Oh My Omas.

[Uncial]

A quick search on ebay will reveal a considerable number of pages for Omas pens and I've always dropped a few of them into my watch list each week to see what they end up going for. They never go cheaply. In fact, most of them seem to go for considerably more than what they originally sold for. I get that there is a certain Omas fever currently and that ebay isn't always the best indicator of what something is worth (is it ever?), and that Omas is available in a lot more places. It does seem strange to me though that there never seemed to be this kind of 'hype' about Omas or the kind of feeding frenzy over their products when they were in business; which makes me rather sad because if the current market is anything to go by then it seemed a perfectly viable business.

 

Since Omas closed their doors I've had at least three of their pens in my watch lists each week and so far not a single one of them has failed to sell for a price that was either a very close equivalent or for more, and in most cases it is more. I don't know the ins and outs of all their dealings and maybe they had bad investments somewhere, but it seems rather sad to me that a company which seems today to be in high demand ever went out of business. I came rather late to the party when they were still in business and bought one a year from them. I couldn't afford any more as they were never exactly cheap. Now the prices seem to be rocketing and even though I thought things would have died down by now, they show no signs of slowing. Is it just a period of fever still or was there something else at work?

[mauckcg]

I don't know. There were a few I was watching that seemed to be reasonable, but then they end up at an alarming price.

[Bo Bo Olson]

When the E-type Jag stopped being made, back in the early '70's, I mistakenly thought the price of the old used cars would fall enough I could afford one.............I was wrong.

I have an 2000 year model of an MX-5, that looks like a Jag someone let out in the rain, and it shrunk....the closest I've gotten to an E-type.

 

Conway Stewart also made very beautiful expensive pens....I don't know what they go for used, but am sure it is more than I can afford.

 

I didn't realize Omas had died. (RIP) I had enough trouble chasing old German pens to get south of the Alps.

[Andrea_R]

 

I didn't realize Omas had died. (RIP) I had enough trouble chasing old German pens to get south of the Alps.

No way with all the chitchat on the forum you didn't notice?

[Uncial]

But why are they selling so well now if they didn't before?* Is it really just fever after the fact?

 

*assuming of course that lack of sales/slump in sales was at least a contributing factor to their demise.

[woleizihan]

But why are they selling so well now if they didn't before?* Is it really just fever after the fact?

 

*assuming of course that lack of sales/slump in sales was at least a contributing factor to their demise.

In my understanding, the street price is rocketing while it's still nowhere close to the RRP, except probably something special like the arco bronze.

[mauckcg]

In my understanding, the street price is rocketing while it's still nowhere close to the RRP, except probably something special like the arco bronze.

 

RRP on the celluloid Ogiva's was around $900. I didn't pay that for mine but i wasn't as far off as i would have liked.

[woleizihan]

 

RRP on the celluloid Ogiva's was around $900. I didn't pay that for mine but i wasn't as far off as i would have liked.

I already said, "except something special". To be precise, something that's made of a special material which is no longer in production. The high prices of these pens reflect more the rareness of the material. Edited June 18, 2017 by woleizihan

[ParkerDuofold]

But why are they selling so well now if they didn't before?* Is it really just fever after the fact?

 

*assuming of course that lack of sales/slump in sales was at least a contributing factor to their demise.

Hi Uncial,

 

It's the old maxim of supply and demand... art is generally worthless until the artist is dead.

 

- Anthony

[Ghost Plane]

For many of us, it was lack of availability. I couldn't get my hands on italic, stub or 52 nibs until the market flooded near the end and the "specialty" nibs were released into the wild. Now the prices are beyond my pocket, so I've stopped buying.

[siamackz]

I think it's also important to keep in mind that eBay isn't a good indicator of demand. We are talking about a couple of pens being listed that are being bid on by people around the world. Small supply, large demand, hence the high price. This much demand is not enough to keep a whole company alive. If hundreds of Omas pens were being sold at the prices you say every month on eBay then I'd say sure it's something to wonder about. But that's not the case.

[PS104]

Omas (pens and inks) is like land

​They aren't making either one of them anymore (maybe with the exception of the Dutch reclaiming their land from the sea)

​This is a feeding frenzy brought to you courtesy of eBay

​People (probably not pen people per se) are buying as an investment in the future. Omas is a high quality brand

​The investment sharks smell blood in the water

​As alternative look at the FPN Classified forum and see how the prices are there

[langere]

Yes, it's simple supply and demand. Once the quantity is limited, the price foes up. This is especially the case with goods that are high quality, such as OMAS.

 

My sense is that they tried to compete with Montblanc and just didn't have same business acumen.

 

Erick

[fabri00]

Prices are increased not only in ebay, Uncial.

I believe you have visited some meetings of pen collectors here in Italy like me, and prices there are even more expansive than on ebay.....

[Cryptos]

I just think it's the usual collector FOMO.

[Andrea_R]

But why are they selling so well now if they didn't before?* Is it really just fever after the fact?

 

*assuming of course that lack of sales/slump in sales was at least a contributing factor to their demise.

It wasn't, I took a loo at their balance sheets work price fair too high for a luxury brand and lots of debts. they even sold their material stock

[sidthecat]

I recently bought an Extra ringtop for what I'd consider a reasonable price...I was the only bidder. I've only ever seen one other on eBay so I must assume that nobody else noticed it.

[Uncial]

Lucky!

[sidthecat]

I was very fortunate...I've gotten my hands on a few Italian ringtops of late.

[Calabria]

I understand the fever. I was seriously into OMAS for a few years and what made each pen special was the amount of manual labor that went into making them. No other pen even comes close.

 

I've kept some of my favorite Paragons, mostly ones I bought in Italy. The rest I sold under market, hoping that somebody else would fall in love with them as I did.