Value of Spanish Etched Pelikan M800 Demo

[ChrisC]

So I stumbled upon one of these recently. This is the rare version with an erroneous etching. Extra info here: http://www.fountainpennetwork.com/fo...anish-imprint/

25 were made, 6 were returned, and theres 19 others out there, including the one in my possession.



What do you think would be a fair price to charge? Tom Westerich charged 1400 USD, but that was for a brand new one. But then again, there has been a lot of inflation since then, courtesy of the Fed. Rick Propas charged 1200 USD, but this may have been a while ago, well.

Only 19 in the world...What do you guys think?

[Laura N]

What an interesting question! I suspect that asking prices aren't a good guide here. You likely can only go by the actual selling price, if you can determine that. Those sellers might have asked for X but only been able to sell it for X/2. They might have had to carry the pen for three years to sell it. Also dealers often trade pens rather than selling for cash. Something this expensive and perhaps rare may not be very liquid.

Keep in mind, too, that Tom and Rick are both well-known and reputable dealers, who sell with a right of return and a warranty, and so they can and do sell at a premium. The same pen that Rick sells for X might goes for half that on eBay, because the risks are much higher.

The best way to find out what it's worth is to put it up for auction and see what you get, but that has risks obviously. If you don't want to put it up on eBay for an absolute auction, you could set a reserve at whatever you paid, so you know you won't lose money. Or ask Tom or Rick what they'd give you for it wholesale, and make that a floor. Or find a dealer to sell it for you on consignment. One of those dealers, or someone like Bryant Greer, might know a buyer who's been looking for it or who collects modern Pelikans.

A different approach would be to put it up for sale for what you paid, plus a set return (for example, 20%). Or put it up on eBay for a high price and see if you get any offers. It depends how fast you want to sell it. If it were mine, I might take it to a pen show, go to the trader days, and ask around. You'll get wholesale offers, but you might get trade offers and you also might find someone willing to tell you what he or she would list it for. This might have a better market in Europe, for example, so maybe Serge would be an interested buyer. And of course certainly this thread and the one on FPN might find you a buyer, which would be great.

When it's finally sold, I'd love to hear the ending.

[Bluecamp]

The 2015 un-etched platinum is available today at my retailer for $600 plus tax. Etched will be $15 more.

[canibanoglu]

There's one up for sale on martiniauctions and the asking price is 1550 euros. Keep in mind that that pen has been up there for a while now so I'm guessing that it might not be that easy to find a buyer for it. I'd follow Laura's advice and go to pen shows and try to find a buyer that way. If you're going to invest the money from the sale back into other pens, going for a trade might make the whole process faster. Best of luck!

[top pen]

There was one on FPN classified listed for over 30 days at $900 so $1200 is a bit over estimate to say the least.
http://www.fountainpennetwork.com/fo...nstrator-rare/