Never Ever sell A Pipe at A Pipe shop

drsam · Jun 7, 2012

I was in A (unnamed) pipe shop last week chatting with the owner when A fellow came in with

A box of pipes and asked if they bought pipes. The answer was yes and the pipes were unloaded

on the counter. Two Dunhill root briars, two Pete Dublins Sterling mounts, 3 Savinelles, and several others.

All in the original boxes with their sacks and papers. All of them unsmoked or very lightly smoked.

The offer was $280 and the sale was made.
AEGHHHHHHHHH!!

grizzly86 · Jun 7, 2012

I'm afraid the shop would have been mad at me. I would have looked at the guy and told him I'd give him $325. :evil:

withnail · Jun 7, 2012

I wonder what he will resell them for? Poor guy, he would have done so much better if he had listed them on eBay.

mluyckx · Jun 7, 2012

+1 with Grizzly..
Depending on my relationship with the shop owner, I would have offered more right there on the spot. If the shop owner complained, I would have confronted him knowing he's ripping off the poor guy who obviously had no clue what he was selling. If ripping off customers is normal business practice in that shop, I think I would stop visiting it.

dervis · Jun 7, 2012

I see the general idea that he is ripping the guy off and how horrible that is. Another thread floating around is great steals off EBay. Just find that funny. If I see a Dunhill on EBay for $1.00 I’m bidding $1.01 and if I win I would be happy. I would probably sell it for a profit as well, and be happy about that also. It is the responsibility of the person selling to decide if they are getting ripped off or not, not the buyer.

jpberg · Jun 7, 2012

What the hell is the shop owner supposed to do? He doesn't know if or when he will sell them, or how much he will get for them.
The fact that the guy took the money tells me he wasn't all that invested in the pipes anyway.
I don't hear anyone complaining when they get a great deal on ebay, or offering the seller more money after the fact.

crpntr1 · Jun 7, 2012

If the seller was happy, he might not have gotten what he should have, but that's his fault for not researching what he had. On the other hand, why not throw out a higher bid, as previously mentioned,? If you have a relationship with the owner maybe you should have offered him $380, $100 instant proffit , if he had accepted, everyone would have gotten a pretty good deal

viceroy · Jun 7, 2012

He runs a business you have to make a profit plus the seller should have known what he was selling. I think given the chance to buy that many pipes of that quality at that price I'm we would all jump at it.

crpntr1 · Jun 7, 2012

+1dave

mluyckx · Jun 7, 2012

Herbinedave:

I always tried to pay 35 to 50% of what I could sell something for.

True.. that's what business is all about. However... in this case the two Dunhills in themselves, depending on what they were, perhaps with some of the Savinelli's would have met that profit margin. He's got probably more like a 80% or so margin on the total lot.
And I disagree with comparing a tobacco store with an eBay, or antique find. A tobacco store is supposed to be more personal, friendly, customer centric, take care of you. It's why we want them to stick around. That's why the guy goes to a store to try and sell it. If it's all about finding the best deal, let's forget all the stores and do internet shopping only.
Why do I not mind paying more for the same tin of tobacco in a store ? Because I get to know the owner, the people around, the atmosphere. If that atmosphere and people aspect include basic dishonesty, it will ultimately for me impact my perception of the store.
But hey, just my $ 0.02... off to have a bowl with a cup of coffee and get of my soapbox ;-)

dervis · Jun 7, 2012

Stating we dont mind paying more for tins of tobacco in a shop because it is that profit that keeps them open is the same argument as him buying the pipes cheap and selling for more. Its profit margin in both cases.

nsfisher · Jun 7, 2012

Rule of thumb is pay %50 of what you think you can get from an item. Has to be some "Meat" there for the re-seller. Yes the price was low! But both parties were happy. One always opens with a low bid, under the asumption the seller will counter. In this case, did the seller counter offer? If he accepted the first bid then he was happy. Is the store owner going to say, "Well you accepted my first bid but I am going to give you an extra $100.00 anyway?" Ahhh, no he is not. Maybe, just maybe, since the store owner bought them cheaper, a smoking customer will be able to buy a nice estate pipe at a great price.

goalee1 · Jun 7, 2012

This happens all the time in any shop which purchases used items be it expensive or not. I have a friend who used to own a sports collectible shop and another a comic book shop, both buy and sell in shop, online and at shows. If someone walks in, they know that they are not going to get the most he or she can get for a particular item. They bring items to sell because, they need the cash and don't want to or have the time to deal with selling individual items. I bet the guy had some idea as to approximate value of the pipes he had, but at the same time, maybe they meant nothing to him, were passed down, he found them, whatever the circumstance, a few hundred was ok for him. I'm sure if Griz had made a higher offer, the guy would have taken it. You can't blame the store owner who's in business to sell. Again, depending on my relationship with the shop, I would have motioned to the guy, not in front of the owner and countered outside of the store. G1

bigmike · Jun 7, 2012

Seek and you shall find...............
If both parties were satisfied, then it was a good deall for all !!!!!

photoman13 · Jun 7, 2012

The way I see it the items were brought to the shop owner. Also if you don't think you can look at ebay your crazy. Ebay itself makes a huge margin and that's not including advertising.

metalheadycigarguy · Jun 7, 2012

It was obvious the seller had no idea what he had. Probably came across them after a family member died or from an estate sale. Just wanting to get rid of them and collect a few bucks. He would have done quiet well by going the ebay route or at least doing a little research. I don't blame the shop owner for making a low offer. He'll reap the rewards because the seller was just trying to make a quick buck.

steyrshrek · Jun 7, 2012

I wouldn't call the shop dishonest, they guy came in asked for an offer the shop owner gave him an offer. The seller wasn't forced to take the offer, no one here knows what the situation is does the shop owner have a lot of stock, would good used pipes hurt his moving of other merchandise, he has to take the gamble that he can off load these pipes. The seller has the obligation to at least educated himself minimally with regards to value, for all we know maybe he did know what they were worth and needed a quick buck, pawn shops do this everyday.

juozapas · Jun 7, 2012

Maybe the guy stole it from somebody ?? (hot pipes?)

crpntr1 · Jun 7, 2012

Let me add, if the shop owner made an offer that the seller accepted (and this is my understanding), then IMO all is well. However, if the seller asked for a price based on real life value or if he asked for an appraisal and an offer then, again IMO, that's different.

Never Ever sell A Pipe at A Pipe shop

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