The openness, willingness to share and commitment to the collective is quite something I must say.
Yup,
it's kinda like a double-edged sword in many ways, because we love sharing info and get all enthused about it all, which is great fun --- but also drives up prices/demand!
There are certain "thought leaders" as N.A.R. calls them, that shine a light on something and then everybody else
gets it, I know I've been heavily influenced by seeing things put in a new perspective or simply being exposed to elements of something I'd never been aware of --- reading Michael Lankton's intense study and appreciation of old British factory pipes helped to reverse my notion that "billiards are boring" and I was able to view afresh the beauties of traditional shapes...
http://cakeanddottle.com/
Greg Pease seemed to revive an interest in the nosewarmer, which was an old forgotten shape there for a while, as well as fuelling the passion for chubby Rhodesians and certain Castello shapes, and other stuff too no doubt.
And as you said, sometimes the whole forums collective can fuel intense demand, though it seems to be a peak & valley sort of thing ifya know what I mean, burning bright for a while then dies down. Like a sudden spike when a rumor starts that Escudo is going out of production and suddenly all retailers are sold out of it LOL Crazy stuff.
I love sharing and seeing/reading everythings that shared because I have a voracious appetite for such stuff --- but one minor problem is that misinfo may proliferate which is sometimes hard to set straight. Casual sellers or antique dealers may use our research and enthusiasm as a pole-vault to higher prices, as well as copying/pasting inaccurate or misinterpreted details in a verbatim fashion that only continues the cycle --- all too often, some things are taken as gospel, and one must be careful because there's a lot of hyperbole out there too.
It would be very wise to "finish" a collection before gushing lovingly about whatever obscure marque you've fallen in love with, but I just can't help myself and spout off about whatever grabs me by the gonads with all caution thrown to the wind! LOL
Like when Fred Hanna championed Marcovitch Black&White, he had already secured a nice amount of the stuff, and felt it necessary that the whole world should know the high virtues of that long-forgotten blend. Old tins before that article was published may have gone under the radar because nobody was really familiar with it and didn't want to take a risk on an unknown, but now whenever an old tin of that stuff may pop up on the very rare occasion, it's gonna sell for the big bucks.
It's all very interesting,
like how the Baccyflap rose out of the dusty shadows and suddenly became a very hot item, little things that could be had all over the UK at boot sales or charity shops for cheap as chips started selling for insanely high prices after more people had became aware of them and demand grew exponentially.
Seeing collectors with a specific focus seems to help me with my own focus somehow.
Roan's Blue Riband book is most excellent btw and worth the small investment, I think it's the best book of the sort ever to be published and sets a new pinnacle in the field...
http://www.briarbooks.com/Pipeman_s_Daily_Fare.html
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