After a week of sitting in my chair, reading, my wife thinks $25 a pipe is a bargain lol. The $20,000 for the shop to be built is cheap she says. I just have to promise to stay out there from 9-5 lol.
Any Profit in Restoring Pipes?
- Thread starter Rpink53
- Start date
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Sounds like a good activity after you're retired and yelling "Get off my lawn" is no longer entertaining.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?
The lot of pipes you bought ought to be a good way to tell how much you enjoy the work, which is really the key here. If it is satisfying and absorbing, so that time passes unnoticed when you are at work, you'll know this is a good "side hustle," as they say. Some work will always seem a chore, but if it is mostly satisfying, you have yourself a business. Then to see if the money end works in your favor. My wife's farm family says they hold jobs to support their farming. They love it but the profit is marginal. So there's that.
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 .
they were rubber fishing rod holders from fleet farm
It is competitive. It is frustrating to deal with the evil potential of ebay buyers and sellers. You need some real tooling and training to do top end work. It is more precise and time consuming than it looks unless you are just giving them a quick clean for a re-list.
The time it takes to do work that you see some people post on here is unreal. Of course, if you start with like new pipes, then your work becomes much easier. The days of finding a lot of 20 pipes with all old Brit wood are long gone. Sometimes you can find a hidden gem but it is getting harder and harder to pull off.
One ebay buyer wanted a discount because the tenon came loose from the stem. Nothing to do with me or anything I did, I just listed a pipe for someone that told me it was all cleaned up and ready to ship. The pipe was dang nice and I had no idea the tenon would come free. I believe somewhere along its life it had a delrin tenon put in, that was my only explanation to the buyer, I could think of no other reason. Anyway, I told him to just send it back and sorry. Paid for return shipping and waited. They sent me a message a day for 2 weeks asking for a discount. The finally closed the ticket, kept the pipe and left me a negative. I am assuming the buyer knows pipes or knew how to restore them as they have pipe listings, both open and closed, all over ebay. So don't forget about the shady side of ebay. it is real and it is a pain in the ass.
The time it takes to do work that you see some people post on here is unreal. Of course, if you start with like new pipes, then your work becomes much easier. The days of finding a lot of 20 pipes with all old Brit wood are long gone. Sometimes you can find a hidden gem but it is getting harder and harder to pull off.
One ebay buyer wanted a discount because the tenon came loose from the stem. Nothing to do with me or anything I did, I just listed a pipe for someone that told me it was all cleaned up and ready to ship. The pipe was dang nice and I had no idea the tenon would come free. I believe somewhere along its life it had a delrin tenon put in, that was my only explanation to the buyer, I could think of no other reason. Anyway, I told him to just send it back and sorry. Paid for return shipping and waited. They sent me a message a day for 2 weeks asking for a discount. The finally closed the ticket, kept the pipe and left me a negative. I am assuming the buyer knows pipes or knew how to restore them as they have pipe listings, both open and closed, all over ebay. So don't forget about the shady side of ebay. it is real and it is a pain in the ass.
After just loosing another auction for a couple of “American” make pipes (really good looking except for the charred rims) I was probably a little aggressive on this lot and ended up paying $30/pipe (before shipping and tax…)
DeadMansPipes has been around for quite a while, no doubt he knows what he’s doing. These lots seem to feature a few headline pipes (with a Dunhill at the pole position) along with a mixed bag of pipes from greater and lesser houses. On the whole it seems like a fair deal, even if not the epic score we all dream of.
Fortunately I’ve got the equipment, supplies and experience making things that pipe repair and refurbishing is pretty straightforward. Out of the 30 pipes I figure there are 10 of so that I will really want to keep and smoke, and the rest I will either give away or sell. Not expecting to make any money but hopefully not loose as much as I might otherwise in the process of expanding the herd. Of course that is only half the draw, there is certainly some element of anticipation and adventure as I get to examine pipes I otherwise would probably never had looked at. And it is certainly gratifying to make them look pretty.
If you see any you like, hit me up - by the time I’m done with my four months of double-secret-probation some of these pipes should be ready for re-homing?.
DeadMansPipes has been around for quite a while, no doubt he knows what he’s doing. These lots seem to feature a few headline pipes (with a Dunhill at the pole position) along with a mixed bag of pipes from greater and lesser houses. On the whole it seems like a fair deal, even if not the epic score we all dream of.
Fortunately I’ve got the equipment, supplies and experience making things that pipe repair and refurbishing is pretty straightforward. Out of the 30 pipes I figure there are 10 of so that I will really want to keep and smoke, and the rest I will either give away or sell. Not expecting to make any money but hopefully not loose as much as I might otherwise in the process of expanding the herd. Of course that is only half the draw, there is certainly some element of anticipation and adventure as I get to examine pipes I otherwise would probably never had looked at. And it is certainly gratifying to make them look pretty.
If you see any you like, hit me up - by the time I’m done with my four months of double-secret-probation some of these pipes should be ready for re-homing?.
Was that just more wet paper towel and elbow grease?
Here are the ones that got away… build-up or charred, either way I was kind of bummed I didn’t win these pipes, Tinskeys as near as I can tell.
Hard for me to know from the picture what would have been necessary. I watched a few videos that the gentleman from High Grade Pipe Repair (what a guy for putting all that knowledge out there) did where he used a mini card scraper to remove some of the build up - looks like it worked really well.
Best not to think of it as 'profit'. If you ignore the clock while cleaning, and let go of a few that will fetch a good market price cleaned up you might find you end up with some "free" pipes.
Yep.? I would really call it elbow grease. Warm water just melts it right off without damage to the rim like scraping could cause.
Definitely looks like buildup to me. Certainly some nice looking pipes.
I know a guy who supplements his income by buying estate pipes as cheaply as humanly possible and restoring them. He sells them for 10x the buying price. He's reasonably advanced in that he has a small lathe, can make stems, rusticate and polish/restain stumels so it's beyond simply cleaning them. Profitability is huge, but it is in no way his main source of income, it's not work either as he really enjoys doing it.
The average estate takes a few hours to refurbish, but it is a labour of love. I (almost) never think in terms of profit.
Apart from the fear and frustration went things turn ugly, it always gives me a particular timeless "monk" like feeling. It is therapeutic and leads to contemplation. Highly recommended pastime.
Apart from the fear and frustration went things turn ugly, it always gives me a particular timeless "monk" like feeling. It is therapeutic and leads to contemplation. Highly recommended pastime.