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I Don't Understand This Practice By "professional" Vintage Pen Sellers


Paul-in-SF

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This is more of a minor rant than a request for information. I mean, I probably do understand it, as sheer laziness, but it boggles me that they should do it.

 

And by "professional" vintage pen sellers, I'm talking about those who have a named online shop with an online catalog of the pens they have for sale, even if you have to email them to purchase the pen.

 

And the heinous practice? Selling pens without cleaning the ink out of them. Not that there's anything wrong with the pens, and I would certainly rinse them out myself anyway, but I really get peeved when I get a pen in the mail and instead of just rinsing it out, I have to clean out the last user's leftover ink.

 

I realize that for most or all of these folks, the online pen shop is at best a second income and at a minimum it may be only a hobby that allows them to see and test use a lot of different pens. Nevertheless! I am just a humble amateur and I wouldn't dream of sending someone a pen with leftover ink in it, whether it is a pay-it-forward gift or they bought the thing. Don't these purveyors have any pride or self-respect? End of rant.

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Well, I suppose you could look at that residual ink as proof that the pen has been ''write'' tested, but it does seem a bit sloppy not to clean it out. I know when I'm prepping pens for sale at a show, I try to get them as ink-free as possible.

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You never bought one from me, did you? All of the pens are restored and tested. The tested pens then get flushed, and then spun out in the centrifuge before before they're listed, let alone sold.

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Visit Main Street Pens
A full service pen shop providing professional, thoughtful vintage pen repair...

Please use email, not a PM for repair and pen purchase inquiries.

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Hi Paul,

 

I'm sympathetic; when I purchase a professionally restored pen, I expect it to be clean. They all warn you not to mix inks, but they sell you dirty pens. :wallbash:

 

 

- Sean :)

 

 

Edited for typo.

Edited by corniche

https://www.catholicscomehome.org/

 

"Every one therefore that shall confess Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father Who is in Heaven." - MT. 10:32

"Any society that will give up liberty to gain security deserves neither and will lose both." - Ben Franklin

Thank you Our Lady of Prompt Succor & St. Jude.

 

 

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You never bought one from me, did you? All of the pens are restored and tested. The tested pens then get flushed, and then spun out in the centrifuge before before they're listed, let alone sold.

No, and I regret that I missed out on making clear that I was talking about some and not all of these sellers. I apologize to the community for a too-broad brush. Unfortunately I can't edit the thread title.

Edited by Paul-in-SF
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I didn't see your post as a complaint against anyone or including everyone. I see your point. However, unless the pen is new I expect to have to do some restoration or having someone else do it for me. If I remember, both 51's were ink free on arrival. The rest required me to disassemble and replace parts. I actually enjoy doing minor repairs and polishing if needed.

"Respect science, respect nature, respect all people (s),"

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In my experience it is diluted ink. Indicating, to me, that it has been tested. √

Add lightness and simplicate.

 

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Not always so.

 

There are many pens sold more or less "as is". At least a pen flush might be nice. OTOH, if you get a batch of 200 pens to sell on eBay and your business is getting and selling antiquities, why bother on each one? Let the buyer decide.

 

I suppose.

If you are to be ephemeral, leave a good scent.

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There must be an equivalent rant somewhere about evil pen sellers who don't include ink so it writes from the moment the buyer gets it... I would prefer an inkless pen, particularly for those with sacs, but it's not a huge problem for me.

"The trouble with the world is that the stupid are cocksure and the intelligent are full of doubt."

 

B. Russell

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Hi again, Paul,

 

Well, it's an obvious rub; the pen HAS to be tested, BUT, the old filling systems are a royal PITA to flush clean, using conventional methods.

 

I guess this is a good way to tell which restorers are the lazy ones... could be a good general guideline, when you think about it. ;)

 

 

- Sean :)

https://www.catholicscomehome.org/

 

"Every one therefore that shall confess Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father Who is in Heaven." - MT. 10:32

"Any society that will give up liberty to gain security deserves neither and will lose both." - Ben Franklin

Thank you Our Lady of Prompt Succor & St. Jude.

 

 

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I wouldn't dream of sending someone a pen with leftover ink in it, whether it is a pay-it-forward gift or they bought the thing.

 

We appreciate this. We really do. You wouldn't believe how many pens come to us, full of ink. ...or at least started their trip full of ink, and in their travels transferred the ink from the barrel to the cap. It makes one heck of a mess, and my mild mannered wife has quite a bit to say about it as she brings it into the shop for a spin in the centrifuge and a cap rinse. I've considered instituting a $25 "cleaning fee" in addition to the regular repair charges for pens that arrive full of ink, instead of empty as requested.

 

To those who think it is helpful.... NO, it doesn't save any time when I go to test the pen if it is already full of ink.

 

Thank you.

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Visit Main Street Pens
A full service pen shop providing professional, thoughtful vintage pen repair...

Please use email, not a PM for repair and pen purchase inquiries.

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Hi Paul

 

There may a positive angle,

 

I would hope that the seller has tested the pen and even provides a writing sample with the pen. As Sean has suggested, you would expect a wash through but there may still be some residual ink within the pen.

 

There was even a case recently where the buyer returned the pen, perhaps a 51 or 61, with the comment, 'for the amount I have had to pay I would expect you to have filled the pen before despatch'.

 

There is one UK pen reapirer who habitually fills the pen after the repair, leaving the ink in the pen, frequently the packaging arrives in an ink stained mess, not that this particular pen repairer is to be trusted anyway.

 

eta, as suggested by the post from Ron above.

Edited by Beechwood
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So, all this reminded me of calling the local recycling center before I took in the old freezer. The lady on the line said to make sure it was empty to which I laughed out loud. She said believe it or not people have brought them with food inside.

"Respect science, respect nature, respect all people (s),"

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So, all this reminded me of calling the local recycling center before I took in the old freezer. The lady on the line said to make sure it was empty to which I laughed out loud. She said believe it or not people have brought them with food inside.

 

Similar story.

 

I work on a business park, around 10 buildings, 5 storeys each, car parking for hundreds of cars. I went out for a walk and there was 6 dumpsters being loaded with office furniture, mainly desks. Some workmen were loading them I asked what was going on.

 

'An office is having a refit, traditional desks out, modern work stations in'

 

'But some of these drawers look full'

 

'They throw everything out, not even oipening the desks and then reorder stationery, help yourself'

 

There must have been 20 desks at least, I restocked my stationery cupboard and a lot more left over.

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To the OP - I am curious, since this was enough of an irritant to cause a rantish post (of any length):

 

How many "professional" pen sellers have sent you a pen with ink residue?

Edited by JonSzanto

"When Men differ in Opinion, both Sides ought equally to have the Advantage of being heard by the Publick; and that when Truth and Error have fair Play, the former is always an overmatch for the latter."

~ Benjamin Franklin

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'They throw everything out, not even oipening the desks and then reorder stationery, help yourself'

 

I'd be curious if there were used notebooks and other forms of documentation also in those desks? It could have been a field day for corporate espionage!

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I bought a Caran D'ache Madison (1) from overseas once.

 

The seller sent the pen full of ink by air mail.

 

When i got the pen the (plastic) section was cracked and leaking badly.

 

I suspect that the pen may have ended up in a cargo plane, got so cold at high altitude that the ink expanded causing the crack.

 

I did get a refund. The seller told me to keep it - they had no use for a cracked pen. So, I sent it of to CdA to see what they could do, and got a new (metal) section and nib for not much less than the price of the (useless) pen.

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Agree with you Paul, the least you can do is clean a pen you have sold.

 

When I am selling at a penshow, I allow clients to test write my pens, and I clean them afterwards.

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A lot of the pens I've bought have been on eBay -- and a lot of THOSE have been from random people (not professionals). So they may not necessarily know what is involved in pen flushing/repairs: "This was my grandma's pen"; "I found it at an estate sale"; etc. But yeah, if you're buying from someone who is a professional, you would think that they would know better. And if that happened to me, I'd be loathe to patronize that seller/repair person in future.

This is part of the reason I MUCH prefer to go to pen shows to have pens repaired: I can speak to the person right there, ask questions, test the pen to see if the nib needs tuning, etc., right on the spot. (It's always really entertaining to have Ron repair pens at shows in particular, because he'll be doing a lot of it by feel, while he's having conversations with random people at the same time. Of course I always have to remember, if Ron is doing the repair, to have him fill the pen for testing with 4001 Brilliant Black (sorry Ron, but I just really dislike the color of 4001 Royal Blue, and I know that it's your go-to ink).

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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To the OP - I am curious, since this was enough of an irritant to cause a rantish post (of any length):

 

How many "professional" pen sellers have sent you a pen with ink residue?

 

I don't know, I haven't bought that many pens from such sellers, and I didn't keep track. I think one is too many*, especially when it's clear from the way the ink came out that I wasn't dealing with a little left-over ink from test-writing, but with old dried out ink in the feed. (To be fair, these days anything coming from overseas takes so long, a little residual ink might have dried out completely in the time it took to get here.)

 

*But there have been more than one.

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