Buying from Ebay and using what i buy.

[torcoman]

Hello people this is my first topic i am opening and i would like your help and advice since most(if not all!) of you here are experienced. I have seen some nice auctions in ebay selling some sweet and beautiful pipes.I have seen auctions with old dunhill pipes and old peterson pipes some used and some not used. My question is the following should i smoke from pipes previously smoked by others but been cleaned etc?Should i smoke if they have been smoked like once or twice? Will they taste funny or something?They are so nice and good looking pipes and whatever pipe i own i want to smoke it , i dont feel like buying them and having them stay in some corner forever without being smoked. What do you think? thanks in advance.

 

[ranger]

A good cleaning is all that is needed, so buy your pipes off the bay, clean it well and enjoy without worries, I do it all the time, and have been for years.
I do have a machine that disinfects by the use of small bubbles, (I can't think of the name of it now) and I will use that, but that is not even necessary, a good cleaning should suffice.

 

[ace57]

I buy pipes off ebay, just clean well and start smokn. ::

 

[pstlpkr]

Some guys like to "restore" the pipes they acquire.

But, I agree with the above... Just give it a good cleaning and you're good to go.

 

[jeglwar]

The pipe shop I go to sells lots of estate pipes and occasional sells some on ebay, as an example Comoy's Shape 800. Buying and selling estate pipes is an excellent way to get pipes such as Comoy's or Charatans that aren't made with the quality and craftsmanship today that they were 30+ years ago. Clean them up and enjoy them.

 

[bootlegbonvivant]

Not much more that I can offer other than this. You can really find some great pipes on ebay. I've bought several and will probably buy more. I enjoy restoring and cleaning up pipes, so this is not an issue for me. In fact, I recommend that any pipe you find on ebay that has been smoked to be cleaned at least a little just to be sure, unless you know the person.

 

[bootlegbonvivant]

"THIS IS A TEST OF THE EMERGENCY PIPE SMOKERS' BROADCAST NETWORK..."
"THIS...
...IS A TEST.
....THIS IS ONLY A TEST..."

 

[fullbent]

Clean,then smoke.I buy any where from 2 -5 pipes a week off ebay...Enjoy ::

 

[lonestar]

Theres tons of deals on Ebay right now. I guess everyones broke, prices are staying really low on a lot of stuff.

Do some googling on cleaning estate pipes to get a good idea of what goes into restoring old pipes, and if that suits you, jump right in.

 

[ranger]

Lawrence has a good point.

This is also a great way to learn to restore pipes...get them cheap off the bay, and learn.

I've restored a couple of pipes I got for cheap money, and in doing so the pipes became a part of me.
My favorite pipe is an old Kaywoodie I got for a song off the bay, restored it, and let me tell you this:

if it was the only pipe I owned, I would be very happy with it....not only is it a good pipe, but because I put some of my self into restoring it, the pipe is now more than a simple 'smoker' to me.
So take Lawrence's advise and take the opportunity to learn to restore pipes, it is fun, and rewarding.

 

[torcoman]

Wow thanks a lot people i really appreciate your answers. I am already bidding to some old vintage pipes both used and unused.

 

[ranger]

I have one bid going also, it is a package deal that ends tomorrow and includes 2 Kaywoodie's...my favorite pipe in the whole damn World.

It is a package deal of 5 pipes, and also comes with a stand .....if you are bidding on that one lets see if we can work things out as all I want are the two Kaywoodie's.

 

[torcoman]

Haha thank you Ranger but i am bidding on a different one. I have bid going on a vintage peterson made around the 50's. Yes i have a thing with petersons

 

[mlaug]

My fellow board members have done you a great disservice by encouraging you to dip a toe in the eBay estate pipe market.
I feel I should lay out some important facts to consider before you start down this road.
You begin tentatively at first, but soon the search becomes all consuming.
You swear you can keep the bidding under control, but 5,000 snipes later you begin to notice that you are foaming at the mouth while placing bids, especially in the last 60 seconds of an auction.
While this is going on...your loved ones swear you've developed Tourette's syndrome and call 911.
You will find yourself becoming withdrawn from friends and family. Your eBay saved sellers list is longer than your address book.
You find yourself sticking a finger in vending machines in the elusive search for more and more money to feed the auction habit.
You justify even more bidding because, "Hey! Its summer and the kids don't really need new shoes for awhile."
You will find yourself staring at a wire wheel attachment for your drill and wondering if that might be the thing to once and for all cut through the green oxidation from hell on your last auction win.
Your best buddies get a glass eyed stare while hearing you recount the latest super cheap pipe purchase. To them, this story sounds exactly like the other 295 times you told them about a new old pipe. They swear they'll slit their wrists before letting you trap them again with another story like that.
You earn a home chemist's degree while learning about refurbing old pipes and decide that manufacturing meth in the kitchen would be a fantastic way to generate even more cash for bidding on estate pipes.
I haven't even scratched the surface yet.
Hell, look at these guys....look at fullbent! See that twitch in his right hand? Its from repeatedly hitting the "one click bid button" that eBay so thoughtfully provided.
Look at bootleg's second post....he freaked out beacuse he's already worried you'll be bidding against him and he's plotting to have you kidnapped.
Torcoman, run my friend before its too late.

 

[schmitzbitz]

ROFL!

 

[ranger]

mlaug is so telling the truth.

 

[expatpipe]

I've bought the majority of my pipes off of ebay, or other auction sites. Not being a real restorer.. I give a good cleaning and it's show time. The deals are amazing, yes, I've been unlucky a time or two. Thats part of the learning curve I guess. I do think that we are living in the golden age of pipe collecting. Though, not really because of anything "happy". To put it simple, There use to be A LOT more pipe smokers, many of those old fella's unfortunately are leaving us for better company. Not to get too deep, but when I bring an old pipe back to life, I have to wonder if there is not some cool guy looking down on me from above as I take the first puff, and smiling as his friend lives on. :puffpipe:

 

[lonestar]

Excellent summary mlaug !

:clap: mlaug :clap:

 

[kcvet67]

@mlaug

:worship:

 

[cyndi]

mlaug isn't kidding. Bootleg was on the bay buying pipes AT DINNER AT CHILIS WITH THE FAMILY tonight. He's got an app on his phone that spiffs up the pictures to pipe porn, reminds you of how little time left you have to bid, and how freaking CHEAP it is. (You know, compared to the $1200 pipe you added for sh*$ and giggles.) He interrupted my bath with ebay pictures, trying to get me to on board with just one more. He is very likely to send ninjas to your house (I prefer pirates myself) if you push the bid up.
On a side note - some other night when I was drunk, I supposedly told him that a man needs only 30 pipes for a collection and that he had to sell the rest of them. He moved mine out of his display case, declared he only had 22 and therefore had permission to buy more. I'm going to lose this fight, aren't I?