It’s not super rare, really. They do pop up for sale from time to time. The rOtring 700 pencil. It has a solid build and the retractable mechanism is decent (despite a huge plastic screw thread piece inside that could be vulnerable to cracking over time). I have one but wanted a spare… so I almost bid on this one, given how it started at just ¥5,000. But as I prepared to engage in the bidding, I noticed a few photos towards the end. This pencil had some NASTY dents in it. Really strange considering that the metal surrounding it wasn’t in bad shape. I can’t fathom what kind of impact was required to cause this as the metal is pretty tough. It’s almost as if someone drove a Philips screwdriver tip into it.
Anyway, the auction closed at ¥15,500, which is quite a bit higher than I expected it to go considering the damage. I really wonder if the top 2 bidders failed to recognize the damage.