Pipe Show Etiquette

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ssjones

Moderator
Staff member
May 11, 2011
18,322
11,090
Maryland
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I always ask the seller before picking up a pipe and I'm careful to put it back exactly how it was displayed. I saw Mel Feldman go off on a fellow at a Richmond Show a few years ago, but not putting pipes back in the same order.
I don't see a lot of trades occur but it doesn't hurt to politely ask.

 

winton

Lifer
Oct 20, 2010
2,318
771
One of the best methods is to sell your pipes on Friday morning and then use the cash to buy something else. No one is ever offended by money.
I would love to take to people at the show. But if I am at my table and have to decide between social talking and negotiating with a paying customer, who do you think I want be speaking with? Don't be surprised, if I stop our conversation abruptly, and rejoin it after the transaction is done.

 

mso489

Lifer
Feb 21, 2013
41,210
60,433
Most of the dealers at shows have a discount built into their show prices, so I don't usually barter at all. Maybe if I were going to the top of my budget on a pipe, I might explain that and ask for a specific amount off, but I would understand if the dealer didn't want to go there. I have never spent on a pipe what I would expect to spend elsewhere, at a pipe show.

 

ssjones

Moderator
Staff member
May 11, 2011
18,322
11,090
Maryland
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I believe some shows have a Friday AM, barter session, a swap-meet of sorts (Chicago). NYC does not do this, to my knowledge, although there may be some horse trading between rooms on Friday evening at the hotel.
On a a new pipe, I don't think that I would make an offer lower than listed, perhaps if I really knew the seller.
On estate pipes, I frequently do make offers on brands I have intimate familiarity.

 

condorlover1

Lifer
Dec 22, 2013
7,995
26,613
New York
@shaintiques Dude your are not trying to unload a bunch of Brylon's and Dr. Gob-bow's onto the unsuspecting NY rubes are you? :rofl:

 

mso489

Lifer
Feb 21, 2013
41,210
60,433
freakie, I think it's a sensitive point about haggling with pipe carvers. They have a lot of hours, ego, and investment in their pipes. Also, it depends on the price level and apparent demand. And finally, most of all, it depends on how skillful you are in posing your counter offer. I'd begin by mentioning two or three best features of the pipe, to show you appreciate it. Then make your counter-offer in a really low-keyed way, like "I wonder if you could accept a lower offer of "X"; I'd really like the pipe if you could." Also, you have to be gracious even if the carver acts affronted or scoffs, since many buyers will just pay the quoted or marked price. Or to deflect that, you could say, is there anything you have at my price? It's a lot of work. With artisan pipes at under $200, I'd pretty much take it or leave it as marked, since the time and materials cost that much.

 

pipestud

Lifer
Dec 6, 2012
2,010
1,749
Robinson, TX.
Here are my ideas from observation and personal experience at shows -
1. Absolutely do not haggle with a professional pipe maker or ask if he has a better price than the one displayed. Almost all of them have special show prices that are below retail and what they would charge for them on their private websites. I always figure they have a price set for each pipe because that is what they are willing to sell it for and I respect that. I've never seen a maker with a pipe that has a sticker stating the price as well as a "or best offer."
2. I am personally amused and never upset when someone offers to trade me a pipe they have for a pipe I have for sale. I just politely tell the customer that all of my pipes are for sale and not trade, but that I sure appreciated the offer to trade.
3. I don't mind someone picking up a pipe I have for sale. In fact, I encourage it. I do appreciate it when someone is a real gentleman and asks first but it is not necessary. Putting the pipes down in a different order than I had them displayed is a bit of a rub, but it happens all the time and I get over it.
4. Do be respectful of the vendor's time. If there is little activity I love talking to one customer as long as they want. But, if you are talking just to chat and see another person or two or three in line behind you, the polite thing to do is move on to give the vendor a chance to meet other folks and try to make a sale.

 

ssjones

Moderator
Staff member
May 11, 2011
18,322
11,090
Maryland
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I'm consider myself to be a pretty social guy. But, at a pipe show, when I first get there, it's strictly business. I don't like to be distracted by talking to folks too much, other than a friendly "hello". I like taking a quick tour thru all the tables to get the lay of the land and scout out any purchase activities. Later, I'm all up for chatting and enjoy those social moments. So, if you see me early, don't be offended if I'm not real chatty - catch up with me later!

 
Dec 24, 2012
7,195
456
I personally would not have an issue with "haggling" and really don't care if the carver is fussed. All they can say is no, as is their right.
It's a bit like asking a pretty girl for a date. You will never know what she will say unless you ask.
Personally, my haggling would always be of the "Is there a package deal for two or three pipes" variety, but that is just me.

 

desertpipe

Might Stick Around
Nov 13, 2014
98
0
Timing is everything. Trying to haggle in the first few hours of the Show will most often get you nowhere. On Sunday, as the Show winds down that is another matter. There are some restorers that will trade, I have never heard of a Carver being willing to trade, but never is almost always wrong....there might be one out there. I have found that the Show itself is a good indicator. A Show with lots of lookers and few buyers, or a Show with a lot of buying activity....I think it is easy to figure out at which Show a carver might be more open to an offer. New carvers might be more open to an offer, especially if, as has been mentioned, if it involves multiple pipes.

Good luck at the Show.

 

allan

Lifer
Dec 5, 2012
2,429
7
Bronx, NY
My experience at last year's Chicago show (my first) was that if you don't ask, you will not get. Not in any way to be rude, but during a conversation about his/her product, a very friendly question about pricing I do not feel is insulting in any which way. In terms of trade, I had a Costello pipe with a lucite stem that I despised, and traded it for a Schlowsky (sp?) with a few extra dollars. Both the owner of the large firm and I were both very happy.
I make this statement being in a retail business for more than 45 years as an adult, and many more as a young boy. IMO, if you are offended by someone making a LEGITIMATE offer, meaning one that is not completely absurd, than you are in the wrong business. In the end, it is a product, and you are offering it for sale-whether it be art, a pipe wrench, or a pipe. In my years I've made many hand crafted jewelry pieces and was never offended of someone negotiating a price. Did you not negotiate on your house?
2. I am personally amused and never upset when someone offers to trade me a pipe they have for a pipe I have for sale. I just politely tell the customer that all of my pipes are for sale and not trade, but that I sure appreciated the offer to trade.
Steve: I really don't understand exactly what you wrote. Did you mean that if someone offered to trade you a pipe they owned for a pipe that was on display? Certainly if someone offered you a pipe of just equal or lesser value I could understand, but what if one person offered a valuable S Bang or other maker for a Dr. Grabow? You would not consider it?
Once again, being a nasty SOB will get you nowhere; be respectful and mindful of the work that was accomplished to make you want the pipe in the first place, and hey, you never know
that's just me.

 
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