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You ever done something and almost instantly thought, damn that was dumb? How about doing that twice within hours? Yeah, me too. Most recently on eBay. Went there just to look and came away with less money and owning...something. It'd be great if i knew what I bought. I've come here for years and watched members display understanding of all ,manner of writing instruments that borders on obsession. OK, more than obsession. And it would've been just wonderful if I'd thought to post all this before buying anything. But i didn't, very unfortunately. Hopefully someone can clue me in on what I now possibly own. Buys were on different continents within days of one another. I'll label them Pen 1 and Pen 2. Both were sold as Hommage A' WG Mozart editions. I got my doubts, as they say. Pros: Both came with blank "Your Personal MB Guide". Printing is so simple I don't know if anyone can tell the validity of any printed guides that carry no dealer sale stamp. Neither of mine did, and they look identical. All engraving on both pens is very precise. Both are the smaller length / breadth MB the company still sells commemorating Wolfgang. The MB name engraved on the gold bands shows great precision, same with the nibs in all respects, as far as I can see. Every place either pen could be finished shows as very well polished and detailed. The clips are well detailed and polished to within an inch of their lives. Both white snow caps are precisely edged and appear to be dead centered and correct in size. Both clip rings carry letter / number combinations that appear to be laser engraved. Definitely not stamped or force cut into the metal somehow. Precise numbers and letters, country of origin, etc. And one even shows PIX with a trademark inside the clip. Cons: Here to find out. Just nothing sticks out--if anything did, I wouldn't be here begging for help from folks far more knowledgeable than I am. All this is in the poorly shot pictures attached (sorry about the quality). Pen 1--MB 1 in the pictures--is all black with gold and came in a beautiful box with an unopened CD (straight from Best Buy no doubt) and two layers for pen presentation. The top layer is for a single pen with the same "Homm A WGA" print found on the outer box. Lifting that tray reveals another tray with spaces for 4 more pens of like size. See pictures. Serial number is XI 1066978. GERMANY is opposite the SN. Nothing else on the ring in between those 2. Inside the clip is smoothly polished and finished, but no trademark, no PIX, etc While I know that's not a death sentence, I'd feel much better with it there. Pen 2--MB 2 in the pictures--is black, with gold rings and with a silver cap. The cap looks real to me--carefully cut and carries silver stamps you can see in the pictures. It's cap ring shows serial number of BP 1018350 with METAL 2 opposite. In between and directly opposite the gold clip is FRANCE (which is engraved lower than the S/N or METAL 2--so low that it's letters almost touch the bottom of the clip ring--but the fonts and engraving look exactly the same as the other two on each side of it). And inside the clip is a precisely raised PIX in italic type flowing script followed by a microscopic circled R for trademark. PIX is raised, not engraved or etched. I had to loupe it to see it. If anyone can tell me what I own, I'm guessing they're on here. I could walk down the Strip here in Las Vegas to one of the two MB stores and talk to someone--they're exceedingly nice and helpful to the extent they know. Verifying MB doesn't seem to be one of those things. Pls take a look at the pictures and any help is greatly (greatly) appreciated. Either way, thanks for years of happy reading and amazing insight.

There are Fireblue Kaweco Liliputs on Ebay for $144, around $30 cheaper than the price at most other websites. No affiliation with the seller, just thought I'd pass along the deal if anyone is interested in buying the pen. http://www.ebay.com/itm/Kaweco-Liliput-Fountain-Pen-Fireblue-Fine-Point-New-In-Box-/391475663542?hash=item5b25c492b6:g:k8wAAOSw8w1X5Ema

I found this lot on Ebay and it had a few things I could use, so made a bid. Within two hours it was up to $180??? What am I not seeing here?? or am I just cheap? HA! Thanks... http://www.ebay.com/itm/VTG-Waterman-Ideal-Fountain-Pen-Lot-For-Parts-or-Repair-AS-IS-14K-Art-Deco-40s-/112222481926?hash=item1a20fb2e06:g:ohsAAOSwj85YQD64

After browsing tons of topics here on FPN and watching a metric butt ton of youtube videos from the major FP channels I am thinking about trying to locate some vintage pens. I know many suggest Pen Shows as a good place to start searching for vintage pens. I don't know of any in MN and can't really afford making the trip to others outside of the state since I am finishing up my college degree and don't have a ton of money for travel. I know people recommend ebay as a good place to search for vintage pens; however I kind of don't know where to begin as far as making sure I don't have one pulled over on me. For instance If I were searching for a Parker 51 or a vintage Waterman I would want to make sure I was getting the real deal. I watched an SBREbrown vid where he was explaining about someone in his community bought a Montblanc 149 and it ended up being a fake. Now I do know that is a bit of a different situation as a Montblanc 149 is a substantially more expensive pen and I would assume is one of those pens that those type of people would try and knock off. I've been doing my own research and I know with part of my search is going to be learning the ins and outs of what to look for, I however would appreciate any advice or tips in terms of ebay. Maybe even ebay sellers that many people here on FPN trust to sell the real deal.

How come MB is available such a throw away price(Rs 3400 i.e. $50.74 aprx.). Please refer to following link for details. http://www.ebay.in/itm/New-Mont-Blanc-149-fountain-pen-Imported-/252556997897?hash=item3acd91f509:g:ajoAAOSwIgNXn1Zd

Pictures from an eBay auction I'm eying http://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/NQgAAOSwtnpXo6no/s-l1600.jpg http://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/7bgAAOSw3xJXo6nf/s-l1600.jpg http://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/QucAAOSwt7ZXo6nF/s-l1600.jpg Potential clues Thin band on capSemi translucent red with streaks of greenLever in 1 pieceBlack sectionFeed with fins Could someone give me some hints as to what Waterman it is, esp. its age and likelihood for flex nib? Thanks

There's been a Waterman 52 up on eBay this week: an average pen with what looks like an incredible nib. Impossibly flexy, and accompanied with a page of calligraphy that I couldn't reproduce if I sat in a scriptorium for a decade. I dropped out at $400.00 and the bidding has only gotten fiercer - it'll probably go for at least six bills. I've made many stupid purchases in my time, but I couldn't make myself step over that threshold. HOWEVER... There was another pen on eBay, with a very similar nib. It didn't have the gorgeous writing sample, but I got curious and asked the seller (who's in Spain...how did this thing get there?) if he could produce a writing sample. He did one, blobby and feathered on cheap paper, but the nib! I'm not saying it's as good as the one that's currently rising to the monetary stratosphere, but it looks awfully close and It's going to cost me half as much. It's an old 42 Safety, and I'm probably going to vandalize it by swapping nibs with one of my ringtops so I can make it useful. I can do it for that price and not feel bad about it, as I might otherwise. Moral: be a pest. Ask the guy in Spain to write a bit and send you some snaps.

Fellow Desi FPN'ers, I am looking for experience with Indian customs handling of pen orders from ebay (Japan, Germany, USA, Israel) I am looking to take the plunge on a $100+ pen and want to make sure it is safe to order on ebay.com Have any of you ordered from Japan? Assuming I choose the cheapest shipping option via regular sarkari post, will our fraternal comrades in the customs and post office look for these "luxury" items and hold them back for customs duty and/or other "fees" Do pens in the $100-$150 range fall under the category of dutiable goods? Last time I ordered some stuff from mainland china, it took more than a month and port of entry was Kolkata - package was sent via China Post/India Post and came through clean (then again it was cheap stuff like 616 and some Jinhao's)

found this while browsing around: http://www.ebay.in/sch/deepak380790/m.html?_nkw=&_armrs=1&_ipg=&_from= Those pics seem genuine - have the chinese faked MB's pens this well nowadays? Are there well known fakes of MB products like Hero and Jinhao clones?

Recently there's been a lot of talk about Hero 616s here and so I wanted to share my experience with you. Not going to go into too much detail, I'm leaving for vacation in two days but wanted to get this out there in case someone would find it helpful. I ordered 3 616 Doctors from ebay seller 'mentag'. Three pens for US $12.90. When they finally arrived the first interesting thing was the packaging itself. See that there is no 'Doctor' mentioned anywhere on the package. I've contacted the seller and he explained that this is new packaging and that it does say Doctor on the back. I have translated what it says on the back and it does say, right above the barcode: "Big Hero 616 High Yijin Bi". So I guess that means it is a Jumbo. I was also assured that these indeed are genuine. Don't know if you heard but for example my Hero 9018 with fude nib that I got earlier this year had a QR code that redirected me to a Hero verification site that checks whether the pen is genuine. There is also a secret code which you can get to by scraping a little film or layer of protective paint (similar to that used on lottery tickets). My 9018 is genuine according to this Hero site. This one, though it does have a QR code on the back of the package and it does have the secret code couldn't be verified, because it redirected me to a nonsense site. When I typed the 616 code to where I verified my 9018 it wouldn't verify it either. The next images are of the pen itself. It does look OK. There are scratches on the pens straight out of the box but what can you do. The plastic is super cheap, not substantial in any way. Does have a hole in the back of the body. Filling system is ok, this is the bigger one, the 'Jumbo' size. It operates well, I was able to fill it easily, no problems there. Lastly the cap. It looks worse in real life than on the photos I think. There is not that much definition in the engraving/stamping. It's shallower than looks here and also there is less shine, much less shine than it seems to be the case here. That being said, writing is very nice, surprisingly so. I have only tried the black one so far with Noodler's Black (will test the others when I return from my vacation and post an update) but it writes beautifully and smoothly, it's wet enough and there are no issues with scratchiness or dripping, etc. There is just a tiny bit of line variation but I won't be pushing it at all so my tines remain aligned. All in all, it writes really well. No issues whatsoever. At least so far. Here is a quick writing sample. Make of it what you will but my impressions are that these are as genuine as they get and yet they are not great, aside from the writing itself - which admittedly is indeed great. The build quality is sub-par in my opinion and for example Jinhao X750 is far superior to these pens. Feel free to ask any questions, etc. and I hope some of you will find this post helpful. edit: scroll down to reply #8 for more pics and further facts

So I was checking out ebay today and found the following Parker Sonnet gold plated which at first glance looked interesting http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-Parker-Sonnet-Gold-Plated-Fountain-Pen-W-Box-/162131401724? But now i wonder if it is not a fake .... This pen has been listed by this seller more than once and in my research on internet i have not been able to find anything from Parker that looks like it. The photos shown in the listing reflext the nib, etc... And i wonder if this just looks all too new to be real. Tks for feedback

I found this Caran d'Ache FP and BP set on ebay. The pricing seems low. http://www.ebay.com/itm/CARAN-dACHE-CdA-GENEVE-Marble-Brown-and-gold-pen-set-/122001742915 I wrote to the seller asking for focused photos so I could see the nib and any writings on the pen. I said that I wanted to be able to see if the nib was original or a replacement. He wrote back that he only had his cell phone camera and would find his camera and take better photos and update the listing. No answer regarding the nib being original or not. Nothing happened. Now someone who bids only and mostly on collectible pens has opened the bidding. Since then he has listed a Pelikan 140 for considerably under what I imagine this pen should sell for. Do you think that there is any chance that this is a real, functioning Caran d'Ache? Any ideas of what this set should sell for?

Most of the Chinese pens I own have been purchased on eBay. There are a few sellers I use most frequently because they've been extremely reliable. One seller, "jewelrymathematics", used to contribute to FPN. But almost all of my Chinese pen transactions on eBay have been positive, regardless of seller, and particularly when they have extremely high satisfaction ratings. During the last year I've become more comfortable with Rakuten when purchasing inks from Japan. But I have had a difficult time understanding Taobao, and have not yet tried to experiment with Alipay. Even with an English-language intermediary, such as Mr. Taobao, the Taobao service seems difficult to navigate. What has been your experience with the purchase of Chinese pens? Who has a high comfort level with Taobao? Advice? What about Alipay? I'm placing the thread on this forum because the question focuses specifically on the Chinese pen purchasing experience, not on all marketplaces in general.

I've been reminded today why I avoid ebay. The gods of Olympus were not smiling on me as I made a hasty purchase from a seller with good feedback (bar one). It was a Montblanc (my Achilles heel); in this case a little 242. The pen was described as being in excellent condition, working and having no dents, dings, cracks or any other problems. Said pen arrived and to my great dismay does not draw ink, has loose cap rings (which I could live with) and a crack in the cap. None of these issues are mentioned in the ebay ad nor visible in the photographs. I sent an email to ask for either a significant partial refund or a refund and return. They replied first of all with an offer of a refund that was frankly insulting and an accusation that what I was saying about the pen was not true. I rejected the offer and asked for a refund of half of the cost (not necessarily expecting to get that!), explaining why I thought this was fair considering what work would need to be done to the pen. I then get a response asking me to send the pen after 11th March (he says he is heading off on holiday) and on receipt he will issue a refund. Everything about this seems like a bad move to me, so I'm hoping that I might get some much needed advice here as to how to proceed. For those of you who have been through this process before, can you give me some advice as to the best and correct way to proceed?

Hi all I noticed that for many Jinhao and other Chinese makes, for the same model, the price can be $1,$3 ... $10. For those who sampled the offerings at various price points, does the price correlates with quality/defects/etc? Cheers, Erez

Hello, Lamy newbie here. I wanted to get a Safari and saw the Neon Coral is still available on eBay for around $25 from different sellers. That seems a little strange, since the Coral was a 2014 LE and I figured there'd be none left to sell in 2016. I bought one there anyway, but I'm already suspicious that it may be a fake. However, JetPens is also still selling it, in Medium only, for $28.50, and they're an authorized retailer. Again, we're talking about a 2014 Limited Edition here. Has anybody happened to see something like this before?

There is a guy here that sells Sonnets for a suspiciously low price. Is this legit or are his pens fake?

You know the old warning about sending food back in a restaurant because someone might spit in it? Well, I think an eBay seller just spit on my Estie. Ordered my first two Esterbrooks on eBay---a Gray Pearl LJ from someone who focuses more on other types of collectible items (higher perceived risk, lower price), and a Copper J from someone who claims to deal in lots of Esterbrooks (lower perceived risk, higher price...$49.99). From the latter listing: Restored state: Working J bar and fresh bladder in each. These pens are guaranteed to write.Overall condition: These pens are in gently used condition. There will be no major flaws, but there may be micro scratches consistent with the age of the pen. We are fountain pen enthusiasts and our special purpose on Ebay is to provide you with quality writing materials, vintage and new, expensive and economical. The first Copper J arrived with three significant cracks running from the jewel on the cap, downward (it was otherwise in very good condition). I felt this was beyond the advertised "gently used condition...no major flaws...may be micro scratches consistent with the age of the pen." The seller agreed to exchange it for another Copper J. I paid return shipping...she sent the replacement...and...well, read the first line of my post. The new one arrived yesterday. Technically, one could argue the J bar "works," but it's severely rusted, as is the lever. There was so much dried ink caked in the nib, feed, and inside the cap, it's taking endless soaking in Dawn and distilled water (two hours and counting) to clear the mess. As for the "fresh bladder," I'm not sure. Can't get a good look inside, but am concerned by the fact the lever easily flips all the way up, unlike my other two Esties that stop half way, presumably due to resistance from the sac (yes, a third Estie found its way to my stable in the interim). Is all this worth trying to repair, or should I attempt to return this to the seller (in better condition than it was received)? Something tells me, I'm not the first person to have this happen. And this, after the first hour in the bath:

i've been building up a small stash of ebay finds in my daughter's place in san diego these past few months (i live and work in the philippines, and so i tend to collect my ebay stuff in the US when i visit once or twice a year). among my most recent pickups was this burgundy vac which, at the time i bought it, seemed to me to be either a senior or slender maxima. it's still hard for me to tell one from the other just from a picture, but i was hoping for a senior max, because i already have the slender in burgundy, among other colors except blue). thankfully, it did turn out to be a senior maxima in very fine condition, from 1939, with striped jewels and section, needing just a new diaphragm, which i'll install as soon as i fly back to manila. the price wasn't too bad, either: http://www.ebay.com/itm/191712327935?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT and the others? the best ones include a huge, near-mint morrison's overlay which i picked up for $80, a moore L-94 in RHR, a sweet, very clean GF wahl, and a plain but also very clean BHR waterman 54. many have super-flex nibs now i can't wait to get home so i can resac and refurbish these babies.

Dearest Members of the Fountain Pen Network, One of our ad agencies just gave us a nice surprise: 20% off Flash Sale for all eBay buyers for the UK, with a caveat: The code is only valid until 22:00 hrs today, October 22 2015, and as mentioned, only for UK buyers on eBay. And the che code is: CUKFLASH To go to eBay UK: Click to visit eBay UK Enjoy! Warm regards, Wim On behalf of the FPN Moderator and Admin Team

So I decided to climb further up the price notch in the Lamy brand and I decided to purchase an Al-Star from amazon.ca for 49, 95$ CDN which seems to be a regular rate for these pens in Canada. I am just concerned that it may be a fake as there is a lot of stories out there of fake Safaris and Al-Stars going around. My question is does anyone have any experience with fake Al-stars from amazon where amazon itself is the seller? Any input would be greatly appreciated.

Hello came across a ad that was on ebay for 1997 Yardoled.Since this will be my first would just like some help on if this a good purchase and if it is worth the price? Any help will be greatly appreciated...Thanks in advance http://www.ebay.com/itm/261965114773?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649

Okay, so I scored a lot of 6 pens from fleabay and I'm curious about them as I can't find much info. (Okay, there is some info for the Permapoint, but not much for the rest.) In the lot, there was a black Eversharp Permapoint with what says is a Iridium tipped M nib, but it writes F to me. Nice pen! There was a small Onward that looks identical to the Permapoint, but has an Onward nib. (needs sac) There is a beautiful E.F. (Eberhard Faber) red and black lever filler (needs a sack) and then... ...3 AMERICAN button fillers- two green and a red of same model. These are the most mysterious of the bunch to me. I'm thinking they are David Khan pens? Maybe a sub, sub brand of Wearever? The two green ones work fine. The red one appears to have a stuck button as I soaked it in water for 4 days and the button still doesn't move. I don't know how to get water into the barrel to let the cork soak. What are these pens/models? What are they made of?? Age if anyone can tell? Are the nibs decent: (The American nibs are super smooth, but not much flex. The others are more flexible and nice writers nib wise.) I've not pulled any of the nibs, but they are all gold tones and don't appear to have silver coloring anywhere, but non are marked one way or the other. The E. F. nib has a star in a diamond on it. Any and all information and help would be appreciated. They were cheap, so the fact that 3 write straight away is awesome!

So I saw an auction for a NY Mabie Todd Swan - a gold ringtop, but the photos were so bad you couldn't tell anything about the pen. So what one does in the circumstances is ask the seller about the nib (of course). The answer prompted me to bid on the thing, and it just arrived. What a treasure for fifty bucks! Very heavy for its size so I think it's solid gold. Very handsome chasing, and a wonderfully flexy #2 nib. I bought it with my fingers crossed, and I'm very pleased.

Somebody put up four Waterman Hundred-Year pens on eBay: they all have perfect transparent blind caps, which suggests either a restoration or a fake. The markings look right and they're all different, and they're being auctioned with very low minimums. Is it actually worth it to build fake Watermans when you could get more money for a fake Mont Blanc?