I would wholeheartedly agree with that. Capitalism is all about offering a good or service at a fair price that meets the market demand. Supply and Demand economics at work. If one company decides that the fair market price for their pipes commands a price north of $1,000, then someone will buy it. There's a market for everyone and it's up to each person what they decide is worth buying or not, but if those pipes weren't selling for the asking price, then either A.) the price comes down or B.) the pipe sits there collecting dust until it's purchased. Something tells me that a lot of these higher priced pipes aren't sitting on a shelf collecting dust, unless that's how the buyer decides to keep it.
I can only say that for myself, if I bought one, no matter the price, I'd smoke it. It was made as a pipe, so I'm going to use it as such. These are all great insights. Always interesting to me to know what someone would do with something they collect. I know guys that collect classic cars. Some guys collect them only, never drive them a mile. Then some take them out to enjoy the classic car for what it was made for. Same concept as pipes, I suppose.
We all have different ideas of what we would do with something we considered of high value to us. For some it might be a great smoke from a $10 cob, for others it could be pulling out that $1,500 Christmas pipe for a rare smoke. Then again, it could be someone that just enjoys the beauty of the carved pipe and treats it more like a work of art. I can appreciate that. Much like my other hobby of collecting double-edged safety razors. Each one I collected, I cleaned it, disinfected it, shaved with it, then added it to my collection. Now I have a 6-inch beard, been growing for over a year, and only stare at my lovely collection of safety razors. Until I want to shave again, then I'll pick one of my choosing, and indulge myself in a fantastic wet shave.
