Editing The Pen Addict 167/transcript (section)

== DC Pen Show ==


'''Brad Dowdy:''' All right. So I wanted to talk about the DC pen show. It's coming up this week. We've been talking about it for months, but I've gotten now that it's here, essentially, people have been asking questions about pen show etiquette. And we've covered this kind of stuff when we were going to the Atlanta pen show when I was going there before you made it over for this year's show. And people, it's an intimidating thing kind of for people who have never done it. The first time I went to Atlanta, I was certainly like deer in the headlights. So just talking about it, a lot of this is going to be old information for some, but it's new information for a lot of people. And that's what we want to try to share with everyone to make all of these people who are making it their first show or their second show feel comfortable, you know, going into what's really the biggest pen show on the planet, supposedly.

'''Myke Hurley:''' Yeah, because there's going to be a bunch of things in this list where you don't even know what to expect. Yes.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' So this is going to be, this is a one of a kind adventure, apparently going to DC and Lisa Van Ness has helped me out a lot with like these, like the pen show etiquette things and what to expect from DC because last year was her first year and she was really overwhelmed. I mean, she just talks, she can't, it's been hard for her to put into words how busy it is, like relating it to, okay, what Atlanta was and then extrapolating that into what DC is going to be. She said it's like hard to even make that jump, which is just kind of mind boggling, right? It's so different, she says, and so much bigger, so much busier that, you know, it could be a little bit intimidating.

'''Myke Hurley:''' And it's kind of not the same thing.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Yeah. At that point. Right. Yeah. Yeah. So, so I want to go over just kind of a few primary topics that a lot of people have asked over the past couple of weeks to hopefully help out, you know, when they get to DC and, you know, are trying to make their way through, through the show. So the first thing that should be the first thing on anyone's list, if they're looking to do it at a pin show and not, this isn't just DC, but this is any pin show. But if you're looking to get nib work done, you need to do that. You need to plan for that. The very first thing when you walk through the door. So if you know you're going to get nib work done, and I think Lisa said there's probably six or eight, uh, uh, people working on nibs there, you know, uh, Myke Masayama, Richard Bender, I don't know the whole list of them, but like, if you want Myke Masayama, you need to walk in the door the morning of the day you're there and put your name on the list because it might be the afternoon, even at that point before you get to it. So, so Dan Don in the, in the Slack room, he said, how do you run to all the nibmeisters at once? And that's the, that's a good way to put it. If you can't get in there early, you want to get a friend that can hook you up, say, Hey, can you put my name on the list? Um, and have someone do that for you. Even if you go, even if you come Friday, I'd put your name down and you know, you're going to be there Saturday. I'd put your name down late Friday for Saturday. You know, they'll start a Saturday list even early, um, then, and for the next day. So yeah, after the first couple hours of the show, I mean, they're done. I mean, they're booked for the day. And if you think you're going to purchase a pen and walk over to Myke Masayama at three o'clock in the afternoon and get something done, well, you're in for a rude awakening. And it's just something that has to be planned. If you're trying to do it, this is the first pen show where I'm not bringing anything to get worked on. So I've always been real cognizant of getting this done the very first thing. And you just want to get it out the way because it can take a while.

'''Myke Hurley:''' Do you just not have anything that you need or want?

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Uh, there's a couple of things that I want, but I'm going to be so busy, um, doing other things, the show, like I like taking in the show and then working on Saturday and Sunday for, uh, Van Ness that I don't want to get wrapped up in the hours of, you know, thinking about, you know, getting things done. Um, as far as nib goes, I have two pens actually that I want to get worked on, but I'm just going to wait until after the show. And then I'll probably send them off to someone to get done. Um, I'm just not going to have time this year to, to do that. So that's kind of my, that's my thinking. Yes, I have some nibs I want to get worked on, but I think I will pass on this show and just, uh, just go for it, um, after the show and go from there, but get in early, get your name early, then go about your shopping. And if you can't get there early, see if you know someone that's going to go there early and they can put your name down on the list for you. So that's a, that's kind of a crucial thing. If you want something done outside of that, probably the biggest topic that came up, um, which kind of surprised me. I didn't really think about it that much in the past, although we've kind of mentioned it in, in passing a little bit is haggling. So people are wondering, you know, are, can you have these discussions with these vendors, um, about, you know, haggling on the price? So, uh, debt is debt in the chat room today. Um, debt put it in the, in the Slack room. He says, would love to hear some discussion about pen show haggling. I'm not very good at haggling period. And I'm always unsure how to do it at pen shows when buying multiple items from one vendor. It seems easier. For example, if I get this and this, you think you can work with me on the price for a bit, but is it permissible or possible to do it for one item, an expensive vintage pen, for instance? And if so, how would you go about it? So this is a case by case basis, but in the general sense of things, vendors who were selling more modern pens, you're not really going to be able to haggle with them because a lot of times their prices are fixed by the manufacturers. So they don't necessarily have a lot of playroom, but if you're buying, say, you know, like three modern pens from someone, you know, and the total comes out to just, you know, say $200 or, you know, whatever, you know, okay. Would you take, you know, one 90 for that? Could you, is there some, a little something you can do? And usually they can, you're going to get more haggling room on the vintage pens just because it depends on the pen too. And it depends on the, the person selling the pen.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' But like with the vintage pens, you know, they may have had it longer or there may have a larger quantity of that particular pen. But if it's like an elusive, you know, hard to find item, there's probably not going to be much wiggle room. Um, and you know, some people just aren't going to haggle. Um, you can certainly ask, you know, is there anything you can do? You know, I, and I have asked in the past, like I bought a vacuumatic, a restored vacuumatic at the Atlanta pen show two years ago. And I forget the price. It was like, I don't know, I think it was like 140. And, you know, I looked at it and then I put it down and then I came back later and I looked at it and I put it down and I finally decided that I was going to purchase it. And, you know, I went up and I, and I asked the guy, you know, it was 140. I said, would you take 125 for this pen? You know, I'm not going to say, would you take 70 bucks for this pen? You know, be respectful. These people are here, you know, a lot of these people, this is how they make a living, right? So it's not a garage sale. You know, people aren't trying to get rid of things. They're trying to sell and make money. So, you know, I think as long as you're reasonable and respectful and asking, it doesn't hurt to ask ever. And he said, he actually said, well, you know, I'm selling this pen for someone else. He's like, I have this batch of pens that someone's asked for me to sell. He actually had a price list. He said, well, let me look and see if I can do that. And he looked and he said, yeah, okay, I can take 125 for that. And that was it. So it was done. But it's kind of a fine line. You just want to be, you know, reasonable and respectful. Um, certainly ask with the vintage pens, um, with the modern pens, you're hardly ever going to get any discount unless you're buying several items and, you know, have a several hundred dollar total. And, you know, they might be able to, you know, take 20 bucks off here and there if something happens. So, you know, I, it's, it's always worth asking. Um, just kind of don't expect like garage sale pricing. Don't have that mentality. If this, if you've never been to a pen show, don't expect that, you know, these are people, you know, who sell lots of pens and they know what they're worth and they know what they have into them. So, you know, and they'll, they'll tell you flat out, yes, I can do something on this or no, I really can't do anything on this. And if there's something very, very specific that you're looking for, like you're going in and you're saying, I want this exact pen from this exact year with its exact nib, and you're able to find something like that. Hopefully you've done some homework prior to going. So, you know, what a good price is, right? So you have an idea, is this a good price or is it not? Or, you know, should I, you know, haggle the price, see if I can haggle the price down. Because I think it's a little too high, but you know, you would never say that to the person. Well, I can get it online for this much cheaper. Well, they'll just roll their eyes at you and tell you to move on. But, you know, kind of have an idea if you're going for something very specific and you'll know about the pricing. And it doesn't hurt to ask, but, you know, being reasonable and respectful for everyone there, put yourself in their shoes. And I think you'll, I think you'll be okay. So I would definitely haggle. But it's not, it's not like the Wild West of haggling, I guess, if you will, right? It's, it's, you know, people might be able to do a little bit here, a little bit there, and they're certainly glad to do it, you know, if you're a customer of theirs and making a purchase. So what do you think? Did you do any haggling? Have you, are you a haggler?

'''Myke Hurley:''' No, I'm not. I tend not to be. I mean, you know, partly I find it a little bit awkward and uncomfortable. And there's this other part of me, which I was just going to mention. So I'm glad that you asked me. There are some people who this is their living. And I think it's, it's sometimes just, just remember that. Don't not haggle, but like be respectful. And I don't know, I personally find it to be awkward and maybe a little bit disrespectful in some scenarios, but I wouldn't pass that judgment on people that do it because it is an accepted thing to do in many scenarios, but it's just my own personal view on it, which is why I tend not to do it.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Right. And it's certainly acceptable. And you know, one tip I can give you, okay, there's, there's going to be a lot of us at the show, right? There's going to be a lot of people that listen to this podcast, a lot of people in our community that all of us, you know, listeners, bloggers, readers. And if you see a pen that you're interested in, and you may not know everything about it, come find one of your friends here and bounce things off them. You know, like there's going to be so many people there in this community that are kind of in the same boat as you, but they might have a little bit more experience in one area than you do. And it's always good to like, you know, get a second opinion from one of your friends. Hey, come over here and take a look at this pen. Tell me what you think. You know, things like that. Is it worth it? Yeah. I do that all the time. Like, you know, my God, I know hardly anything, but I'll lean on people that I know that are there and say, Hey, I found this pen over here. It's really interesting. It's something I've, you know, seen or looked at over the years and it's, you know, 200 bucks and I'm not, you know, is that a good price? You think that's a good price? Actually, I did that in Atlanta for a vintage pilot pen I bought. I was like, Oh, this pen's great. It's beautiful. It's something I've eyeballed forever. What do you think about this price? You know, to like Mark Backus or Thomas Hall. And they're like, yeah, that's like, that sounds fair and reasonable because a lot of these vintage pens, you know, we don't have a lot of pricing experience with, you know, that's just not a lot of our realm. So it's good to bounce those ideas off other people and don't hesitate to do that.

'''Myke Hurley:''' I have to say a moment ago, Brad said, I don't know anything. So he said that he didn't know anything. And I know that there will be people listening will be like, that'd be silly. Of course he does. The rest of that question is compared to some of the people. Like seriously, yeah. Compared to some of the people that are at these things, he knows nothing. Right. As the same here. Like, and he mentioned like Mark Backus and Thomas Hall. Like there, there are people all like, uh, Lee Reyes, like there are these people, they just know everything and it's incredible. Uh, so if the, if you see people of their caliber around and they're the ones to ask the questions of.