a very strange Ebay pen seller who is basically giving thousands of dollors away

[I-am-not-really-here]

Sure, a Delta Ainu Vermeil, a so-called 'limited edition' original issue at $995(?) and one recent prior sale on eBay at $895. But here this one has quite a lot of plating loss on the nib, some on the clip edge, and a dirty cap trim ring, which may have other problems hidden under the grime.  That is the visible.  A pen put away wet and left to age.  A lot of unknowns.  Your money, your risk.  My money, no sale.

[I-am-not-really-here]

Duplicate post.

Edited January 4, 2021 by I-am-not-really-here
Duplicate

[peroride]

Just now, TomFPN said:

Did you really take a look at the pens sold by the seller at very low prices?

 

Golly there is a May Be Todd with genuine abalone shell 😅 that appears to have been well cared for but then again the Tarot Cards maybe a better bargain. 🤔The seller's consignment prices match the range of current retail as others have noted and one could ask what is the source for other mixed lots of pens? 

 

With risk comes reward or caveat emptor, I'd be on the latter camp.

[Crown Victoria]

I have to agree with tom even if some of them are cheap knock offs or not the pelikan at that price was a steal.

[I-am-not-really-here]

19 minutes ago, Crown Victoria said:

I have to agree with tom even if some of them are cheap knock offs or not the pelikan at that price was a steal.

Did they get a good price or take the seller's problem and make it their own. Only the buyer knows for certain.  And maybe the seller but who, given their other items listed, and vague statements regarding condition, does not seem to be a pen aficianado. 

 

But if the Pelikan or the Delta were such great pens why were they bundled?  Why not give them individual listings like others the seller offers?  

[Theroc]

No, I agree with TomFPN. These are not cheap pens at all. This listing for instance:

https://www.ebay.com/itm//393081841709

includes a Pineider Mystery Filler. It's easily worth $300 in it's apparent condition and even if it was completely busted would still be worth the asking price of the entire lot.

And it's not a knock-off either.

[Theroc]

6 hours ago, I-am-not-really-here said:

But if the Pelikan or the Delta were such great pens why were they bundled?  Why not give them individual listings like others the seller offers?

That's exactly TomFPN's point. It's very strange.

 

6 hours ago, I-am-not-really-here said:

or take the seller's problem and make it their own

I would have gladly made those pens my problem for that asking price.

Edited January 4, 2021 by Theroc
correction

[OmegaMountain]

3 hours ago, Theroc said:

No, I agree with TomFPN. These are not cheap pens at all. This listing for instance:

https://www.ebay.com/itm//393081841709

includes a Pineider Mystery Filler. It's easily worth $300 in it's apparent condition and even if it was completely busted would still be worth the asking price of the entire lot.

And it's not a knock-off either.

 

You're right - that lot was definitely worth more than $175 and anyone who knows anything about pens would see that. There's a decent Visconti - depending on the condition of the clear acrylic - and what looks like a 3776 Shungyo in there as well. Kind of wish I had seen that listing myself.

[Uncial]

It would certainly be interesting to hear back from anyone who has bought any of these lots. Hopefully someone on here has snagged one of them and hasn't been burned and can report back.

[Intensity]

I see no cracks at all on the photos of the white tortoiseshell Pelikan presented here, only ink(?) staining.  Perhaps it’s the shadows and play of light that could make one think there are.

[TomFPN]

Perhaps the seller just wants to use this way to attract our attention to his store and some of us would buy regularly priced items. If that is the case, he is surely successful. And I just acted as his advertiser. 

[PAKMAN]

Seller has essentially 100% positive rating with over 600 sales the last year and over 5000 over all. No scammer for sure. If he is selling these items on consignment for the owners or he bought them in estate sales and in reselling them, the buy it now prices would likely still reflect a profit for him. And yes you did provide him some free advertising! LOL 

[inkstainedruth]

I'd much rather see a seller underpricing lots of pens than the unreasonably high prices I've seen other sellers are asking.  Like a certain seller a few years ago who I have since nicknamed "that third-rate pawnbroker".  Marked an Arnold with what turned out to not even be an Arnold nib (I didn't look at the photos closely enough to realize that "VeriSmooth" was what the imprint on the nib was, and not just a description) down from $100 US (!) to $35.  And then after I bought it, turned around and relisted what looked to be the IDENTICAL pen.  Seller's story was that it some some collection he was selling off for the heirs and that there were THREE of them in total.  Well the pen is worth about $10, in my estimation (and that's being generous).  The really scary part was that the SECOND Arnold was then marked down to $45 -- and I wanted to go to the person who bought it for that price and go "NOOOOO!  Don't do it!  You'll hate yourself in the morning!  Trust me on this!"  

The one good thing is that that particular seller (a lot of the other listings were for gaudy overpriced costume jewelry -- hence my dubbing the seller "TRP") seems to have not been around for long time (but is STILL pretty much at the top of my list of "Do not buy from this seller" -- even above the place that I filed a dispute with and then wasn't allowed to post feedback about the sh*tty way I was treated because it was settled in my favor.  And that should tell you something.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[steve50]

This batch is probably my favourite: 3 Pelikan M205s, 1 Ancora, 2 Stipula (one of them ebonite), and a gold-nibbed Graf von Faber Castell, and a few other pens for $124.99 

 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Lot-10-Fountain-Pens-Ancora-Aurora-Levenger-Stipula-Graf-Von-Faber-Castell-B13-/383886289184?hash=item596167e920%3Ag%3AqHYAAOSwCpxf8Svk&nma=true&si=4KgnZ%2BiOdHat65241usu6EQwaus%3D&orig_cvip=true&nordt=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

 

I'm also curious in what circumstances these pens were handed over to the seller as they all seem to be filled with ink. 

[TFarnon]

Taking a look at the guy's listings, it appears that he specializes in buying collections of things from long-time, mid-range collectors.  I imagine that most of these collections come from families or heirs of people who have died, and the families, heirs or estates don't want to deal with sorting or selling these collections.  The collections don't appear to be museum-worthy, or they may be what's left after the high-end dealers, auction houses and museums have already gone through the items.  Still, there's a bit of cohesion to his offeringsl for example, I noticed a lot of womens' cowboy boots, all in the same size.  Or some of the used books like they all came out of the same collection by someone who collected books with a particular focus.  The same is true of all the tarot card offerings.

 

In any case, although I apparently missed out on the large lots of fountain pens, I'm guessing that the offerings were from one or a few collectors who have since died, leaving someone else to sort out the stuff.  Along comes this guy willing to do the sorting, someone who will give them cash on the spot and haul the stuff out of there.  Maybe I see it that way because my family collects this way.  My grandmother collected scent bottles.  My grandfather collected button hooks.  My uncle collected Japanese furniture.  I collect hand spindles (and fountain pens).  My brother collects trumpets.  All of the collections have a certain cohesion to them, and they are all sort of mid-range, below museum quality collections.  We collect because we are interested in the things, not their monetary value.

[Jarno]

An alternative theory would be that he accepts a major part of the sale amount outside of eBay, although I am not sure how that would work, maybe that is cheaper than cancelling the sale outright and go outside of eBay?

[inkstainedruth]

5 hours ago, TFarnon said:

Taking a look at the guy's listings, it appears that he specializes in buying collections of things from long-time, mid-range collectors.  I imagine that most of these collections come from families or heirs of people who have died, and the families, heirs or estates don't want to deal with sorting or selling these collections.  The collections don't appear to be museum-worthy, or they may be what's left after the high-end dealers, auction houses and museums have already gone through the items. 

 

Which is part of the reason why I keep records of the pens I've bought (not just for insurance value in case there's a fire or something).  A number of years ago I took the best of the vintage ones to an appraisal day for a local show that was like Antiques Road Show, and -- while the appraiser told me that he was a generalist, and that I probably knew as much or more about their value than he did -- the overall appraisal was for more than I had paid -- including factoring in repair costs.

But at least it was a better experience, overall, than the time I took one of the Snorkels (the one with the semi-flex stub nib) to the "Doctor Lori Comedy Appraisal Show" at the Home Show several years ago -- and she told me that it was worth $40 and was made in 1910 (!)....  Wonder what she would think if I told her about the last offer I got:  "trade ya for a Raden Vanishing Point...."  (My answer was along the lines of: "VPs are too big for my hand; also, pen is also STILL not for sale, but I'll give you an E for effort..."). Of course, now I know what a major Snorkel collector thinks that pen is ACTUALLY worth! 

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[Honeybadgers]

I just got an obvious counterfeit lamy dialog 3 (was only $44 on aliexpress, but the marketing said it had a 14k nib and was absolutely a lamy!)

 

And they threw in a free MB classique ballpoint just shoved in the cheap lamy paper box! I got a free $300 pen!

 

😅

[sandy101]

The seller is very clear - the pens in the job lot are not in mint condition.

 

The show signs of use and wear. Not being a pen specialist, he's offloading the pens in job lots. These are not pens that he'd be happy to present to someone as a gift, or asa collector's item - and has priced them accordingly. 

 

The pens do not come with boxes or papers - which means there is no warranty. Considering a repair on a MB starts at £90 and up, then is a second hand 146 that leaks worth the £200 odd a good 2nd hand 146 will attract? Probably not.  

 

 

I have seen similar job lots before - not all of pens had nibs, some were ballpens or rollerballs and others were knock-offs of other well known brands.   

 

Clearly the pens he considers more valuable are being sold at higher prices. The ones he is selling as a job lot come with the caveat that they are not pristine. He thinks they have issues, which means he cannot sell them as collector's items or as pristine writers. 

 

To someone in the depths of the hobby who already who has the tools, time, experience and parts, these pens may well be worth a punt.

 

If you don't, then there is a risk that you will end up with some pens that will live in your drawer for the next decade or so.

 

Bear in mind, we also see the opposte on e-bay too. Sellers  trying to flog off a fountain pen for £££ because it has a gold nib - even though the sac has long gone and the cap is in pieces.

 

I think the seller's job lots are pens that will take too much of his time and effort to fix, so he's letting the buyers set a price they think is fair. 

 

  

 

 

   

[inkstainedruth]

A few months ago, I went for a drive, and ended up at the same antiques store where a couple of years before lucked into a Parker Laidtone Duofold and some modern-ish Pilot pen made in Korea for the Korean market (probably from the 1980s).

This time around, the guy GAVE me the pen in the case I wanted to look at (thinking from the color that it might be a Copper Esterbrook).  Turned out that it was a Waterman with the lever broken off.  I think the guy thought he wouldn't be able to sell it when I saw the broken lever (also, he seemed to think I was part of some commotion outside the store, where some car parked behind me had lost stuff off their roof rack or something, and there was some mad rushing around by the car's owners and their friends; I think it was a convoy of a couple of cars helping someone move, having done that myself on both sides -- i.e, as mover and as "grunt labor").  

But the guy in the store, who was a little weird, acted as if he couldn't get me out of the store fast enough.  And I guess he thought he couldn't sell a pen with a broken lever....  

After all, some of my estate sale finds were ones the estate sale company people were asking pennies on the dollar for (the $2 Forest Green Parker 51 Aero, the 50¢ Parker 41 found in a shoebox full of mostly ballpoints).

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth