New Pipes for Profit & Then Some

[rhogg]

This subject came up in another post so I thought I would start a new thread about it. Basically there are folks out there who buy up new pipes from small production pipe makers like Boswell, Mario Grandi, and others for the sole purpose of reselling them for a decent profit on ebay. Sometimes these pipes are actually smoked a couple of times before they are re-listed for more than they cost new.
If you watch or pay attention to a particular pipe maker do you see this happening? How do you feel about this practice?
Personally I don't like it when people take advantage of a small market in an attempt to "corner" it. Basically there is just something slimy about it that I do not like. Obviously the demand is there for certain pipes, but to drive up the prices on items with limited availability for your own gain just seems petty.
Maybe I am wrong, but it seems evident especially with Mario Grandi that a certain individual buys brand new pipes and turns around and sells them for quite a bit more. Also I am seeing more and more 2011 Bosewells show up on fleabay at prices much higher than their original cost straight from the artisan. I hate this practice!

 

[smokindawg]

Well, I have no problem with making a buck, which in these days and times is difficult. When you do something like your talking about, if that's what they are doing, it can be tough. Pipes on ebay take jumps and dives regularly, so a person stands to take a loss on any pipe, no matter what maker.
If they are buying to solely resell, then they are playing with dynomite, as they will most likely be taking hits on some, making $$ on others. I really don't know that anyone trying to do this would then smoke the pipe or pipes before trying to resell them.
I know of no one that is using this practice to make money.

 

[julesholling]

I'm sure there are some that might try this but pipes are such a personal thing that what someone thinks would sell well might not. They are taking a huge risk

Also the Mario Grandi pipes are on eBay from futurepipes for quite a few days before they sell, so don't think they are being snapped up as soon as they are being put on the site.

 

[rhogg]

Explain to me then why timkellyman has loads of new Mario Grandi's that look like one that were listed a couple weeks before by futurepipes. Maybe he gets so many new pipes shipped directly to him for resale, but they appear to be previously and recently listed pipes. Much less prevalent with the Boswells but if you pay attention to the 2011 pipes, many are resold within weeks.... after they have been smoked for $30-$100 more than their original price. One guy relisted a jumbo 4 days after it sold for $199 at $399. Someone actually bought it.
Anyways I get that making a buck is difficult, and perhaps if I were in different circumstances I would see it differently, but from the view of someone who just likes pipes I wish it wouldn't happen. I hear many people talk about how hard the Boswells are to come by. If you are persistent you can usually get through on Thursday mornings but you might have to just buy a pipe if the one you wanted gets sold

 

[julesholling]

Well in that case I'm gonna be buying all the ones that are on eBay at the moment

I'm sure there are some people that do it, just maybe it's not something I've noticed that much with the Mario grandi's. But I agree with you, if people are buying up the Boswell pipes and selling them on for $100 more then that's very unfair and just using the Boswell name :-(

 

[portascat]

Not sure what the problem is, actually. It may be inconvenient to someone who wants to buy one of the pipes, but why would a small manufacturer of ANY product be discouraged from selling his products to a buyer who buys in bulk, with the intent of selling them individually at a higher price? That is how the free market typically works from wholesale to retail.
The fellow here who makes the tampers should be discouraged from dealing with a buyer who stated he would buy an entire months worth of production from him at a reasonable price? It would be obvious what the buyers intent would be, as nobody really buys 25-50 tampers at one time for personal use.

 

[sjpipesmoker]

I don't like it...I would like to obtain a boswell FROM boswell at his price, not 75 bucks more and 2 bowls been smoked out of it...reminds me of the volkswagen commercial, where the guy licks the door handle to "claim" it as his own. When one buys a boswell with the intent to resell it, and have the "first" smoke out of it, I think it defeats the whole pipe community friendship that we are supposed to have...but in every market, there are going to be so really nice people and some people that i would love to get them off the earth ( the ones who "lick" the first bowl) as to take the satisfaction away from the pipe smoker who chershes his or her first bowl from a new pipe.

I'll keep trying to get my hands on a new boswell...

 

[unclearthur]

Psssst! All you guys buying to resell!! Over here!!!!! :twisted: :nana:

 

[sherlock]

I have to agree I don't really see a problem. As has been said above this is how a free market works. Clearly people want these pipes enough that they are willing to pay a premium for them. Simply put it is high demand with low supply, which means higher prices. Is this not what pipe shops do when they buy bulk from a manufacture and sell it to you for a profit? I mean this in a friendly way, but if you don't like it don't buy your pipe on ebay. The power you have as a consumer is to choose where you buy from.

 

[pawpaw]

Psssst! All you guys buying to resell!! Over here!!!!!

mark your bloody pipes it will add to their value

 

[baronsamedi]

True, unclearthur. I may be screwing myself here, but you deserve your own maker's mark.

 

[jcsnaps]

I sold a pipe on ebay a while back,$300, a month later that same pipe was sold for $600. Where did I go wrong in my marketing approach, or where were those two bidders that just had to have that pipe at such a price? It seems, as stated earlier, a pipe is worth what someone will pay for it. I fought hard one Thursday morning to get through to Boswell's for a pipe for St. Patty's day. When I finally got through the pipe had been sold. I asked if they could make me one like it. Sure, not a problem, what card would you like to put it on. Boswell's runs a great shop and has MANY pipes available for sale, not just the ones they put up on Thursday. I'm sure they would be happy to sell one over the phone, it's just hard to see what you are buying.

 

[unclearthur]

Maker's Mark, GOOD STUFF!

 

[jcsnaps]

Arthur-maybe dip the stem ends of your pipes in a little red wax. :D

 

[smokindawg]

Never tried the stuff myself unclearthur.
I myself have decided on a stamp for my work....... Just need to sell a few to pay for it.... LOL

 

[unclearthur]

About a hundred bucks. They ain't cheap.

 

[ssjones]

If someone wants a Boswell pipe and trusts me to send you phone pix of the pipes they have on hand, PM me. His Thursday morning pipes go fast, but he typically has one or two of a similar style in the shop on his wall, or in the back in their racks. I'd be happy to send a phone pix of a pipe in the desired style, than you could call JM and order it. I get up there every two weeks or so. Most of the pipes on the wall are under $100.
I do chuckle every once in a while when I see a regular $100 Boswell priced at $200 in another shop. But than I realize that most folks don't travel as much as I do and might never make it to the PA shop. So, this might be the only chance they have to acquire one. Would I pay double the price? Nope.
The scenario described by rhogg isn't too dissimilar from folks like myself who buy older estate pipes, do a reburish than resell. That's how I maintain my TAD and PAD funds. Well, maybe a tad more opportunistic.

 

[smokindawg]

Yep unclearthur........ I priced the one I want and it's $125. But the company I checked with makes them for many pipe makers and they have good service, so worth it. I always think about needing a stamp as someone may one day want to know "Who Made That Pipe!"

 

[rhogg]

I'm not a communist, but I am also not stupid..... the used gun market reminds me of pipes. Please let it be known I am not talking about pipes that have been restored here. Only ones that are bought immediately and then resold. Also this is not like a wholesale arrangement either. The pipes were bought at MSRP and put up for resale. Like others have said there is nothing actually wrong or illegal with the practice, and I am not really claiming that. It is all just a matter of opinion. There are opportunists and people who actually innovate. The two are not one in the same. The inventor of the pet rock is an innovator. A retailer USUALLY buys manufacturer direct at a discount (wholesale) and the resells (this is also a service being delivered to the consumer), and then there is the opportunist who sees the golden egg and goes for it. The good ones get what they want, and that is fine. Maybe he is the guy in a small town who gets all the pet rocks first... or maybe he only get a few, but when the rest are gone he can sell the remaining few for double. Once again, nothing wrong with that, but it just doesn't impress me a whole lot.
If I buy a gun at a deeply discounted price then I may resell for a small profit; however, I have a sense of respect for the folks I deal with, and would like to be able to buy firearms at reasonable prices to enjoy them. I believe the pipe community is likely too dispersed for this type of interaction to take place on a wide scale. In the metro area where I live the gun trading/buying/selling is huge. So it is easy to ignore the guys who sell their "used" guns at new prices or better. Please don't start talking about criminal activity. I live in Virginia buying and selling firearms on the private market without involving the authorities is totally legal.
I will propose that actual value, and what something can be sold for once to an enormous audience have absolutely nothing to do with each other. If I list a "used" never fired firearm to a big enough audience I can sell it for more than it's actual value. It ain't hard to do. There is a dealer in town that can mark his new guns up bigtime, and because of his location he sells him. I won't buy new guns from him, but he has KILLER deals on used guns. Blows my mind. He probably makes more money on his used inventory even when he sells them cheap. I have a feeling I get better haggling rights than most.
HYPOTHETICAL***If Boswell sells 1500 pipes for $150, and one individual sells 50 for $200 the impact is not so great. When you take into account that most are sold in his store, and then some on the internet it adds another dynamic as well.

 

[salewis]

Before anyone buys a pipe anywhere they should be doing a little research. If someone is try to make a buck on

e-bay so be it. They will sell their pipes at a profit no matter what the brand. Some unsuspecting people may buy these pipes. However, if some of these people did a little research with their retailer or smokingpipes.com or any of there other on-line retailers these prospective e-bay buyers would be able to determine the pitfals of buying these particular pipes from e-bay. Those unsuspecting, unknowledgeable e-bay buyers may be taken and pay too much on e-bay, however, I believe in a free market economy and these buyer deserve to be taken since they are not performing their due diligence.