Fountain Pen Prices On Ebay

[Honeybadgers]

On 12/9/2020 at 7:36 AM, Detman101 said:

I've been searching the ebay for gold flex nibs and pens containing them.
I've found on more than 3 auctions that I bid on...I was outbid by another "User" who went on to consistently outbid everyone else bidding and then WIN the auction.

Two days later, I see the same item up for bidding again.
Literally, the same write-up...same photos...same everything.
I check my "Watched items" the old listing for the auction-ended item is still in my watchlist...check the original listing....
Exact duplicate of the NEW listing!!!

So some of these buttheads are apparently bidding on their own stuff to drive up the price of the auction and when no one else falls for it...they simply relist the item under another username.

Pure evil.

 

This is HEAVILY against ebay's terms of service and they can (and do) violently aggressively go after people who are reported to do it to make sure they can never use the site again.

[Honeybadgers]

Also, "flex nib" has tended to be overpriced for a long time now.

 

As has everything vintage on ebay. Good luck finding things like antique woodworking tools or the like. 

 

Christ, I saw a guy at an antique store selling a 10 inch long chunk of roughly cut railroad tie (often used as an anvil, but it's literally just a hunk of scrap iron) for NINETY BUCKS.

 

I don't search key terms everyone uses. If you're after flexy stuff, search "Semi-flex". that often gets you a lot of vintage flex stuff at absurd discounts.

 

And look for less known brands and just search them. Brands like eclipse often come with amazing flexy nibs for cheap.

 

And also check those listings that are super vague and clearly the seller has no idea what it was. I scored a pilot metal falcon SEF in brand new condition with a con-70 converter in it for $80 shipped because it was listed as "fountain pen" with no real pics beyond one of the pen with the cap on. Since it didn't hit the key search terms, I was literally the only bidder.

[inkstainedruth]

Wondering now if the Parker 75 Ciselé I lost out on last winter was due to shill bidding.  Because even though it was an early flattop model, and a fine nib (a lot of the ones I was seeing had medium nibs), it went for WAY more than I thought it should go for. The bidding was just crazy (I ran across the listing about halfway through, and was high bidder for maybe a few hours before I got completely avalanched.  And yet, about a week or two later, I got mine (a later one with dished tassies, but probably still from the 1970s) with a *broad* nib and what was supposed to be the original converter, where I was not only the only bidder, I appeared to be the only person even *watching* that listing (something I found astounding, to say the least, after losing the first one I'd bid on).  It was a bit more than some I'd previously seen, both online at the 2019 Ohio Pen Show -- but still NOTHING like the one I'd been outbid on -- and I mean the difference in price between mine and the previous one was about $70 US.  

Go figure.  I got outbid on the first one and yet the second one I got for about eight bucks more than my maximum on the first one.  I had been trying to decide how much to put as a maximum on the one I ended up winning, and how late in the game (fearing snipe bidders) -- only to realize at about 5 minutes before the end that the odds were good I COULD just bid the minimum with a couple of minutes to go.  

Same thing a few years earlier with the Plum Demi 51 -- I'd lost out on one when I got outbid, and then (just for curiosity's sake) watched the last 5 minutes of the auction.  And with about 30 seconds to go, the snipers came out and there was this flurry of last second bidding).  Then the next one I saw (user grade, Lustraloy cap, whereas the first one had had a rolled gold cap) -- I watched the price creep up over the course of the week and upped my max a couple of times because I got nervous -- but I didn't up it to the level of what the first one had leveled off to until the snipers came out.  And I NEVER got outbid over the entire auction.  I bid rationally, I didn't nickel and dime the bids, but I didn't go super high -- and never hit my intermediate maximum, even with shipping charges added in.  The difference in prices could be the different cap materials, or that mine has some corrosion on the sac guard.  So, like I said -- user grade.  But that was okay with me because I wasn't buying it to stick in a display case -- I was buying it to USE.  And the M nib on mine is really sweet -- jus a lovely writer.

The prices on eBay, or at in person auctions, or on a table at a pen show -- it's all going to come down to you agreeing with what the seller -- and other potential buyers -- think it's worth.  

I've balked on the prices of pens that I thought were too high (or at least priced for more than I could afford/was willing to pay.  I've also, on occasion, overpaid.  But in my experience, most of the pens that were on my wishlist and that I couldn't afford when I first saw them -- or were more than I thought they were worth?  I ended up getting many later on, at prices that ranged from "more reasonable" to "too good to pass up" to "OMG I'm a sumgai!"   And often shortly after I lost out on pen X, pen Y would show up and it would be "right place right time".  Or I'd see something and go back later and the seller would have come down on the price/offered a deal/accepted a BiN offer.  And of course there are times when I was just plain lucky -- and/or knew more than the seller did....

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[Detman101]

1 hour ago, Honeybadgers said:

Also, "flex nib" has tended to be overpriced for a long time now.

 

As has everything vintage on ebay. Good luck finding things like antique woodworking tools or the like. 

 

Christ, I saw a guy at an antique store selling a 10 inch long chunk of roughly cut railroad tie (often used as an anvil, but it's literally just a hunk of scrap iron) for NINETY BUCKS.

 

I don't search key terms everyone uses. If you're after flexy stuff, search "Semi-flex". that often gets you a lot of vintage flex stuff at absurd discounts.

 

And look for less known brands and just search them. Brands like eclipse often come with amazing flexy nibs for cheap.

 

And also check those listings that are super vague and clearly the seller has no idea what it was. I scored a pilot metal falcon SEF in brand new condition with a con-70 converter in it for $80 shipped because it was listed as "fountain pen" with no real pics beyond one of the pen with the cap on. Since it didn't hit the key search terms, I was literally the only bidder.

Holy shinola!!! $80!?!?!?!??!
*faint*
That was once my grail pen when this journey first started...wow.
Thank you for the advice! Currently in the doghouse, but when I get out...I'll do a new search with that advice!
 

[dw260307]

I think you can check out on other platforms as well like Poshmark reselling market place. you might get some idea of price you want to set for your pen. Moreover you can use automate tool for poshmark to posting and sharing your post to get maximum buyers for your pen. 

[AL01]

 

 The prices for vintage pens have dipped a little since the beginning of the pandemic. It is only inevitable that their prices will skyrocket to outrageous amounts again...

[OCArt]

Wow, I'm seeing the opposite with vintage Pelikan prices on eBay. Or maybe my mental image of what they are worth is a few years out of date??

 

4 hours ago, AL01 said:

 

 The prices for vintage pens have dipped a little since the beginning of the pandemic. It is only inevitable that their prices will skyrocket to outrageous amounts again...

 

[inkstainedruth]

On 12/12/2020 at 12:29 AM, Detman101 said:

Holy shinola!!! $80!?!?!?!??!
*faint*
That was once my grail pen when this journey first started...wow.
Thank you for the advice! Currently in the doghouse, but when I get out...I'll do a new search with that advice!
 

Well that's how FPN member Farmersmum got a full size Plum 51 for just over half what I paid for the Plum Demi the same weekend -- bad pix and a generic header to the listing (the seller thought the pen was black, and listed it as such). And so of course I didn't even bother to look at the other listing....    

Admittedly, I was completely focussed on the listing I had bid on -- expecting to get outbid any second, and then expecting the snipe programs to take over (I wasn't going to be home for the end of the auction).

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

 

[Detman101]

2 hours ago, inkstainedruth said:

Well that's how FPN member Farmersmum got a full size Plum 51 for just over half what I paid for the Plum Demi the same weekend -- bad pix and a generic header to the listing (the seller thought the pen was black, and listed it as such). And so of course I didn't even bother to look at the other listing....    

Admittedly, I was completely focussed on the listing I had bid on -- expecting to get outbid any second, and then expecting the snipe programs to take over (I wasn't going to be home for the end of the auction).

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

 

Oh wooooow...I'll have to completely shift my method when it comes to fountain pens on ebay.
Personally, I hate auctions...lean more towards "Buy it Now" listings.
 

[AL01]

4 hours ago, OCArt said:

Wow, I'm seeing the opposite with vintage Pelikan prices on eBay. Or maybe my mental image of what they are worth is a few years out of date??

 

 

 

 Vintage Pelikans, (pre-'97), were always expensive on the 'Bay. When I owned my 140, (RIP), the pen was bought from Classifieds, and I still believe that it is the only source for buying a vintage Pelikan, (or any other used pen for that matter), with little to no risk. (I am not associated with classifieds, etc.)

 

 I don't see much of a difference in vintage Pelikan prices on the 'Bay compared to about 2/3 years ago.

 

 (But, as always, and especially with the vintage Pelikans that are fitted with bindes, buy one from a trusted seller, and it is possible that your binde may still fall apart later...)

 

 I can see that pens fitted with flex nibs, (as noted by the OP), are becoming stupidly expensive.

On 12/11/2020 at 10:31 PM, Honeybadgers said:

 

This is HEAVILY against ebay's terms of service and they can (and do) violently aggressively go after people who are reported to do it to make sure they can never use the site again.

 

 As an eBAY seller myself, it ain't very hard to get kicked out! I bought a keyboard from a new seller with 0 reviews/sales, and after dropshipping one keyboard to me, (I noticed when it was too late), he was promptly removed from the 'Bay, and I was stuck with a keyboard from Amazon...

 

 Even ONE negative review on a seller's account can mess you up on the platform, so I would recommend Detman101 to let the 'Bay know so they can at least investigate the situation.

[Detman101]

16 minutes ago, AL01 said:

 

 Vintage Pelikans, (pre-'97), were always expensive on the 'Bay. When I owned my 140, (RIP), the pen was bought from Classifieds, and I still believe that it is the only source for buying a vintage Pelikan, (or any other used pen for that matter), with little to no risk. (I am not associated with classifieds, etc.)

 

 I don't see much of a difference in vintage Pelikan prices on the 'Bay compared to about 2/3 years ago.

 

 (But, as always, and especially with the vintage Pelikans that are fitted with bindes, buy one from a trusted seller, and it is possible that your binde may still fall apart later...)

 

 I can see that pens fitted with flex nibs, (as noted by the OP), are becoming stupidly expensive.

 

 As an eBAY seller myself, it ain't very hard to get kicked out! I bought a keyboard from a new seller with 0 reviews/sales, and after dropshipping one keyboard to me, (I noticed when it was too late), he was promptly removed from the 'Bay, and I was stuck with a keyboard from Amazon...

 

 Even ONE negative review on a seller's account can mess you up on the platform, so I would recommend Detman101 to let the 'Bay know so they can at least investigate the situation.

I will definitely be making a complaint then!
These bums have to go!

[stephanos]

I've had very few negative experiences on eBay. For what it's worth, though, I have more or less stopped buying there; haven't bought anything from eBay for well over a year.

 

Now I tend to buy in person at shows (though obviously not in 2020!), or for new items from (B&M or online) stores. It helps that I really do have enough pens and have no sense of impatience.

 

I've moved away from eBay because the effort-to-value ratio has shifted significantly in the last three years or so. Although it is still possible to snag a good deal, it seems to me that a) average prices have increased greatly and b) there are fewer 'good deal' opportunities. That means I would need to invest much more effort to find something reasonable - at precisely the same time as I have much less free time.

 

(Edited for basic English)