All Your Pipes, Double Your Money; Would You?

[mayfair70]

No deal.
The finding of my first pipe a year and a half ago was the beginning of a new era in my life. I would not sell it and I have been made a kindly offer considering I got it basically free. My collection is the destination. I care more about the journey.

 

[cossackjack]

Yes.

Though I have a couple dozen irreplaceable artisan pipes which would be missed. SWMBO would be delighted & promptly appropriate the profits.

 

[didimauw]

Awesome thread idea! Id sell mine in a heartbeat. And spend all the money on one briar, and one cob. Enough for me.

 

[mso489]

I'm with pagan. My gift pipes make them valuable to me beyond their monetary value. A Forums member sent me an exquisite Ferndown. My wife has bought me a number of pipes as gifts that are more expensive than I would buy for myself. I won a Sav in the Pipesmagazine cartoon caption contest that I wouldn't like to part with -- great smoker too. I have a gift pipe from a composer friend and his video/electronics artist wife. So I'd like to hang onto my stable. Even the inexpensive U.S. factory pipes I bought myself -- Kaywoodie and Yello-Bole, and cobs with Forever stems -- have developed nicely and would not be easily or successfully replaced as either estates or new pipes. Some would just be extremely difficult to duplicate, like a bent billiard Bari as well maintained as mine, or my first pipe, a Tinder Box St. Ives (probably by Chacom). The stable has grown over about 40 years. A cabinet of high end artisanal pipes and a few Dunhills wouldn't fill the gap.

 

[bluegrassbrian]

I've had to give up more important things before...I'd take the cash.
But I wonder if we're talking double what I paid, or double what I could sell them for presently.

 

[mso489]

To keep the fantasy somewhat grounded, I had in mind a current appraisal. What I paid for my pipes is partly a function of how shrewd I was, currency inflation, etc., so I'd stick with current appraisal.

 

[saltedplug]

I'd be tempted but wouldn't sell. As is said, over time pipes become friends, and when I reach for one, I do so not only per the tobacco but also from the memories of all the times I smoked it before. Of course these memories are not entirely conscious, but even with the same blend in pipes in which I commonly smoke that blend, I feel differently about individual pipes, I think due to these memories.
Also over time the characteristics of one's pipes settle into consciousness, and you know exactly what to expect from them in the smoke. I prefer pipes 30-40g but when called by a shape or texture of the wood will smoke somethings heavier; yes, it's harder to clench, but I have a pipe to admire.
Not to mention I've yet to sell a pipe to anyone and not get taken to the cleaners. The only way to get the value of a pipe is to keep it.

 

[warren]

Current appraisal only? Then a definite no! Unless I was also contemplating giving up the nicotine. None of my pipes have mystical properties, all deliver great smokes and I have no way of building a decent rotation without spending a shit load of moneys.

 

[rhoadsie]

Great topic. A tough call for me. Although I could fix (i.e. avoid) some of my early mistake purchases, I would lose some pipes that I could not adequately replace. On the other hand, I would have the opportunity to get some that I may not, otherwise, be able to hunt down. Do I have any control over the "accuracy" of the list of my pipes? :puffpipe:

 

[rigmedic1]

Oh, I think I would let them go. I have so many pipes, and it would give me many regrets to sell them, but the thought of being able to go after some of my dream pipes would be worth it.

 

[jpmcwjr]

I would not. A dozen of my pipes I bought while in college, just a few eons ago. Those collected recently from carvers I've met or respected are almost irreplaceable, and I treasure both collections. And I am not in a financial bind! However, a dozen or two intermediate pipes I'd let go pretty quick in order to get a smaller number of estates.

 

[philobeddoe]

No, it has taken me 25 years of acquisitions and culls to arrive at my current collection, I'm happy with what I have. I'm always on the lookout for more though!

 

[disinformatique]

SURE !! I am a relatively new smoker and I can always avoid the junk along with the good smokers Ive collected.
Cheers,

Chris

 

[saltedplug]

A new pipe as an estate is worth half of what you paid for it, and thus even if you received double the estate value, you don't come out ahead. An estate you bought if smoked but in good condition might hold its value, and thus to receive double for it would make money.

 

[saltedplug]

A new pipe as an estate is worth half of what you paid for it, and thus even if you received double the estate value, you don't come out ahead. An estate you bought if smoked but in good condition might hold its value, and thus to receive double for it would make money.

 

[jndyer]

I would say no. I have enjoyed the journey of acquiring what I have and would not like to loose these guideposts. My pipes are a physical indication of the journey I have been on in both my pipe life and also the rest of my life. There are pipes from a few years ago when I had to scrimp just to get a basket pipe. Then there are the pipes I have purchased as I advanced in my career and could afford to splurge on higher priced models. So in short, my pipes mean more to me than just a tool to smoke tobacco in.

 

[pagan]

My first 2 pipes, MM Cob's, were gifted to me by my mentor when I was deployed 15 years ago, he has since passed and I still smoke those cobs, they are priceless

 

[kanse]

Sell them right away.

 

[jerwynn]

I opine with the "keepers". With a couple of exceptions, the members of my collection are mostly pretty pedestrian and work-horse-y... but that being said, they almost all have either great backstories or were worthy companions in various times. It would be like asking an old and storied church to part with all their historical sacred vessels, or something like that. I'm a sentimental and sensitive guy to a fault.

 

[ashdigger]

Pagan brings up a good point about why I said "no" earlier. Two of my pipes were from my grandfather. One is a Sherwood (Savinelli second) and the other is a Kiko Meerschaum......not expensive pipes by any stretch, but they were my grandfather's and he's the reason I started into pipes. Besides, it took two years of almost constant effort to obtain those from various family members who had them.