I'm getting so frustrated with my shortage of good coloured pencils. So today I went into ebay and found a set of 120 new Prismacolor Premier Color Pencils which shipped internationally. And guess what - the shipping on that to Malta is a hefty $35!! Nonetheless I've placed my highest bid at $75 (I would be asleep when the auction closed) and so far I'm winning the bid at $63.79. Actually I've held the highest bid for almost 6 hours now but there are still 8 more hours to go.

Do you think I have done something stupid? Am I paying too much? Or should I actually raise my bid?

Keep in mind that even with such high shipping costs I would still be paying just over a third of what I would have to pay buying from a local shop... assuming Prismacolor were even available! Art supplies are incredibly expensive here.

I'm so excited - can't wait till the auction closes.

You can buy them new at Amazon.com for $112.08 with free shipping (not sure if that applies to Malta, but you can check with them) and on Amazon Market for $90 + shipping. So the price you bid seems reasonable, even with the shipping, but I would not raise the bid. Amazon probably gets a better deal on shipping than an ebay company and has a reputation for quality items.

I'm sure you know anyway, but it is worth mentioning for anyone else considering items on ebay. Always check the reputation and feedback before you bid and if it is a company/person you haven't brought from before--use paypal and pay shipping insurance and/or delivery confirmation. File a claim if the item does not come within two-three weeks no matter what the seller says.

Personally, I have had good luck on ebay and received very good items. If this is the case with the pencils, you should be very happy with your purchase. Let's just hope the bid doesn't go over $75.

Rose, here are some other web sites that sell Prismas so you can compare prices. Some of them ship internationally too.


RexArt, MisterArt, ArtStuff, PearlPaint, DickBlick, ASWExpress, JerrysArtarama, CheapJoesArtStuff, Allartsupply, Currys

These are all dot com

That is just some of them. I hope you don't have a bad experience like Kim did. That is a good price. I paid over $100 for 120 set of Prismas at Dick Blick in St. Louis.

hullo!! *waves*

Well if you don't want to pay to much you can go here

http://www.omerdeserres.com/en/index.asp?

Its all Canadian prices and all the items are good.. I go there to shop for my things:) they have good pencils on sale right now

I hope this helps


Kat

It sounds like a good price Rose. I hope you're successful on your bid and it works out for you.

Rose .. for excited as you are ... no worries dear .. and you are not stupid .. sometimes we do things on a whim .. ( I know i do ) ....but stupid no way ...I think if you wanted them and can afford it .. go for it

It's just after 6:00am here - I'm up and ha! ha! - it seems I have won the bid!

Thank you all for the links. I've bookmarked them for future reference. Chalktalk - thank you for the valuable information. I did check the sellers feedback before placing my bid and it was all positive so let's hope I'll have a good experience with them whoever they are. And BTW - I don't qualify for free shipping at Amazon no matter how large the order.

So - in total I'm going to pay $109.05. Assuming all goes well I think I've made a fairly good bargain. Believe me a box of 36 Koh-i-Noor coloured pencils sells for $75 locally. I've never seen Prismacolor or any other brand as a whole set of 120. God only knows how much that would cost!

So - I'm off to Paypal!!

Rose sounds like you hit a good deal. I myself ordered off of ebay yet again yesterday for a set of 72 Derwent water color pencils. I got free shipping and paid 33.95 for them. The thing with ebay is you really have to check out ALL of the auctions!!! Read sellers feedbacks and make sure they are all basically positive. Another thing if you are bidding on an auction that is not buy it now the best time to place bids is at the END of the auction not while there are still numerous hours to go. The price jumps at the end. If you search really well which can take hours....you usually get great deals.
I think as far as my modem goes on my computer...we are just gonna wait for it to finally arrive (if it does...3 emails to the person and no reply...Thanks Kim...LOL...I told you about that sucky auction with the bad seller and jinxed myself... ) and just buy the modem from Dell. Atleast then I know it is new and don't have to worry about the used one we ordered. If its taken this long after ordering it 2 and a half weeks ago no telling if it will even work. Ebay is for one in my opinion a hit and miss for sure. Like Forrest Gump said..."You never know what your gonna get"....

Woo hoo Rose! Congrats.

Ummm...so now where can we line up to borrow them from you?

Rose I have my own set so no need to worry about me borrowing them..

Chalktalk:As long as you are willing to pay the airfair, you're welcome to borrow them.

Venus: Thanks for your advice. I did check out the sellers reputation before bidding and he/she/it had about 100 positive feedbacks and no negatives, so in the circumstances I thought it was pretty safe to go ahead. I entered the highest bid I thought would be reasonable and let eBay do the work for me since I was asleep during the closing hours of the auction... as it turned out eBay upped my bid 5 or 6 times while I lay blissfully in bed. As for looking for the best auction, of course that is always ideal. However I am rather limited in what I can bid for since very few sellers actually ship internationally.

Now since this is my first ever transaction on eBay - could anyone indicate what happens from now on? I paid through Paypal about 12 hours ago and have heard nothing since. What happens now? Will I hear from the seller or is it normal for them to just ship the goods?

Rose I would say normally its normal for them not to let you know if the merchandise you order is shipped. The good sellers in my opinion let you know when they do. Like with my Derwent WC pencils yesterday the lady left feedback for my husband that she was shipping them out today. Some do tell and some won't.

Rose - Congratulations. I'm so happy for you.

You will probably hear from the seller telling you that the item has shipped. Some sellers won't notify you of this but most of them have automated emailing programs that send out notices after they have shipped the item.

Warning - DO NOT leave them any feedback until you have your item and have inspected it thoroughly and are satisfied with it.

We all like to trust our fellow man, but you still have to protect yourself. Even Ebay will tell you "Let the Buyer Beware".

Again, I'm excited for you. I know with your drawing abilities you will do wonders with colored pencils.

Now you have to buy an electric pencil sharpener! (They don't come sharpened) hahahahaha Don't do them all at once or you'll burn it up. LOL

LOL Painter that is so true...well atleast for the battery operated sharpeners!!! I went through four of those this year!

Rose just sharpen them as you use them. Not all at one time.

Congratulations on winning the bid! I hope they arrive quickly for you as I know how it is waiting for new "toys" lol!

Even my electric pencil sharpener gets overheated after just a few pencils! Just pick out the colors you think you'll use first and sharpen those - do the others as you need them as Painter & Venus have said!

J

do you guys use electric or reg sharpeners ? will the electric kill the pencil quicker ?
Rose cant wait to see a new drawing from you using your new pencils .. same goes for you too Venus

I was thinking of that too... how about a mechanical sharpener that is operated manually - might actually give me some exercise!

Speaking of exercise...oh! never mind!

I have read that the crank type pencil sharpeners are not as good as the electric ones. I read that they tend to chew up the pencil more. That also applies to the little ones that you hold in your hand. They have electric ones that have an automatic stop on them so when the point is sharpened, it won't keep eating away at the wood and wasting your pencil lead. The battery operated ones are supposed to be okay but they eat up a lot of batteries and the blades get dull faster. They are good for traveling.

Painter you are soooooo right!!! I told hubby all I wanted for christmas was an electric sharpener and modem for my computer. Still haven't gotten the one we ordered from ebay. Ohhh well atleast Dell was selling them for 22 bucks. Since I haven't gotten an electric sharpener yet I tend to use the metal tiny sharpeners. They are better than the battery operated ones in my opinion. the battery ones are really hard on prismacolors from my experience so far. So I guess to each their own basically.

I know you're anxious to get your pencils Rose. Hopefully they won't take too long to arrive.

A note on electric sharpeners and coloured pencils. Every now and then, sharpen a graphite pencil in the sharpener just to clear out some of the accumulated wax/pigment build up. Manufacturers say coloured pencils will dull the blades more quickly but I get a year or two out of one without any sharpening problems. It depends on how much your sharpen your pencils - and with even one drawing, that's a lot.

Yes, you lose some pencil in sharpening, but that is the price you pay for using good materials with effective techniques, so don't skimp on the sharpening. You can always buy frequently used colours individually.

Jeanette isn't that the truth!!! Out of my new 120 set I used more than 1/4 pf a pencil already!!! Now I need to go see if local art supply store has that particular color in open stock. Ohh and my colored pencil teacher at the cancer center told me the same thing about the pencil sharpeners and graphite pencil..I forgot all about until you said something...See you come in handy!!

I have a wooden dowel about the same diameter as my pencils, to run through the sharpener because I have grandchildren. Crayons, colored pencils and things are fun in a crank type sharpener or the electric. I also have a lot of stubby writing pencils. Anyway, it cleans them really well and they are so long I can crank and clean to my hearts content or until the blades get dull. Besides they are only 49 cents.

I got this in my inbox today:

Item: NEW Prismacolor Premier Color Pencils 120 Set Markers
This message was sent after the listing closed.
sowerone is the seller.



Post office said 4-10 but probaly a little longer due to the holidays. Your color pencils set was sent December 22. Thanks again for your purchase.
Greg


Yaba Daba Doooooo!!

Rose! That's great! Sounds as if they're on the way! You know we all expect some great paintings from you within a week of their arrival! lol

Actually, I know we'll be seeing some major works of art - I have every confidence in you!

J

Oh my J!!!