Cost then vs. Now

[NickJC]

Does anyone ever look at vintage pen costs then, and compare them to today's projected cost?

 

Say a $5.00 pen in 1949, equating to

$ 66.00 +/- today.

 

 

 

[PPPR]

You bet I do.

 

In 1990 I was gifted a MB149 for a significant life milestone. It cost $110 USD at the time, which is roughly $270 USD in today's dollars. The current MSRP for this same pen on MB's website is over $1000 USD. However, my pen was made from ordinary plastic before MB started making pens from today's prescious resin. This helps explain the more than 3 times increase in cost over the rate of inflation. It's been serviced twice by MB and is still a second-rate performer among my pens.

 

I would have sold this pen for better, less expensive, performers had it not been a gift. So yes, I think about the past cost of pens at times.

[inkstainedruth]

Yeah I do too -- I found some site online where you can plug in an original price for something and when it was that price, then hit the button to see what that original price would be in today's market.

Ironically, a few years ago I was at an estate sale company's warehouse sale, and found a Parker 45 in the original box, priced at $5 US when it was originally in a store.  And paid $5 for it at the sale.  And the one I bought a couple of weekend ago (which had an old style press bar converter installed and two OTHER ones in the box, plus what turned out to be a Parker 51 Vac (still haven't had a chance to figure out if it really *is* Cordovan Brown or if it's Burgundy).  And I told the estate sale people I didn't want the mini Cross(?) BP in the box with it.  And when I got home the box -- which was apparently the one for the 45, has a price tag in the box listing the price of THAT pen as being $8.95 -- and I paid less for BOTH pens and the two extra converters (again, $5 -- and that would have included, had I wanted it, which I didn't -- that little metallic body BP...).

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[NickJC]

Interesting !

 

I still look at the original price from the time it was sold, and compare it to what folks are asking now...  still some good deals to be had !

[inkstainedruth]

Well, I like vintage pens and am also a consummate cheapskate.  So I look at listings for local-ish estate sales (hoping there will be photos -- because sometimes the pens aren't listed as such, or are just thrown together with ballpoints and such in a box -- the way I found a Parker 41 in really good condition at a sale a number of years ago, back in the "Oh I have nothing to do on Saturday morning -- I'll go check out some estate sales.  And I got EXCEEDINGLY lucky because I got to the sale it was at late in the morning, and had to park a couple of blocks away and was thinking, "Oh I'm not going to find ANYTHING worth buying...."  And when I found the shoebox full of mostly ballpoints?  Something made me start digging through it....  I could have bought the entire contents of the box for five bucks -- but what am I gonna do with a bunch of click ballpoints that have imprints of hotels and such on them....  I thought it was 21 at first and had NO idea at all that 41s are relatively rare (and of course mine isn't one of the rare colors, or has a fancy enameled cap or anything like that).  And I do baby the pen and don't use it a lot (they were made with the same grade of plastic as the Parker 21s -- the "student grade" pens -- were, and that is prone to cracking; I've had the same problem with most of my Parker 61s as well ).  So went outside to the cashier's table and said, "I found this in a box in the alcove office on the second floor -- how much just for this?"  And got told "I dunno, 50¢?" [Kaa-CHING! ].  

The next day I went to a thing like Antiques Road Show with it and a bunch of other pens.  And a reporter with a camera crew is walking up and down the line going, "Who's got something weird?"  And I said, "Well, not weird, but a little different...."  And showed him that pen and a 1926 Parker Duofold Ringtop with just is marked "Lucky Curve" on the barrel which I'd gotten at a little antiques store about 40 minutes north, in the "historic district" of a small town (I had other pens with me but figured I'd only show the two locally gotten ones).  And I thought the big deal, once I got in to talk to an appraiser, would be that 1926 Duofold.  But nope.  The guy's assistant came back, sat down, pulled out a tablet and did a search -- and the 41 (which I'd paid a whole whopping 50¢ US for?) got appraised at $37-150!   I really thought the "big deal" pen would be that Duofold, because of its age....

And then about a month later, when I was out at that year's Pittsburgh Pelikan Hub?  I got home and my husband said I needed to call the TV station in the morning.  And apparently, it was some staffer/assistant producer who wanted to know what the appraisal was, because the "man on the street" interview was going to be aired!  And they needed the appraisal amount to do a "crawl" across the bottom of the screen. 

Only I couldn't figure out when that episode was going to air -- and so COMPLETELY missed seeing my "15 seconds of fame...."    And the show isn't even listed on IMDB so I don't know if there's any way to get a copy of the series -- let ALONE that one episode.... 

Ironically, the guy who did the overall appraisal bought an antiques mall in the next county a few years ago, and I went in after the place changed hands, and got talking to the guy because there were a couple of vintage pens -- including some Pelikan -- under the glass counter (nothing I could AFFORD, mind you...).  And he actually remembered me, and told me he'd seen the episode which included my "interview" (which wasn't like the "studio" space they'd set up in the first floor gallery of the Heinz History Center, where the appraisal days happened).

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[jchch1950]

The information about estate sales is quite entertaining to read. It keeps me wishing that some home or garage sales will occur near my home.

[inkstainedruth]

Well, you might try checking online.  Around here, there's a website called Pgh Estate Sales, and they have listings every week for both sales run by various companies and family run ones.  There are also sometimes ones listed on Craigslist as well.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[NickJC]

Sadly I have a hard time finding em in the wild....  but then again I have to really tried that hard !  Ruth you have my interests peaked for Estate sales !

[inkstainedruth]

Sometimes I get lucky.  Sometimes I don't.  
I also have found pens in antiques stores sometimes; the prices aren't necessarily good but I've done okay overall.  There is an antiques mall near me and one time I'd been in there found NOTHING (pens or otherwise) that I wanted.  Then, the next time?  Found what I thought at first was a third tier pen -- but which turned out to be a Parker 51 Vac with the cap for some third tier brand on it (a friend of mine had told me that even third tier pens could have good nibs on them).  Then, in a booth on the upper floor, found a pen in another booth which had the cap for a Parker Frontier -- but which turned out to be a 51 Aerometric.  Ended up paying more for the correct caps than I did for the pens in the first place (although the 51 Vac needed some work).  

Got back to my car and couldn't start the engine at first because I was giggling so much....

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

 

[NickJC]

11 minutes ago, inkstainedruth said:

Sometimes I get lucky.  Sometimes I ).  

Got back to my car and couldn't start the engine at first because I was giggling so much....

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

 

😆