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Ebay Auctions - What did I Miss?


bsenn

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You ever watch or bid on an Ebay auction which goes for significantly more than you anticipated? You wonder what you missed.

 

Anybody know what was significant in this lot? What model is the 75?

https://www.ebay.com/itm/334101394722?pageci=7555789e-bd07-4845-bbe7-882794e67c1c&redirect=mobile&nma=true&si=pKtvjnEwto94RmNw%2FdkOcRChvCs%3D&orig_cvip=true&nordt=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

 

Brian 

One test is worth a thousand expert opinions.

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<irony>I expect it was bought by a lady who realized what she needed was a pen made just for her by Papermate</irony>

 

I have no idea, I can't spot what it was. Seems rich to me. Am I merely a Babe in the Woods?

 

R.

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You can read about 75s here: http://parkerpens.net/parker75.html.

I think it's ironic that one of the pens in this auction was a Parker 75, because a couple of years ago I got (massively, IMO) outbid on one of the sterling silver Ciselé finish models (basically an engraved grid pattern in the silver).  But then got one with a broad nib -- and the original converter installed -- for the minimum bid because I realized with five minutes to go NOBODY ELSE was watching the second listing....  (Most of the Ciselé 75s I've seen on eBay have medium nibs; the one that I lost out on had a fine nib, and was also an early model flat top).  Mine is a later model with a dished tassie, but is still US production rather than French.

I've taken a look at some of the other colors and finishes but somehow they never tickled my fancy the way the sterling Ciselé did.  I think it's partly because I saw one at an estate sale the previous winter, but didn't know enough to know whether the price was good or not.  So that fall, I basically went to every table at the Ohio Pen Show that had 75s and said "Tell me the differences between these...."  Then scoped out all the ones I saw on eBay.  Of course it's also partly because I have always liked sterling silver....

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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There are about 38 pens in this auction, at an average of $10 (generous, but not absurd) per pen, you're not far off from the winning bid. And then there are the refills.

Still, I personally, wouldn't know what to do with them at any price. Maybe someone is doing their early Christmas shopping in bulk.

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It could be someone who does repairs for resale purposes -- or to practice doing repairs.  But I'm not sure I'd want to spend that much per pen just for practice purposes.  A buck per pen would be more my price range....  But then I'm also a notorious (and self avowed) cheapskate.

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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Most of them appear to be ballpoint pens and pencils, I only counted maybe 4 fountain pens in the batch. It's hard to know what drove folks to bid that much, or what they thought they were getting. There were only 7 bidders, and 3 in the last four seconds. 

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If quantity over quality was what they were looking for, then they got a deal. I admit that I’ve gotten caught up in last minute/second bidding frenzies, but never like this!

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I asked a friend which pen(s) in this listing would warrant such a high price, and like inkstainedruth, he pointed out that the tarnished looking Parker 75 was probably a Parker 75 Keepsake, and if so, that would make the selling price probably worth it for that pen alone.   I guess the winner will find out if it was really a win or not!

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I dunno.  I didn't pay anything like that for my Sterling Ciselé 75.  But of course I would likely NOT have been bidding on a large lot that that to begin with....

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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There are eight Cross ballpoint pens in that lot, what look liked ‘rolled gold’. Could be wrong but that should do it. 

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17 minutes ago, Chimera01 said:

There are eight Cross ballpoint pens in that lot, what look liked ‘rolled gold’. Could be wrong but that should do it. 

 

 

I've sold 30 or 40 Cross ballpoints in the past five years. You're lucky to get $6 or $7 each unless they're mint in the box. These ones don't appear to be.

 

 

One test is worth a thousand expert opinions.

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👆🏻What he said…..I’d never go more than $5-10 for beat up Cross ballpoints such as those. We are beating the poor person who bought that lot to death, and I don’t even know who they are. That being said, I truly don’t think they made a good deal for themselves, but the seller was THRILLED I’m sure!

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I keep thinking back to a thread a couple of years ago that was started by Teri of Peyton Street Pens.  Two people (one in Eastern Europe and one in IIRC South America got into a bidding war over a pen she had up on eBay and the price of it just went through the roof.  And even SHE was going "What the..." at the hammer price -- even though that bidding war was GREAT for her bottom line.

When I first started looking at pens on eBay (particularly when I decided I wanted a Parker 51) I got a lot of advice from OcalaFlGuy about what to look for and the types of questions to ask sellers, and he also scoped out some listings and advised me on what they would probably go for.  And I think in one case even HE was surprised at the final price.  He didn't scope out the auction for the first one I got (a Teal Blue Aerometric with a rolled gold cap) but I felt comfortable enough at that point to bid (I got it for around $56 US, IIRC) thanks to his advice.

But I've also learned that unless it's some super rare LE model, the odds are good that if you lose out on one auction or miss one BiN sale, sooner or later there will be another one come up -- and that even be might be a better deal.  As is exactly what happened in the case of the 75 I lost out on vs. the one I ended up getting for the minimum (nobody else was even watching that second listing; okay it's not a flattop but that's fine with me).  And also for the auction for a Plum Demi 51 (I dropped out in the low $70s) and then watched the last five minutes of the auction: it sat at $85... $85... and then in the last few seconds there was a flurry of snipe bids, and it went for over $102.  The next one which came up?  Okay, it didn't have rolled gold cap, and was user grade (a lot of tarnish on the sac guard) -- but that was alright with me.  I wasn't a "c-worder" and wasn't going to stick it in a display case.  It had one bid (pretty much the minimum) early in the week, and I was going "I am NOT going to nickel and dime on this one!"  So I bid around $56 with a maximum of a little over $71.  Then got nervous and upped the maximum over the course of the week a couple of times.  Really expected to get outbid after the first one going so high (plus the auction ended at 4PM on a Saturday and I wasn't going to be home).  Ended up getting home at around 1:30 AM and at first wasn't even going to check but then said "I wonder what it ended up going for...."  And discovered I had not only won, but that I hadn't even hit my FIRST "upped" maximum.  I never got outbid, and ended up getting the pen for under $72 including shipping.  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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