Buying pens from the For Sale column

[oldstoat]

Browsing the pens I realised that I'm quite strongly influenced by who the seller is. If it's someone who has only just joined FPG, I'm very wary. This may only be common sense, though it's not something I'm known for ( As in " Look at that wall! Let me run into it to see if it hurts!"). However, I'm also less likely to consider a pen from a seller who only posts to the For Sale forum and whose name I don't recognise from other comments as a pen user/collector. Am I being unreasonable?

[fountainpagan]

It is a normal reaction, but not always conclusive. I have bought 2 no name school german pens, supposedly restored, from a known seller, and they allowed each only 1 filling. Then, no more working piston.
I have never bought from an unknown seller, ergo I cannot tell you how it went. But probably I would have bought a perfectly operational pen...

But I must say this was the only problem I have had, concerning a buying, here.

[Empty_of_Clouds]

Not really (edit: to the OP). Everyone has different criteria they apply in making such decisions. In general, if someone has something I want and it's a reasonable price and not coming from some dodgy area of the world, then I am likely to be serious about making inquiries. If there are any other factors - such as being aware of things they've posted, previous interactions and so on - then these are considered at this point. All being well (as can be determined), a conversation is initiated.

There are people here who do nothing but sell, i.e. they contribute nothing to the discussion part of the forum, and that's okay I guess as long as the goods are legitimate. It may not accord with the spirit of the forum (whatever that may be) though it can hardly be avoided. What makes me laugh is the story-telling that some sellers indulge in. Especially entertaining are those that have multiple listings where they state they are 'thinning the herd' (or some other trite expression) and yet can be seen not only jonesing but buying pens on other listings at about the same rate. Nothing to see here, move along please. Yeah, nah. Funny though.

Actually, that makes me wonder. Do people in this day and age really think that story-telling to sell something is still a workable strategy for success?

[manoeuver]

You are using available heuristics to mitigate risk. Utterly reasonable.

[Jerome Tarshis]

Do people in this day and age really think that story-telling to sell something is still a workable strategy for success?

People in this day and age, as in former days and ages, have quite various ideas about what to tell the world and what to keep to themselves. Some of us seem rather ebulliently eager to express themselves, others more laconic. As for story-telling to sell a pen, we read many accounts by people who found some pen unsatisfactory and who tell us they sold it. If I'm buying a pen I'd like some assurance, in some form, that the pen was a satisfactory object and isn't being sold because it has a quality I wouldn't want any more than the seller did.

Selling off duplicates or thinning the herd are ideas that offer reassurance. Whether to be reassured is the prospective buyer's choice.

[VertOlive]

Certainly, if I know the seller as a regular poster or as a pen pal, I make the purchase. But those situations are rare. I purchase mainly from higher volume sellers over on FPN who don't post much else. Their sales reputation does reassure me.

I don't mind if there's an intro line like "Gee, I have too many Nakayas", it's simply a manner of speaking and I don't read much into it. If the PM conversation demonstrates sanity and goodwill, I will buy from someone I don't know much about, but never from someone with posts in the single digits.

That said, I have never been burned on a pen purchase.

[TSherbs]

.... Am I being unreasonable?

Of course not. You can manage your purchasing however you please. It's all a matter of managing your risk-based comfort level.

[elysee]

Browsing the pens I realised that I'm quite strongly influenced by who the seller is. If it's someone who has only just joined FPG, I'm very wary. This may only be common sense, though it's not something I'm known for ( As in " Look at that wall! Let me run into it to see if it hurts!"). However, I'm also less likely to consider a pen from a seller who only posts to the For Sale forum and whose name I don't recognise from other comments as a pen user/collector. Am I being unreasonable?

You are not being unreasonable. There is an element of "danger" when making any purchase online. Buying a pen on FPG, FPN, or even on eBay has an element of risk as you do not know if the seller is disclosing all the relevant information even after you have asked important questions regarding the condition of the pen.

Currently, I am "renovating" a True Writer fountain pen that I purchased on eBay. I had asked MANY questions about the condition of the pen before I made my purchase and, at the time of purchase, I believed that the pen, described as in "excellent" condition and only "gently used", was as described based on the pictures and the responses to my emails. Upon receiving the pen, discovered scratches which were not displayed in the pictures or mentioned in reply to my inquiry about scratches, problems with the tines of the nib (misaligned), GUNK on the top of the pen cap, filth/residue in the threads of the cap and the body of the pen, and the nib was filthy and clogged with ink. After cleaning and soaking the pen and nib for several days, the scratches could be seen (as I had cleaned of whatever gunk had been used to cover them). Luckily, the scratches are not too bad but they were not concealed by accident. After unclogging the nib and inking it, I discovered the nib to be scratchy and the tines (definitely) misaligned. Having removed the gunk from the threads of the cap and body of the pen, I can now screw on and screw off the cap with reasonable ease.

So, after all the work to clean the pen (especially cleaning the gunk out of the cap and threads of both the cap and body of the pen), I decided to inform the seller of all these problems. Her attitude was one of so-you-caught-me with a "send it back" thrown in for good measure. After putting in all this effort to renovate the pen -- including buying a new nib which arrived just today -- I am NOT going to send back the pen; most likely, she would just raise her price when selling the newly cleaned pen even with the original misaligned nib. Sadly, this experience just increases my wariness regarding buying pens online, especially since I had carefully examined the posted pictures and sent several email inquiries regarding the condition of the pen and the nib.

In the end, I can be glad that the scratches are not too bad and that I was able to clean the gunk out of the pen cap and threads (in the cap and the body of the pen) as well as replace the nib. Although I have added a bit to my wariness of buying from unknown sellers online (especially since I had asked all the questions which resulted in fantastic pen purchases in the past), this was a good learning experience as there are sellers who fail to disclose relevant information even when they are directly asked. On the positive side, the pen (which turns out to be Fiery Amber) has a new home with someone (that would be me, of course) who will take care of it and use it with care. By the way, the pen likes its new nib. ; )

In light of my newest online pen purchase experience, I will say that you should be cautious, ask many questions, ask more questions, and be wary but not discouraged.