110 replies to this topic

[brando090]

Please email me if you have silver pens pre 1940 which you would be up to trading or selling. I have plenty to trade, and I'm up to it when you are

[brando090]

Bump, need more.

[PatMorgan]

And what are you trading Brandon?

[brando090]

And what are you trading Brandon?

Anything and everything, Im sure I could find something to fill someones desire list if they have something I have to have.

[PatMorgan]

Why not share the list?

[brando090]

Too many to list, just if someone has something worth reading they can contact me to discuss items they are looking for. No need to discuss opportunities that aren't going to happen, or just discussing confidential information in public.

[david i]

Too many to list, just if someone has something worth reading they can contact me to discuss items they are looking for. No need to discuss opportunities that aren't going to happen, or just discussing confidential information in public.

Pen trades of course are encouraged here.

However, given history of Brando trying to offer pens he had not yet managed quite to acquire, I do suggest anyone request to receive any potential trade material from him before shipping any pens to him. That should keep things cleaner.

Too, while invitation to private trades is not unreasonable, being too protective of "confidential information", apparently including what pens you actually have to offer, can raise red flags with potential trading partners, given in part that this is a Board open to the public.

Collectors who have good Sterling pens generally won't want to play with fishing expeditions. But, for example, if I knew you had a particular decent pen of interest to me, I'd be more inclined to pursue chat. Possibly the lack of any responses to your post reflects similar sentiment by other readers.


regards

david

[brando090]

Too many to list, just if someone has something worth reading they can contact me to discuss items they are looking for. No need to discuss opportunities that aren't going to happen, or just discussing confidential information in public.

Pen trades of course are encouraged here.

However, given history of Brando trying to offer pens he had not yet managed quite to acquire, I do suggest anyone request to receive any potential trade material from him before shipping any pens to him. That should keep things cleaner.

Too, while invitation to private trades is not unreasonable, being too protective of "confidential information", apparently including what pens you actually have to offer, can raise red flags with potential trading partners, given in part that this is a Board open to the public.

Collectors who have good Sterling pens generally won't want to play with fishing expeditions. But, for example, if I knew you had a particular decent pen of interest to me, I'd be more inclined to pursue chat. Possibly the lack of any responses to your post reflects similar sentiment by other readers.


regards

david

,

Having done trades all around the world, I have no reluctancy to send pens at the same time, or send mine first to give the other trader the state of mind that its all cut and clear.

I'm just looking for those English and German silver pens that don't exactly have much collectability among collectors and may have them sitting around in parts bins, not knowing people like me would lovingly welcome them into my collection.

What I know I'm not going to do, is pursue say a RHR silver Waterman safety and trade it for something I don't have

[Widget]

After my last foray on 'Pens for Sale' when I ended up $125 poorer and no pen to show for it I will be very careful about buying/trading on anything. I have bought pens and other items totalling thousands of $'s from the US with no problems but after the last debarcle, when the seller didn't even respond to e mails, I will not be buying/trading again.

I find it sad when 1 unfortunate incident can sour the thought of any subsequent purchases.

[FarmBoy]

Any unusual or interesting 51s in your trading stock? If there is something I'm interested in, I'll go look through a few boxes for something you seek.

[david i]

After my last foray on 'Pens for Sale' when I ended up $125 poorer and no pen to show for it I will be very careful about buying/trading on anything. I have bought pens and other items totalling thousands of s from the US with no problems but after the last debarcle, when the seller didn't even respond to e mails, I will not be buying/trading again.

I find it sad when 1 unfortunate incident can sour the thought of any subsequent purchases.

Hi Widget,

While there is little legally FPB can do about failed offers, it would be good to know who offered a pen to you and failed to deliver it.

regards

david

[Widget]

David I'm sure you can guess but a little clue 'He who is no longer in the hobby' He did post and the penand if tracking is to be believed, pen arrived in the UK before falling into a black hole. I have tried Parcelforce and Royal mail to no avail. I've harrassed 2 postmen to see if they have access to better tracking facilities, written 2 letters of complaint to RM last 1 didn't even get answered. The thing that annoyed me most was the seller ignoring my E Mail. R M said that the seller must make the claim for lost items not the recipient and I was not entitled to compensation. At least with E Bay you have buyer protection so I will stick to E Bay in future. Expensive lesson.

[david i]

David I'm sure you can guess but a little clue 'He who is no longer in the hobby' He did post and the penand if tracking is to be believed, pen arrived in the UK before falling into a black hole. I have tried Parcelforce and Royal mail to no avail. I've harrassed 2 postmen to see if they have access to better tracking facilities, written 2 letters of complaint to RM last 1 didn't even get answered. The thing that annoyed me most was the seller ignoring my E Mail. R M said that the seller must make the claim for lost items not the recipient and I was not entitled to compensation. At least with E Bay you have buyer protection so I will stick to E Bay in future. Expensive lesson.

Ahhh.... yes. So much to say, so little space

In all fairness, if something was tracked to UK but didn't make it the final leg, that probably was not the fault of the seller. Lack of communication though is unfortunate. We really were the last hope for that collector, but really he didn't seem to appreciate it. It seems when he gets cranky he "accuses" everyone (in rather coarse language) of having female body parts. Message Boards of course do not have legal force to deal with bad transactions, but I would volunteer at least that most sellers are straight shooters. The hobby tends to cull those who are not, though one does not want to be the test case for such sellers. What can I say...

Potential loss is one reason I insist on insured shipping (though Insured tracked express international now runs about $40), though there are mixed stories about whether the Post Office ponies up cash for insured collectables.

Sorry you had a bad experience. Buying from ebay, to a degree from retail websites (my bias) offers some protection. But, if you see something for sale by a reliable regular player (dealers, known players and such) I hope you will consider the pen. More important though, as sales are somewhat peripheral to the core goal of this board, which is the opportunity to learn and to teach about old pens, I hope you'll keep sharing questions, pics, answers about old pens.

regards

david

[brando090]

After my last foray on 'Pens for Sale' when I ended up $125 poorer and no pen to show for it I will be very careful about buying/trading on anything. I have bought pens and other items totalling thousands of $'s from the US with no problems but after the last debarcle, when the seller didn't even respond to e mails, I will not be buying/trading again.

I find it sad when 1 unfortunate incident can sour the thought of any subsequent purchases.

I'm sad that you have had this experience, but you do have to remember, if thou have 1000 pen transactions, the potentially for something to go wrong is there.

The great thing about dealing with people who aren't of eBay or are "dealers" is that you have a better chance of negotiating, finding something thou like, and ultimately having them as a close pen friend that can look for pens in the wild.

[brando090]

Any unusual or interesting 51s in your trading stock? If there is something I'm interested in, I'll go look through a few boxes for something you seek.

As much as I love P51s, I only have 1, and have only bought and sold 5. I do have early Parker pens, but they are being collected for a big upcoming trade ( which I'm looking forward to, big time ). I hope you can feel my ambitious, driven, and determination for it.

[PatMorgan]

Brandon,

You are a still a minor I gather, under the legal age of consent? Last I recall you were performing dubious transactions (which can be seen if people want to search for it, right now I do not have the time to offer the links, but the evidence is there) on this board at age 16 which was last fall. You were performing behind the scenes transactions trying to sell pens that did not belong to you. You were also trying to broker behind the scenes chats with me and Rick Krantz and with you being a minor I politely declined. I will not get into private email discussion with a minor concerning differing issues especially a minor who has been known to alter factual information like going on gun boards claiming to be 21 years and is actually a teenager.

I think it is terrific you want to be a part of this hobby. Wonderful. There are pen shows which you can visit. There are conversations you can have with people where you can learn oh so much. Going on line especially a board like this, and do remember as I recall this is one board where you are not locked out of, can offer nuancess in learning that so many other places do not offer. You have so many years of knowledge amongst collectors here that it is amazing. I find it amazing that a collector can look into case of pens and see that little bit of difference that makes one pen more collectable then another. I have stood next to people at pen shows who told me look down and I personally cannot see what they are trying to say and I am show how a cap band is just a fraction of an inch different and that makes the difference. Being shown this amazes me how some people can see this detail. It is so wonderful to experience this.

You are a minor because as I recall you were 16 years old last fall. You want back channel communications with adults about making transactions. That is dangerous for adults and for you. You are basically asking for an adult to put themselves into a situation which may or may not be legal in some states (and I will leave that up to experts) and in addition, knowing your history, every person should take into getting any transaction online with you which is also federal if I recall correctly.

People do grow up. Minors do grow up. They can mature very nicely during a few month period. They can learn so much and improve their skills that they mature rather than just age. I hope this is the case for you and you will continue to mature growing up to be a role model for what is good and is honest and loyal and true, a person whose integrity is beyond reproach in this hobby. Reputation in this hobby is everything and there are people in this hobby whose reputation is such that many do not worry when they hand over their prized pens or their credit cards to them.

When I first started in this hobby around 1998 or so, I was paying off some heavy duty bills and a pen I wanted could not be paid for all at once. I worked out a deal with the seller that he would hold the pen for me until I paid it off in installments over the course of a few months. When he saw that I kept my part of the deal and paid him the what, 10 or 15 bucks every 2 weeks, he sent me the pen before it was paid off. He trusted me as I, a new comer trusted him buying my first pen. When I purchased other pens from other people, I used him as a reference. It helped me a great deal and helped me build my collection from online transactions in those early days. I did not know the people I was buying from offering them my credit card number for their businesses but I learned through others and references that the people I had those early transactions with were people of integrity.

Based on what was seen last year in the summer and the fall, information on other boards which have traveled quickly throughout the community and with you being a minor who violated the terms of service on Ebay by buying and selling as a minor which is illegal according to their terms of service, it is best to let others know if they do choose to get into a transaction with you, your reputation needs a great deal of work.

You are a minor and I as an adult have to take care with you as a minor. It is my responsibility not to bully you, but it is also my responsibility to make sure others in this community who are new to this board know through private transactions they are entering into agreements with a minor.

I hope through time you show each of us how you have matured. How trustworthy you have become and how we look at the past saying, wow, that was a long time ago and look at things today, Brandon is someone who has matured and has a reputation that is stellar. That is going to take time to build and you are young and have that time to build it. That is the hope that the future brings. People can grow, they can mature, they make amends for their past actions and from there perform acts showing they are truly sorry for what has happened in the past and will not do the things that caused their reputation to sully but will do things to rebuild it. Every person has the opportunity for redemption. For some it can be immediate, for others it can take a lifetime, but the opportunity is there. Every person has the chance to redeem their reputation, but they must accept it takes time to rebuild it. And if they are minors, it may take longer because adults want to make sure the person they are dealing with are of legal age of consent before entering into transactions with them.

So to everyone reading this, it is something to think about. For you Brandon, it is the chance through your actions, through your messages and the promises you have made in the past concerning Ebay and selling and buying on there as a minor when it is illegal, on going on different boards and being removed from them for your youthful indiscretions, for your lying about your age stating you were older and were not on the gun boards, for your back channel wheeling and dealing here with pens you did not own, that we have to see through time and it will take time, have you improved your reputation. I certainly hope so Brandon, I certainly do hope so. There is so much to look forward in the future for you as you become of legal age of consent and from there, the vistas appear before you.

For me, if you want back channel as I have told you previously, I will not do back channel communications. You are a minor.

I will communicate on this board and any other board publicly and look forward to watching you mature, earn a reputation that is stellar, improve in integrity, and become someone in this hobby who we can look back upon and say, wow, I am so glad to know him.

It is up to you what kind of future you want to build for yourself. Remember everyone ages, not all of us mature.

Pat

Edited by PatMorgan, 03 April 2013 - 06:01 PM.

[david i]

I'm sad that you have had this experience, but you do have to remember, if thou have 1000 pen transactions, the potentially for something to go wrong is there.

The great thing about dealing with people who aren't of eBay or are "dealers" is that you have a better chance of negotiating, finding something thou like, and ultimately having them as a close pen friend that can look for pens in the wild.

Of course if one offers pens one in fact does not possess... such bromides don't hold up.

Too I remain unconvinced that excluding dealers and ebay improves one's chances of finding something he likes and I remain unconvinced that a casual message-board purchase leaves the buyer with a new picker...

regards

-d

[Christof Z]

enlightening informations...
thank you guys, this was helpful.
christof

[brando090]

Brandon,

You are a still a minor I gather, under the legal age of consent? Last I recall you were performing dubious transactions (which can be seen if people want to search for it, right now I do not have the time to offer the links, but the evidence is there) on this board at age 16 which was last fall. You were performing behind the scenes transactions trying to sell pens that did not belong to you. You were also trying to broker behind the scenes chats with me and Rick Krantz and with you being a minor I politely declined. I will not get into private email discussion with a minor concerning differing issues especially a minor who has been known to alter factual information like going on gun boards claiming to be 21 years and is actually a teenager.

I think it is terrific you want to be a part of this hobby. Wonderful. There are pen shows which you can visit. There are conversations you can have with people where you can learn oh so much. Going on line especially a board like this, and do remember as I recall this is one board where you are not locked out of, can offer nuancess in learning that so many other places do not offer. You have so many years of knowledge amongst collectors here that it is amazing. I find it amazing that a collector can look into case of pens and see that little bit of difference that makes one pen more collectable then another. I have stood next to people at pen shows who told me look down and I personally cannot see what they are trying to say and I am show how a cap band is just a fraction of an inch different and that makes the difference. Being shown this amazes me how some people can see this detail. It is so wonderful to experience this.

You are a minor because as I recall you were 16 years old last fall. You want back channel communications with adults about making transactions. That is dangerous for adults and for you. You are basically asking for an adult to put themselves into a situation which may or may not be legal in some states (and I will leave that up to experts) and in addition, knowing your history, every person should take into getting any transaction online with you which is also federal if I recall correctly.

People do grow up. Minors do grow up. They can mature very nicely during a few month period. They can learn so much and improve their skills that they mature rather than just age. I hope this is the case for you and you will continue to mature growing up to be a role model for what is good and is honest and loyal and true, a person whose integrity is beyond reproach in this hobby. Reputation in this hobby is everything and there are people in this hobby whose reputation is such that many do not worry when they hand over their prized pens or their credit cards to them.

When I first started in this hobby around 1998 or so, I was paying off some heavy duty bills and a pen I wanted could not be paid for all at once. I worked out a deal with the seller that he would hold the pen for me until I paid it off in installments over the course of a few months. When he saw that I kept my part of the deal and paid him the what, 10 or 15 bucks every 2 weeks, he sent me the pen before it was paid off. He trusted me as I, a new comer trusted him buying my first pen. When I purchased other pens from other people, I used him as a reference. It helped me a great deal and helped me build my collection from online transactions in those early days. I did not know the people I was buying from offering them my credit card number for their businesses but I learned through others and references that the people I had those early transactions with were people of integrity.

Based on what was seen last year in the summer and the fall, information on other boards which have traveled quickly throughout the community and with you being a minor who violated the terms of service on Ebay by buying and selling as a minor which is illegal according to their terms of service, it is best to let others know if they do choose to get into a transaction with you, your reputation needs a great deal of work.

You are a minor and I as an adult have to take care with you as a minor. It is my responsibility not to bully you, but it is also my responsibility to make sure others in this community who are new to this board know through private transactions they are entering into agreements with a minor.

I hope through time you show each of us how you have matured. How trustworthy you have become and how we look at the past saying, wow, that was a long time ago and look at things today, Brandon is someone who has matured and has a reputation that is stellar. That is going to take time to build and you are young and have that time to build it. That is the hope that the future brings. People can grow, they can mature, they make amends for their past actions and from there perform acts showing they are truly sorry for what has happened in the past and will not do the things that caused their reputation to sully but will do things to rebuild it. Every person has the opportunity for redemption. For some it can be immediate, for others it can take a lifetime, but the opportunity is there. Every person has the chance to redeem their reputation, but they must accept it takes time to rebuild it. And if they are minors, it may take longer because adults want to make sure the person they are dealing with are of legal age of consent before entering into transactions with them.

So to everyone reading this, it is something to think about. For you Brandon, it is the chance through your actions, through your messages and the promises you have made in the past concerning Ebay and selling and buying on there as a minor when it is illegal, on going on different boards and being removed from them for your youthful indiscretions, for your lying about your age stating you were older and were not on the gun boards, for your back channel wheeling and dealing here with pens you did not own, that we have to see through time and it will take time, have you improved your reputation. I certainly hope so Brandon, I certainly do hope so. There is so much to look forward in the future for you as you become of legal age of consent and from there, the vistas appear before you.

For me, if you want back channel as I have told you previously, I will not do back channel communications. You are a minor.

I will communicate on this board and any other board publicly and look forward to watching you mature, earn a reputation that is stellar, improve in integrity, and become someone in this hobby who we can look back upon and say, wow, I am so glad to know him.

It is up to you what kind of future you want to build for yourself. Remember everyone ages, not all of us mature.

Pat

Pat, I appreciate the time you took to write this post;

I would first like to say that I've vastly matured over the last 7-8 months, and am continuing to mature given some very unfortunate preventative actions I chose. I understand some of you may be thinking teenager things... but its not even that,it was just the mistake of the click as you could say.

I despise when my history is brought up regarding other boards since there were reasons why things were handled the way they were. Regarding guns, I was interested in pre 1898 guns and I was eager to learn more about them, and whatever else I was interested in at the time. Regarding a private transaction that went wrong was when I had interest in a demonstrator Parker which the seller did not tell me was already sold, and I continued to waste my time showing potential tradable pens with cash,etc. And since i did not know value, i contacted someone who i thought i could trust, but it turns out that was the guy who the pen was sold to. What a coincident, huh. All this IMO doesn't matter, but I understand it may for people who deal on these boards.

Ever since I was 13/14 I was eager to work. Always wanted money, keep me occupied,etc. I finally turned 16 and was offered a job at $18 an hour and I'm being promoted manager in the upcoming months. Just took my ACTs and scored very well in the science and writing portions, showing I do very well in the management sector of careers (financial,real estate,etc). I do apologize to anyone who doesn't appreciate my hard work ethic which has been and will always be driven, motivated, and ambitious. I strive for the top of the mountain, and I keep looking up until I can't look up no more.

I understand I have a lot to learn, and my last hobby which Im still with, high end audio, it came easier given its more common sense and numbers. Fountain pens on the other hand are not as clear cut, and require a more definite answer which can't always be answered. I look forward to meeting some heavy hitter collectors in a public place (given some may not want to personally invite me over to show me their collection(I'm putting that out their as some will think that(I'm also mature enough to understand any repercussions, and I think pen guys in general aren't murderers))).

I hate that some of you guys don't trust me, i m not sure if that's the right word, but time will tell I suppose.

Edited by brando090, 04 April 2013 - 01:44 AM.

[AndyR]

David I'm sure you can guess but a little clue 'He who is no longer in the hobby' He did post and the penand if tracking is to be believed, pen arrived in the UK before falling into a black hole. I have tried Parcelforce and Royal mail to no avail. I've harrassed 2 postmen to see if they have access to better tracking facilities, written 2 letters of complaint to RM last 1 didn't even get answered. The thing that annoyed me most was the seller ignoring my E Mail. R M said that the seller must make the claim for lost items not the recipient and I was not entitled to compensation. At least with E Bay you have buyer protection so I will stick to E Bay in future. Expensive lesson.

If your pen was indeed posted (presumably from the US?) with tracking, it would have required a customs declaration attached to the package. Usually, when there are import problems with Parcelforce it is because there are problems with the customs declaration and in such cases the powers that be often have to refer back to the sender, probably not good news if this is the case with your pen. Unfortunately, the body responsible for the customs clearance at present is the UK Borders Agency, also not known for their great efficiency. To make things worse, it is not absolutely clear who ultimately has the responsibility if packages go missing in this process. I believe that Parcelforce actually bear the final responsibilty for any delays and losses, though they will undoubtedly try to put the blame on the Borders agency but this explains why it is so hard to get any sensible information out of them. If a parcel comes in with a declared value of $125 it will automatically be routed via Parcelforce for them to claim VAT at 20% and a handling charge from you before delivery, so you can't blame Royal Mail on this occasion! And if the pen arrived with the value under-declared, and the agency were suspicious of that, that in itself would be enough to delay delivery, though that is not very common on vintage pens from my experience.

Of course I know all this from experience. I had a new Nakaya pen arrive in the UK during late July last year - it took two days to arrive from Japan then a month to clear UK customs, not because there was any issue with the paperwork but because all available UK Borders Agency staff seemed to be involved with trying to keep airports moving during the Olympics. The good news is that if you keep going on at Parcelforce, they do have the power to resolve the situation (I think they actually send someone to the holding shed to look for the parcel) and I eventually did receive my pen safely. If there is really a problem with contacting the vendor in the US, you can possibly persuade Parcelforce to accept documentation from you regarding the value of the item so you shouldn't lose hope. Keep on at Parcelforce and I'm sure you will eventually find your query routed to someone who actually cares enough to help you.

Andy

Edited by AndyR, 04 April 2013 - 10:25 AM.