Sunday's Fleabay Picks * For You! * For May 11, 2014

May 14, 2014

It all has to do with the descriptions and pics. The Single Pic for the prior stack we were discussing is all but unusable.

IF I were able to tell that Was a P-51 And a P-21, preferably the Super that it doesn't resemble there, AND that the Duofold Isn't warped (after a 3rd zoomed in look I am nearly ready to bet money it IS) and IF the green pen is the Conklin and it was in decent shape, I'd feel much better about the $50 being spent.

But I can't tell that from that one pic and cursory description.

Friends don't let friends Braille bid.

Now, in actual factualality, the buyer probably did OK. I Would Almost bet money it is a P-51. The two Jotters are worth $10 easy with one of them looking like a window Jotter which is cool. The 3 Crossi BP were easy $50 when new. They are still high quality BPs that would be nice cleaned up. No clue what the Cross is in the back but if it happens to be a CC I FP, that'd be worth $40-50 there. IF one were inclined to start some beginning pen repair, there are a few 3rd tier pens in there you could hone your section pulling, resaccing and polishing skills on without risking more valuable pens in the learning process. That there has some added value actually.

There's two main problems here, 1. You can't tell what the hell is there really. 2) At today's value you're going to be lucky to Get Back to your outlay in value. That's not the way it's supposed to work. You're supposed to do A Lot Better than that.

Bruce in Ocala, Fl

May 15, 2014

I think it's a gamble with the bad pictures. I nearly made a closing bid on this little lot. But I just don't know the actual true value of this particular Parker vacumatic (early Golden Arrow clip in burgundy) that when for $81.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/171323133666?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649&autorefresh=true

And no way of knowing the actual condition of what was offered. Sometimes I wonder whether some of us new folks would be better off just getting a nice already refurbished pen from a collector, or going to a pen show. Maybe we'd pay more than we would on flea bay but we're going to get a good pen. Or be willing to pay the price for the already restored pen on the bay.

Opinions?

May 15, 2014

It is a gamble, no question. I have made two mistakes, but they were totally my own fault from not really either reading the description or scrutinizing the photos. Bad photos sure don't help. And very time I consider buying something I come back here to get an idea of what others say about a model or brand or price. It's hard to know just what to search for sometimes, but it's usually at least worth trying.

May 15, 2014

And no way of knowing the actual condition of what was offered. Sometimes I wonder whether some of us new folks would be better off just getting a nice already refurbished pen from a collector, or going to a pen show. Maybe we'd pay more than we would on flea bay but we're going to get a good pen. Or be willing to pay the price for the already restored pen on the bay.

Opinions?

Read my reply in the other thread here abut finding deals.

The first place to look is where they are No Pens but pen Information about the particular brands/models you are interested it.

Until you know the going rates for those pens, both restored and not, (especially between the different sizes of the same models), which ones are harder and more expensive to restore and what their most common problem areas are and what those look like in crappy in the wild pics, you won't be able to spot a good deal IF you are looking right At one.

Especially for pens TO restore, IMO, Fleabay is your best choice. You DO live in an area though where antique shops or estate sales may also work.

Don't look so Out In The Open with Everyone Else on Fleabay, of course that's where all the traffic will be.

If you are looking for a Sheaffer Flat top to restore lets say, DON'T search for Sheaffer flat top unless you want to look at the pens everyone else is looking at too. Do an advanced search for "Sheaffer fountain pen" and wade on it. Maybe search the listings then that close Tues night-Thursday night. Those get less attention than the listings that close during the weekend.

The better deal you get on the better condition pen TO restore, the better deal you'll end up with After it's restored.

Knowledge is power when you are looking for used pens.

Where that knowledge is, THAT'S where you need to start looking first.

Finding the good deals on vintage pens takes some effort. To many of us, who are interested enough in the pens to do the research, the learning is part of the journey. There certainly Are those that want more immediate satisfaction. That is going to cost them more money though.

It's really pretty simple. Either you are interested enough to take the time to learn what you need to know to find good less expensive examples of the pens that interest you, or you aren't. There is nothing wrong with not wanting to learn that much information, but then, your better choice for success is buying an already restored pen.

There are restorers, Farmersmums and Penfisher who will work with you in finding certain pens you'd like restored.

Bruce in Ocala, Fl

May 15, 2014

Heh. Well, maybe I wasn't lucky. I just got word of the charges from FPH for restoration and they were much higher than I expected. Crazy high, in fact. So they will come home unrestored, and I will think about sending them to DF. Meanwhile some others will go off to him and we will see.

May 15, 2014

I have read several estimates on FPN from FPH for repairs.

ALL of them were considerably more expensive than I knew the repair could be done elsewhere for.

I know they have their fans. I guess Everything Really IS just more expensive in NYC.

Bruce in Ocala, Fl-Overpriced And snooty and grouchy to customers? They obviously don't need any of my money.

May 15, 2014

Well, I did get exceptional service from the fellow in Shipping who found my lost package. And I'll visit when in NYC in two weeks just because. I was taken aback, having seen (at least online, for restoration w/o having seen a pen) more moderate prices, to say the least.

And yes, as somebody who lived in NYC for 35 years and still goes back to work there, just about everything IS more expensive.

May 15, 2014

FPH is located in lower Manhattan near the newly built Freedom Tower. The rents in Manhattan are astronomical. They cater to the up and coming lawyer/broker/wall street trader/etc who need a fountain pen as part of their status. Of course, there are average everyday folks that buy a $200 Aurora or Pelikan. I've found them to be very helpful whenever I've had the chance to visit.

Yes they'll be more expensive than probably anyone else.

Re: knowing what to look for in vintage pens. Yes there is a learning curve. But there is a lot of info out there. And I'd agree that really, the prices on flea bay are relatively inexpensive. Even with a repair that's more than replacing the diaphragm. But there's a lot of iffiness and bad pictures are only part of it. But there's also the pictures that hide damage to the feed because the seller didn't show the underside of the pen. And the seller may not have known anything about that.

It seems to me that there's more new people (myself included) looking for fountain pens. And I'll admit I don't know what to going rate is for a Vac unrestored or not. I saw one post that mentioned $100 as a good price, but I don't know if that meant restored, but my guess is not. Most prices on the collector sites have much higher prices than that. I see a number of Vacs going for anywhere from mid-50's to low-80's unrestored. $125 and up seems common for restored pens. Duofolds seem to go for much more. Of course, the pictures can look all shiny and a restoration may be well done, but how do you know since you don't know the person? I've gotten pens that were "restored" and that meant they worked. The sac filled and the lever worked and the pen wrote. But it still had a lot of (old) ink in the feed, the pen wasn't polished very much, if at all, maybe just cleaned. I'm not complaining, just aware of what was passed off as "restored".

And I love the statements "needs cleaning" when you know it needs a bit more than just that.

But then one of the Vacs I got had quite bit of transparency so that'll be really neat when I get to put ink in it.

While I'm out in the country, I'm close enough to the big city where people can come up to find stuff and they've been doing it long before me. And it wasn't a super wealthy area so many of the pens are more low end. But you never know. My business keeps me busy enough so my time to wander through all the estate sales, and other sources of pens in the wild is limited.

cheryl