buy pens now because my new purchases often don't write as well as my favorites.

 

The grass is not always greener on the other side.

 

If you still want to buy more pens, you may not have found ones that are perfect for you. We often have to buy our pens on-line without trying them first to see how they write. They may be a disappointment, so you look for another pen.

 

If you're new to the fountain pen hobby, it's overwhelming to see such a beautiful variety of pens available that you have NEVER seen in stores. Pens that write effortlessly and beautifully with such a variety of inks.

 

Try to enjoy your favorite pen of the ones that you already own.

 

(I probably shouldn't give advice, since I have a drawer of pens that aren't my favorites but I haven't bothered to sell, yet.)

I've got a few of those pens you mentioned (in use most of the time), but then I thought "hey this sheaffer targa I have is soo good, and there is another one on offer here, not to mention it has different finish or look there is this parker 51 that I have not had........and the rest is history." - money out of pocket. :lol:

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I realized that I didn't want more pens for the sake of wanting more pens or collecting. Once I understood that, when I saw a pretty pen (oo, so pretty! I want that!), I did what Pajaro does: I took out my pen cases and looked at each one. Also, I wrote with each of the inked pens. That usually convinced me that I didn't want any more pens.

 

I'd already given away/sold many pens I knew I wouldn't use, even though they were so pretty or cool (cos I had other pretty pens I preferred using). And then I started selling/trading some pens I thought I would always keep. That was a good lesson about what I really liked and the futility of buying whatever pens just appealed to me.

 

Now I see pens all the time that appeal to me, and sometimes I'm even tempted, but then I glance at my team of inked pens and know that the new beauty couldn't displace any of the old beauties. Desire thwarted. I think, It's good that that pen is out there. It looks good, and I like it. But *I* don't have to be its owner.

 

But I'm not a collector. If I were, I would try to adhere to strict criteria if I wanted to stop binge-buying pens.

Edited by ethernautrix

_________________

etherX in To Miasto

Fleekair <--French accent.

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Take a good look at my pen inventory and check when was the last time I used each pen.....

 

This is what I have been doing; it works well. We have a tendency to romanticize and idealize our future purchases when in reality a lot of them turn out to be duds.

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This one is easy - I just tell my wife "Hey Honey - I'm thinking about buying another $700 pen - do you mind?"

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Chrissy, I say that too, and it's true, but it doesn't stop me... does it work for you? :)

 

If you're serious about controlling your pen buying, stay off eBay, stay off FPN, cancel your PayPal account, and only pay cash in B&M stores. Go outside. Take up hiking...

 

I know, I sound just like a grumpy old man. I should mellow out, or whatever you do in 2017. Think I'll head over to the Bay and see what's new.

"Inspiration exists, but it has to find you working." -Pablo Picasso


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It started a few weeks ago. After a few years not buying more fountain pen, a simple "innocent" search on ebay drop me to the land of "doom" again. It started after I pressed that buy button online. Now, the search button keeps clicking and so does the buy / bid button. I neeeeeeeed helpppppp to keep the leak away from my pocket.

 

Now I am trying to look at my collection and remind myself - you've got plenty, you've got plenty,....., you've got plenty. I hope it will work......

 

So, what is your tip to prevent the crazy spending spree?

 

or May be I post the question on the wrong forum? and will make even bigger leak on my pocket.

 

Share your thought.

 

I look at my bank balance ... ;)

Platinum 3776 - F, Pilot Decimo - F, TWSBI Vac Mini - 1.1i

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If there is a pen show close to you - save a set amount of money every month until the pen show - take money to pen show and buy pens. This way, you are not buying willy-nilly, you save yourself the anguish and heartbreak of e-bay where things are not always as they seem and you do get to inspect the goods and haggle before you buy.

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Chrissy, I say that too, and it's true, but it doesn't stop me... does it work for you? :)

 

If you're serious about controlling your pen buying, stay off eBay, stay off FPN, cancel your PayPal account, and only pay cash in B&M stores. Go outside. Take up hiking...

 

I know, I sound just like a grumpy old man. I should mellow out, or whatever you do in 2017. Think I'll head over to the Bay and see what's new.

 

It works for me. I look on ebay but mainly for inks. I never look on FPN anymore

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Chrissy, I say that too, and it's true, but it doesn't stop me... does it work for you? :)

 

If you're serious about controlling your pen buying, stay off eBay, stay off FPN, cancel your PayPal account, and only pay cash in B&M stores. Go outside. Take up hiking...

 

I know, I sound just like a grumpy old man. I should mellow out, or whatever you do in 2017. Think I'll head over to the Bay and see what's new.

Isn't that a little bit redundant? I don't have a working PayPal account (apparently my bank information is connected to another PayPal account which I don't remember making; and they want information I can't give them), and I have hard time finding any pens which do not require PayPal to buy.

 

For example Pelikan 400(n, nn, no n). Or Pelikan m805 / m1000. "Buy them second hand and save money!". Yep yep.

You do not have a right to post. You do not have a right to a lawyer. Do you understands these rights you do not have?

 

Kaweco Supra (titanium B), Al-Sport (steel BB).

Parker: Sonnet (dimonite); Frontier GT; 51 (gray); Vacumatic (amber).

Pelikan: m600 (BB); Rotring ArtPen (1,9mm); Rotring Rive; Cult Pens Mini (the original silver version), Waterman Carene (ultramarine F)

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I'm sort of in the same boat as the OP. But I'm trying to cut back. It has to be a really phenomenal deal at this point (I have impending budget issues... :(). The last couple of pen shows I've been to, most of the discretionary funds have gone towards repairing pens I already have (the advantage and disadvantage of mostly liking vintage pens over new ones). I've only bought 2 pens so far this year -- and both of them were under $15 US (as was the last pen I bought last year: a stickered non-white dot Burgundy Snorkel -- I think it's an Admiral).

Plus, I keep telling myself that I'm saving up for a M405 Stresemann.... There's nothing like wanting a super expensive pen to re-evaluate your purchasing habits. That and actually making a list of what pens I want for 2017 (including that M405); while there are a number of pens on that list, I don't have a time frame for when I get them, and I'm pretty realistic about what I think they'll cost/am willing to pay. And it helps that I now own a number of pens I've wanted in the past (for instance, I pretty much have all the colors of Vacumatics I wanted, now that I was able to pick up an Emerald Pearl at OPS in November for a decent price).

Do I still look? Sure. Doesn't cost anything to look (as long as that's ALL I'm doing :rolleyes:); I justify that to myself as "market research" on what current prices are like on some of the vintage pens I want, so I know what I'm going to expect what a good/fair/poor price will be -- at least for ME. As for the new pens on my list, they all have the caveat of me adding criteria for each pen (price, color, nib width, size/weight/balance, post-ability, where it's coming from -- so I have to weigh initial price against the possibility of having to pay duty -- etc). For instance, I got to try a pen on my wishlist last night. And now I'm re-thinking how much I want it, because while it was a great size for me *unposted*, posting the cap made it a little back-heavy.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

"It's very nice, but frankly, when I signed that list for a P-51, what I had in mind was a fountain pen."

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For me, the anticipation of owning a "new" pen is often better than the actual ownership. Stuff looks exciting on line and then you get the item and it's OK...but so what.....I have about 30 fountain pens now and one more pen is just another thing I need to fit into the rotation. So it REALLY has to be a spectacular item to bump another one out of line. I already have more spectacular pens than I really need.

 

Maybe I am a bit unusual but when I go to a bricks and mortar pen shop (there are several here in the Boston area) and I look at the rows and rows of colorful fountain pens, my brain just goes into overdrive and I can't focus on any specific item. Whether it's Bromfield's Pen Store in downtown Boston, or Bob Slade in Cambridge....or the now defunct Paradise Pen at the Burlington Mall....visiting these stores is an antidote for me.

 

I've narrowed down my "collecting" to just 5 vintage brands and this does make it easier to focus (Parker, Sheaffer, Montblanc/Dunhill, Cross and ST Dupont), since I have all the Cross pens I will ever need (as well as the others, too) so I am not as tempted by other brands that might look sexy on line or in the store......

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Take up golf....... :lticaptd:

If I still played golf, I'd only had my starting pens....the five I inherited and my old bought new P-75.

In reference to P. T. Barnum; to advise for free is foolish, ........busybodies are ill liked by both factions.

 

 

The cheapest lessons are from those who learned expensive lessons. Ignorance is best for learning expensive lessons.

 

 

 

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Not that I should be giving advice but...

 

Take up the piano!

 

Seriously though it's cheaper to just visit Italy 4 times a year than buy 4 Italian pen a year, or visit Japan instead of buying that Nakaya...so long as you can take the time off work.

 

Or better yet- take up the piano!

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