Club Pipes: Generic Value Question

[RustiePyles CPG]

Club pipes are always a hard sell at pipe shows, people often aren’t interested in a pipe with the stamping of a club they aren’t in. Obviously there are buyers who will overlook this to get a pipe from a specific carver. But in general they are pretty hard sell to anyone who isn’t in that club.

When I first started buying more expensive pipes I really wanted an Ashton. I ended up buying a CORPS Ashton club pipe. I bought got it for a steep discount because the seller had sat on it for so long because nobody wanted it. That pipe is coincidentally the reason I never bought another Ashton, but that is another story.

 

[Alejo R.]

What’s the entry fee? And what do you think the approximate value of the pipe is?

It sounds like either participants are paying much more than in the States, or someone is heavily subsidizing the pipe.

But buying a large group of pipes, plus all exactly the same, gets a significant discount off the retail price. They are also very close to each other and the manufacturers and that greatly reduces costs.

 

[didimauw]

Same answer as @verporchting above. If someone wants the pipe whatever someone will pay for it whether it be a club pipe or other. Once I've purchased one though I no longer think of their monetary value.

Yup, Once it arrives, it gets smoked hard just like all the rest!

 

[King Bulldog]

Yup, Once it arrives, it gets smoked hard just like all the rest!

Smoked hard and put up wet.

 

[georged]

The Kansas City Pipe Club commissioned an annual club pipe every year for almost 20 years.

I participated in the back-and-forth with the chosen carver many times. Without exception, the deal was arranged as a fixed amount of money for a fixed number of pipes.

The club would poll its "committed to buy" members months in advance to decide on both carver and shape, how much they were willing to pay, and 50% of the total amount was collected in advance. That amount was then sent to the carver, with the balance sent when the batch was shipped.

The net result was $ controlled both ends of the deal. The price had to be low enough to get sign-ups from the members, meaning the difficulty of carving/shaping/etc. had to be taken into account. The overall result was that the pipes were always more pedestrian than what the carver was known for / famous for.

Based on that---presuming other clubs arrange things the same way---a "club pipe" would probably be less desirable to collectors. They'd be seen as more of a mass-produced item than an artistic statement.

 

[OzPiper]

Eltang pipes come in at multiple price points - from his highly individual (unique) pieces down to his "Snail" grades, his “Hand Mades”, Sara Eltangs, Eltang basics and the ones he makes for The Danish Pipe Shop under the "Copenhagen Classics" label

Pays to know your market.
But it also depends on how much you are prepared to pay to get THAT pipe

 

[sablebrush52]

I believe the answer to the question as phrased is yes. I think there being a dozen or fifty of pretty much the same pipe lowers value. Are there exceptions? Always. But as a rule I believe club pipes are less valuable than one-offs by the same maker.

Yep, 1 of ... almost always brings less than one of a kind. I've no doubt there is an exception or three, but that's the general rule.

 

[Cloozoe]

Eltang pipes come in at multiple price points - from his highly individual (unique) pieces down to his "Snail" grades, his “Hand Mades”, Sara Eltangs, Eltang basics and the ones he makes for The Danish Pipe Shop under the "Copenhagen Classics" label

"Eltang" was a random hypothetical stand in for "expensive, top drawer artisan". Probably a poor choice given all the various irons he has in the fire, although I thought I made clear I was referring to his hand made, one -off, signature pipes. Reread my first two posts and mentally substitute any other well-known maker of four-figure pipes who doesn't have any other, more commercial lines.

 

[jguss]

"Eltang" was a random hypothetical stand in for "expensive, top drawer artisan". Probably a poor choice given all the various irons he has in the fire, although I thought I made clear I was referring to his hand made, one -off, signature pipes. Reread my first two posts and mentally substitute any other well-known maker of four-figure pipes who doesn't have any other, more commercial lines.

And for these higher level artisans as George clearly explained quality compromises (especially but not only in stem work) are made to hit the required price point. Generally speaking a club pipe is not representative of a carver’s better (let alone best) work.

Plus an additional factor: if you’re not a member of the [insert city name here] Pipe Club the presence of the club name is more likely to be a drawback than an attraction or even neutral. I think Rustie’s anecdotal experience speaks to this point.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

In art and aesthetics, when an artist creates something outside of their normal style, it is usually seen as a comission, and it is not desirable to collectors. Club pipes would be seen as a ltd run, and be worth a lot less, like a production run. Also, when you ask an artist to create for you a pipe of your liking which may be outside of his normal aesthetic, it is also seen as less desirable. If I asked Eltang to create a fat pot shape, just having his name stamped on it would not mean much to a genuine collector his his work.

Norman Rockwell did a few portraits, but since they were outside of his folksy, Americana, they just aren't worth much. Just having his name on them doesn't mean much to collectors. Maybe something to keep in mind when shopping for a custom pipe. If resale is important to you, maybe instead of asking a pipe maker to do something outside of what he does, look for a pipemaker who actually specializes in what it is you want.

Before I retired out, when someone would ask me to make a giraffe pendant or a horse ring, which is not what I do, I would always tell them that I won't stamp it, or I let them know that it will cost way more than if you asked someone who actually does that and that it will not have a resale value. Some nuts would have me do them anyways. ha ha.

 

[TheIronMonkey]

If I asked Eltang to create a fat pot shape, just having his name stamped on it would not mean much to a genuine collector his his work.

Norman Rockwell did a few portraits, but since they were outside of his folksy, Americana, they just aren't worth much. Just having his name on them doesn't mean much to collectors.

There’s something to be said for what you contend with regard to collectors wanting what an artist is known for making. Typically, Norman Rockwell collectors want his Americana paintings. His only nude sold for considerably less than expected for $50,000.00 around 1990:

Rockwell's only nude sold for $50,000 - UPI Archives

'The Manapessa,' the only nude painting by the late Norman Rockwell, was sold at auction for $50,000....

www.upi.com

To me, the appeal would be that it’s the only nude known to be painted by him and should be worth exponentially more; the same thinking would be for a Pot shape by Tom Eltang you mentioned—I think it would be awesome to have the only example of something he crafted. As a collector of many things, the esoteric often appeals to me, and I may be in the minority with this approach to appreciating an anomaly in someone’s career.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

There’s something to be said for what you contend with regard to collectors wanting what an artist is known for making. Typically, Norman Rockwell collectors want his Americana paintings. His only nude sold for considerably less than expected for $50,000.00 around 1990:

Rockwell's only nude sold for $50,000 - UPI Archives

'The Manapessa,' the only nude painting by the late Norman Rockwell, was sold at auction for $50,000....

www.upi.com

To me, the appeal would be that it’s the only nude known to be painted by him and should be worth exponentially more; the same thinking would be for a Pot shape by Tom Eltang you mentioned—I think it would be awesome to have the only example of something he crafted. As a collector of many things, the esoteric often appeals to me, and I may be in the minority with this approach to appreciating an anomaly in someone’s career.

That is one way to think about it; however, collectors tend to follow artists for the thing that they are most known for. Picasso's homemade sweater vests, Warhol's cats playing poker, and Jimmy Hendrix's harmonic solos just never brought in the big numbers at auction.

 

[Alejo R.]

Some of my Club Pipes.