Pen Show Dynamics. Los Angeles and far more...

[david i]

David, I think you are definitely well connected. :P

I'm sure pen shows differ, the one I attended didn't even have a public day and private day. It just had its weekend and you paid to enter whichever day you went.

And I'm sure it makes a huge difference that I'm not really a collector, I'm a user. I happen to have a niche I love to use which creates a "collection" so to speak. But I'm not really a collector. I look for pens I want to use, not pens to fill a "hole." And my budget is a fraction of what we're talking about above. A $700 pen for $350 isn't a bargain for a user like me, because my whole pen show budget (when I went) was $150. (Plus the money I brought to have a nib ground.) That puts things in a whole other range. I buy antique, I have really zero interest in most modern pens either. And maybe pen shows post internet really just cater to the higher rollers? Perhaps the lower end antique collecting market has moved almost entirely online? Because I found it very, very difficult to find those fun quirky pens for under $200 that I enjoy.

My other question to pen show expects... Frequently dinners and drinks events are mentioned... Yet as someone who I think is at least a familiar name on a board like this, and would love to meet folks in person, how does one even find out about, or snag an invite to these events? I would have loved to spend some time with pen folks just talking pens and passing things around and sharing stories, but I suppose I'm just not well known enough? Again, this is probably linked to my inability to buy and sell at the level of many others and I understand that. I'm really not trying to be whiney, just wondering how a small change pen enthusiast might get to rub shoulders with the pen elite a little tiny bit.

Hi,

You raise a couple points I can address. In general and at the very least I would note that one (or at least I) cannot capture every nuance and every variable in a a couple page note, just as one cannot teach how to practice medicine in a couple page chapter

My "Can't buy a $100k collection when one has $20k to spend" was meant to be a dramatic example, not implication that one must spend that sort of green at a show in order to matter. Pens at pen shows can be found retail, in the $30 to $10,000+ range, and pens that retail at that range often show up discounted to some degree or another, even before one negotiates or offers to buy an entire personal pen hoard. Knowledge of the market and ability to assess-- or at least to attempt to negotiate with-- a given seller matters at least as much. Obviously, some situations will require hefty expenditure. Not all do. As someone else noted in this thread, my friend Miro (present on FP pen groups now and on ebay, along with just a few shows d/t his commute), was offering Peli 140's, vintage, working, sometimes with flex and other exotic points, made of celluloid, for $80 to the public. Given that restoration of these can run $40-90, this was a rather good deal. Most of us offer these pens at $140 or so. Indeed in prior years I worked deal with Miro to buy 20 of these at at a time, as they make great website stock.

As to dinner meetings. Yes, I was a bit casual perhaps in describing the process of connecting with collector/dealers at shows, but it isn't that tough to do. When engaging with dealers on the quiet days while rounding Thursday and Friday, one can mention it would be great to join in for evening events. Certainly if such is said to me, to Erano, to Susan Wirth, that can be a big door opener. Indeed, I have invited newer collectors who email me about pens on my sales website when they mention they will be at a show. Some collector/dealers though courteous enough tend to use the shows to catch up with a specific clique of pen friends. That's fine, but they probably are not the ones you will join. My pen show count is down from 10/year prior max to about 5-6/year now. I go to the majors. Having bought several private collections en masse this year, some of which had more pens than I typically buy at shows, my need to buy stock is a bit less urgent than in the past, and my hospital takes care of me well enough that I have to think carefully before taking vacation day for a 12 hour shift (or a few shifts) to attend a smaller show.

I'll leave open the offer to those reading this. If you plan to attend a show I'll attend, and if you plan to be there on the early days, drop me an email before the show. You likely can end up at dinner with my group or with another congenial group of table holders.

The evening lobby gab often is present, though some shows lack a good lobby, though it is a bit diminished as the crowd ages. We don't have wheeling dealing, trade stock open until 1am as happened in prior decades. There is no barrier to participation though.

regards

david