We're hosting our very first Pen and Ink Swap Market! This is our first market for customers to come and sell their own used or new pens, inks and supplies, sort of like an in-person Kijiji. Every once in a while, after cleaning out a stationery cupboard or decluttering a desk, we discover a few things that could be better used or loved in someone else's pen roll. If you have used or new pens or inks that you're no longer using, or you'd like to browse what other people might have available, please come check out our Market from 1-5 pm. Everyone is welcome, either with something to sell or looking to buy or swap. There is no cost to attend as either, and you're free to drop in at any time. This could be a great chance for you to catch a great deal on a used ECO or a bottle of ink that has only had one or two fills from it. Just like at a pen show, you should be aware that you're buying goods that are potentially used or in varying conditions, and perhaps more so as it won't be professional or semi-professional sellers, or people who are restoring pens specifically for resale. Someone might say their pen is in "good" condition, but that might be something slightly different to you. These transactions are taking place between you and the seller, rather than with us as a shop, so there's no warranty or refunds available. We are asking people to leave their contact information in case you have any questions, especially with more unusual or vintage pens, but you should consider every sale final. We want everyone to leave happy, sellers and buyers, so keeping this in mind will help to make sure that you're certain about your purchase.
There may or may not be any vintage pens at all - it may mostly be a variety of used modern pens, but who knows what you may find. If you're coming and are bringing a few things for sale, please feel free to leave a comment with what you're bringing so people can have an idea, or just come and be surprised! Here are a few suggestions:
- If you're selling a pen that's used, and you don't mind, it might be nice for you to ink up your pen so people can try it out on the spot.
- You can price your item "Best Offer" or "$40 Or Best Offer/OBO" but keep in mind that you will need to field all of the offers, and people may be coming and going, so the person who gives you that best offer may leave by the time you're ready.
- Bring cash! We do not have an ATM located close by.
Everyone who is selling anything will need to fill out a card for every time on sale when they arrive with the following information:
- Item
- Nib size
- Condition (used/new)
- Price
- Open to swap (yes/no)
- Additional details
- Name
- Email or phone contact information
For example:
- Item: Lamy Safari Dark Lilac Fountain Pen
- Nib Size: Fine (black nib)
- Condition: Lightly used
- Price: $30
- Open to swap: Yes
- Additional details: small scratch on barrel
- Name: String Bean
- Email: string.bean@gmail.com
Or
- Item: Bottle of KWZI Maple Red 2015 Pen Show Special Edition Ink
- Nib Size: N/A
- Condition: 85% full
- Price: $20
- Open to swap: No
- Additional details: stain on label
- Name: String Bean
- Email: string.bean@gmail.com
During the market, we are going to have our merchandise cleared off from the tables in the shop. Sellers can come and set up wherever they like, whenever there's a spot free. As soon as you come in, you can pick up as many cards as you need, and fill them out to have on display with your items. There's no limit to how many items you can bring in. We're going to have a few chairs for sellers behind the tables, and we strongly recommend you remain behind your goods for sale, as there may be busy moments when someone has a question or wants to try it out.
Hope to see you out! There might be a few treasures from a few years back, or else a few good deals to be had. Don't hesitate to let us know if you have any questions.
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Comments
wonderpens said:
Hope you had a great time!
Sorry for the late response! But yes of course, at events like this notebooks or related stationery is also fine.
wonderpens said:
So sorry for the late response!
There is paid street parking on Carlaw, a few paid parking lots at Dundas and Carlaw as well as residential street parking in the surrounding neighbhourhoods.
We do indeed have a debit/credit machine for in-store purchases – you can see all of our inks and available items at our website here: wonderpens.ca
Lanis Mosher said:
A couple of questions for you. Is there sufficient parking nearby ? What inks do you carry? Will you have a debit/credit machine available for in-store purchases? Thank you.
Jens Hembach said:
This sounds like fun, and like the perfect opportunity to scale back my collection a bit to free up funds for – what else – new pens!
I’ll be bringing a number of Lamy Safaris and Al-Stars (most new, limited editions), a Levenger, a TWSBI, a Noodlers, one or two Pilot Falcons, a vintage Stellor flex nib lever filler I don’t know much about, and whatever else I find that would be better off in someone else’s hands than my desk drawer.
Q: I also have some unused notebooks I don’t need (Field Notes, Leuchtturm, Rollbahn, Moleskine). Can I bring those as well, or are you looking to stick strictly to pens and ink?
Patte said:
I should clean out my desk more often. I found a lot more goodies than I thought I had!
No Nonsense & Vector fountain pens, Vector rollerballs, calligraphy nibs, 2 boxes of vintage Esterbrook dip-nibs, vintage Carter’s ink, a vintage Waterman’s Stalwart with 14k oblique nib & a fresh sac & leverbox, an antique novelty dip-pen that looks like an umbrella…
I’m going to be filling out a lot of cards on Sunday!
wonderpens said:
Sounds great!
Pat said:
So glad to see this is happening! I temember commenting/emailing about something similar to this a while back when looking at a bottle of barely used Quink. It’s nice to see that you all take suggestions seriously :)
Will empty ink vials be available for sale? So people can swap inks
I hope I’ll be back for that but I also have a packed schedule of ed exams out of town. We shall see :)
wonderpens said:
We sure do take suggestions seriously! We always appreciate people who take the time to share ideas with us.
Although in this case we’ve been thinking about running an event like this for a while now: the amount of work in the logistics and organization of it, as well as some of the risks that with this type of market have been two big factors in holding off on running it, but we’re biting the bullet.
We will indeed have empty ink vials and empty ink bottles for sale on that day – actually everything in our shop will be available for sale, just some of it may be cleared off tables and stored in the back. Hope that helps!
wonderpens said:
We’ll have most of our tables cleared off, but if there’s anything from our shop that you’re interested in, we’ll have staff on hand to help out (if it’s pens), grab it from the back etc. If you know what you’d like, you can put it through as an in-store pick-up and we’ll have it ready for you, but it will also be no problem for you to browse and see before purchasing the day of.
All the sellers will be as individuals (not associated with the shop). Hope this helps! :)
wonderpens said:
Yes, of course! That’s great for us, as we can get it ready for you ahead of time :)
2yens said:
Fundraising for DC too! Will have Karas, Visconti Van Gogh, Vanishing Point, LE Lamy Safaris, and maybe some vintage :)
Ruth E. Martin said:
What a terrific idea! I only wish I were going to be in town for this. It sounds like it’s going to be a lot of fun.
wonderpens said:
Yes, I hope it all works out! Keeping my fingers crossed for a cool day, but otherwise hoping to see a few familiar faces – although disappointed you won’t be in town! We might run another of these events if it all works out :)
wonderpens said:
So glad to hear it! Can’t wait to see you there – and I’m sure you’ll have some great treasures :)
Brad said:
What a grand idea! One question, if I put in a web order for in store pickup prior to that weekend, could I pick it up at the swap meet?
Anne MacLellan said:
Will you be selling your shop items as well at this time or will it only be the items that the sellers have brought & they are selling as individuals?
Gerald said:
Yay! I’ll be there with stuff to sell. Need to unload some pens to pay for my DC trip. Might bring some bungbox inks too. Fun. Looking forward!