Every once in a while I will write a summary of whats for sale on Oi Vay in pipes world. As I go through the listing I notice that some people will list anything to make Five Pounds which I find rather sad and pathetic. I am sure you know the sort of individual I am talking about. They show up a 'Jumble Sales' or 'Car Boot' sales with bad teeth, fingers stained from smoking Players No 6, oily hair and a general lack of hygiene beloved of those whose carear projectory entails milking the tax payer for all that the state will provide for free. This has led to a rash of what can only be described as cr*p on Oi Vay. By cr*p I mean the odd broken meerschaum where the stem has broken clean from the bowl. This would be the equivalent in the annals of usefulness as having a third nostril as without extensive silver work it cannot be fixed. Another winning entry is the collection of briar pipes that looked liked they have been left out in the garden for a few years and are variously described as WW1 or WW2 battlefield dug relicts! It seems that anything that doesn't sell on Ebay winds up on Etsy at double the price and is usually the damaged stuff that discerning Ebay buyers give a miss too. That being said my friend Andre buys all is his new meerschaum pipes from Etsy and swears that they have the best deals around if you are into smoking small garden ornaments. In this regard he is probably correct as I have yet to see one of these ghastly pipes explode during the course of our regular Friday lunches at Salt & Pepper on Lexington Avenue but one lives in hope! I am very hopeful someone, somewhere will launch a E-Sales site that only sells antique pipes in the style I like and that every pipe has been broken in by the judicious smoking of Condor plug. I am sure they would sell very well. Have a good Sunday gentlemen.
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