"I'm not going to sell you this pen. The thing about pens is that the value is the sum of it's parts, so instead of thinking what a pen is - plastic, ink, a spring -- think about what you can do with a pen. Write your groceries down. Take down the phone number from your answering machine. Keep your kids entertained for 30 minutes with games of tic-tac-toe while you wait. Those three things along should make the pen the most desirable item, but you can get them in an 8-pack for 2$. I'll do you a favor and trade you this pen for a quarter, and I will look forward to have you to write with it."