Frustrating Estate Pipe Acquisitions

[PaulTheScandinavian]

Over the past few months I have been buying a few refurbished estate pipes from reputable outfits,(Novelli,Danishpipeshop, Estatebriarpipes,dk,all in Europe)for which I have paid what we call top dollar,nontheless upon arrival of all these pipes I gotta face some cleanliness 'related issues,namely, shoddy and carelessly performed interior parts cleaning
so to say , I had to go thorough countless number of bristled pipecleners, shank brushes before I got these pipes to meet rather strict standards ,with one pipe of these pipes I even had to remove micro scratches from the stem surface and then polishing it up again,has this neglect approach becoming a new norm with certain vendors,?When a pipe has been said to be ready for smoke and restored, I'd expect that I don't have to do any homework on them any more,worth to mention with SPC I have never/ever encountered abovementioned problems with their estate inventory I have bought , so cudos to to them they seem to keep up to high standards.
This very rant was caused by pure frustration, thank you for your time.

 

[originalnutcracker]

Estate pipes can be a gamble for sure. eBay dishes up treasures and trash. I’m surprised at outfits like DPS though.

I concur with Smokingpipes doing a great job. I’ve had excellent customer service from them.

 

[Laurent]

When I got my savinelli Estella, they said it already went through cleaning and polish. When I got it, it had what looked like chewed junk in the end of the stem, it was not polished and need a good reaming.

 

[hoosierpipeguy]

Over the past few months I have been buying a few refurbished estate pipes from reputable outfits,(Novelli,Danishpipeshop, Estatebriarpipes,dk,all in Europe)for which I have paid what we call top dollar,nontheless upon arrival of all these pipes I gotta face some cleanliness 'related issues,namely, shoddy and carelessly performed interior parts cleaning
so to say , I had to go thorough countless number of bristled pipecleners, shank brushes before I got these pipes to meet rather strict standards ,with one pipe of these pipes I even had to remove micro scratches from the stem surface and then polishing it up again,has this neglect approach becoming a new norm with certain vendors,?When a pipe has been said to be ready for smoke and restored, I'd expect that I don't have to do any homework on them any more,worth to mention with SPC I have never/ever encountered abovementioned problems with their estate inventory I have bought , so cudos to to them they seem to keep up to high standards.
This very rant was caused by pure frustration, thank you for your time.

I fear that most lack your standards (and mine) and that situation isn't improving. Very rarely have I received an estate pipe that was thoroughly cleaned by my standards. I factored that into the equation when purchasing the pipe.

 

[reloader]

This could be an underlying problem with society as a whole. Over the years I've noticed that pride in ones work has dwindled. There are still folks out there that can produce a good product or provide great service, but in my opinion those folks are getting fewer and farther between. Its frustrating when you expect a professional job and are instead confronted with something sub par.

 

[jguss]

Generally speaking I find that even when estate pipes look great on the outside they’re usually filthy inside the stem and especially shank.

 

[DanWil84]

Smokingpipes estate I have is top notch when it arrived and I think the second arriving this week will also be. The danishpipeshop pipe(s) being not what it should be surprises me, I had a **** estate which looked great and what I have red and watched they take their estate pipes very seriously like smokingpipes.

 

[Morrison Jeremiah]

I've only ever bought estate pipes to look at, not to smoke.
Even so, I do clean them up and they all need it. Despite what ever the vendor says.

 

[LotusEater]

The estates I buy from eBay vendors are generally disgusting but I’ve had no issue with pipes from reputable vendors e.g. Blue Room.

I’m also surprised that you were not satisfied with the condition of pipes you purchased from the Danish Pipe Shop.
l’ve bought a few pipes from them and have always been happy - but now that I think about it those may have been new and unsmoked estates.

 

[sablebrush52]

Unless the estate pipe was barely used to begin with, it takes quite a bit of time and effort to get it cleaned up.
Time and effort equal cost and there’s only so much margin in reselling an estate pipe.
Resellers will make the pipe look pretty and do a cursory job of cleaning or there’s too little return.
I never expect an estate pipe to be truly clean, regardless of the seller’s claims. I figure to spend the several days it may take to take a pipe back to nearly neutral.

 

[Streeper541]

How unfortunate.

 

[sablebrush52]

Just consider the phrase, “The pipe has been thoroughly cleaned and is ready to smoke” as the 5th greatest lie.

 

[mso489]

No surprises you have to expect the worst. If a person wants to start with estate pipes, I suggest SP. They give a critically accurate description of the pipes, which indicates that they have actually looked it over, and they're cleaned up. Mostly, I'd say, an estate pipe requires restoration, at the very least in terms of sanitizing, not just cleaning. People often compare estate pipes to restaurant tableware in terms of re-using what someone else has used. But good restaurants have a standard dishwashing routine that uses high heat, and this is reviewed and graded by the health inspector. No such requirements apply to estate pipes. Count your labor as part of the actual price of the pipe, and figure your labor as whatever you want per hour. I think an up-market pipe that is not fully cleaned and sanitized (at that money) is a rip-off, or it is to me anyway.

 

[Sweet Home Alabama]

Buying from eBay is an art. I spend lots of time looking and asking questions. After hundreds of purchases, one dealer did a switcharoo 10 years ago on a Pendelton vest. No problems since. I have asked for refunds a few time or threatened negative comment 4-5 times.

 

[kcghost]

Nothing you can do about it so either stop buying estates or learn to live with it.

 

[Ahi Ka]

I have only received one pipe in my life that I literally took out of the package and loaded with tobacco. It came from Cambridge pipe repairs. I don’t mind the cleaning work involved and I expect it.

 

[paulfg]

I have only received one pipe in my life that I literally took out of the package and loaded with tobacco. It came from Cambridge pipe repairs. I don’t mind the cleaning work involved and I expect it.

Geoff@cambridge pipe repairs does really thorough job at cleaning up,I have bought several pipes from him and sent many more to him for restoration and never been disappointed

 

[Ahi Ka]

Geoff@cambridge pipe repairs does really thorough job at cleaning up,I have bought several pipes from him and sent many more to him for restoration and never been disappointed

I had never heard of him before. To make my purchase even more surprising was that I got the estate from eBay. I was blown away

 

[paulfg]

I had never heard of him before. To make my purchase even more surprising was that I got the estate from eBay. I was blown away

yes I remember you posting it.
He had messaged me about 2 pipes he was listing but I wasnt buying at the time.

 

[Simmerdown☕️]

I can’t remember a time when an estate was ready to smoke. I always do a cleaning on them and plenty of soot comes from those pipes. I kinda expect any pipe that is not new & unsmoked to be filthy. ️