What Was Your Last Impulsive Pen Acquisition?

[Sailor Kenshin]

9 hours ago, Penguincollector said:

It was impulsive in regards to time, but the items were carefully chosen. I needed a spare feed for an ailing Moonman 80, and had been eyeing some extremely cheap piston filler demonstators for possible use at next year’s Hub. AliExpress is having their 11:11 sale so I ordered 4 x $1.64. If they are good, I may try my hand a stubbing one for shimmer inks. @Sailor Kenshin I have questions for you. 

Oh?   👀 😉

[JonSzanto]

Just this morn: saw a once-used Waterman Phileas for $25 BIN on eBay. No brainer, a good pen for one of the new members in our local pen club.

[senzen]

With a little luck I'll finally get my mitts on a Greif, reading so many things from Azuniga and others some time ago had an impact. Steel nib. Also a steel cap and barrel for a Sheaffer Imperial, because gold makes me cringe.

[Misfit]

4 hours ago, JonSzanto said:

Just this morn: saw a once-used Waterman Phileas for $25 BIN on eBay. No brainer, a good pen for one of the new members in our local pen club.

That’s so very nice of you. I won three auctions on eBay, though one was an accidental bid. Pity I didn’t realize it. I set an alarm for the auction’s end, so I wasn’t fully awake. 

[Runnin_Ute]

Just picked up a Soennecken Schulfuller piston filler from Redeem Pens. No mention of the nib size. He does drawings with the pens he sells. My guess would be a fine, but I won't know until it arrives. 

Edited November 14, 2023 by Runnin_Ute
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[JonSzanto]

1 hour ago, Runnin_Ute said:

Just picked up a Soennecken Schulfuller piston filler from Redeem Pens. No mention of the nib size. He does drawings with the pens he sells. My guess would be a fine, but I won't know until it arrives. 

 

Excellent! Will is such a good guy, and a real positive person in the fountain pen world. You'll be happy with your pen.

[JonSzanto]

2 hours ago, Misfit said:

I won three auctions on eBay, though one was an accidental bid. Pity I didn’t realize it. I set an alarm for the auction’s end, so I wasn’t fully awake. 

 

A likely story! 🙃 Frankly, one of the main reasons I use a sniping program is so I can simply decide how much I want to pay for an item and set it, and then I never, ever have to remember when the auction ends. I win or I don't, I leave it up to the fates. Looking forward to your THREE WINS!

[Runnin_Ute]

5 minutes ago, JonSzanto said:

 

Excellent! Will is such a good guy, and a real positive person in the fountain pen world. You'll be happy with your pen.

I have been with my other purchases from him. This is the third.

[Misfit]

58 minutes ago, JonSzanto said:

 

A likely story! 🙃 Frankly, one of the main reasons I use a sniping program is so I can simply decide how much I want to pay for an item and set it, and then I never, ever have to remember when the auction ends. I win or I don't, I leave it up to the fates. Looking forward to your THREE WINS!

What sniping program do you use?  I’d like to try one, and it might as well be the one you use because it works. 
 

I saved 3 pens to my watchlist. Two were about the exact same. One was more pink than the other. That’s where I went to check the bids. Then my oops moment. I don’t want two of what is likely the same pen. I hope it’s a color that a guy would like, so I can give one to my brother. 

[JonSzanto]

48 minutes ago, Misfit said:

What sniping program do you use?  I’d like to try one, and it might as well be the one you use because it works.

 

I'll be honest: it's a very old site, but I've never had issues with it (i.e. they do always seem to get the bids in). You are alerted if your bid is too low as the auction goes on, and a report after auction (including alerts when you win). It is called Auction Sniper. The fees are teeny, and you just add a small amount to the account (I do it via PayPal). Anyway, PM me if you want more info.

[ruby.monkey]

10 hours ago, JonSzanto said:

Just this morn: saw a once-used Waterman Phileas for $25 BIN on eBay. No brainer, a good pen for one of the new members in our local pen club.

This is one pen where I have no idea how the prices work. Sometimes they're offered for school-pen money, other times the seller seems to think it carries the Montblanc label.

[Misfit]

@ruby.monkey you are so right about Phileas prices. After I saw @JonSzanto’s post, I looked on eBay. They were $75 and up. 

[ruby.monkey]

I have one - a purple Sydney Olympics 2000 model - for which I paid £35 just to see what they're like. It's an OK pen, the sort of thing one might take to school or the office, but there's nothing about it that would justify a higher price. I suspect that people think it's a vintage pen because of the looks and the brand, and blow their money accordingly.

[Gloucesterman]

1 hour ago, ruby.monkey said:

I have one - a purple Sydney Olympics 2000 model - for which I paid £35 just to see what they're like. It's an OK pen, the sort of thing one might take to school or the office, but there's nothing about it that would justify a higher price. I suspect that people think it's a vintage pen because of the looks and the brand, and blow their money accordingly.

Personally I think it's a nice looking pen with a bit of fanciness about it with the gold cigar-band ring. They write decently in my experience. I have several and a friend sold one for me (on the Bay, I think) for $70.00. I was pleasantly surprised that it went that high although it was NOS. Originally, I got it at a flea market with a bunch of about 20 other pens.

[Ceilidh]

12 hours ago, JonSzanto said:

 

Excellent! Will is such a good guy, and a real positive person in the fountain pen world. You'll be happy with your pen.

What JonSzanto said!

 

And if you're not familiar with Will, I recommend checking out his website for the sketches as much as for the pens. 

 

[JonSzanto]

Regarding the Phileas:

 

I purchased my first in 1990, when the line was relatively new. It lasted forever, was my only real fp, and after it had been unused for a few years, I came to FPN to ask how to get it running again. This was in 2010 or so. They were relatively inexpensive, a good size (good for larger hands) and just plain worked. The nibs write nicely and it was reliable. I've always considered them one of the best 'first good pen' ever, or even a beginning pen. As such, I've always kept track of them on the used market over the last decade+, and always have a few on hand that I can get into the hands of new pen people.

 

Unfortunately, the raised interest in fountain pens, as well as people spending money on objects during the pandemic, etc, have caused prices to rise, as well as new sellers thinking they can make a killing. For many years the Phileas typically was listed in a narrow range, often $10-$40 between low and high. Now there are ultra-crazy high prices and I wince when I think someone might buy it. When I bought it yesterday at $25, it was because I *knew* it was a low price for a good pen. If there are models of interest, you track the prices for a while - not asking price, but prices sold. This way you never overspend for something that you needn't. And I know this will be a good pen for someone, and last them for years.

[Karmachanic]

Not exactly an acquisition as yet, but I placed an impulsive order for a yet to be made custom limited edition.  Photos to follow upon arrival.

[amberleadavis]

18 hours ago, Runnin_Ute said:

Just picked up a Soennecken Schulfuller piston filler from Redeem Pens. No mention of the nib size. He does drawings with the pens he sells. My guess would be a fine, but I won't know until it arrives. 

 

Is the drawing included?  Just Wow.  I can't draw anything like that no matter the pen.

[amberleadavis]

So, I was wandering by a table at a pen show, when this little beauty demanded my attention.  All three of the nibs have been custom ground by Richard Binder and it has never been inked.  I can't decide if I'm going to ink it or save it for a graduation present for my mentee.

 

[jmccarty3]

On 11/13/2023 at 3:42 PM, JonSzanto said:

Just this morn: saw a once-used Waterman Phileas for $25 BIN on eBay. No brainer, a good pen for one of the new members in our local pen club.

IIRC, $25 was the original list price of the Phileas. I was at Fahrney's in DC the day it came out. The salesman showed it to me and asked what I thought it cost. When he said $25, I was quite surprised that it was so low.