Any thoughts or ideas would be appreciated. Any comments, messages or emails with anything like "Sell them to me!" will be ignored. I'm trying to solve the larger problem and come up with an overall solution. Thanks in advance!
The high prices for certain vintage nibs is, indeed, a problem for those who use them.
I'll make a few observations and suggestions here, but please know I do not intend to offend anyone intentionally--these are just my personal opinions.
--Don't sell to anyone whose has been known to sell at inflated prices we are now seeing. I have nothing against capitalism in general, and if these people want to make money reselling nibs, fine, let them find nibs elsewhere. Selling to them would make a part of the problem.
--Don't sell to beginners. It's a waste. I know, we all start out as beginners, and they "should" have equal access, and would if the supply was unlimited, but I feel this way for several reasons. 99+% of good penmanship is the result of effort, consistent good practice, ability to learn, sometimes talent for it, and so on. One percent or less is the result of the tools used, nibs in this case. The better result using a great nib can only be seen if one has reached a decently proficient level using good, readily available nib like the Nikko G or Zebra. If you can't write well with a standard, good nib, you won't write well with a "dream" nib. Great work can be done with a standard nib--see Michael Sull's work. Or to put it differently, a great nib does not make a great writer. Personally, I didn't begin to use really fine nibs until I was 2+ years into it, although I had a few. In the first year or two, great nibs would have been wasted on me.
Another aspect of this is that most beginners never progress beyond the beginning stage. This is true with many endeavors. Take a look at this forum--over 5000 members. How many are still around after a year, working on getting better? From exchange participation, I'd say about 10 percent. Selling, say, just a few nibs to all the beginners and 90% would be wasted, as they never achieved a level where the potential of the nib could be perceived, quitting the whole process for whatever reason. This sounds terribly elitist, I know, but would you sell a vintage $100,000 Ferrari for $10,000 to a beginning driver just so they could try it? I love beginners, and hope many others will join the penmanship ranks, but as the number of beginners is large and unending, let the survivors of the difficult first year or two have access. AndyT's idea of a written note to you showing at least some skill and duration in the pursuit is a good one (not sure about sheep versus goats--are we talking vellum here?).
I have more thoughts, but I need to get to work. More later.
Oh, ps: I tried selling a few nibs here at below market prices--some Esterbrook 128's for $1.25 for example--I didn't even make a dent in the demand, but at least they went to people on the forum who, I believe, bought them to use.
