Ebay: What Are the Buyer's Chances?

[drwatson]

I have bought many pipes on ebay and all have been good, some better than expected and some really great. Selling can sometimes be tougher. I have stopped shipped out of U.S. I have had just acouple scammers. If I list say 20 pipes up for sale, I can always count on one buyer being a pain..But most are really nice people.

 

[tuold]

Over 200 pipe related purchases here. I mostly buy pipes for restoration practice as a hobby. My ebay approach is "easy come, easy go". There was one instance where the seller accidentally sent the wrong item which caused a week's delay. One other time I received a pipe broken in six pieces due to poor packaging. I was quickly refunded all my money and kept the pieces.
I don't mind gambling ten or fifteen bucks on ebay but if I were going to be spending a lot of money on an estate pipe I'd go with a well known, reputable seller who knows his pipes. Here's an ebay recipe for disappointment: I'm not sure what I want. I can't really see what I'm buying. The seller has a disclaimer, "I Don't know anything about pipes".

 

[rcstan]

When I had the time, and I lacked the experience, I bought and sold pipes on eBay. I'd purchase a few lots, clean them, find some keepers, sell the rest. Never once did I get screwed either as a buyer or a seller, and I think I supported the habit a bit ( got my money out of it plus made enough to purchase some baccy ). I just don't find it lucrative anymore, plus I've been doing this resto thing at SPC for two years now, so it would sort of be a conflict of interest.....
To answer the OP, tread lightly. There's A LOT of overpriced crap out there. Stick with reputable sellers. Even if you use PayPal and have to call on eBay to straighten things out, it's still a very avoidable PITA experience.

 

[andrew]

I think the chances are set more in the buyers favor as there's been quite a few complaints on this forum of things where alot of others take the sellers side, I think there's alot of buyer's remorse if anything from people getting swept up in the moment. My first purchase I pulled a last minute grab where the auction was ending with no bidders and got 2 straights and a hone for 30$, then with conversion and shipping it was around 65$ for me. When I got it my friend offered me 30$ just for the hone, one of the straights is amazing and has become my favorite shaver, the other one I haven't written off yet, I think it just needs more honing work but overall the condition they came in was much better than I was expecting for the pics.

http://www.ebay.ca/itm/121653598926
This was my first score for 30$.

 

[macfeegle]

Fairly new pipe smoker here so only one pipe from eBay so far, 100% satisfied. Mind you it was a Falcon International so if there had been any major faults the part concerned could have been easily replaced.

 

[snagstangl]

90% at least. Low expectations. I sell as well. I try to take good pics, and go over others pics closely. I have bought junk pipes gambling on bad pics.also bought solid unsmoked pipes with 1 pic that turned out great.

 

[homewaters]

Great post MSO. I've had an eBay account for about 4 years and completed just over 150 transactions as a buyer and seller, mostly pipe related. I find eBay to be a good reflection of what it is in reality, if you think about it; a huge company that provides a platform which offers visibility for buyers and sellers all over the world. Unless you open a dispute case, you are dealing with the rest of the world, not eBay. Some people are excellent to deal with and some others are a pain, just like in real life. I find it easier to be the buyer than the seller as it is easier to do your research on something you're buying. When you are the seller, I find it very difficult to screen out undesirable buyers. As a buyer, I have been burned 2 or 3 times but it was my own fault. Sometimes it is easy to get carried away trying to differentiate a diamond in the rough from a piece of garbage. I've had lots of pleasant surprises though, making those 2 or 3 bad times totally worth the whole experience. When you are selling estate pipes, eBay is like going to school; you will learn a lot! You will get to deal with extremely picky buyers who expect every estate pipes to be in pristine shape (almost better than new). They can smoke the pipe for a while and want their money back when they realize the pipe is not a "magic pipe" and it is very difficult for you to prove that they did. I've had many pleasant transactions happen with fantastic buyers from around the world who understand the estate market but I had this one time with a buyer from Russia that made me learn a lot. The pipe was a beautiful Stanwell straight grain in superb condition and the buyer sent me a message over a month after I had shipped the pipe, claiming there was a burned spot at the bottom of the bowl making the pipe unsmokable. I was shocked and took the blame upon myself thinking that I must have missed it, so I refunded the person for the initial shipping cost + their cost of shipping the pipe back to me, by fear of a negative feedback... When it got back here (almost 3 months after I had shipped it), it had obviously been smoked but there was absolutely nothing wrong with this pipe. I refurbished it and thanks to the pipe gods, it is now one of my best smokers for virginia flakes! I blocked that buyer from ever buying again from me and learned to step up my game with a set of rules and also there are certain countries where I will not ship unless I can clearly see the buyer has good intentions. I use eBay to get estate pipes for restoration projects and also to trim down the herd when it gets too big. I don't sell very often but once or twice a year I will put 15-20 pipes on there. Overall I would say I am 97% satisfied. If you buy, ask questions and listen to you inner feelings. If you sell, post quality pictures including the inside of the bowl and mortise & tenon and a very detailed description including weight and measurements. Package well, ship fast and use Paypal only.