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mso489

Lifer
Feb 21, 2013
41,210
60,610
Window shopping sounds kind of feckless, like you look at things without much intent. But I'd think again in terms of pipe shopping. You have to look at lot just to have a reasonable idea of what's out there. Otherwise, you marry the first girl you kiss, as it were.

Getting down to cases, on smoking pipes.com alone, in only three brands, here is the inventory listed one day in July 2023.

Savinelli: 2033 pipes
Nording: 427 pipes
Peterson: 1894

SP doesn't have that kind of numbers in most brands, but they have scores of brands, and this is only one retail pipe site.

If you look at this as some sort of assignment or chore, it is unappetizing. But if you look at it as an adventure in the pipe world (pipe porn?) it has some appeal. So next time you have a spare half hour, get busy nibbling at the edges of this vast territory. You'll be surprised what you will find and learn.
 

Egg Shen

Lifer
Nov 26, 2021
1,169
3,905
Pennsylvania
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mso489

Lifer
Feb 21, 2013
41,210
60,610
I guess the artisan on that eight thousand dollar calabash knows what some people will pay, so I'll trust his judgement. Asked to guess a price on that piece, I think I'd be more in the $700 to $800 range, but I'm not a high-end pipe guy.

I learn something every time I wander through the pipe pages.
 
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AroEnglish

Rehabilitant
Jan 7, 2020
5,150
15,139
#62
I saw this pipe a few weeks ago and was tempted to mention it here, but never found an appropriate place to bring it up. What are they thinking? Will it ever sell? It looks pretty ordinary. Can anyone help me understand?
It doesn’t have aesthetic appeal to me but I appreaciate the craftsmanship it took to create this pipe. If you read the description it will give you an idea of the ingenuity and time to create this pipe. That coupled with the carver’s reputation and the pipe’s one off nature, both as a unique pipe but even more as one that would be extremely difficult to replicate, gives some justification for the price.
 

Egg Shen

Lifer
Nov 26, 2021
1,169
3,905
Pennsylvania
I guess the artisan on that eight thousand dollar calabash knows what some people will pay, so I'll trust his judgement. Asked to guess a price on that piece, I think I'd be more in the $700 to $800 range, but I'm not a high-end pipe guy.

I learn something every time I wander through the pipe pages.
I was thinking $700, but then again I’ve seen calabashes that I like immensely more in the $500-700 range. The description sounds like it may have some more exotic materials and required different construction techniques but it wasn’t anything that special sounding, at least to me.

I feel compelled to check to see if it sold every time I’m on there.
 

Andre_T

Part of the Furniture Now
Dec 17, 2018
700
2,311
48
Long Island, New York
Window shopping sounds kind of feckless, like you look at things without much intent. But I'd think again in terms of pipe shopping. You have to look at lot just to have a reasonable idea of what's out there. Otherwise, you marry the first girl you kiss, as it were.

Getting down to cases, on smoking pipes.com alone, in only three brands, here is the inventory listed one day in July 2023.

Savinelli: 2033 pipes
Nording: 427 pipes
Peterson: 1894

SP doesn't have that kind of numbers in most brands, but they have scores of brands, and this is only one retail pipe site.

If you look at this as some sort of assignment or chore, it is unappetizing. But if you look at it as an adventure in the pipe world (pipe porn?) it has some appeal. So next time you have a spare half hour, get busy nibbling at the edges of this vast territory. You'll be surprised what you will find and learn.
I mean they own Savinelli and Peterson so that does make sense.
 

David D. Davidson

Starting to Get Obsessed
Jul 19, 2023
200
775
Canada
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Dec 3, 2021
5,443
46,746
Pennsylvania & New York
I mean they own Savinelli and Peterson so that does make sense.
I wasn't aware Laudisi group bought Savinelli I thought they just had a preferred marketing agreement... is that recently ???

That's news to me—Laudisi took over Savinelli's distribution in the USA in 2012, but I don't think ownership has changed. Is there a link to this development?
 
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sardonicus87

Lifer
Jun 28, 2022
1,322
13,889
37
Lower Alabama
You need to kiss allot to find the right one
Even if you know exactly what you want too.

When I bought my Chacom Champs-Elysées (871 bent apple) and Savinelli Roma Lucite (315 KS prince), I already knew what shape I liked for those finishes, I had at least 6 or 8 of each in the exact same shape/finish pulled up looking at the degree of bend in the stem and the finish. Took me a good 30 minutes to decide, comparing side-by-side and eliminating the ones I liked least.

One might have a touch more bend than the other, one might have a slightly better grain than the other, etc.

And even then, I saw Savinelli Roma Lucite in a different shape and didn't care for the finish until I saw it in their prince shape, for example. And when I bought the Chacom, I was specifically looking for a bent apple of some kind and that finish caught my eye.

That's something about SP taking individual pics of each pipe that I am super grateful for.
 
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mso489

Lifer
Feb 21, 2013
41,210
60,610
When you get into the stratosphere of prices the usual psychology does not apply. The use related to dollar value isn't at stake. It is the rarity and inaccessibility of the item or service that determines its appeal. It's as much the fact that few can afford it that make it valuable.

Just in terms of sheet metal work, I like my little commuter car better than most of the high-end BMW's, Jaguars, Mercedes, etc., some of which I find rather bloated or nervous in their visual presentation. But because a fraction of one percent of the population can afford such items, they are a hundred thousand dollars more expensive than my little bucket.