Getting a Good Deal on Estates?

[tjameson]

How do you know if you are getting a good price on an estate? Is there a way to research prices? For instance I found a nice GBD Cornwall 9488 square shank for $29, probably can't go wrong but what are these worth? What about a Pre-republic Peterson?

 

[philobeddoe]

They're worth as much as you're willing to pay! Also, you can check SPC and related sellers for approx. value.

 

[gwtwdbss]

Tucker check out Pipedia and learn about the pipe you want before you bid. Do more research than necessary to inform yourself of the markings you are looking for. i.e. for GBD's you want a pipe that says "London England" in block not "Made in London England" in a circle. The former is a pipe made in the pre-Cadogan era when GBD quality was at it's finest. also look for the brass "GBD" Rondel on the stem. Al is the GBD expert. When I wanted to add a Barling to my collection I had to do research to make sure I was getting what I thought I was getting. Pipedia is the place to start I think. Good luck and PM me if you have any questions.
How's the baby?

 

[tjameson]

Thanks for the help Chris! This particular GBD is a Pre-Cadogan era pipe and is just a fixed price at $29. Aribella is doing great! She is getting huge, sitting up and holding herself up on her belly, and smiling a lot which is amazing! I've been trying like hell to get her to say DaDa but alas she is only 9 weeks old and just smiles at me like I'm crazy.

 

[tjameson]

Philo's comment was spot on for sure. Pipes like any other art are highly subjective when it comes to value, but I guess I was considering more of a range of price. Thank you for the article, on top of things as usual Roth

 

[cleidophoros]

If the pipe is still made you have a pretty good price point to start with. If not what you can do is just look around; people bought and sold those pipes before, just look at the prices, pipe condition, age etc and compare to the pipe you wanna buy. Google is your friend.
A decent pre-republic is worth anywhere from $70 to 150, even 200. Some Peterson pipes are listed here with their prices http://pipedia.org/index.php?title=Peterson
I remember some pipes having estate prices here, especially on odd pipes http://www.pipephil.eu/

 

[rcstan]

FWIW I paid $30 shipped for a very nice pre-Republic Shamrock Zulu from the Bay a couple months ago. Nice smoker even though the stem airway is a bit off-center and it looks really really good, like it was made last year. Would I have been willing to pay more than what a new Aran Zulu ( same shape, comparable quality even though some might disagree ) sells for? Probably not. But some people are willing to do so.