Negotiating on estate pipes

cigrmaster · Jun 15, 2012

Does anyone have experience negotiating on estate pipes from places like smokingpipes.com? I have never bought an estate pipe from a retailer, only on ebay. I have noticed that some places( not smokingpipes) charge more for their estate pieces than their original retail price. I am talking of recent pipes, not old Dunhills and the like.
I have been thinking of buying an Ashton Pebble Grain because I like the looks and they are supposed to be a good smoker. One site I visited was charging 350.00 for an estate pipe that retails brand new for 295.00.

tbradsim1 · Jun 15, 2012

Dave you are just as good as pipeida, how are you doing? Tbradsim the old cajun

jaysin · Jun 15, 2012

some pipes can cost more then new due the carver being decesed or retired quality of work many varables.

crpntr1 · Jun 15, 2012

Kinda like a picaso

cigrmaster · Jun 15, 2012

Just did a search and found out Mr Taylor died in 2009. That gives me a frame of reference now on the pipes carved by him. Does anyone have an Ashton in their collection and do they smoke as good as they look. I love their black pebble grain.

tbradsim1 · Jun 15, 2012

Dave I have a root briar 1944 Dunhill and I didn"t smoke it much, I"ve started to smoke it every day and it just keeps getting better and better, only Nitecap in it Tbradsim the old cajun

stogie37 · Jun 16, 2012

@cigrmaster - I have owned dozens of Taylor era Ashtons throug the years, and the smoking quality was what won me over. Consistently excellent. I did observe one instance of non-perfect drilling, otherwise, the pipes were worth their fairly steep price tag. Feel free to PM me if you want to talk any specifics.

bigvan · Jun 16, 2012

cigrmaster,
Regarding Ashton pipes, here are just a few more things to consider... roughly 10 years ago there was a perception of quality control issues with Ashton pipes. One retailer of high end pipes in central Ohio stopped carrying Ashton because of issues with cutting, drilling, finishing, etc. A few years later Bill Taylor brought in some help to keep up with demand and the quality went back up. One of these helpers was Jimmy Craig who has been running Ashton since Bill Taylor's passing.
Since Jimmy took over Ashton, engineering quality remains consistently high. I have a Craig-era Ashton and it smokes just as well as my Taylor-era ones. Jimmy and his sons are experimenting with new finishes, blasts and cuts but the old finishes (Pebble Grain, Sovereign, etc.)remain.
Let us know what you choose.

taerin · Jun 16, 2012

I have had your experiance before on ebay with Peterson pipes. This guy wanted $110 for a used Peterson System Standard 305, when they were selling as low as $80 brand new. So I sent him a question stating so and negotiated the price down to $75, since the only store to sell them at $80 was out of stock (pipesandcigars.com). Right when we finally got the deal down, I went to place my offer on it and it got sold at $110 right before my eyes. It was not an old pipe, it was like a year old. So people are not all really informed when they are using Ebay sometimes. Impulse buyers most likely that do not do their research.

cigrmaster · Jun 17, 2012

Thanks guys for all your insight into the Ashton pipes. I think I am going to pull the trigger on one. Has anyone tried getting a better deal from the online stores. I know it never hurts to ask, but if anyone has had any luck doing this I would appreciate you letting me know. If you prefer to keep it to private message I understand.

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