At collectors' meetings it is above all older writing instruments that change hands. During the morning of the Cologne meeting in March 2005, pieces from the period before 1945 in particular were traded; in the afternoon writing instruments from the 1960s and 1970s came to the fore. New goods play a markedly smaller part. Haggling goes without saying, and the first interested parties are often standing at the table before the goods have been fully unpacked.
The price level in 2005 was fair and frequently lay even below the Ebay prices of the time. The real advantage over the online auction, however, consists in the fact that the writing instruments can be examined closely before the purchase instead of having to rely on photographs and descriptions. Even those who sell little themselves gain something from a visit, because the exchange of experience with other collectors arises in such concentration only there.