eBay Auction on 40 pipes @ $821: Any Insight?

[woodsroad]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/360783878956?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2649
OK, it's $20 a pipe, which I guess is none too shabby, and gives someone an instant honking big pipe collection AND it is less per pipe than I've spent on 15 pipes, but...
Does anyone have any insight as to individually valuable items in this listing?
Or, is the seller just confident that they can double their money on this?

 

[pstlpkr]

Why would anyone want an instant pipe collection?

To my mind; finding just the right pipe at just the right time, over and over again for 40 years makes for a proper pipe collection.

Just my two cents.

::

 

[kashmir]

My advise? Buy one pipe at a time. Learn to love and take care of it. Then, if finances permit, go for a second. And so on down the line. I've got 60+ and that's what I did.

 

[woodsroad]

I'm with both of you...

 

[rcstan]

Seller made off like a bandit IMO. I don't really see anything that would sell for more than $50 realistically ( not counting eBay, I got lowballed on nice pipes I had for sale, and did well selling some absolute shiney dogs that I would not dare pass off on the B/S/T here ).

For someone who was getting into piping and who had $800 to spare, I would have suggested a couple of estate artisan pipes in the $200 range, a couple of new factory pipes in the $100 range, and a variety of baccy for the rest ( and a few cobs to boot ).

 

[woodsroad]

That is not a pipe.

 

[pitchfork]

I don't know. There was a Caminetto and a Preben Holm in the mix, plus a Nording -- that would bump up the resale value a bit. Otherwise, I couldn't identify any real gems in the lot -- unless the Sasieni was particularly valuable. A dedicated seller could definitely make money, even at that price.

 

[sablebrush52]

Nothing that I would want. You do have to wonder what is going through someone's head. One bidder, with zero wins, put in a high bid and another bidder just kept climbing up the numbers and the duel repeats. In the end, someone drops in from the clouds and bumps off the duelists. There's a Savinelli, a Caminetto, a Preben Holm, but no descriptions of grades, nothing.

When I was an ebay newbie, I bid on a collection that turned out to be crap, but I only paid about $3 per pipe. The experience was a good lesson for me. I use the pipes as experiments in trying out restoration methods. Since then, I only bid on individual pipes, except for one collection, which did turn out to be the mother lode.

 

[sablebrush52]

@ pitchfork - The Sasieni is described as a fantail, so it's a lower end pipe as well. There's a Comoy Guildhall, also a modestly priced Comoy. I suppose the buyer could get his money out, but what is there that would be worth the work?

 

[fnord]

I'm with RCStan. The seller, unless he overpaid at auction, made a killing with this lot. The most notable burners are the Preben Holm, a Nording second, the Fantail and a Caminetto.
Caveat emptor
Fnord