Pen Auction Bidding Doubts

[Midx]

Hi All,

 

I am seriously considering buying (or bidding on, anyway) my first vintage pen from "a well-known internet auction site", but as it'll be quite a lot of money, probably over £100, I'm just looking for reassurance that it's not too risky...

 

Without disclosing which pen I'm thinking of (so you don't all rush off and outbid me, lol), it's described in lots of detail, there are many, good photo's and a writing sample and the seller has 100% feedback on many thousand transactions. From my collecting standpoint, it's a perfect pen and certainly worth the money, if I bought it direct from a dealer.

 

So my question to you good people is, is it still very risky buying a pen that I've not held or written with in this way??

 

Many thanks,

Chris.

[Moonshae]

If the description is clear, including any flaws (or a statement saying there are none), and the pictures are sharp and show all parts of the pen, that's a great start. The next main consideration is the seller's rating and feedback. If it's someone who is new and doesn't have much feedback, that's higher risk than someone with thousands of positive ratings; they're usually an eBay seller and their reputation is important. Also, does the seller allow returns? That will limit your risk if the pen turns out to not be as described.

 

If there are negatives, read them if you can and see if it was a disgruntled buyer with no real claim, or if it seems like a legit complaint. Weigh those against the positive comments.

 

Ultimately, there's some risk buying on eBay, but most sellers and most buyers are honest. Sometimes things go wrong, and good sellers try to make things right. Good buyers give sellers the benefit of the doubt initially, at least. I've bought many, many items from sellers on eBay and never had an issue, but I always follow the checks I mentioned above.

[tgoto]

I totally agree with what Moonshae stated above.

 

I don't know which auction site you are on, but as an insurance, I would also check their the auction policy if they will refund if what you get is different from the auction descriptions and photos.

 

I get many things from ebay, and I ask questions if I need any clarifications before bidding.

I have not got any lemons at the end of the day.

One time, nib of the pen I got was not working (and the seller couldn't have checked it because it was new), but the seller asked me to send the pen back and he exchanged the nib with a new one and it is now working very well.

[Midx]

Thanks guys, that's good to know. I figured that would be the case, but it's always good to know you're not being a complete fool.

[sidthecat]

I've had pretty good luck on that auction site. The couple times there was something wrong with the pen the dealer was happy to repair it (in one case the dealer had forgotten to put in a sac), and there's also nothing wrong with asking questions. I've gotten a few bargains that way.

[jar]

Another suggestion is to use a sniping program, set your maximum bid and then just walk away. Don't look to see how you are doing. Do not get involved in the actual bidding.

[sidthecat]

I confess I use one, but you still have to set a maximum, so greed and thrift have to battle it out somewhere.

[ac12]

As Jar said, you have to set a MAX limit for yourself, then WALK AWAY.

If you watch the bidding, it may go above your max, and you might get sucked into a bidding war.

I've seen stuff sell for more than the retail store prices

 

As for stuff, I've bought camera gear which can be more fussy than pens.

A couple times, I received lenses with fungus in side. Fungus is FATAL to a lens. Both sellers immediately gave me a refund when I send them pix of the lens showing the fungus.

 

My trouble was when I bought a battery for my laptop computer, and it was defective. I had to pay to return the battery before I could get a refund. And the return postage wasn't refunded. So I lost out paying postage 2 ways, and the seller was out nothing for selling me a defective battery

Edited May 1, 2017 by ac12

[Carrau]

I've purchased and sold on eBay for years, and I've never had any bad transactions take place either way following the same guidelines Moonshae advises. I've had issues with buyers and sellers, although these were always resolved fairly easily by email. I have had a couple of instances where I didn't bid, however, because of concerns raised in my screening. Recently I was interested in bidding on a moderately expensive pen offered by an eBay seller- there were not many pictures, and the description was vague, and the seller, though he had several hundred positive feedback notes (about 98%), did not accept returns. This was a pen rarely offered for sale, and one I had wanted for some time, and the bidding had begun at an acceptable level. I asked fairly general questions about what the pen wrote like, were there any flaws you couldn't see in the pictures, or any concerns about usability? The reply I received was "It's used,like I said in the original listing, and you can see it in the pictures. If you don't want to bid, you don't have to." In spite of extensive high positive feedback, I decided against bidding based on the vague original description and pictures and the unhelpful reply by the lister. I have to say this was the first time I've ever had the lister reply in such a fashion: all,other listers to whom I've directed questions have been glad to respond with helpful information and frequently additional pictures. Look at how FPN members list pens in the Classifeds here for examples of how a pen can be described and photographed, and to learn what is important to know before buying a used pen anywhere.