Jump to content

How High Will They Sell?


JotterAddict62

Recommended Posts

  • Replies 57
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

  • JotterAddict62

    15

  • mitto

    7

  • PenBuyer1796

    7

  • pajaro

    6

Sold for $2290. Almost $74 a piece.

That's a bit more than I was expecting, and probably still too much for what is a lucky dip.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

 

I guess the trick is to just get lucky with a buyer that's new to the hobby. I know I overpaid for some pens when I was first starting out; I'm now much more careful. Unfortunately I still end up spending about the same amount per year on pens, I just buy more expensive ones.

 

I'm kinda like that too. OTOH, I also get really lucky sometimes. Sort of depressing to think that several years ago I paid $30 US for an Arnold on eBay which is probably worth $10; but paid LESS than that for a Cedar Blue 51 Vac with a rolled gold cap at a small antiques mall in West Virginia.

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."

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ive yet to find any super great deals but I have found some good ones. I wont break even if I were to sell my collection but Id probably come close.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I know that I will make money on all the pens that I have as I am a cheapskate.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I tried to give my daughter a 51 as a post-graduation gift when she started work. She declined it, so no doubt my pens will eventually find their way to a local thrift shop along with my clothes :-(

I tried to give my son a couple watches. He just looked at me and said, “dad, that’s what I have a phone for”... can you imagine if I offered a P-51?

 

I’ll be giving away most of my pens to people who will give them a good home.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I tried to give my son a couple watches. He just looked at me and said, dad, thats what I have a phone for... can you imagine if I offered a P-51?

 

 

Ill be giving away most of my pens to people who will give them a good home.

Like for example mitto. :)

Edited by mitto

Khan M. Ilyas

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I feel fortunate. I gave my daughter a dip pen holder that I had turned and when she got home she wrote me a letter with it.

 

I tried to give my son a couple watches. He just looked at me and said, “dad, that’s what I have a phone for”... can you imagine if I offered a P-51?

I’ll be giving away most of my pens to people who will give them a good home.

Baptiste knew how to make a short job long

For love of it. And yet not waste time either.

Robert Frost

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The price of these pens? Big surprise?

 

You need to get out more.

"Don't hurry, don't worry. It's better to be late at the Golden Gate than to arrive in Hell on time."
--Sign in a bar and grill, Ormond Beach, Florida, 1960.

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Agree with Pajaro

 

There is no doubt that pen collection isn’t as cheap as it was 20, 10, 5, even 2 years ago

 

In antique malls, that used to price pens at £20 (no matter what is was, so you could pick up something nice and cheap and know you could sell it on for a profit if you ever wanted to), are now pricing up pens generally at £38-70.

 

Now, how quickly they sell, I’m not sure, but i, for one, would still Be unable to refuse a good P51 ( or vacumatic, or P75 etc) in a mall for £35 ( after a bit of haggling), or even £45 if pushed.

 

Try finding P51s on ebay for less - its challenging (and you have the benefit of inspecting the pens in hand, in a mall)

 

I,ve mentioned this before, but when i moved to the USA nearly 5 years ago, i expected the streets to be paved with pens - but no, its harder to find pens in the wild here (well esp in Tx) than in the UK

 

Maybe there,s more collectors over here?

 

Wrt these recent auctions, my guess is the lot of 31 pens ( some stickered) would have gone to a dealer

 

Happy hunting now y’all

 

Cheers paul

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Agree with Pajaro

 

There is no doubt that pen collection isn’t as cheap as it was 20, 10, 5, even 2 years ago

 

In antique malls, that used to price pens at £20 (no matter what is was, so you could pick up something nice and cheap and know you could sell it on for a profit if you ever wanted to), are now pricing up pens generally at £38-70.

 

Now, how quickly they sell, I’m not sure, but i, for one, would still Be unable to refuse a good P51 ( or vacumatic, or P75 etc) in a mall for £35 ( after a bit of haggling), or even £45 if pushed.

 

Try finding P51s on ebay for less - its challenging (and you have the benefit of inspecting the pens in hand, in a mall)

 

I,ve mentioned this before, but when i moved to the USA nearly 5 years ago, i expected the streets to be paved with pens - but no, its harder to find pens in the wild here (well esp in Tx) than in the UK

 

Maybe there,s more collectors over here?

 

Wrt these recent auctions, my guess is the lot of 31 pens ( some stickered) would have gone to a dealer

 

Happy hunting now y’all

 

Cheers paul

 

Yes, and they will mark them up to $100-150 each.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yes, and they will mark them up to $100-150 each.

 

And some among us would be buying them gladly thinking these were NOS (pens in the 31 pens listing).

Khan M. Ilyas

Link to comment
Share on other sites

And some among us would be buying them gladly thinking these were NOS (pens in the 31 pens listing).

 

Yes, that number was just the the regular 51's in the lot. I counted 9 NOS pens in that lot, maybe more... definitely better suited for a collection vs resale.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Agree with Pajaro

 

There is no doubt that pen collection isn’t as cheap as it was 20, 10, 5, even 2 years ago

 

In antique malls, that used to price pens at £20 (no matter what is was, so you could pick up something nice and cheap and know you could sell it on for a profit if you ever wanted to), are now pricing up pens generally at £38-70.

 

Now, how quickly they sell, I’m not sure, but i, for one, would still Be unable to refuse a good P51 ( or vacumatic, or P75 etc) in a mall for £35 ( after a bit of haggling), or even £45 if pushed.

 

Try finding P51s on ebay for less - its challenging (and you have the benefit of inspecting the pens in hand, in a mall)

 

I,ve mentioned this before, but when i moved to the USA nearly 5 years ago, i expected the streets to be paved with pens - but no, its harder to find pens in the wild here (well esp in Tx) than in the UK

 

Maybe there,s more collectors over here?

 

Wrt these recent auctions, my guess is the lot of 31 pens ( some stickered) would have gone to a dealer

 

Happy hunting now y’all

 

Cheers paul

 

When I started collecting 51s I was completely ignorant of their finer points (not so much more in the know now, either). I bought them at yard sales I found out jogging and in odd places, five dollars to about thirty dollars each. Now, those prices are long gone, but currency inflation is a lot of the rise. The rest is collector interest and the number of collectors. Ebay has changed the way these pens are found and re-enter the market. I have to admit I have let go of most of the 51s I had, keeping only maybe a couple of dozen. This was a lot of fun. Now the market is becoming almost like a retail price store. I did get a restored one from ebay recently to use the last of my Ariel Kullock parts on to transform it from black to swirly purple. One last fling.

 

As Sherbie noted, the pens are not paving the streets, and are becoming harder to find, unless you want to open your wallet wide. A shame, but the old days couldn't last.

"Don't hurry, don't worry. It's better to be late at the Golden Gate than to arrive in Hell on time."
--Sign in a bar and grill, Ormond Beach, Florida, 1960.

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now


  • Most Contributions

    1. amberleadavis
      amberleadavis
      43844
    2. PAKMAN
      PAKMAN
      33494
    3. Ghost Plane
      Ghost Plane
      28220
    4. inkstainedruth
      inkstainedruth
      26624
    5. jar
      jar
      26101
  • Upcoming Events

  • Blog Comments

    • Shanghai Knife Dude
      I have the Sailor Naginata and some fancy blade nibs coming after 2022 by a number of new workshop from China.  With all my respect, IMHO, they are all (bleep) in doing chinese characters.  Go use a bush, or at least a bush pen. 
    • A Smug Dill
      It is the reason why I'm so keen on the idea of a personal library — of pens, nibs, inks, paper products, etc. — and spent so much money, as well as time and effort, to “build” it for myself (because I can't simply remember everything, especially as I'm getting older fast) and my wife, so that we can “know”; and, instead of just disposing of what displeased us, or even just not good enough to be “given the time of day” against competition from >500 other pens and >500 other inks for our at
    • adamselene
      Agreed.  And I think it’s good to be aware of this early on and think about at the point of buying rather than rationalizing a purchase..
    • A Smug Dill
      Alas, one cannot know “good” without some idea of “bad” against which to contrast; and, as one of my former bosses (back when I was in my twenties) used to say, “on the scale of good to bad…”, it's a spectrum, not a dichotomy. Whereas subjectively acceptable (or tolerable) and unacceptable may well be a dichotomy to someone, and finding whether the threshold or cusp between them lies takes experiencing many degrees of less-than-ideal, especially if the decision is somehow influenced by factors o
    • adamselene
      I got my first real fountain pen on my 60th birthday and many hundreds of pens later I’ve often thought of what I should’ve known in the beginning. I have many pens, the majority of which have some objectionable feature. If they are too delicate, or can’t be posted, or they are too precious to face losing , still they are users, but only in very limited environments..  I have a big disliking for pens that have the cap jump into the air and fly off. I object to Pens that dry out, or leave blobs o
  • Chatbox

    You don't have permission to chat.
    Load More
  • Files






×
×
  • Create New...