Culling the herd - Part 2

Check out if you have missed part 1 here.

So after all that hard work of actually using the pens day to day and deciding which pens you are keeping, you have to sell those you are not keeping. There are a few different places you can sell your pens.

1. Fountain Pen Network Classifieds
   You have to be a Gold Member to post sales thread on Fountain Pen Network Classifieds. However, the classifieds is a high volume place, your post might get lost in the shuffle but it is also high traffic which will mean more eyes looking at your post. This means your item may sell that much faster. Note, since the forum is an international site, you have to be willing to ship your item overseas.

2. FPGeeks For Sale
   Anyone can post a sale thread on FPGeeks. There are a good number of people looking at the posts but you might have to bump your thread up every couple of days. Also people tend to communicate via FPGeeks’ PM system so make sure to check your inbox there. Note, since the forum is an international site, you have to be willing to ship your item overseas.

3. Pen Addict Slack Sell-Trade
   The Pen Addict Slack is free to join and anyone can post their item up for sale. Things tend to get lost and searching might be hard because of the post limit of Slack. However, the group have circumvent that with a Google Sheet. Sellers update the Google Sheet and post in the Sell-Trade room to give everyone a head’s up. Note, since the forum is an international site, you have to be willing to ship your item overseas.

4. eBay.com
   Personally, I have never sold a pen over eBay but it feels like a hit or miss type. I would probably only use eBay as a last resort to sell a pen. It feels more trouble than it is worth but it would open your item up to a wider audience. Note, since the forum is an international site, you have to be willing to ship your item overseas.

5. Singapore Fountain Pen Lovers Black Market (Facebook only)
   Singapore Fountain Pen Lovers (SFPL) as the name suggests is the home base for most Singaporean fountain pen users. Selling your item here is the best and easiest way to sell locally. What I enjoy most is your dealing location is mostly “the next pen meet” and you can get business done easily. Note, this is a very Singapore centric Facebook group, so assume anyone replying you here is located in Singapore.

6. Fountain Pen Market Buy and Sell (Facebook only)
   Another Facebook only group but this one is international. I’ve not personally sold anything off this particular Facebook group but what’s the harm of posting your item up if you are using Facebook anyway? Note, since the forum is an international site, you have to be willing to ship your item overseas.

7. Carousell This is a buy and sell app and website. It is mainly Singapore and Malaysia focused. It’s also another great way to increase visibility of your item to local markets. It is similar to eBay but much easier to post things for sell. Communicate with buyers can be done via the app but I found their push notifications in constant which end up with missing out on offers on your item.

And finally a few tips on selling your pens and inks online:

Photos and more photos
Nothing entice a buyer more than pretty photos of the pen in question. I’ve been the receiving end of that plenty of times.

Provide close up photos
Every buyer will have to inspect the nib before buying. Of course there is no way to inspect it if you are buying it online, so provide photos of the nib and of every little detail on the pen.

Be honest
Be honest when you are describing your pen on your listing. Clearly state and provide photos of any flaw. You can only be dishonest once, it won’t be long before the community is wise of that fact. There is no gains in being dishonest. Plus, you will most likely be selling more than one pen.

Price accordingly
Do your research, find out what others are selling the same pen so that you do not overprice. Also when you set a price there is the listed price and there is the true price. The true price is what you are willing to sell for while the listed price is usually a little higher so that there is room for negotiation. It is best to set this true price early on so that you don’t get tempted with a low baller’s offer which leads to my next point.

Don’t rush
If you are in a hurry, you can get sucked into accepting an offer that is lower than usual. Selling should be done with patience. It is ok to wait a few months for the right offer to come along especially if your pen is rare and/or limited.

Price low to move quickly
Of course if you are in need of cash quickly, pricing them low will move your pens very quickly. This is usually universal.

Knowing where to list a pen is half the battle
Different pens would find their target market at different places. Such as trying to sell a Nakaya on Carousell is probably not the best idea, these should be sold on Fountain Pen Network or FPGeeks or SFPL.

How much is shipping?
If you are selling your pens internationally it is best to find out what’s the regular shipping cost. You can weigh your pen with all the accessories it is coming with before hand. It is just a quick check online for the shipping cost. Alternatively, you can just assume it is going to the US and it will weigh at least 500g and then add tracking. That’s usually a safe bet.

I hope these information has been helpful and you know what to do when you have to cull your herd.