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Weird Parker 51 Issue?

Xeros

By Xeros
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Xeros Mint

Xeros

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I recently purchased a Parker 51 on ebay that seemed to be in perfect condition. However on the second sentence I was writing...the tipping of the nib literally exploded in front of my eyes. I have never seen anything quite like this before and was wondering if you guys have either had this happen to you..or know the cause of it?

I was thinking of sending it off to Greg Minuskin and just getting it grinded to a 1.3mm stub but I'm really not sure as it seems to be pretty badly damaged :(

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Chrissy Museum Piece

Chrissy

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A return and refund would be my choice. I hope that you chose a seller with 100% feedback.

 

David.

 

Yes, I would return it and have a full refund. What sort of feedback the seller has makes no difference nowadays though. You have to "Request a return" on ebay, stating that it arrived damaged, or not as described, and they send you a special return postage label to print, so you don't have to pay return postage.

 

You should take a photo of it's nib and add it to the form. It tells you how to do all of this.

 

There are plenty of Parker 51's around on ebay so you can do better.

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the_gasman Extremely Rare

the_gasman

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Yes, I would return it and have a full refund. What sort of feedback the seller has makes no difference nowadays though. You have to "Request a return" on ebay, stating that it arrived damaged, or not as described, and they send you a special return postage label to print, so you don't have to pay return postage.

 

You should take a photo of it's nib and add it to the form. It tells you how to do all of this.

 

Ah, that's reassuring for buyers. Is that return function run by Ebay, independent of the seller? If so, that adds significant protection against rogue traders.

 

David.

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Chrissy Museum Piece

Chrissy

Posted
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Ah, that's reassuring for buyers. Is that return function run by Ebay, independent of the seller? If so, that adds significant protection against rogue traders.

 

David.

 

It is. :) If you go to the item you bought, and click on "I want to return the item" the ebay process automatically kicks in. ebay takes charge and the seller presumably is advised by ebay that the returns process has started. He gets a week to respond. Depending on the reason for the return, either the seller or the buyer is automatically charged for return postage. So if the item is defective, damaged or not as described, return postage is down to the seller. It's much better because you aren't involved in making contact with the seller and having a potential meaningful discussion (argument)..... :)

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Larry Barrieau Vintage

Larry Barrieau

Posted
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So, has anyone seen a tip explode? I'm pretty sure that there were no sparks or smoke. Did it just suddenly break off into pieces?

 

Also, what if the seller had no clue about the defect and sold it as is?

 

Looking for a black SJ Transitional Esterbrook Pen. (It's smaller than an sj)

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FarmBoy Museum Piece

FarmBoy

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So, has anyone seen a tip explode? I'm pretty sure that there were no sparks or smoke. Did it just suddenly break off into pieces?

 

Also, what if the seller had no clue about the defect and sold it as is?

I agree. Seems the posters in this thread automatically blamed the seller. Sort of common here. Facts appear to be that the pen left the seller and arrived at the buyer in workable condition.

San Francisco International Pen Show - The next “Funnest Pen Show” is on schedule for August 23-24-25, 2024.  Watch the show website for registration details. 
 

My PM box is usually full. Just email me: my last name at the google mail address.

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Chrissy Museum Piece

Chrissy

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I agree. Seems the posters in this thread automatically blamed the seller. Sort of common here. Facts appear to be that the pen left the seller and arrived at the buyer in workable condition.

 

From what the buyer described it seemed, more likely than not, there was something wrong with the pen. It's also possible that the seller may not have known about it. However, as far as ebay is concerned "the buyer gets what he paid for or his money back" and that was presumably a working pen that wrote for more than 2 sentences. -_-

 

What if this was a shady seller who had a Parker 51 with a completely untipped nib, and he added a bit of glue to the end to make it look like it was tipped in the pictures? Granted we don't know both sides of the story, but the buyer has bought and paid for a pen he doesn't have a nib for after writing 2 sentences. :(

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Xeros Mint

Xeros

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I appreciate all the responses guys!

To be honest I'm not sure if it was of my own fault that the pen was damaged or if the nib was simply defective which is why I don't want to simply resort to refunding the pen. What I can say is that I have another Parker 51 with the same nib size (both fine) that I purchased in 2012 which has never had a problem despite being used almost everyday so I think I have some merit towards my claim.

I think (I say think because I'm very uneducated on the topic and I could be talking complete bogus) the nib was simply, for whatever reason very brittle upon arrival.

I've made my decision to send it to Greg Minuskin to see if he can do any work to it because I think it'd just be a cool experience getting a nib adjusted as I've never attempted it before.

I think a 1.3mm stub would be awesome anyways, I just hope such an adjustment is possible as the nib has no tipping at all.

 

edit: To respond to Larry's question, what I mean by 'exploding' is that as I put pen to paper on the second sentence, with little to no pressure, the tipping broke off intro several tiny pieces all over the page.

Edited by Xeros
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mitto Museum Piece

mitto

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Posted

So it exploded without a bang. :)

 

Shouldn't the OP claim for a partial refund that may cover cost of purchase of a used replacement nib?

Khan M. Ilyas

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Chrissy Museum Piece

Chrissy

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So it exploded without a bang. :)

 

Shouldn't the OP claim for a partial refund that may cover cost of purchase of a used replacement nib?

 

According to ebay there is no feature for getting a partial refund. That would only happen if the seller offered one.

 

As there are plenty of Parker 51 ens around, it's just easier to return it and get another one.

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Chrissy Museum Piece

Chrissy

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I appreciate all the responses guys!

To be honest I'm not sure if it was of my own fault that the pen was damaged or if the nib was simply defective which is why I don't want to simply resort to refunding the pen. What I can say is that I have another Parker 51 with the same nib size (both fine) that I purchased in 2012 which has never had a problem despite being used almost everyday so I think I have some merit towards my claim.

I think (I say think because I'm very uneducated on the topic and I could be talking complete bogus) the nib was simply, for whatever reason very brittle upon arrival.

I've made my decision to send it to Greg Minuskin to see if he can do any work to it because I think it'd just be a cool experience getting a nib adjusted as I've never attempted it before.

I think a 1.3mm stub would be awesome anyways, I just hope such an adjustment is possible as the nib has no tipping at all.

 

edit: To respond to Larry's question, what I mean by 'exploding' is that as I put pen to paper on the second sentence, with little to no pressure, the tipping broke off intro several tiny pieces all over the page.

If it's so brittle that the tipping exploded off of it, it might be too brittle to work on. If you're feeling generous, and unconcerned about the damage, you could just buy a replacement nib.

 

If you're happy to have an untipped nib, then that's what you have. Re-tipping a gold nib will cost more than you paid for the pen

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Xeros Mint

Xeros

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If it's so brittle that the tipping exploded off of it, it might be too brittle to work on. If you're feeling generous, and unconcerned about the damage, you could just buy a replacement nib.

 

If you're happy to have an untipped nib, then that's what you have. Re-tipping a gold nib will cost more than you paid for the pen

This seems like the most reasonable idea!

Does anyone know any reputable P51 nib sellers?

I can't seem to find many that ship to Australia on Ebay

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PaganArcher Vintage

PaganArcher

Posted
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This seems like the most reasonable idea!

Does anyone know any reputable P51 nib sellers?

I can't seem to find many that ship to Australia on Ebay

You might send a PM to JotterAddict62 here on the forum. He's usually finding Parkers all the time and may possibly have one or know someone who does. He's a real nice gent to boot. At least in my dealings with him.

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Chrissy Museum Piece

Chrissy

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This seems like the most reasonable idea!

Does anyone know any reputable P51 nib sellers?

I can't seem to find many that ship to Australia on Ebay

 

I don't know how much of a bargain your Parker 51 pen was, but I would be willing to bet you could buy another with a perfect nib for a similar price. They come along more frequently than replacement nibs. :unsure:

 

If you buy one from the US then mailing it to Australia might double it's cost.

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inkstainedruth Ancient Artifact

inkstainedruth

Posted
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According to ebay there is no feature for getting a partial refund. That would only happen if the seller offered one.

 

As there are plenty of Parker 51 ens around, it's just easier to return it and get another one.

 

I got a partial refund from a seller a couple of years ago because the pen was not really "as described". I got refunded the shipping (it was not an expensive pen, but the repairs are going to probably end up being for way for more money than I paid for the pen, even with the partial refund...). [i dealt directly with the seller, and did not file a dispute]

While there are unscrupulous sellers out there, there are also an awful lot of people who really are clueless about pens. Which is why asking a lot of questions before bidding is a good idea. I bid on a 51 Vac a few years ago and the seller had no idea -- but was selling the pen on behalf of the original owner. So I'd ask a question and the seller would check with the owner and then get back to me in a day or two with an answer. Only then I got sniped.... :crybaby:

Admittedly, I'd be really interested to see what an "exploded" nib looked like (also known as "Pix or it didn't happen!" ;)).

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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Chrissy Museum Piece

Chrissy

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Sellers can offer partial refunds, but as soon as you go to the original listing and click on "Contact the seller" and try to "select a topic", it goes straight into the ebay program as a return. Then the seller can offer a refund via that, and ebay know all about it. The moment that the buyer then agrees to accept that partial amount, ebay refund it back into the buyers PayPal account within seconds. It's just different to how it used to be. :)

 

On this occasion though, this buyer is happy to accept the problem and spend more money trying to put it right himself. All ebay sellers would like buyers like him. :D

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mariom Extremely Rare

mariom

Posted
Posted

I recently purchased a Parker 51 on ebay that seemed to be in perfect condition. However on the second sentence I was writing...the tipping of the nib literally exploded in front of my eyes. I have never seen anything quite like this before and was wondering if you guys have either had this happen to you..or know the cause of it?

I was thinking of sending it off to Greg Minuskin and just getting it grinded to a 1.3mm stub but I'm really not sure as it seems to be pretty badly damaged :(

 

It's hard to picture what has actually happened in this case. Can you post a picture of the damage.

 

As for sending the nib to Greg Minuskin, while I can recommend his work highly, that's going to end up costing a lot more than you probably paid for the pen.

=====================================
Mario Mirabile
Melbourne, Australia

www.miralightimaging.com

=====================================
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Xeros Mint

Xeros

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Just as a little update: Sorry I tried to take pictures but they didn't really come out right as it's only the tipping that's missing+I have a bad camera.

I took the p51 to my local pen shop today and they confirmed the nib was quite brittle so guess I wasn't just making up bogus!!

Luckily enough they also said they have a few Parker 51 nibs (for 50 AUD, not to bad?) in the warehouse which is surprising..I thought they would only have modern stuff in stock, I just have to wait a week for them to send it over so I'm hoping for the best!

Thanks everyone for the responses once again :)

Edited by Xeros
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