Examples of Pipe Prices Increasing

[mso489]

Okay, the classic price inflation is Dunhill which used to be (in the 1950's?) less expensive than the Kaywoodie. Recent examples include Ser Jacopo and ... well, you tell me. What brands have accelerated upward in price since you've been shopping for pipes?

 

[simong]

The biggest increase I've noticed is related to English estates on eBay. Classics like old comoys & barlings are now commanding (& getting) a much higher price, to a few years ago.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

Yeh, there are some increases, but even a pipe going from $50 back in the day to $350 now doesn't necessarily mean that you can buy more with that money. In the 50's you could buy a new motorcycle for $350 and a tin of tobacco was about a nickel. So, it could be argued that the price of pipes has gone down, with the numbers going up due to inflation, but not keeping up with value.

There was a spot on the PM Radioshow, where Brain was talking about folks trying to use pipes as an investment. Worst idea ever. Very few pipes go up in value after walking out of the store, and even so, like the $50 to $350 ratio, just because the number goes up, doesn't mean that value has.

 

[mso489]

Oh sure, inflation always does its trick. Lately it's been somewhat flat, so the comparisons are more extreme. I think Ser Jacopo pipes have doubled in the past three years; that's not inflation. I think the price spread between Kaywoodie and Dunhill in the fifties was about thirty to fifty percent. Kaywoodies were higher. Now I think the price difference, Dunhill's over Kaywoodie, is about 500%.

 

[pagan]

Iv noticed an increase on Comoys, Barlings as well as other British Estate pipes

 

[warren]

Don't forget to factor in the inflation or labor costs in the countries of origin for, the wood, the craftsmen, costs of tools, rent, all sorts of things we have no real knowledge of. Shipping costs rise as oil prices do. It's a convoluted process to get from bush to counter. lotta people, rents, utilities, etc. involved.

 

[disinformatique]

Taxes, Inflation, High Incomes and Cost of Living are a major factor. Plus if you're looking for a new Dunhill its always better to buy from Italy/Europe etc. Dunhill prices are crazy in the US.

 

[Chasing Embers]

Taxes, Inflation, High Incomes and Cost of Living are a major factor. Plus if you're looking for a new Dunhill its always better to buy from Italy/Europe etc. Dunhill prices are crazy in the US.

Especially for the fact they are factory made. Jeppensen's work has also been gradually going up over the past couple of years.

 

[disinformatique]

@chasingember Yup one of the only surviving factory pipe brand which still command higher prices in the Brit Wood category. Comoys, Loewe, Charatan, Sasieni etc. either got shut down or got sold.
Chris :puffpipe:

 

[moriarty]

I couldn't disagree more about Ser Jacopo pipes. They have reduced in price by quite a lot recently, compared to a few years ago. I really believe they are one of the best value brands anywhere right now. Certain US retailers are keeping them at the old high prices, I've observed, but not all, and the prices from European retailers like Al Pascia are incredible. You can get a really nice sandblast for not much more than Eur100, tax free, and that's phenomenal for such a great brand.
This one cost me under US$150, for example. It is a superb pipe and would have been a fairly priced purchase at $300-400 a couple of years ago.

 

[shotime]

what a great looking pipe

 

[moriarty]

Here's another example. This Ser Jacopo cost me $900 nearly five years ago - it is one of my favourite pipes and I would happily pay that again. The same line (Picta) in the same finish (L2) retails for about $500-$600 now (on the right sites).

 

[cosmicfolklore]

I think that Jeppensen's work that is stamped with his name is going up, but because his Neerup line is going down in price. Maybe he can bring in more for his one-of's because he has dropped his Neerup prices. But, I've seen Neerups drop from $300 down to $100 just in the last few years.

 

[moriarty]

Actually I'm wrong. I did some more research and that smooth Ser Jacopo picta would retail for under $400 now on a site like lepipe.it.

 

[voorhees]

I've noticed estate Dunhills have dropped in price as of late. I guess the run for more tobacco has trumped the need for pipes.

 

[oldgeezersmoker]

Second what Moriarty said about Ser Jacopo's. With the Euro declining in relation to the dollar, and Italy in the throes of a major recession (means a weaker domestic market for pipes), the situation is going to be even more advantageous for price sensitive US buyers. And not just for Ser Jacopo's. I know an eBay seller ID that is in reality used by an Italian shop owner who has no other visible online presence. He put a brand spanking new G Sea Rock in a very desirable shape on auction - 99 cent open, no reserve, no buy it now - that closed about $30 under what a US dealer's cost would be (about 45% of US MSRP). Many brand new Italian pipes are on eBay from reputable shops, and if you know what you are doing, you can figure out the shops real identity and buy them even cheaper directly. For example, there is a gorgeous Castello old Antiquari in an unusual shape with delicious silver work listed on eBay at a buy it now price of $495, a screaming bargain. That same dealer lists it direct at about $405 after currency conversion and VAT rebate. (Customs will run you about $12). If there is a best offer option, don't be bashful, start off at at least a 40% discount. And you should at least get the VAT back, if you are in the US. (20%, but part of that is supposedly non refundable, so it works out to about15%).
This has happened before, back in the 90's when Italy was on the lira. These are retail merchants with excess inventory. Their currency is weak compared to the dollar. They are used to handling VAT rebates and express shipping is cheap. All of this is a lot easier than it used to be. Conduct yourself accordingly.

 

[disinformatique]

@oldgeezer PM me the Ebay vendor lol.

 

[mso489]

I guess Ser Jacopo wasn't a good example, since it sounds as if the prices have bounced around related to the Italian currency and maybe a shift in business plan (?). I still notice precipitous price increases, and occasional decreases, in pipe prices in specific brands that do not seem to relate to inflation or other obvious causes. It may have been the relocation, but I certainly noticed a drop in Stanwell prices, at least at the lower end of the lines, when production was moved to Italy, especially at PC's site, while other online retail sites dropped Standwells completely. A lot going on in that situation.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

In talking with Skip at The Briary about how a pipemaker will get an importer to rep his work here in the US, the relationship that the artisan and exporter have to have to not compete with the retailers (not offering better prices by selling direct), and the way artisans and exporters will push and pull; I am not sure that rise and fall of pipe prices are a reflection of anything besides the willy-nilly relationship between all of these folks involved in getting the pipes on the shelves/webpages.

When demand in the "supply and demand" equation is artificial, the theory there starts to get flakey. This is so in jewelry also. In non-essential products, there is a counter intuitive twist. Raising prices can actual do more to sell these type of products than dropping them. If you saw that Brand X pipes were dropping in price, that makes the quality of the pipes fall. Look at Comoy and Stanwell. Now that they've been able to produce cheaper pipes, the perceived quality of these pipes drop. Sure, sure, guys who couldn't afford them in the past end up buying them like crazy, but will collectors continue to value these cheap pipes as collectible? Would someone pay bargain basement prices for a collection? Or, do they fall into the Dr. Grabow, cheap pipe realm, just a tool? They may sell more pipes in the immediate now, but will these pipes be seen as the crap they made after they moved the manufacturing?

 

[sablebrush52]

I've been following a number of auctions on eBay and the trend I'm seeing is prices falling on estate pipes. The very best stuff will generally go for more, but average estates seem to be in decline. I've seen Barlings go for + or - $100 that would have been closer to $200 and a softening on prices for other collectible estates like Dunhill, Sasieni, Charatan and Comoy. Prices appear to be moderating on Danish pipes as well.
How much of this is caused by funds being diverted to buying tobacco before 8/8/2018 I have no idea, but a lot of folks are cellaring rather than adding to their pipe collections. In some cases prices remind me of the market during the financial meltdown of 2007-8.