What Are The Best Places / Sellers To Buy Vintage Pens?

January 29, 2018

I have been really fascinated with vintage pens, and I am trying to get a feel for the market and finds some good outlets for purchasing pens. What are your recommended eBay sellers / online dealers? It would be great if you could leave links!

Thanks!

Colin Carpenter

January 29, 2018

THE BAY... stay away!!!!

If you are looking for a vintage pen, that doesn't require more work that you're willing to put in, I'd check out the following:

The Pen Market

Fountain Pen Hospital and here

Richard Binder's Site

Indy-Pen-Dance

and a few other places. These I know sell vintage pens that have been serviced by very reputable service folk.

eBay is like playing russian roulette.

January 30, 2018

Actually eBay isn't a bad place to shop for vintage pens -- but you have to know what you're doing, and know to ask the right questions. Look over the photos carefully, know what you *should* be expecting to pay, presume that it may need to be repaired (and factor that cost in). And to walk away rather than overbid (it's very easy to get caught up in a bidding war). And you also have to just walk away.

Sometimes you can get great deals on eBay; sometimes you can get burned. I've been pretty badly burned a couple of times, but overall I've done okay, and have gotten some really good deals.

If you have access to a pen show, that's a great place to shop, see, learn. Not necessarily to buy (overall I think prices are better on eBay, although I've done okay with the stuff I've bought at shows, too). The real advantage to shows is that you call talk to people, ask questions ("what makes this Vac more valuable than that one?"), and actually hold pens (weight and size does matter, especially if you don't know what's going to be comfortable to write with). Plus you can actually see, in many cases, differences in color (say, between Burgundy and Cordovan Brown on a 51). The photos on eBay listings are often horrible. I saw a listing the other day for something where the seller carefully took a photo showing what it said on the nib -- but NOT one showing the condition of the tines or tipping.

A number of my vintage pens have come from antiques shops -- but again, you have to know what you're doing. I tend to do a bit better at smaller places that are a bit off the beaten path. Some of my best deals were at places like that (but I'm willing to treat them as excursions where I *might* find something, and if I don't, well, I had a nice drive). Really large antiques malls (the ones with hundreds of dealers? You're paying premium markup a lot of the time, although I have gotten deals. Mid-size places are a bit better, but you have to keep checking back; there's a place near me that I went to several years ago and found one third tier junker. The next time? I walked out with two Parker 51s with the wrong caps on them for a whopping $25 US + sales tax; a more recent time? It was "Hey.... these pens look familiar.... Yup, they're the same lot of pens I saw at that antiques show about a month ago -- including the Cocoa Parker 51 with the inch long crack in the barrel...." Also at really large places you need to take notes about what you saw in which booth (I've been in some so big they have floor plan maps...).

I don't have a lot of luck at estate sales, but every once in a great while I do: hence the 50¢ Parker 41, under a whole lot of mostly ballpoints in a shoebox full of random writing instruments (I could have bought the entire contents for five bucks -- but what am I gonna do with a shoebox full of BPs?). So I started digging, and something made me keep digging.... But I've been to a lot of estate sales and antiques stores where I found nothing. Or overpriced damaged pens, or just junkers. I went to a highland antiques show and sale Friday evening. I saw a beautiful hand painted and restored Victorian writing slope -- and as I said to my husband when I got home, "Guess how many car payments it was....?" A couple of booths had pens -- but they were all junkers (when the best of the bunch is a lovely little Waterman with no cap...). Earlier that day I'd been in an antiques mall where I've gotten (in previous visits) a Esterbrook SJ with a 9128 nib, a rather nice writing Eversharp Symphony; and, well, the most recent previous time -- nothing. This time? No pens, but a nearly full bottle of Skrip V-mail Black. Go figure.

You just never know.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

January 30, 2018

Ruth's entire first paragraph is great advice. I was looking at some stuff earlier this month. (I had some Christmas money I wanted to spend on an interesting vintage pen)

I picked her brain on some things, bid on some stuff, missed on a lot. Including by $1.00 on a lot of 2 51's....

I ended up buying a 1st quarter 1948 Cordovan Brown (represented as Burgundy) Parker 51 Demi Vacumatic. Restored. Fine nib. (seems narrower though)

I got it on a BIN (Buy It Now) pricing of $75.00. Shipped. Felt for a restored pen I got a pretty fair price. Saw some others - Vacumatic's and 51's, that needed restoration that went for a lot more. My bids on those others took that into account with the budget I had to work with. The pen I ended up with is a wonderful writer.

January 30, 2018

THE BAY... stay away!!!!
If you are looking for a vintage pen, that doesn't require more work that you're willing to put in, I'd check out the following:
The Pen Market
Fountain Pen Hospital and here
Richard Binder's Site
Indy-Pen-Dance
and a few other places. These I know sell vintage pens that have been serviced by very reputable service folk.
eBay is like playing russian roulette.

thepenguin.com for Pelikan's and others. Rick Propas is the proprietor. Bought my 140 from him. Top notch. Will pay a little more, but in my case that was ok for this one.

January 30, 2018

Thank you for the question, also waiting for the answer.

February 1, 2018

Antique stores. At least in the part of the globe where I live.

February 1, 2018

https://vintagepens.com/vintage_pens_catalog.shtml

http://www.mainstreetpens.com/pensales.htm

http://www.peytonstreetpens.com/

http://www.thepenguinpen.com/index.jsp

http://www.(bleep).com/

February 1, 2018

The web sites you've been given are among the best in the business, and offer some great pens which have been carefully restored and tested. I also agree that ebay can be a bit hit or miss, and you have to be cautious and know what to look for. As for me, I love the thrill of the hunt, and seek out pens "in the wild"--mostly at antiques shops, flea markets, and estate sales. Yes, you still need to know what to look for. Pens in the wild can range from poor condition parts pens to like new in the box. Prices vary, but pens in the wild are often substantially cheaper than buying on ebay. Once in a while you might even lay claim to being a sumgai--the person who finds a gem at an incredibly low price before other collectors. Regardless of where you look for and buy vintage pens my best advice is to read up on them to know what to look for. There are a multitude of websites offering great information such as FPN, as well as many of the sellers previously mentioned. Good luck.

February 2, 2018

Find a pen show that you can get to.

February 3, 2018

Find a pen show that you can get to.

+1

February 3, 2018

A way to start on eBay is to look for cartridge/converter pens such as Parker 45, 65, 75, 88, and 25, Sheaffer inlaid nib pens (Imperial-ish, Targa), Sheaffer school pens and No-Nonsense, Mont Blanc (1970's cartridge pens), etc.

Look for general condition, watch for cracks in the caps and barrels, and look at nib condition (appears straight, both tips present). If the nib is in good shape usually the only thing needed to start using is to soak the section to clean out old ink.

If there is a local pen club that would be a good place as well.

February 3, 2018

Frankly, I don't buy vintage, but I should think you'd want to check the Classifieds and Market sub-forums here at fpn.

Also, I think ebay can be a safe place if, as others have said, you know what you're looking for. My suggestion for anything on ebay is don't be bashful. If you see something that looks good, but the price seems too rich, just pm the seller and make an offer. Many offers I make get accepted.