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Parker 51 (original) Prices in 2021 :)


TheRedBeard

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About six days ago I saw P51 Midnight Blue NOS sold on eBay for £250...

 

Tonight P51 Forest Green Near Mint was sold for £362 ($495) ;)

 

P51-Forest-Green.jpg

All the best is only beginning now...

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:yikes:

I never paid anything remotely like those hammer prices for a vintage 51.  The Midnight Blue Aero was $80 US a few summers ago from Brian English at the Triangle Pen Show.  The Forest Green Aero?  Two bucks at an estate sale, an hour northeast of me.  Of course I left the house in the dark, to get there before 7 AM, and then had to go find someplace to eat breakfast afterwards....  

The most I ever paid for a 51 was the English-made Navy Gray Aero ($120 including the buyer's premium, at the auction at the same show I bought the Midnight Blue).  And I was mostly bidding on the OB nib...

Looks as if someone (or several someones, more likely) kept nibbling away at the previous bidders' maximum bids.  Only to then get outbid by someone else who swooped in at the end.... 

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

"It's very nice, but frankly, when I signed that list for a P-51, what I had in mind was a fountain pen."

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Personally, I think prices for 51’s have gone stupid high on eBay....this is just evidence of that fact. I saw a normal run of the mill GF insignia listed for $5500 yesterday. I unit won’t sell for that amount, but who even thinks that??

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I remember a couple of years ago Teri from Peyton Street Pens posted about the crazy price some pen she was selling on the Bay of Evil went for.  Good for her bottom line, of course, but even SHE was going "These guys are NUTS!" (someone in Eastern Europe got into a bidding war with someone from South America and were both going "MINE MINE MINE" at each other.  

Me?  I dropped out of the bidding on a Plum Demi 51 a few years ago and then the next one which came up?  Best poker face ever....  And then of course Farmersmum paid just over HALF what I paid for a full size Plummer the same weekend, because the seller thought the pen was black and listed it as such and of course *I'm* going "Don't need another black Aero...." and never actually got past the header.

Ditto for when I got my Parker 75 Ciselé -- got massively outbid on an early one with an F nib (it went for way more than it should have IMO).  And then nobody but me was watching the dished tassie one with the B nib at ALL.  So I waited till a couple of minutes left and then bid the minimum....  Go figure....

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

"It's very nice, but frankly, when I signed that list for a P-51, what I had in mind was a fountain pen."

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Just nuts.  I bought a very nice Burgundy Aerometric pen/pencil set just last summer for something like $80.  Easily worth what I paid, but $500...?  No offense, but someone is liable to be disappointed at that price point.

 

Could this be related to the new 51 remake?  Are other pens of similar age and quality going that high? 

"Nothing is new under the sun!  Even the thing of which we say, “See, this is new!” has already existed in the ages that preceded us." Ecclesiastes
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1 hour ago, inkstainedruth said:

I remember a couple of years ago Teri from Peyton Street Pens posted about the crazy price some pen she was selling on the Bay of Evil went for.  Good for her bottom line, of course, but even SHE was going "These guys are NUTS!" (someone in Eastern Europe got into a bidding war with someone from South America and were both going "MINE MINE MINE" at each other.  

Me?  I dropped out of the bidding on a Plum Demi 51 a few years ago and then the next one which came up?  Best poker face ever....  And then of course Farmersmum paid just over HALF what I paid for a full size Plummer the same weekend, because the seller thought the pen was black and listed it as such and of course *I'm* going "Don't need another black Aero...." and never actually got past the header.

Ditto for when I got my Parker 75 Ciselé -- got massively outbid on an early one with an F nib (it went for way more than it should have IMO).  And then nobody but me was watching the dished tassie one with the B nib at ALL.  So I waited till a couple of minutes left and then bid the minimum....  Go figure....

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

I have made some great buys with the same “poker face” Ruth, but lately, it seems the deals are few and far between.

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14 hours ago, Carguy said:

Personally, I think prices for 51’s have gone stupid high on eBay....this is just evidence of that fact. I saw a normal run of the mill GF insignia listed for $5500 yesterday. I unit won’t sell for that amount, but who even thinks that??

Yesterday, quite ordinary used P51 Burgundy was sold for $135.

I have also seen P51 Cocoa listed with asking price of £450 ($615) but it has not been sold yet...

All the best is only beginning now...

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12 hours ago, Checklist said:

Just nuts.  I bought a very nice Burgundy Aerometric pen/pencil set just last summer for something like $80.  Easily worth what I paid, but $500...?  No offense, but someone is liable to be disappointed at that price point.

 

Could this be related to the new 51 remake?  Are other pens of similar age and quality going that high? 

While launch of NG51 may have some impact, I think the major reason behind P51 price increase here in the UK is lockdown... The prices rocketed crazy during last year, perhaps, because eBay and other online shops were actually the only places to buy vintage pens...

Let's see what happens with P51 prices this year when we should have two LPS hosted and antique shops, etc opened.

All the best is only beginning now...

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Just got a Forest Green with a gold filled cap for $100 (minimum bid and no one else apparently interested.)


The key to a good deal is poor descriptions and poorer photos and you (the Buyer) knowing what is really up for auction. 
(But you are trading a lot of your time for an (occasionally) lower price.)

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42 minutes ago, Glenn-SC said:

Just got a Forest Green with a gold filled cap for $100 (minimum bid and no one else apparently interested.)


The key to a good deal is poor descriptions and poorer photos and you (the Buyer) knowing what is really up for auction. 
(But you are trading a lot of your time for an (occasionally) lower price.)

That is the source of my best “deals” but those are getting few and far between. I also just got a Forest Green that the picture looked so dark, it appeared black.

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13 hours ago, Glenn-SC said:

Just got a Forest Green with a gold filled cap for $100 (minimum bid and no one else apparently interested.)


The key to a good deal is poor descriptions and poorer photos and you (the Buyer) knowing what is really up for auction. 
(But you are trading a lot of your time for an (occasionally) lower price.)

Lucky man, congrats! :)

 

Yes, occasionally some seller with no or little knowledge in FPs list gems under poor description and it represents good chances to get something nice at lower price.

I bought a couple of nice Parkers that way though not 51s...  

 

However, when pen description is accurate and made someone with good expertise then price goes crazy... 

All the best is only beginning now...

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12 hours ago, Carguy said:

That is the source of my best “deals” but those are getting few and far between. I also just got a Forest Green that the picture looked so dark, it appeared black.

 

 

Yeah... some people here at FPN posted stories about "black" 51 bought at flea market that later happened to be a Plum one :)

 

Many years ago I personally saw such situations on two occasions but with vintage pocket watches when guys purchased very old pocket ones for a few tens on flea market somewhere in Eastern Europe and upon getting back home found those watches were very rare ones valued a few thousand bucks each. 

All the best is only beginning now...

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3 hours ago, TheRedBeard said:

However, when pen description is accurate and made someone with good expertise then price goes crazy... 

 

It is always interesting to see two people who really want/need that specific pen go at each other in an auction. 

When the feeding frenzy begins the Bidders just can't seem to help themselves and can't hit the "increase bid" button fast enough.

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33 minutes ago, Glenn-SC said:

 

It is always interesting to see two people who really want/need that specific pen go at each other in an auction. 

When the feeding frenzy begins the Bidders just can't seem to help themselves and can't hit the "increase bid" button fast enough.

Yes, it is...

However, in the case with Forest Green I mentioned a kind of sniping software was certainly used.

 

All the best is only beginning now...

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3 hours ago, TheRedBeard said:

Yeah... some people here at FPN posted stories about "black" 51 bought at flea market that later happened to be a Plum one :)

 

I will admit to writing to a Seller and explaining what they had and how to better describe it and better photograph it to highly its characteristics and value. 

While the "51" set was listed as "double jewel" with "14kt" parts, it was also described with the incorrect color and as "damaged", "un-restored", "as is", and with "flaws".

The set was actually the pink and yellow solid gold 14k caps with the icicle or “Empire” pattern with 14k yellow gold clips.  The pencil tip was also 14k gold.

They modified their product description and a set that was bidding at $400 or so eventually sold for $1425.

 

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Okay, I'll admit to paying what a lot of folks might consider an inflated or even crazy price two weeks ago-$175 in a private sale-for an OB. I actually can't tell much about it-I think it's burgundy but I'm not super up on colors. It came in a little skinny Parker cardboard box that didn't seem to indicate a lot else. I can't find any imprints whatsoever on it, so don't know if it's US or UK made or elsewhere.

 

Of course the big disappointment was that from the supposedly knowledgeable seller the sac was twisted/kinked up and that wasn't photographed or disclosed to me. It wasn't on here, but that seller's now off my list-I didn't seek recourse since I otherwise liked the pen, wanted to keep it, and was able to fix it, but for $175 from a seller who knows enough to sell it to me as an OB and describe it as "working" it was rather disappointing. Thank goodness the sac wasn't otherwise damaged.

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29 minutes ago, Glenn-SC said:

 

I will admit to writing to a Seller and explaining what they had and how to better describe it and better photograph it to highly its characteristics and value. 

While the "51" set was listed as "double jewel" with "14kt" parts, it was also described with the incorrect color and as "damaged", "un-restored", "as is", and with "flaws".

The set was actually the pink and yellow solid gold 14k caps with the icicle or “Empire” pattern with 14k yellow gold clips.  The pencil tip was also 14k gold.

They modified their product description and a set that was bidding at $400 or so eventually sold for $1425.

 

I had a similar case about a year ago when asked for details about one vintage Parker lisyed on eBay. 

The photos were very poor and I asked many questions. 

A Seller happened to be an old lady with little knowledge in FPs who was selling among other stuff a few vintage pens.

So, I eventually helped her to correctly identify that pen (which happened to be early P17 Superduofold), write a good description and set a right price for it. 

 

 

All the best is only beginning now...

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24 minutes ago, TheRedBeard said:

I had a similar case about a year ago when asked for details about one vintage Parker lisyed on eBay. 

The photos were very poor and I asked many questions. 

A Seller happened to be an old lady with little knowledge in FPs who was selling among other stuff a few vintage pens.

So, I eventually helped her to correctly identify that pen (which happened to be early P17 Superduofold), write a good description and set a right price for it. 

 

 

 

Feels good, doesn't it?

I found out after the auction completed that the Seller of the Empire "51" set automatically gives 10% of the selling price to a charity for wounded military veterans.

That was a special bonus!

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3 minutes ago, Glenn-SC said:

 

Feels good, doesn't it?

I found out after the auction completed that the Seller of the Empire "51" set automatically gives 10% of the selling price to a charity for wounded military veterans.

That was a special bonus!

Sure.

All the best is only beginning now...

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So many times I want to advise a seller that their description or title is wrong, but I simply just never do....

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