Look CAREFULLY Before You Leap

[sablebrush52]

With all of the crazy "collectible" tin buying action on eBay I've been following a lot of auctions. Several have caught my eye because they are offering something a bit different. Here's one that just completed.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/G-L-Pease-BOHEMIAN-SCANDAL-2004-SUPER-RARE-2oz-/123017206565?_trksid=p2047675.l2557&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&nma=true&si=X9i2%252BTagWfuB4lLzVcAUV%252BpJQN0%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc
It's for a 2oz tin of Pease Bohemian Scandal a long discontinued, very rare and sought after tin. It went for a respectable $157.50. But what the bidders clearly did not do is take a good look at the pictures of the tin. It has rusted through. There's no way that the contents aren't seriously compromised. But of course, the value is in the tin, right? Certainly the tobacco has nothing to do with the price. So I guess that's what a rusted tin is worth today.
Like anything else having to do with eBay, tread carefully.
There's an 8oz tin of Bohemian Scandal still up for auction. Look CAREFULLY at the pictures.

 

[kola]

Yep I got burned like that years ago on GLP Renn. Never again. Those GLP tins from 2000-2004 were shit. Damn shame too.
My bet is that if you peel off the wrapper there would be a million pinholes of rust in the circular ridges that ran around those tins. My tin was rusted out so bad that the tobacco was not smokeable.
Buyer beware. I'd say that buyer can kiss that 150 bucks goodbye. Cha -ching to the seller. What a scandal. Bohemian style.

 

[beefeater33]

What a scandal.

No scandal here. The seller noted the rust in the listing, so the buyers WERE informed......... From the listing: "Tin is intact but shows a slight surface rust line through the label. ** SEE PHOTOS **"

 

[kola]

He stated there's "A" (as in one)... There's a "slight" line "of surface rust and claims the tin is intact. (does this means it's still sealed?) Also, there's more than one line of "surface" rust. I have to question the use of "slight" to describe the lines (plural) of rust as well. Not to mention "surface rust.'
I'm not saying the seller is a crook as there's no way I can prove where the truth lies. My "scandal" remark was a bit of jabbing humor. Nothing more.
BURP ! I'm done here.

 

[jzbdano]

Looks like there is a spot of concern on the bottom of the 8oz tin. Seller claims no rust though. I have purchased 2 GLP tins from 2002-2004 and both were rusted. I won't take anymore chances.

 

[Chasing Embers]

I keep all of my tobacco in a cool dry closet. Been years, and have had no issue with the old tins.

 

[Civil War]

Nice to know what to keep an eye on.

 

[saltedplug]

A similar issue perhaps are vendors who list the bowl as compromised by over-reaming or spider-webbing and who don't list that it is out-of-round. In the first case my opinion is that the pipe should sell for 50% reduced, not that the pipe will burnout but that having such weakness in the wood increases its chance for doing by more than just a significant amount, and in the second that the chamber distortion must be listed as it violates a cardinal rule of shape.

 

[dmcmtk]

You guys just made me check my two older tins of GLP. Raven's Wing '01, and Bohemian Scandal '04; they're both sound as a pound, without any traces of rust.
:D

 

[mso489]

Ebay sellers aren't particularly interested in repeat sales and don't have so much of a reputation to uphold. A retailer with a staff and overhead needs steady repeat business and a reputation to sustain it. Despite the grading of ebay sellers, they can live on the edge for years, come back as someone else, and so on. More trouble than it's worth to me, but I admire those who can make purchases and come away with something like their money's worth.

 

[sablebrush52]

I'm not faulting the seller in this instance. He's not trying to hide anything. I'm faulting buyers who either don't do diligence or don't know what they're doing. With anything eBay, it's caveat emptor.
For the most part these tins corrode from the inside out. So if you're seeing rust on the outside, chances are the interior is a wreck. By 2004 the tins were lined except for the solder join, and they can corrode there. I've had both good and bad tins from this period, so I wouldn't be inclined to spend a lot of money on any of these because it's such a crap shoot.

 

[lazar]

Ebay sellers aren't particularly interested in repeat sales and don't have so much of a reputation to uphold.

That might be an overstatement. There are many ebay sellers who build up a lot of positive feedback over time and pride themselves on that. As a buyer, I'm much more likely to buy from them than from someone with a lot of negative feedback, or only a few sales.

 

[barepipe]

Yep, that is some valuable rust right there!

 

[npod]

Good public service announcement. I never thought about inside-out rusting, but it makes complete sense.

 

[peckinpahhombre]

I believe the seller is Harris. He always sells his old rusty tins on ebay.

 

[jpmcwjr]

Hmmmmmm.

A valuable heads up!

 

[cigrmaster]

peck, it will be a cold day in hell before I get off my lazy ass to sell something on ebay.

 

[peckinpahhombre]

peck, it will be a cold day in hell before I get off my lazy ass to sell something on ebay.

:rofl:

 

[sablebrush52]

I've been contacted by the seller of this tin, a real stand up guy, to thank me for alerting you to the problems with these early Pease tins. He wasn't aware of the issue with them corroding from the inside out, and upon examination of the 2oz tin, decided to cancel the sale and contact the buyer to see if he could make it up to him. He then opened the 8oz tin and took the following photographs for me to post so that you can see what is happening with some of these tins.
This first shot shows a very small spot visible on the label.

Further examination shows some corrosion at the edges of the bottom of the tin:

He prodded the base of the tin and found that it broke through.

Here's the inside of the tin. As I wrote earlier, by 2004 the entire interior of the tins had been coated against corrosion, except for the soldering joint. Earlier tins lack this protection on the side walls and the corrosion can be much more extensive. The tin may look fine on the outside and be extensively corroded on the inside. You can see how the corrosion has spread out from the soldered join.

I have a 2003 tin of Haddos that looks pristine on the outside and is a ruin on the inside because there was no protection on the walls.
As for the tobacco, it's pretty dried out and he's jarred it and will send it out without charge. He feels that it's a damned shame, not because of the money, but because a very fine and rare tobacco has been spoiled. He's not getting rich off of a couple of sales, and he values his customers. He also sent me a copy of the notice canceling the sale and refunding the money.
I think he's a pretty cool guy for taking the effort to make you aware of this potential issue. So keep this in mind when bidding on these old tins, and for that matter, any old tins. These problems aren't restricted to C&D. I've found failures in vintage tins from a number of labels. Some will be fine, and others will be terminal. Vintage tins are a roll of the dice. Remember that.
And also keep in mind that not all eBay sellers are weasels and that there are a lot of stand up folks selling on eBay. This gentleman is one of the stand up folks.
I'm going to jar my other old Pease tins before something bad happens.

 

[oldgeezersmoker]

Great information.