Any Profit in Restoring Pipes?

[Rpink53]

Edited: title. In place of "Is there value here?"
Used mso's suggestion. -jpm

This lot looks good - this would be my first venture into repairing pipes, but it’s a reputable dealer and I’d think there’s value at current price:

HUGE 30 PIPE LOT W/DUNHILL, COMOY'S, CASTELLO, LARSEN, CHARATAN, BBB & MORE! | eBay

This is an incredible lot for you fellow restoration enthusiasts with Dunhill, Savinelli, Kriswell, W.O. Larsen, Comoy's, BBB, GBD, Charatan, Chacom, Stanwell, Pipe Dan, Parker and more! PIC #7: CHARATAN LANE ERA SPECIAL 91, T. RICHARD'S CHIEFTAIN'S LOWLAND, COMOY'S GOLD BARK 1780XL.

www.ebay.com

Is this too much to take on?

 

[hoosierpipeguy]

If the price doesn't go to high, could be a very good value. Pipes look to be in decent shape.

 

[ssjones]

I bet it goes to 25 per pipe, so $750. One Dunhill, it's worth approx $200 restored. Quite a bit of work, but could return a small profit. Too much work, too little to gain, for me. For some reason, these large groups are popular. If Deadman could make enough profit per pipe, he would do so versus selling a lot. He came to the same conclusion as I, too much work.

 

[captainsousie]

I bet it goes to 25 per pipe, so $750. One Dunhill, it's worth approx $200 restored. Quite a bit of work, but could return a small profit. Too much work, too little to gain, for me. For some reason, these large groups are popular. If Deadman could make enough profit per pipe, he would do so versus selling a lot. He came to the same conclusion as I, too much work.

Yep. Nice lot but too much bone, too little meat.

 

[Rpink53]

Yep that makes sense. I was approaching it from a starting ground to get my feet wet restoring pipes that aren’t overly damaged, knowing I’d at least cover my monetary investment by selling. Knowing any true profit would evaporate based on my time spent on them

 

[captainsousie]

Give me a week and I'll send you 2-3 pipes to restore (with some help along the way). That might tell you how much work it takes to do a full resto with sale at the end.

 

[Rpink53]

Give me a week and I'll send you 2-3 pipes to restore (with some help along the way). That might tell you how much work it takes to do a full resto with sale at the end.

Give me a week and I'll send you 2-3 pipes to restore (with some help along the way). That might tell you how much work it takes to do a full resto with sale at the end.

that is very generous and it would much appreciated! Thank you

 

[captainsousie]

In case I forget, drop me a PM sometime after Jan 10th please. Many here can tell you I get caught up in other things so sometimes I need a bit of prodding to make sure it happens.

 

[mso489]

I think a better title for the thread would be: "Any Profit in Restoring Pipes?" Giving people the topic of the thread in the title saves some time and reinforces your question. Some of these guys are responding during work breaks or home chores, and any help is appreciated.

 

[OzPiper]

Most of my pipes are estates.
I buy pipes because they "call to me", never from a resale point of view.
So I spend time to bring them up to my standard.
If a pipe arrives that is not quite what I really want, I'll gift it.

If you're intending flipping them, you need to factor in how much your time is worth, and the possible return to you.
Which means you need to have an idea of how much a particular pipe is worth on the estate market.
And the time you're prepared to wait for a sale.

One of the Forums members @bayareabriar has posted previously on how he's built up his rotation of "collectibles" by buying pipes in lots like this one, flipping the ones he doesn't want, and keeping the good ones.

If that lot goes for $750-900, it means you have paid $25-30 per pipe, mostly from recognised producers, which I think is worth the punt.

There is a sense of achievement when you bring a grubby, well-used (sometimes abused) pipe back to a presentable and smokeable state.

Good luck if you do decide to bid.

 

[craig61a]

Back not all that many years ago when I could buy lots on eBay at cost of ~$5 per pipe, and the pipes weren't total basket cases, I could earn a little extra pin money.

I can clean up a pipe with a minimal investment of my time. When there are major issues it's best to a.) toss it b.) keep it as a truck pipe c.) Frankenstein it (experiment).

There are lots of self proclaimed "Pipe Restorers" that have sprung up in the last few years, all hustling for a buck, and in many cases doing more damage than good to the stock of estate pipes out there.

That said, learning to restore/refurbish pipes is a skill that will pay off in that you can find some hidden gems that just need a little TLC and will give you great satisfaction in smoking and adding to your collection.

 

[kcghost]

I hate to say it but my refurb skills are nada.

 

[alan73]

I have bought 15+ bulk auctions for the purpose of refinishing them … over 400 pipes . I fixed up 20 pipes or so ,,, and ended smoking them, never resold them …. I separated about 50 of the best pipes to refurbish and never get around to it

 

[alan73]

I was going to sell the whole lot via Pipestud , but Steve wanted an inventory which I haven’t had the time to do

 

[alan73]

I do not think there is money to be made … it’s more of a fun hobby to fix up pipes and bring them back to their original glory .

 

[mikethompson]

I do not think there is money to be made … it’s more of a fun hobby to fix up pipes and bring them back to their original glory .

That's how I approach it as well. That's not to say there aren't professional pipe restorers (because of course there are).

 

[orlandofurioso]

Edited: title. In place of "Is there value here?"
Used mso's suggestion. -jpm

This lot looks good - this would be my first venture into repairing pipes, but it’s a reputable dealer and I’d think there’s value at current price:

HUGE 30 PIPE LOT W/DUNHILL, COMOY'S, CASTELLO, LARSEN, CHARATAN, BBB & MORE! | eBay

This is an incredible lot for you fellow restoration enthusiasts with Dunhill, Savinelli, Kriswell, W.O. Larsen, Comoy's, BBB, GBD, Charatan, Chacom, Stanwell, Pipe Dan, Parker and more! PIC #7: CHARATAN LANE ERA SPECIAL 91, T. RICHARD'S CHIEFTAIN'S LOWLAND, COMOY'S GOLD BARK 1780XL.

www.ebay.com

Is this too much to take on?

It is a nice lot and Todd is a gentleman seller. His refurbished pipes alway always fetch very high prices.
For aprox. 25,00 bucks a pipe it could be great to develop your skills on, depending on how deep your pockets are and assuming your pipe refurbishing skills are of course top notch
This is btw an not yet ended Ebay auction !

 

[DanWil84]

Profit? Yes. Fun? Yes. Worth your time? Hardly.

 

[originalnutcracker]

I used to do it quite a bit. I concluded my time was too valuable- because it can take hours and hours of manual work.

I did however develop an appreciation of how to maintain my own pipes.

You’ll find those job-lots of pipes have one or two decent pipes to draw you in and then a bunch of real dogs after that.

 

[originalnutcracker]

I just looked at that listing. There are quite a few nice looking pipes there. Might be fun.
What have you got to lose? Just a few hundred bucks...... you’ll get something decent out of it.
Doubt it would pay the rent though