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Insane Bidding On A Burgundy Skyline Flex Nib


Addertooth

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I normally don't post stuff like this, but this auction is going way over the top for a gold-filled metal cap burgundy Skyline.

Yes, it has a flex-nib, but I have at least one or two Skyline pens which will flex just as much.

 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/1943-EVERSHARP-SKYLINE-BRUSH-SOFT-FLEX-14K-NOODLE-BURGUNDY-RARE-WAHL-VINTAGE-PEN/312777000606?hash=item48d2f6469e:g:dTYAAOSw8GZdhjYZ

 

Some day, this link will die, So here is a screen shot.

 

fpn_1569713527__skyline_flexnib_494_doll

Edited by Addertooth
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You could just buy the next 5-10 Skylines sold for $60 and end up with at least one flexible nib, and then resell the non flexible ones.

I always wonder about auctions that go irrationally high.

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Agreed Greenie! I will say it had a nice put together advertisement, with far better penmanship than I could reasonably muster. I am still working on smooth loopy lines.

I pulled out two of my flex-nib Skylines to confirm they will show that level of line variation, and they did, and more. Both are in the 2.4mm of line width range when flexed.

One was purchased the other day as a parts pen for about 30 bucks.

 

Lately the Red Celluloid "modern Stripes" versions of the Skyline have been drawing big bids as well too. One went for about $250 the other day.

Edited by Addertooth
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  • 3 weeks later...

It would be interesting to find out if the buyer is happy and satisfied with their purchase. Of course I will wager that the seller is very satisfied with their sale.

 

One question though, (I expect that you have read the original posting) was there anything special about this pen? Except the supposedly "brush" flexible nib?

“Don't put off till tomorrow what you can do today, because if you do it today and like it, you can do again tomorrow!”

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Other than simply being proprerly restored and polished, (and having a flex nib), it seems perfectly normal. A typical 1/10th 14k Gold rolled cap with the typical radial lines, a typical color, no notable brassing on the lever, clip or cap (but that isn't rare), It is a standard length (not the more valuable Executive size), the clip says "Eversharp", and not the more uncommon "WAHL". In other words, other than a flex nib, it does not have any unusual features which would drive up the value.

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Reminds me of a thread started a couple of years ago by Teri of Peyton Street Pens. She had something up on eBay and a couple of overseas bidders got into a bidding war. It was good for her bottom line, but even she was still going "What the...?" over the crazy bidding.... (I seem to recall that one bidder was in South America and the other was in Eastern Europe, but don't remember what the pen was).

If I had been bidding on whatever that pen had been, I would have dropped out long since on the grounds of "Too rich for my blood" -- and that was when then price had gone up to around $150 (and let's just say the hammer came down WAY more than $150 and leave it at that, because I don't remember now what the pen ended up going for...).

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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Looking at the bids.. there were about 5 people bidding north of $300, and 3 people bidding north of $400. This bidding war was between more than two enthusiastic parties.

Even the $300 bidders were well above the expected value, I might argue that even $200 seemed above the value. I don't have a feel (yet) for how much a flex nib will raise the value of a skyline, as stated earlier, I have two skylines which are slightly beyond the league of the pen which was being sold (in terms of flex).

 

Now I have seen Solid 14k Gold (as stamped) go for that price (private note, not intended to deflate the value of those pens, but, the amount of actual 14k gold on those pens is quite small). Perhaps a very rare Moire Color, with a Wahl Clip, in pristine condition, with a nice visualated section, and a flexy nib... could push that price on a really good day. The larger, and less common Executive pens typically sell in the $200s, or a small bit more if it is an exceptionally plumb example.

 

I can only imagine two pens which have (or would) gone higher... A skyline with an non-counterfeit Sterling cap, which is stamped as Sterling (I know of one example of this cap), and the advertised, but not yet found in the wild, Solid Platinum skyline pen. The latter might be a 4 digit pen if actually found somewhere in restorable condition.

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  • 2 weeks later...

The ebay listing says size in both mm and inches at 5 1/4. Its possible that bidders think it is actually an Executive model. And yet even they should not command nearly $500.

Syd "the Wahlnut" Saperstein

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New WAHL-EVERSHARP fountain and Roller-Ball pens

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The ebay listing says size in both mm and inches at 5 1/4. Its possible that bidders think it is actually an Executive model. And yet even they should not command nearly $500.

Perhaps it is one of the very rare Metric Skylines.

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. 
 

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Oh. That guy.

 

I'm more than a bit unhappy with him and the misrepresentation of his merch.

 

Bought a supposedly mint 1970's MB149 from him only to discover that the nib tip at one point must have been damaged and then crudely repaired. It's functional, but a firehose (was sold as a Fine, yeah right) and scratchy.

 

-k

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  • 3 weeks later...

Jonakimusic, yeah. Tend to over-rate the quality of their pens, often in direct contradiction to the photos. I used to follow this seller and I recently bid on one of the pens offered and won. I based my bid on the photos, not the description, which it certainly did not match.

Having followed them for a while, I developed a nagging suspicion that some bid manipulation maybe involved. Then again, I suspected the same of several other sellers from Eastern Europe. I don't know, maybe they are accessible to buyers from countries that can't buy from US sellers.

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Jonakimusic, yeah. Tend to over-rate the quality of their pens, often in direct contradiction to the photos. I used to follow this seller and I recently bid on one of the pens offered and won. I based my bid on the photos, not the description, which it certainly did not match.

Having followed them for a while, I developed a nagging suspicion that some bid manipulation maybe involved. Then again, I suspected the same of several other sellers from Eastern Europe. I don't know, maybe they are accessible to buyers from countries that can't buy from US sellers.

 

Just this last week I gave in and sent the 149 to Greg Minuskin. Needless to say I'm deeper in the hole than I ever intended to be for a used 149 but it is what it is. Jonakimusic can burn in hell for all I care.

 

-k

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Katerchen,

 

How is it he has 100 percent positive feedback? It it that the faults are hard to initially detect, and most people don't know they are screwed until they have left feedback? Or does he extort people to leave positive feedback to get a partial refund?

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I had no contact with him after the sale, didn't even leave feedback. Honestly, I just didn't want to bother and also wanted to avoid any and all possibility that would end with him or a proxy leaving me negative feedback (conjecture, I know but I just didn't have the drive).

 

Plus, in hindsight I now see the damage to the nib on one of the pictures (I saved them all) and he could say "well it was right there" even if the words in the ad were a total lie.

 

-k

 

Edit: Here it is

 

https://photos.app.goo.gl/ztameR3QYwiHEBaL9

 

If you scrutinize the first picture, you can see the crude repair. I should have. But you know : thousands of positive feedback and misplaced trust :/

Edited by katerchen
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Yep, I got bit on a couple deals where the picture was "iffy" and I missed a detail. I am super careful now. It is a painful lesson to learn. Every now and then I will still buy off a blurry photo, if the price is low enough, and the reward is high enough. i.e. a WAHL branded Skyline... or such.

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Hey, speaking of Maybe Executives, does anyone have an Executive size Skyline pencil they can measure for me? I'd like to know the length of the pencil, please. I have an Executive fountain pen and may have found a pencil in a recent lot I acquired.

 

Thanks in advance,

Daniel

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I have an executive pen, but no executive pencils. My pencils all measure 5 and 1/4 inches. They include standards, gold filled cap, modern stripes (Moiré), etc

Is your pencil 5 and 1/2 inches long?

Edited by Addertooth
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Eyes which are far more knowledgeable than mine have looked at this. I haven't heard from any of them that anything was especially desirable, other than good condition (which is easy enough to find), and a flex nib. I have a stupid-flex (or 3) Skyline nibs, so they are not especially hard to find. You do have to look for them.

Edited by Addertooth
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