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The show is now over, so the question some of you may be asking is how did it go. Did I sell enough to cover the cost of the table, what were the pit falls, would I do it again, did I enjoy it. All these questions and more I hope to answer.

For those of you who missed my previous post, last weekend I rented a table at the London (UK) Pen Show to see if I could sell some of my unused pens. This was not so much about raising funds but much more about trimming the collection.

So what were the potential upsides? Well if successful I would reduce the number of pens I own and none of the pens sold would be ones I had used for a long time. I would recoup some money to potentially spend on more pens (though I would make a loss on any I got rid off). It would be limited how much of the show I would see and thus restrict how much I could spend.

The table when first set up.

What were the potential downsides? Biggest two were not selling any or enough pens to cover the £90 table price and not being able to properly wander round the show. I missed out on a number of new attendees, including Galen Leather, The London Pen Company (from London, Ontario), and Zeki Karaca.

What mistakes did I make? Well I forgot I might need change for cash purchases and I assumed I would be able to use PayPal to for the rest, however that failed at the very first hurdle. I was fortunate though, as I will cover next. Additionally my original layout, as planned, felt it was a little flat and boring.

What worked? Well I shared my table with a fellow member of both the Southern Pen Club and United Inkdom, Ania M. This was partly by invite, I’ve known Ania for a good few years and so knew everything was safe if I wandered away from the table. Additionally she brought a credit card machine with here, meaning Paypal was no longer an issue. Sure any payments going through it came with a 1.75% charge and I would have to wait for her to transfer them across once she had received the money the next working day, but that was never going to be an issue. Additionally 1.75% is less than the charges are less than for Paypal.

What would I do differently. Table layout wise I think sticking the boxes out with the pens in/on them would be no better than the laying out on a pen tray, as I did, however I possibly should have used labels and even, maybe several trays.

Care of John of St John’s Pens.

How did I do? Well by lunch time I had sold a grand total of 1 pen, a TWSBI Eco, for £25, and so was some what worried. My table place was actually not too bad. With John Sanderson and Shibui-North Pens being to the left of me there was a chance people would carry on browsing along the line, and with the younger nibmeisters (Jose Munuera , Annabelle Hiller, and Thomas Ang) to the right meant the people waiting for their services could browse to pass time (though alas not spend money) but it still gave the impression I was busy and potentially drew more in. By the end of the day I had actually sold 11 of my 38 pens and it looked like I would sell three more due to interest, but alas those fell through. I truly covered my costs and also the cost of my two purchases.

How did Ania M do? This is key as we were sharing the same table and audience. Sure Ania had less pens and was also selling ink, but she failed to even make the £45 of a half share of the table. Fortunately, because I invited her to join me, I was not going to force her to pay. Would not have been fair. (note Ania did make a voluntary contribution towards the table cost).

Care of Penultimate Dave, think he left the actual video on the cutting room floor ….

Wait, you noted I bought some things? But how? Well in advance I made plans. On arriving I was able to do a quick hello with a few friends and regulars, then late afternoon I left Ania ‘watching the store’ while I hit my targets. With new ScriBos just out and one being launched at the show, my treat for a decent enough amount of selling was a new one, so over to WriteHere I went and that did lead to a chat with John Hall, another with Luca and Elena of ScriBo, and then my major purchase. My first La Dotta, in the new Al Zigant finish.

My purchases.

Next it was off to look at the Parker and parts specialists as I wanted a gold replacement nib for my old Parker 45. I was bought Parker a 45 Harlequin fountain pen and ballpoint set for an event at my 13th birthday. About ten to a dozen years ago the pen rolled off a kitchen surface and pranged the nib. I made the mistake of sending it to Parker Pens not long before they left the UK and they sent it back with an awful replacement. What I did not realise at the time is they had swapped my damaged gold nib for a steel one. This is actually partly what resulted in my buying a cheap modern Parker pen (an IM) and then starting to move truly in to this hobby. Later I was able to buy another nib unit, but again steel, and while better was still not nice. Thankfully Vintage Pen Parts had one (total) which I was able to buy for a good price, and now installed it has transformed the pen back to what my memories tell me is the correct feel.

So would I do this again? I am not sure. I have not yet properly unpacked so still have the 27 pens I returned with in their boxes and I am sure I can identify more pens to sell, but then while I did well Ania did not and that shows the risk. It was a long day, I was there for 8:30 rather than the normal 10:00 (or 09:00 for early birds) but also had more to do before I left the house meaning an earlier rise, plus had to pack away at the end so left later and got back home later.

One side note, a few of you did come up for a chat and mention you read this blog. It was good to meet you and also those of you who may have come over and not said.