A Tale Of Two Barling Birdseyes

Log in

SmokingPipes.com Updates

Watch for Updates Twice a Week

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

Status
Not open for further replies.

sablebrush52

The Bard Of Barlings
Jun 15, 2013
19,621
44,831
Southern Oregon
jrs457.wixsite.com
Two auctions of Barling Birdseye pipes, both posted by the same seller at the same time, ended yesterday with far different results.
Birdseye 1
went for $109.78. There were some issues. The stem was obviously not the original one, and there was damage to the rim of the pipe.
Birdseye 2
went for $503.73. The stem may be original. At least it fits the pipe. There are some issues. Like Birdseye 1, the rim has sustained significant damage. Both pipes exhibit significant darkening along the upper part of the bowl, signifying a good deal of contact with fire. Likely, they were both smoked hot.
So why did Birdseye 2 go for almost five times what Birdseye 1 went for? Stratospheric sniping. Two brilliant strategists sniped with high bids in the last few seconds of the auction. I wonder if they knew that they were bidding in pounds and not dollars? In any event, the "winner" of Birdseye 2 paid over three times what the market would be, based on condition.
eBay is a great place to part a fool from his money.

 
May 31, 2012
4,295
34
I had my eye on the EL bulldog, thought it looked pretty good.
The difference you point out with the Birdseyes is pretty staggering,

I guess sometimes that rarity may induce a trance-like temporary insanity? :lol:

That particular malady seems to occur frequently on eBay!
Just how rare are the Birdseyes?
Both pipes exhibit significant darkening along the upper part of the bowl, signifying a good deal of contact with fire. Likely, they were both smoked hot.
No doubt, and when getting a hard-smoked pipe from Great Britain there ain't no telling what sort of "strange ghost" it may carry, some of which are nearly impossible to remove, especially if its been smoked so hard and constant.
:puffy:

 

pruss

Lifer
Feb 6, 2013
3,558
370
Mytown
some of which are nearly impossible to remove
*cough*velvanplug*cough*
So why did Birdseye 2 go for almost five times what Birdseye 1 went for? Stratospheric sniping.
Yeah, that's a practice I just can't wrap my head around. Anyone who snipes with a bid that is beyond the current market value of the item in question deserves what they get. Now some folk just don't worry about money, others... well... you can't cure stupid.
-- Pat

 
May 31, 2012
4,295
34
*cough*velvanplug*cough*
LOL

Wot?

Velvan is a good ghost!

It ain't that bad, there are worse out there, and probably even moreso wayback when!
:puffy:
Right now I'm smoking Condor Long Cut in an Ashton lovat estate,

it took a few bowls to get that hideous Latakia ghost to finally go away,

but Condor conquers all in the end!

:puffy:

 

pruss

Lifer
Feb 6, 2013
3,558
370
Mytown
Right now I'm smoking Condor Long Cut in an Ashton lovat estate,

it took a few bowls to get that hideous Latakia ghost to finally go away,

but Condor conquers all in the end!
It sure does... I have a friend in the Smokestacks who gave me a Stanwell of his to clean up. He normally smokes Peterson's University Flake, but smoked Condor in it a couple times. Turns out he hated the ghost of the Condor and how it impacted is PUF. So I cleaned up the pipe, including a S&A treatment and then a couple of retorts. He SWORE that he still tasted Condor after I was done. I told him it was psychosomatic and that he'd get over the PTSD of the Condor ghost with time and alcohol of his own.
-- Pat

 
May 31, 2012
4,295
34
Condor has a divine ghost compared to the demonic effluvia of old Murray's Erinmore!

:P
St. Bruno,

of course,

is the Holy Ghost!

:puffy:

 

sablebrush52

The Bard Of Barlings
Jun 15, 2013
19,621
44,831
Southern Oregon
jrs457.wixsite.com
Just how rare are the Birdseyes?
Pretty rare, but $500 is in the neighborhood of what a near mint or unsmoked specimen costs. These pipes have been ridden hard and put away wet. The two snipers were stupid, pure and simple.
Velvan Plug ghost? Don't get me started. I can do terrible things with that name...
Do like me some St. Bruno. Think I'll pack me a bowl.

 

graydawn

Starting to Get Obsessed
Feb 7, 2014
164
1
The always strange always entertaining EBay. Once again high bids on questionable pipes. In Chicago this year a passed on a mint Barling's Make Birdseye that puts these to shame for $500 asking. Someone really wanted that nomenclature.

 

dulgunz

Can't Leave
Feb 11, 2015
310
0
There are many price gougers on Ebay to help sellers on the price. I knew a guy who would sell all kind of stuff on Ebay, he had several accounts, and would jack up the price on his own stuff to get the highest amount possible and make good money. I will not be surprised if we see this pipe again in a few weeks with a slightly different title. Also, the unhackable DOD systems get hacked a lot, so Ebay is a walk in the park to make money from. Just a thought!

 

sablebrush52

The Bard Of Barlings
Jun 15, 2013
19,621
44,831
Southern Oregon
jrs457.wixsite.com
There are many price gougers on Ebay to help sellers on the price. I knew a guy who would sell all kind of stuff on Ebay, he had several accounts, and would jack up the price on his own stuff to get the highest amount possible and make good money. I will not be surprised if we see this pipe again in a few weeks with a slightly different title.
The bid history suggests something simpler. Stupidity. The winning bidder on Birdseye 1 was so determined to win that he increased his maximum bid twice. Nobody else was interested so the pipe went for more than it was worth, but not to any great extent. The same bidder made a last second high bid on birdseye2, but lost to someone even less knowledgeable who also sniped in the couple of seconds.
No one can get screwed unless they do it to themselves. Nobody is holding a gun to anyone's head to put in a ridiculous bid.
To give you an idea of how silly this bidding was here are two pipes that I picked up for about the same amount.
1909 Barling bent with a "Motor" sterling windcap. It's mint BTW
1909_barling_motor_windcap-600x450.jpg

And there's this one, an 1882 Barling with heavy sterling that looks pretty much like it did when it was new. Absolutely mint. It cost more, but not much more.
_57-14-600x371.jpg


 
Status
Not open for further replies.