How Much Is Too Much To Pay For An E Bay Estate Pipe?

Do the research and then set a ceiling which under no circumstances exceed. If you don't have a bit of self-discipline you'll soon find yourself broke.

+1 Warren
I do a fair bit of eBay buying, as well as antique store and rummage sale shopping. In fact, I've only purchased one "new" pipe and it was on eBay. That having been said, I spend an inordinate amount of time researching pipe pricing. I visit all the PM.com sponsors (gotta keep the click through rate high!), craigslist, kijiji, etsy and eBay to make sure that I have a solid understanding of pricing.
I do this, because I want a great deal for any pipe I buy. I set a ceiling for any auction I bid in, and I don't place bids until the auction is in the last minute. The only time I break from this rule is if I am going to be offline during the end of the auction. Then I put in a bid that is the maximum I want to pay, and I close the computer and walk away. I don't let myself bid by smart-phone. That's a recipe for disaster for me. It is too easy for me to get caught up in emotional decision making that way.
Have I overpaid for pipes? Sure. Sometimes I just "have" to have a pipe.
Good luck!
-- Pat

I am a fan of estates from ebay. There is a lot to consider when it comes to price. The first place you might start is to see what the pipe runs new. If the pipe is no longer available, then it takes experience more than anything else - and that comes from learning about the brand, its reputation and seeing what similar estates have sold for.
I've been able to get excellent deals, but they don't come easy. As well, I try to only buy from a seller with a high rating and I prefer one who will take returns.
My other tip is to use ebay as a form of window shopping and pleasant diversion. Save some searches for makers and styles you prefer, then when you are bored and have time, peruse them as a form of entertainment.
Every so often you'll see a pipe that few have noticed, that's when you might make a nice score. I've picked up a 1962 Dunhill in excellent shape for $125, which for me, was a great price. I've also scored a Peterson Meer in excellent shape for $25.
The other thing to consider is condition. It's not difficult to restore a pipe that's in decent shape. If the photos are poor, ask the seller for better pics. Make sure you can see the rim and preferably into the bowl as well.
And whatever you do, avoid shinypipes - they are crooks. Good luck and have fun.

Six: A font of germane information. I've seen a couple of items when browsing, never bid as I like to fondle and eyeball as well as pass a cleaner when I purchase a pipe. But, the longer I'm here the less resistance I can muster to fight the urge to go for a nice estate Pete or Dunhill. Although I would go likely overboard on a meer lined, leather wrapped Ropp should I see one. First pipe I purchased 50+ years ago. Must set a ceiling! Must set a ceiling!
Again, thanks for the info, you saved me having to start a thread.

All of the above is good advice on getting a good deal and not getting carried away by the auction itself. On the other hand, if there's a pipe you really, really want, I say go ahead and "overpay." Every once in a while, I'll see a unique pipe that I "must" have and I bid way above the usual selling price. I'm willing to pay above the usual price if the total price isn't out of my budget and the pipe is one I really want for my collection. Sometimes you still get a good deal, sometimes you don't. And sometimes someone crazier than you will come along and bid two or three times the usual selling price. If you're not tapping into the rent money, I say it's all in good fun.

As others have said, great advice - especially the part about deciding how much you want to pay for the pipe before you decide to actually bid. One thing I try to keep in mind while I'm looking at pipes on E-bay is that the price usually jumps about 20% in the last five minutes of the auction. So if there's still an hour to go and the bid price is very close to my limit, I cross the pipe off the list. I know I won't get it for the price I want and if I even try to bid there's a chance I'll get caught up in a bidding war and pay way more than I'd planned.

Fester:
The advice you're getting this evening applies to Vegas, REITs, antiques, vintage automobiles, etc.
Do your research. Find the pipe(s) you like to smoke. Look at the history. Track them on the Bay and through online dealers. Get a feel for what they sell for. Set your bid limit and then walk the hell away.
There will always be other pipes.
Now, if something you're watching at an auction site doesn't sell then shoot a message to the seller offering what you regard as a fair price. The worst thing you're going to be told is "No." (I've been using that technique buying lots of Gerber Miming steak knives lately. They're killer blades: great steel and can do double duty as a paring knife in addition to slicing through a beefsteak.)
Don't be one of those auction humps who let their emotions, balls and thrill of the moment render them blood simple. (You know what I mean? Stupid?) As a seller, you want those guys in the crowd. Just don't be one of them.
Good luck, pal.
Fnord

Hi Fenster,
Great advice from everyone. Here's what I have to say about ebay.
If you're starting out, don't buy anything for a few months, just watch auctions. Follow auctions of makers or types of pipes that interest you. Get to know prices. Sure some really enticing opportunities will come and go, but there will always be more. In the long run, knowing the market will benefit you more than will any single auction. There's nothing more important than research.
One good research tool on ebay is its advanced search. Just to the right of the search button there's a tiny "advanced" button. You can use this option to look at completed auctions and see what kinds of prices pipes are going for and what kind of condition those pipes are in.
Great deals are rare, but good one's can be found.
Expect the unexpected when it comes to buying something that you can't actually hold in your hand before you buy it. If you have questions, contact the seller. If the seller doesn't respond, walk away. Never bid on a pipe that doesn't have clear pictures, especially of the bowl, rim, and button. If you want more pictures, ask the seller to provide them. If the seller says no, walk away. Never bid on a "no return" auction unless you're willing to live with the result.

Don't be too impressed with a seller's 100% rating. A couple of the biggest crooks I've encountered on ebay had 100% ratings. Read the feedback about the seller, seriously, read it. I learned that one the hard way.

Did I mention research? Oh, and did I mention research?

Do not get emotionally involved. Decide how much you are willing to pay and STICK WITH THAT! Only idiots get into duels. They're fun to watch, but that's about it. Did I mention research?
You can find good deals on ebay. And once in a long, long, while you can find a great deal. But you can also find lots of very bad deals. Research, knowledge, patience and prudence can help you reduce your exposure to bad deals.
There's a sucker born every minute. You don't have to be one of them.

Great advice from everyone here.

I am like Roth - I avoid eBay like the plague. I will buy from a dealer I have purchased from previously, or who is well-regarded in the community. I am not interested in hunting down great deals, or restoring pipes, so my method is fine for me. I just bought an unsmoked Stan estate from BB for a very fair price. Maybe I could have gotten something similar for less on eBay - maybe not. But I knew I wasn't being taken, the way I did it.

Great advice from everyone guys.
I do more or less the same: i spend time searching for the prices of pipes that I'm interested in to have a certain knowledge of their prices new or for the estates one when they are no longer produced.

Then when I spot a model which interests me, I do more research on that particular pipe to see if I can spot prices in shops that sell estates, old ebay auctions etc.
Only then I fix a maximum amount: if it's not too rare it usually is lower than estate price in shops. If it's something rare it depends on how the auction is going.
Recently I've purchased a couple of Dunhill seconds (Masta of London), almost new, for a very little price because no one cared about them. And at the same time I stopped bidding on a Giubileo d'Oro because it was reaching the shop price....too much. It was a real beauty but the price was really too high for that.

Don't be one of those auction humps who let their emotions, balls and thrill of the moment render them blood simple. (You know what I mean? Stupid?) As a seller, you want those guys in the crowd. Just don't be one of them.

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This is very true. I use esnipe almost all of the time, highly recommended. It's really the only way to win a pipe.
I will say, I did let my emotions get the better of me for this pipe (a Peterson spigot):

I put it in esnipe for $75 because it had only a couple of bids at the time. Then, a couple of hours before it ended, the bids started coming in. I watched it go over my $75 bid and at the last second, when the bidding had reach $90, I put in a bid for $120.
I was highest bidder with 10 secs left to go and suddenly someone sniped - but not high enough to kick me out and I got it for $112.
My risk was that the seller said no returns, but he did have hundreds of sales without a single negative review so I took my chances. Anyway, long story short, it was a great buy. Pipe is a limited edition Pete in near new condition. I felt at the time I had paid top dollar, but I could see this going for at least $150 or higher at an online retailer.
So sometimes you can get lucky when your emotions get the better of you - but it is rare!

You get a pass, Six. And shame on me for speaking in such absolutes.
Great looking pipe.
Fnord

I have gotten some of my best deals on estate pipes from Ebay. I do a ton of research and know exactly what the most I want to pay on a pipe before I bid. If you know what you are doing then you can get great deals, if you don't know what you are doing you will bet burned. Here are a couple of examples of my better ebay scores.
This Steve Morrissete(American artisan) pipe was listed on Briar Blues for 475.00 for months, I eventually saw it on ebay and I was able to grab it for 139.00 delivered.


This Castello Collection Occhio di Pernice Dublin had a retail price of around 620.00, I paid 184.00 delivered.




The deals are out there and it takes time, patience and discipline to get the great deals. If you are not willing to put in the time, then I would stay away from ebay and stick to on line estate dealers like Briar Blues, SP, MKE-LAW and Marty Pulvers as those guys only sell quality pipes and their prices are competitive.
I also have a formula that I stick to when buying estates. I figure out as close to the retail price as I can, I then cut that in half to get the wholesale price and then I try to buy it for as low as I can below the wholesale price.

You get a pass, Six. And shame on me for speaking in such absolutes.

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Thanks fnord - and of course, generally speaking, I agree with you 100% (well, okay, 99%). ::

Castello Collection Occhio di Pernice Dublin had a retail price of around 620.00, I paid 184.00 delivered.

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Wow! Nice going Harris. It's deals like that that will keep me looking at ebay.

six, thanks buddy. That one took a ton of patience and discipline on my part as I had been pining for an Occhio for over a year, but the prices were just too high for me. I kept seeing them go for 300-400 and my formula forbade me to go after them. I did get lucky that the one I got was not from one of the more popular no reserve guys.

Cigrmaster the Castello is absolutely stunning, and the price is wonderful ! I miss an Occhio di Pernice in my little collection.
I think that as you pointed out some knowledge about pipes (grading, dating a pipe etc.) and their prices is the key to safely buy good pipes on ebay. And of course some luck , sometimes beautiful pipes are not noticed by many people and you can get a nice deal.

The price you pay depends on the item being offered for sale. Always do lots of research and buy from sellers that offer good descriptions and pictures. Also look online for information about the pipe maker or company.
There are lots of databases created online to aid in your quest for knowledge.
Also make sure the item you desire can be returned incase you find a problem with it after arrival at your door. Most reputable sellers will allow returns
I hope all works out well for you and you can acquire a nice rotation.

Again, thanks for the info, you saved me having to start a thread.

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Sorry warren, almost forgot to reply - but you're very welcome, glad it helped!