How Do You Buy Pen Collections Instead Of Individual Pens?

[Hanoi]

I want to build a world class pen collection from historical brands. There are numerous places to buy individual pens but the process takes forever. How do you go about buying "collections" from long time collectors?

[NinthSphere]

Find someone with a collection you like & wait for them to die?

[Chrissy]

Maybe an auction house might get the odd collection in for sale? However, pens make more money when sold singly, so that's probably one of the reasons you don't see so many sold as collections.

 

Also, many people prefer to make their own collection from scratch and personally choose all of their own pens one by one over their lifetimes. That's one of the great things about collecting anything. Buying a collection that someone else chose might seem like..... I dunno. A bit of a cop out?

[inkstainedruth]

Agreed. Plus, with buying a collection (or even buying a lot -- unless you don't mind doing the repair work yourself) means that the odds are good that you're going to end up with pens you don't like or want -- because you have no idea if the previous collector had the same interests as you. And you may end up paying a lot more money than you would otherwise.

And honestly, while I've built up a reasonable "collection" at this point, I'm not a c-worder. The only pens I have which I don't use are ones which I haven't gotten repaired yet. For me, half the fun is finding pens in the wild (especially if I can get a good deal for them).
If you have more money than dirt, yeah, fine, buy yourself a collection. But that's all you end up having. If you buy them individually, then you ALSO have the memories, the sense of accomplishment, the "sumgai" bragging rights, and the thrill of the hunt. Even the pens I will probably end up selling (once I get to that point) have a story behind them: the Cross Verve I paid a buck for at a thrift store; the Sheaffer Touchdown I won in a contest someone ran for FP Day a couple of years ago; the two Parker 51s I found in an antiques mall near me for $25 US + sales tax because they had the wrong caps on them (and the sellers didn't know what they had, and I did...; that day got me my "sumgai" award.

IMO, it sounds as if you're taking the fast (and lazy) way out. As if you have something to prove, but can't be bothered to do the work or take the time. It's instant gratification. And sounds boring....

Of course, YMMV....

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[Ron Z]

You start with an insane amount of money and look for people who are selling their collections. This sometimes happens at pen shows, but you have to beat out the usual dealers who are known to have the cash to buy a collection.

 

The other thing you can do is to go to the bigger pen shows to buy. LA is next month, Chicago is the first weekend of May, DC is in August, with a smattering of other shows somewhere in the USA about every month of the year except December, and some in Europe as well.

[Aysedasi]

Agreed. Plus, with buying a collection (or even buying a lot -- unless you don't mind doing the repair work yourself) means that the odds are good that you're going to end up with pens you don't like or want -- because you have no idea if the previous collector had the same interests as you. And you may end up paying a lot more money than you would otherwise.

And honestly, while I've built up a reasonable "collection" at this point, I'm not a c-worder. The only pens I have which I don't use are ones which I haven't gotten repaired yet. For me, half the fun is finding pens in the wild (especially if I can get a good deal for them).

If you have more money than dirt, yeah, fine, buy yourself a collection. But that's all you end up having. If you buy them individually, then you ALSO have the memories, the sense of accomplishment, the "sumgai" bragging rights, and the thrill of the hunt. Even the pens I will probably end up selling (once I get to that point) have a story behind them: the Cross Verve I paid a buck for at a thrift store; the Sheaffer Touchdown I won in a contest someone ran for FP Day a couple of years ago; the two Parker 51s I found in an antiques mall near me for $25 US + sales tax because they had the wrong caps on them (and the sellers didn't know what they had, and I did...; that day got me my "sumgai" award.

IMO, it sounds as if you're taking the fast (and lazy) way out. As if you have something to prove, but can't be bothered to do the work or take the time. It's instant gratification. And sounds boring....

Of course, YMMV....

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

 

Exactly this. Would I like to have someone's collection? You betcha. But I'll lay odds-on that I'd sell half of it - or more - to afford the pens that I want.......

[Inkling13]

Essentially you can either find someone like you, who's built something like this, and wait for them to die, or build it piece by piece yourself. You're going to need some deep wallets though...

[Freddy]

I want to build a world class pen collection from historical brands. There are numerous places to buy individual pens but the process takes forever. How do you go about buying "collections" from long time collectors?

 

Hanoi....Cash {is king}...storage case{s}..slot boxes....Pen shows....Meet and establish relationship{s}.....

 

Good luck....Old man.....

 

Fred

[Inkling13]

Also... if i had a collection you were willing to buy, how would you even know what you are looking at? Certainly I dont have the eye or expertise to tell what any given pen is worth, let alone a whole collection.

[Hanoi]

Not lazy just bored of auctions. I have been in this hobby on and off for many years. Occasionally, I logged in FPN and found some really cool pens posted by someone who probably has a splendid collection made up of other equally beautiful and rare pens. Then I hit the epiphany thinking how cool it would be to just buy some guy´s entire collection. I don´t even have a need to use fountain pens anymore because I don´t write that much. They are just cool to look at in my man cave.

 

 

Agreed. Plus, with buying a collection (or even buying a lot -- unless you don't mind doing the repair work yourself) means that the odds are good that you're going to end up with pens you don't like or want -- because you have no idea if the previous collector had the same interests as you. And you may end up paying a lot more money than you would otherwise.

And honestly, while I've built up a reasonable "collection" at this point, I'm not a c-worder. The only pens I have which I don't use are ones which I haven't gotten repaired yet. For me, half the fun is finding pens in the wild (especially if I can get a good deal for them).
If you have more money than dirt, yeah, fine, buy yourself a collection. But that's all you end up having. If you buy them individually, then you ALSO have the memories, the sense of accomplishment, the "sumgai" bragging rights, and the thrill of the hunt. Even the pens I will probably end up selling (once I get to that point) have a story behind them: the Cross Verve I paid a buck for at a thrift store; the Sheaffer Touchdown I won in a contest someone ran for FP Day a couple of years ago; the two Parker 51s I found in an antiques mall near me for $25 US + sales tax because they had the wrong caps on them (and the sellers didn't know what they had, and I did...; that day got me my "sumgai" award.

IMO, it sounds as if you're taking the fast (and lazy) way out. As if you have something to prove, but can't be bothered to do the work or take the time. It's instant gratification. And sounds boring....

Of course, YMMV....

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[Aysedasi]

In that case I'd be very disappointed at the thought of you buying a collection of pens - just to look at. The shops are full of less expensive ornaments....

[Hanoi]

It is very easy to ascertain the value of things with the huge depository of knowledge known as the internet. Then there are numerous post auction prescription services that tell you the price of certain pieces. I think buying entire collection is always cheaper than buying individual pens from that collection.

 

 

Hanoi....Cash {is king}...storage case{s}..slot boxes....Pen shows....Meet and establish relationship{s}.....

 

Good luck....Old man.....

 

Fred

[Hanoi]

I am thinking of attending more shows in the future. In other collectible fields like vintage golf clubs, antique silver in hand wrought patterns, and aviation engines it was not unusual to see entire collections up for sale. I haven´t seen this for pens maybe because it is so easy to ship individual pen so auctioneers just break them up piece by piece to optimize profits.

 

You start with an insane amount of money and look for people who are selling their collections. This sometimes happens at pen shows, but you have to beat out the usual dealers who are known to have the cash to buy a collection.

 

The other thing you can do is to go to the bigger pen shows to buy. LA is next month, Chicago is the first weekend of May, DC is in August, with a smattering of other shows somewhere in the USA about every month of the year except December, and some in Europe as well.

 

 

 

Edited February 2, 2018 by Hanoi

[Vintagepens]

Simple -- you work with dealers who can broker such sales.

I am frequently offered entire collections, though most are not of consistently high quality. Top collections do come to market with some regularity, though, and often they do not end up going through public auctions.

Feel free to contact me by email.

 

best regards

 

David

 

 

I want to build a world class pen collection from historical brands. There are numerous places to buy individual pens but the process takes forever. How do you go about buying "collections" from long time collectors?

[Wahl]

I want to build a world class pen collection from historical brands. There are numerous places to buy individual pens but the process takes forever. How do you go about buying "collections" from long time collectors?

 

I am willing to sell my collection, FP/pencil sets of

 

Conklin Endura Senior

 

Parker Duofold Senior

 

Wahl Eversharp Oversize Gold Seal

 

please contact me by PM if interested.

Edited February 12, 2018 by Wahl

[inkstainedruth]

It is very easy to ascertain the value of things with the huge depository of knowledge known as the internet. Then there are numerous post auction prescription services that tell you the price of certain pieces. I think buying entire collection is always cheaper than buying individual pens from that collection.

 

 

It might be cheaper. But it might not be.

I've gotten some pretty sweet deals at antiques stores and (once) at an estate sale, because I knew what the pens were and the sellers clearly did not. And piecemeal or in one fell swoop, I think the odds of you getting something like a Parker 41 for anything remotely resembling the price I paid for mine are well, slim and none, unless you inherit one or someone is exceptionally kind to you in a PiF. And since I had that pen professionally appraised, I know what it's approximate (intrinsic) value is; OTOH, as a sumgai, it's value is absolutely priceless. Ditto for the Snorkel with the Palladium Silver semi-flex stub nib, for which I paid $20 US (I thought the ticketed price of $42 was excellent, but the guy at the counter went down to the price I paid without me literally saying *anything* except "I'd like to buy this...." -- I suspect that since it wasn't a 14K nib -- like on every other pen in the case, including another Snorkel with a boring F or EF nib) he didn't realize how awesome the pen really was. I don't know the actual value of that one. Only that FOUR guys tried to buy it off me last summer at the Triangle Pen Show, basically on the spot -- *including* the person who had done the repairs for me....

And auction prices (both live and on eBay) can be all over the map. Several years ago I dropped out of the bidding on a Plum 51 Demi in the low to mid $70s. It ended up going for something like $102, IIRC. The next Plum Demi that came up? I ended up winning the auction for *less* money (*including* factoring in the shipping charges on the one I won) than where I'd dropped out on the first one, and didn't even hit my *intermediate* maximum bid. The same weekend? Farmersmum scored a full sized Plummer for just over HALF what I paid for the Demi -- because the pen was listed as being *black* (not Plum). And less than I'd paid the *same* weekend for a black 51 Vac with the wrong cap on it and a chip in the hood (but with free shipping). Go figure.

If all you're going to do is stick them in a case, then yeah, sure, whatever. But seriously -- what fun is that? Half the fun really is in the hunt. And that Plum Demi of mine? Currently inked up with (now diluted) De Atramentis Aubergine. And writing with it is even more fun than the hunt was. And I have a great story, besides.

You, on the other hand (assuming that you DO find a collection or six to buy) will have a case full of pens collecting dust. And be just like my brother-in-law's wife, who didn't understand why I would buy an old pen if it didn't have "intrinsic" (i.e., resale) value.... Apparently a while back she bought a Pilot Metropolitan -- one of the Retro Pop colors -- when they were on sale at Staples for five bucks; given how scratchy I found an F nib when I tried one in an actual pen shop several years ago, I'm really curious as to what she thinks (and keep meaning to bring along my silver color one with the M nib for her to try out, the next time we go east; at Christmas, she was recovering from knee surgery, while I had whatever nasty virus was going around and spent Christmas night and the day after sitting in the hotel room staring at the Weather Channel all afternoon...).

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[sidthecat]

I just bought a small collection of not-especially-interesting nibs in order to get my hands on an interesting Hicks nib for cheap.

I suppose I could use the others to practice nib repair/abuse.

[dsolmei]

Go to pen shows, build relationships (the relationships will get you access to collections), bring lots of cash.

Edited April 21, 2019 by dsolmei

[spacecoastpenny]

Hanoi,

 

I have this collection that I am willing to sell.......

 

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/341288-have-pens-will-travel/

 

PM me.

[FarmBoy]

Hanoi,

 

I have this collection that I am willing to sell.......

 

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/341288-have-pens-will-travel/

 

PM me.

Space Coast-

 

PM or email me. I will put you in contact with a buyer looking for a collection.

 

FarmBoy