Pens

[derek kelly]

My writing could never be described as neat in fact it’s that bad I could have been a Doctor.
On my 50th birthday almost 12 years ago my brother bought me a waterman pen, I used it till the ink ran out then shoved it in a drawer, got chatting with a mate & he mentioned that he likes Waterman pens so I told him about mine, he asked to have a look at it so after much searching I found it & took it to him, he has offered me £120 for it, I told him not to be so stupid as the pen only cost around £50 brand new with a working refill.
He is adamant that he wants it & he will pay £120.
On the one hand I would feel guilty about exploiting his stupidity but on the other I have told him the rough cost of it new so he is aware of his stupidity.
Before I tell you what I did, what would you do?

 

[andyBeaker]

My writing could never be described as neat in fact it’s that bad I could have been a Doctor.
On my 50th birthday almost 12 years ago my brother bought me a waterman pen, I used it till the ink ran out then shoved it in a drawer, got chatting with a mate & he mentioned that he likes Waterman pens so I told him about mine, he asked to have a look at it so after much searching I found it & took it to him, he has offered me £120 for it, I told him not to be so stupid as the pen only cost around £50 brand new with a working refill.
He is adamant that he wants it & he will pay £120.
On the one hand I would feel guilty about exploiting his stupidity but on the other I have told him the rough cost of it new so he is aware of his stupidity.
Before I tell you what I did, what would you do?

Depends if there is a difference between cost and price...... PowLo will know.

If your mate wants to pay £120'then fair enough. If you feel uncomfortable give some or all of it to charity?

Funny things pens....I was given a very expensive Mont Blanc biro years ago, lovely thing. Prefer to use a Parker rollerball though, probably less than a tenner but I love using it.

 

[Malone]

I’d be a bit reticent to selling something that was an expensive present, especially as it now perhaps has a higher intrinsic value than expected.

I’d tell him it’s £150 or you’re keeping it

 

[Cougar377]

I suspect your mate is a bit more knowledgeable about its price than he's letting on.
I hope you checked online to find out if it's worth more than he offered.

 

[derek kelly]

If your mate wants to pay £120'then fair enough. If you feel uncomfortable give some or all of it to charity?

You are actually quite close.

 

[Pow-Lo]

I have a thing about pens (as well as watches and sunglasses) and I wouldn’t willingly let any of mine go.

If it was a 50th birthday present from your brother, then you should keep it. As has been said above, I suspect yours might have increased in value since it was purchased. Mrs P bought me a MB ball point and fountain pen for my 40th, coming up for 12 years ago and they now retail at slightly more than double what they were at the time.

 

[derek kelly]

I have a thing about pens (as well as watches and sunglasses) and I wouldn’t willingly let any of mine go.

If it was a 50th birthday present from your brother, then you should keep it. As has been said above, I suspect yours might have increased in value since it was purchased. Mrs P bought me a MB ball point and fountain pen for my 40th, coming up for 12 years ago and they now retail at slightly more than double what they were at the time.

I don’t often hold sentiment with objects, my brother tends to buy expensive gifts as there is just him & my sister in law as they always put their careers first. The pen was a sort of joke gift as he knows what my writing is like so I don’t think he expected me to keep it for this long.

I will now reveal what I did with it, there is a local charity shop & dog rescue centre where my eldest daughter got one of her dogs from, (you wouldn’t believe the abuse he suffered as a pup) anyway I took the pen in & told them it needed a refill but was still a very expensive pen, I then phoned my mate & told him where it was, he said he was going to go in straight away & buy it, he didn’t ring back so I don’t know if he bought it.

 

[Pow-Lo]

I don’t often hold sentiment with objects, my brother tends to buy expensive gifts as there is just him & my sister in law as they always put their careers first. The pen was a sort of joke gift as he knows what my writing is like so I don’t think he expected me to keep it for this long.

I will now reveal what I did with it, there is a local charity shop & dog rescue centre where my eldest daughter got one of her dogs from, (you wouldn’t believe the abuse he suffered as a pup) anyway I took the pen in & told them it needed a refill but was still a very expensive pen, I then phoned my mate & told him where it was, he said he was going to go in straight away & buy it, he didn’t ring back so I don’t know if he bought it.

Interesting approach. My only issue there is that the charity shop won’t price it at anywhere near what it’s worth. People tend to go there looking for bargains as they don’t have much money to begin with. Apart from your mate, who’s going to go to a charity shop looking for an expensive pen?

Good on you for making sure that the money goes to a worthy cause though

 

[Lee337]

I have a Waterman pen set, twist ball pen & fountain pen in it's case which my mother bought for my 40th birthday (I'm 56 now) I rarely use the ball pen & have never used the fountain pen.

Would I part with it?

No, don't think so, whatever it's worth.

 

[andyBeaker]

I don’t often hold sentiment with objects, my brother tends to buy expensive gifts as there is just him & my sister in law as they always put their careers first. The pen was a sort of joke gift as he knows what my writing is like so I don’t think he expected me to keep it for this long.

I will now reveal what I did with it, there is a local charity shop & dog rescue centre where my eldest daughter got one of her dogs from, (you wouldn’t believe the abuse he suffered as a pup) anyway I took the pen in & told them it needed a refill but was still a very expensive pen, I then phoned my mate & told him where it was, he said he was going to go in straight away & buy it, he didn’t ring back so I don’t know if he bought it.

Only flaw in the plan is that a lot of charity organisations have now got their act together and dispose of
Valuable items in a much more efficient manner than they used to by either sending the item to an outlet in an affluent area or selling by auction. The days of Doris and Mabel selling verything for 50p have gone!

 

[johnboy]

After my Mother retired she did a spell in a charity shop but soon left as the staff would help themselves to the good stuff.

 

[derek kelly]

Only flaw in the plan is that a lot of charity organisations have now got their act together and dispose of
Valuable items in a much more efficient manner than they used to by either sending the item to an outlet in an affluent area or selling by auction. The days of Doris and Mabel selling verything for 50p have gone!

This is a singular charity run by two women who take in as many stray dogs as they can & if they can’t they seek foster families, I told them that my mate would probably come in & what he had offered me so the ball was in their court to get what they can.