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E-Bay 45 Flighter - Did I Miss Something?


RGH

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So I won this Parker 45 here ...

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Rare-Parker-45-Flighter-Brushed-Stainless-Steel-Fountain-Pen-80s-/290988354420?_trksid=p2047675.l2557&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEWNX%3AIT&nma=true&si=7Y7wDtDdd09zbjn2WwznDS4PHEc%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc

 

 

It was one of those spur of the moment bids ... which I almost immediately thought ... hmmm I don't know enough about this pen, and nobody else has bid on it. Well, no problem, thought I, someone else will Snipe it. So I went off to bed and thought no more of it. In the morning I found I'd won it. Now, I would like a 45 Flighter, and with shipping it was only $26. But now I'd like to know ... what was the problem with it? Why did nobody else bid on it?

 

Or did I just pay over the odds (I can live with that).

 

Thanks

 

RGH

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I don't see any problems right off. Sometimes we just get lucky and find a pen that no one else notices. The shipping may have turned off bidders because if you bid the pen up to what it was worth, it would be a little high with shipping. But since you got it for a low bid, the combination of bid and shipping turned out to be a good price.

 

Congrats, hope you enjoy your flighter 45!

PAKMAN

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I once got a gold-nibbed Parker 45 for, like, $10 because it wasn't *called* a 45 in the listing, and I only *thought* I saw a gold nib in the pictures and turned out to be quite lucky.

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I concur. It looks like a good Parker 45. Sorry to say that I am less likely to bid on pens from England and Canada, due to the shipping cost. There are a couple of Middle Eastern countries that I will be adding to my list. In some cases, it is the poor reliability of the national postal services.

 

Sorry Ebay buddies.

 

Soak the section overnight in cool water. Use an earbulb to flush a 5% ammonia solution through it, in both directions, three times. Rinse. Dry. Ink. Enjoy it for thirty years.

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Ah ... I thought it might be something to do with the shipping. I always just factor that into my bid. Likewise, when I talk about how much a pen costs, I always include the shipping costs ... after all that's how much it cost me to get it into my hands!

 

Since it's coming from Switzerland ... land of rigorous train schedules and clockwork timings, I doubt there will be any problem with the actual post.

 

I am also assuming (from a quick peek at the archives), that $26 (including shipping) for a gold nibbed 45 Flighter is at least an OK deal? Still true, or are they cheaper these days?

 

ETA - Assuming the seller is accurate and it does have a gold nib ...

Edited by RGH
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The closest to any issue I see is it has no converter.

 

It *may* have a light dimple on the hood from the clutch but if so, that's not unusual and no biggie.

 

The shipping shows as $12 for me, that's enough to usually have me pass it right by.

 

It does look like a righteous Medium nib bordering on Broad.

 

[EDIT] In fact, that nib's just crying for a grind to CI/Stub.

 

Bruce in Ocala, Fl

Edited by OcalaFlGuy
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It's just a question of good timing. The bargains are out there if you wait for them to turn up. I held back on buying a NOS 45 as they were going for silly prices.

I ended up getting a 1996 Flighter with GT model for a winning bid of £6.50 + £2.50 p+p.

When it turned up, it was still in its unopened WH Smith blister card packaging.

Long reign the House of Belmont.

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Sometimes buyers overlook certain items...

 

Take this Solid 14k Gold Parker 61 Presidential Desk Pen for example.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/parker-pen-14K-/130943351859?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item1e7cd4fc33&nma=true&si=9JItt4ss1%252FkrFrORafh5T4IiURk%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

Edited by Penne Stilografiche

Always forgive your enemies; nothing annoys them so much.

 

—Oscar Wilde

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I also think its a good deal.

 

I also bought a 45 Flighter recently for about 20€ but with a Steel nib.

The 45 Flighter is a good pen.

 

12$ shipping seems not very high for me, shipping in Europe seems in general higher than in the US.

 

E.g. when I ship a pen (personally) within Europe I have to pay always almost 13€ (cheapest trackable option) with Austrian mail.

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As others commented, this is absolutely fine. My limit for 45 flighter (I just bought another one this week as my EDC) is +- £15 including shipping. If you live in the UK, it can be had for a bit less. Many sellers do not ship outside of the UK, and their pens sell for less on average (and that's in addition for paying less for shipping). Shame I wasn't into fountain pens yet for all those years I was living in the UK :-/ BTW I prefer the version without the plastic finial - i.e. the all metal barrel.

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It does baffle me how they seem to be the "redheaded step chilrens" of vintage pendom.

 

The ease to disassemble for cleaning nib section and stoutness of other materials are hard to beat. (Hoods withstanding but that's also just cosmetic.) I think the nib section alone should move it to the HEAD of the new pen owners list of pens.

 

This poor thing sat un-bid on at a $20 start w/$10 shipping. I got it for a BIN $20 shipped offer.

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=271295636207

 

14k nb, and mintyish looking With the same mintyish looking vintage converter. I had .18 Fleabay not-quite-bucks which got me down to $19.82 shipped.

 

To me that's just Nuts Low.

 

I would think the lowest priced pen today with a 14k nib would be at least $125-150. There's been NOS gold nibs in the past week that went for $13 each. About the same as a Stainless Steel Estie nib. :wacko:

 

I have to try and avoid the P-45 aisle at Fleabay Mart, it's almost impossible for me to go there and not see a deal too good to pass up.

 

Bruce in Ocala, Fl

Edited by OcalaFlGuy
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