Estate Pipes - How to Buy Correctly

Smoking Pipes has a great Estate section that updated daily with new pipes, but some can go pretty quickly. That's one reason that I tend to stay on there and check the Estates with regularity, cause once something hits, it might not be there long. That would be the first place I would direct you, because they don't put out junk. Another place is on the bay, but I'd be cautious in what you look at. Some people have no clue what they're posting and could just as well be putting up a Missouri Meerschaum and call it a Castello. I would always go to Smoking Pipes website first and check their Estate listings.

If you like to live dangerously, there are always craigslist or kijiji. I've got most of my collection from there. I've got my 'white whale' 2015 Christmas Peterson on kijiji as well as a very nice 1955 Dunhill.
That being said, the estate section of smokingpipes is also good. They will have been all cleaned and ready to go.

Any of the major places on the sponsors list – smokingpipes.com, pipesandcigars.com, Blue Room Briars are all good places to look. Also any of the ones on estatepipescentral.com . Pipestud is another stellar source -- one of the best for quality, although his supply of estates goes up & down a lot. He’s one of the very VERY best is pipestud. His rep is beyond stellar, & justly so; you can buy from him with 0 worries at all. You'll also find him on eBay. Speaking of fleaBay, there are more than a few that really stand out as 115% reliable & trustworthy. I hope I don't neglect anyone here by *not* mentioning them. Good ones I've bought from (in no particular order): colwright; twestpipe & kahuna100 (I've had several good experiences with all 3); fory63 (in Germany; I've bought 4-5 from him); & bima1960 & pipesonrattan (both in Italy; also multiple happy buys from both).
As far as good brand choices, Savinellis of course are always good as estate pipes, as are older GBD,s & Comoys. Their current stuff may not be *quite* as high quality as before their acquisition by megacorps like Cadogan, et al., but for everyday smokes they're still good. The real bennie is that good relatively low-priced choices from "back when they were REALLY good" aren't that hard to find, GBD in particular.
[[If you see a GDB that has a little oval brass logo in the stem, it means it was pre-Cadogan & very good quality. A similar key for Comoy's is if the seller mentions something like "3-piece [or "3=piece"] C." It was a complex inlay process that used 3 drillings, a circle for the white C, a second smaller one for a black inlay inside the letter, & the last for another black inlay to open the letter up. Yeah, serious, they were that thorough; shows you the care they put into their pipes back then. When Cadogan bought the company they went to a single inlay, & later to a laser imprint. Doesn't mean they're not good enough, just that they're not quite AS good as back in the day. You can find some good info on it at pipedia's Comoy's entry. https://pipedia.org/wiki/Comoy%27s_Dating_Guide. One last word on Comoy: if you can find one of their "Golden Grain," "Pebble Grain," or "Blue Riband" models for a decent price & in decent shape, BUY IT!!!!!! TRUST me, you will NOT be sorry!! ]]

I buy from smokingpipes on occasionally. Good descriptions, but they sometimes buff the s**t out of the stems.

Pipestud is where I have gotten most of my pipes from, with Marty Pulver a close second.

I don't recommend ebay, there's just too much crap there and until you really know your stuff, it is easy to end up disappointed. I highly recommend any of the site sponsors who deal in estates. I have had fantastic service from SP.com, Briar Blues and Mkelaw-Pipes over the years. Yes on ebay folks have gotten killer deals; but for every one of those, there are ten disappointments. Go with a sure thing imho.

I've purchased and still buy nothing but estates pipes, almost all of them from ebay.
But I'll only buy from the guys who professionally clean them up and have a good reputation. I also pefer a lot of pictures and I'll send them questions if need be.
And there's a few "regular" bums who sell pipes on ebay who I avoid. It's not risky at all unless you're a greenhorn. Then you'll need to do some research to avoid getting burned.
I don't see too many (if any) good deals on estate pipes from the online retailers (in comparison to ebay) so I don't shop there.
On ebay I just saw an older Peterson 05 Gold Pated Spigot pipe go for 168 USDs and it was cleaned up and in great condition. That's a $400-500 pipe brand new (plus the new ones suck anyhow...dipstained, off-drilling crooked stems, etc)

You have many different options for buying estates. There are reputable dealers like pulverspriorbriar.com, briarblues.com, smokingpipes.com, blueroombriars.com, mkelaw-pipes.com, etc. The pipes you buy will be cleaned and ready for use. Prices tend to be pretty fair given that the pipes are in ready to use condition. That's the simplest way to start.

There are several very reputable dealers on eBay, like coopersark, greatestates, and treasurepipes. These pipes are generally restored and ready for use. But you will be bidding against others, so you need to do your research regarding prices as you can end up paying well over market if you're not careful. Good deals are possible on eBay, but not guaranteed.

You can also bid on pipes up for auction on eBay being sold by individuals who may not know anything about what they bought at an estate or yard sale, and which are sold in "as is" condition. If you don't mind cleaning up your pipes, you can sometimes find a good deal. Again, you should have an idea of market values.

If buying on eBay, do your homework. Ask for better pictures if you need them. Ask questions regarding condition. As a rule, I don't bid on "no return" auctions.

All the pipes I have bought so far have been estates from Blue Room Briars and they have been excellent folks

I’ll throw out seller vintagepipes on Etsy. I’ve been happy with all my interactions and purchases with him.

I get my estates through SmokingPipes. They do superb restoration work and have a very wide selection at a reasonable price. It definitely is something to check every Monday and Thursday after the updates. If you're looking for Peterson pipes those go VERY quickly.
As mentioned there's eBay which is hit or miss.
Pipe shows are a good place to get estate pipes too. There's always a few tables selling estates and some times they'll mark them down with a show discount. The challenge there is do you buy it day one or do you chance waiting to day two and maybe it's not there or maybe it is and it's even cheaper.

I've been lucky with ebay in Europe. Recently I acquired a meerschaum that ended up being made from Andreas Bauer, a Savinelli "Straight Grain", Peterson "Kapruf", and Charatan's Make 149 for about $10 each. "Seeik Info On 4 Cheap Estates"

The key was that the seller didn't really know what he was selling. The names were misspelled or absent. The photos were very poor quality. I took a chance and it paid off. Probably these pipes were from someone who had passed away and were being sold off by a family member.

Another time I picked up a Stanwell that was being sold as used. It was cheap and when it arrived I discovered that it had never been smoked.

I don't want any more pipes or else I'd probably bid on this Savinelli Punto Oro that will end in a few hours and is currently 1 Euro. Punto Oro on German Ebay

For the really high-end, cleaned and polished estate pipes, buying from the reputable on-line retailers mentioned above is a must.

As for myself, I have a wife who likes to browse through "junktique" places - "antique" malls, flea markets, street fairs, etc. When we first started doing that I had no clue what to look for or really what I was looking at when it came to pipes. I also didn't have a good idea of what the pipes were worth. (Worth being very subjective to the person looking or selling.)
That's why I have bookmarked websites like pipepedia and pipephil on my iPhone and have also found a good magnifying glass app which has a flashlight function. I also read up on how to date a Kaywoodie and Dr. Grabow pipes even though I only have 2 Kaywoodies in my collection at the moment.
Most of the pipes I find are 3-Digit Kaywoodies, Dr. Grabow's and Medico. However, I have a Savinelli Giubileo d"Oro bulldog from the 1970s that I've paid $3.00 for. I've also found an Ascorti, a Mauro Armellini, a Savinelli Non Pariel and my one of my favorites, a Salmon & Gluckstein with a Sterling Silver band that's hallmarked for 1890.
I've also seen Dunhills, Jobey's, Chacom, Nordings, and other higher end pipes in these shops. It's just a matter of searching them out.

I buy both estates and new pipes. I wouldn't fool with estates at all had I not personally handled hundreds of used pipes at pipe shows over the years. Most of my estate pipes have come from eBay, both the big name sellers and individuals. I rarely think I have gotten a bargain. I don't mind paying up for quality, but I pretty much stick to a few makers that I know well. The best scores I have made on eBay have come from regular high volume eBay dealers who luck into some nice pipes every now and then They know enough to take good pictures and provide accurate descriptions and are responsive to questions. The one disappointment I had was from such a seller and was in an auction lited as no returns. When I explained the condition issue, he credited my PayPal account immediately including the postage both ways! I had my money back before he even had the pipe.
If you choose to buy estates, try to go to pipe shows and learn the ins and outs of the makers you are interested in. You should be comfortable in knowing what a nice pipe looks like and what can be done with alcohol, pipe cleaners, shank brushes, and other commonly available tools to handle minor issues. And know the difference between a nice pipe, a pipe that you can make nice, and a dog. Listen to the opinions of sellers, but take everything with a few grains of salt. Looking is free.
And if you choose to bid at eBay auctions, use a snipe program. Just recently, a nice Castello went for over $400. The buyer almost immediately listed it as a buy it now pipe for a loss. He got caught up in the last seconds of a bidding war and his max bid got pushed to the limit. The bids went beyond the snipe I had set and I was fortunately an observer. I ask myself what I would pay if I had the pipe in hand and set my max bid at least 10% below that.
There is value to be had in new and estate pipes. Don't let anyone convince you otherwise.

Most of my pipes are from ebay. I've had a blast getting them. Along with pipe stands, racks, reamers, or whatever.

I haven't spent a lot of money, relatively. I have a wide variety to choose from and have learned a lot in the process.

My first auction was for about 5 briars that came in at less than $5.00 each and I still smoke them.

The second was for about 5 cobs. It ended up being one new cob, one new maple pot, one kiko meerschaum that looked quite similar to a cob, and a couple of nice old smoked cobs that I love to smoke.

I could have been smart then and stopped and had enough, augmented by a bag of MM seconds, but it was too much fun!

I agree with the posts recommending starting out estates with smokingpipes.com or similar venders. Their pipes are inspected, sanitized, and ready to smoke, and described in exacting details. The prices reflect this extra attention, but are reasonable and sometimes discounted besides. The flaws are duly noted and a grade given the pipe over all. You can always go on ebay and take your chances; sometimes big bargains, sometimes big disappointments, sometimes big scams. I don't ebay, but many enjoy it. Expect to thoroughly clean and restore those pipes.

"ebay, there's just too much crap there and until you really know your stuff, it is easy to end up disappointed." -- 100%, thomasw. There's good stuff & there's garbage. If you're lucky you can learn the ropes without taking too much damage. But for the relatively inexperienced eBay pipe buyer it can be a real crapshoot unless you stick *religiously* to the known *really* good sellers -- pipestud, et al. There are just too many [ahem] "shiny" sellers who have a shady side. Even some of the ones I named could be bad deals for others, even though they've been nothing BUT great for me. Even 100% positive feedback isn't an ironclad guarantee.
For the most part I've had REALLY good experiences, but even though Ive been what I consider careful, I've gotten burned a couple of times. It's a chance you take. But there are some absolute gems of pipes to be had if you know which rocks to look under.
The trick is not dropping said rock on your foot.

Well, I've read about some of the most revered pipe makers getting their starts in restorations.

I figure, if I can pick up, as I did, recently, a Savinellli Trevi and a LaSilvanah Ascorti for $20.00, I can clean em up and learn something in the process.or

Picking off a decent old pipe is fun.

Most of the pipes I have 'won' are under $20.00

I picked up several decent pipes as part of a pipe rack deal. Get a rack and 3, 4, or more pipes for around $20.00 and even one good pipe is a bonus.
Eaubachons are like $25.00 and up.