Why is this Hero 100 fountain pen so expensive?

[TomFPN]

I saw the following Hero 100 fountain pen was sold for more than $800 on Ebay. Why is it so expensive? Actually, I have such a pen and I don't think it is worth so much. I am just wondering if there is something special about the pen sold on Ebay. Any ideas?

Ebay link: https://www.ebay.com/itm/CHINA-HERO-100-FOUNTAIN-PEN-14K-EF-NIB-BRUSHED-STEEL-NEEDS-REPAIR-/174523806791?hash=item28a26df447%3Ag%3AbSgAAOSwaYVfs6G~&nma=true&si=BMv6h3M%2FaNmZftw2BXCkcAdRxzk%3D&orig_cvip=true&nordt=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

[txomsy]

Typo from the seller?

[g33klibrarian]

As strange as this sounds, it's possible they're out of stock, but expecting more soon and didn't want to go through the labor of removing and restoring the listing. Instead they up the price to the point no one would bother to make the purchase.

[PAKMAN]

Personally I would think someone would be out of their mind to spend that kind of money on that pen I see nothing special and it even says it needs unspecified repairs. But that is me. Bidding history shows multiple bidders ran it up to this price.

[Aditlojs]

1 hour ago, g33klibrarian said:

As strange as this sounds, it's possible they're out of stock, but expecting more soon and didn't want to go through the labor of removing and restoring the listing. Instead they up the price to the point no one would bother to make the purchase.

 

I've noticed this with a lot of sellers.  This is my best guess. 

[g33klibrarian]

Actually, I misread the original question. My apologies. I read the was for "sale" not "sold." Sold is even weirder for certain.

[sansenri]

I've seen that being done too, it's because the item is out of stock, but they don't want to bother to close and rewrite the listing.

I find it incorrect behaviour, assume someone stupidly bids...

[inkstainedruth]

I looked at the bidding history.   

And all I can guess for what happened with this listing/sale is, (maybe...)  "P.T. Barnum was right!"  Because the first bidder bid ~$40 US and then (I'm just speculating here, mind) put a $200 maximum bid (WHY? is what I want to know).  Because this pen should NOT, IMO, cost more than six times the highest price I ever paid for a Parker 51 (the English made Navy Gray Aero with the OB nib, and that price included the buyer's premium).  

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[woleizihan]

It's not surprising to see a true vintage Hero 100 going ~$300 and in general, they go way higher than Parker 51s. As a reference, a NOS 2001 Hero 100 is listed ~$200 and I remember the 1991/1993 ones are much much more expensive than that a couple years ago. But I have no idea which year is this one and I've never seen they went as high as this one.

 

These are just sought after a lot in China and people are willing to pay a lot for different years/different colors/different models/different conditions etc. You guys think these "should not" cost more than a Parker 51 are just missing some background.

 

The pen itself is not 6x better than a Parker 51, maybe is even worse depending on when/which factory it was produced, but many Chinese have a sentimental association with the pen as their first "expensive" pen decades ago. Maybe they got a Hero 100 at their 18th birthday, maybe as the graduation gift of college, maybe after their first paycheck. The point is a lot of people share this kind of personal memory associated with the pen and they are willing to pay a lot for that.

[TomFPN]

That makes sense. Perhaps some currently rich people in China are willing to pay a lot for old pens which they wanted but could not get when they were young and poor.  

[Estycollector]

Wing Sung 601 Flighter is $22 from China. 

[lionelc]

precious resin

[gerigo]

This is the strange philosophy of selling in the Mainland. Searching for items on Taobao is different than searching on Amazon or Google for that matter. If you search for let's say a Lamy Safari in the US, you get what is probably the same price from most vendors. In China, the price is WILDLY different. You can get vendors that will sell for half the price as well as a few that will want to sell it for 10 times the asking price. Why you ask? I have not really figured this one out...

[Mech-for-i]

Someone either mis-label or intentionally try to discourage / deceive ... its a ( US$ ) 40.00 to 50.00 pen for the standard model in its home market, and I see something like US$55 to 70 online retail international which sound reasonable. But that price .. ah .... 

 

Not pending that FINE nib only and the hate it or embrace it filling mechanism , really Hero 100 is the only new build P51 style pen tha use the essentially same old mechanism and Aerometric build, so for the price I won't be complaining , or one can just get the Wing Sung 601 , that would be a Vacumetic version.

 

Actually it definitely won't be the targeting Chinese fountain pen hobbyist cause they already had much better retail mean their home market they can rely onto and being such a long standing model, Hero 100 and all what need to know about it, price and all are no secret over there, you can deceive no one. Yes there are some rare / specific Hero 100 varaint , special build that are collectable and could fetch big money but certainly not the standard model Hero 100, not even a vintage one