Pipes from E-bay or not

[barepipe]

I have bought over a dozen estates on eBay in the past year. Only one had an issue where damage to a stem was not photographed or disclosed. In general if you do your homework, as in research the average price charged for the make you are looking for, check the reputation of the seller, make sure there are good photos and study them CAREFULLY, and finally look for a decent description I think you can do ok. As in all things in life, keep your eyes open and do your homework. Generally I also stay away from pipes sold from countries with a reputation for fraud.

 

[sablebrush52]

There's been a wealth of great suggestions in the posts above. Since I tend to collect pipes that have been unavailable for decades, eBay has been a primary source for me. Over the years I have my set own guidelines for buying on eBay and some specifically for buying pipes. Here are some of the less esoteric ones:
1. Follow some auctions to get to know what general market prices are for what you are seeking before you start bidding. Yeah, you'll let some opportunities pass you by, but you know what? There are always more coming and you'll have a better idea surrounding a fair value for your idée fixe. You might be less inclined to overbid.
2. Ask the seller about any questions regarding the pipe that interests you. If the seller isn't responsive, avoid that auction.
3. Ask for better pictures if you're not satisfied with the ones that are posted. With pipes, I always want to see the business portions of the pipe - the rim, the slot, close ups of the bit, if possible, the chamber. If I don't see those, I don't bid. Period.
4. Use your eyes. Look critically at the pictures of the pipe. Verbal descriptions can be very inaccurate. If you're good at "reading" pictures, like I am, you can occasionally get some great deals on badly presented pipes. But if you're not good at it, you can get a real stinker.
5. Don't put too much trust into seller ratings. Some of the biggest snakes I've encountered on eBay had 100% approval ratings.
6. Remember that many sellers don't really have a clue about the pipe that they're selling. They bought it at a garage sale and they're not necessarily trying to be misleading, they just don't know. With eBay, it's YOUR job to know what you're doing.
7. Do not get into a bidding war. That's great for the seller and bad for you. Check your ego and testosterone at the door. There will almost always be another opportunity.
8. Never place a financially stratospheric snipe at the end. Believe it or not, you're not the only genius with this idea. That's how $600 pipes go for $3000.
9. Don't get emotionally attached to "winning". That's the hook that eBay uses to get people to overbid.
10. Educate yourself to be able to see the signs that a pipe has been smoked too hot, otherwise abused, or had extensive plastic surgery. They've visible for those who have learned to recognize the signs.
11. Have fun!

 

[briarbuda48]

I have over 100 pipes, most from Ebay. Some were outstanding values for what I received. Others, not so much. Actual cases where I felt deceived, one and that was very recent. The guidance I could offer would be to continue to educate yourself, know what you are looking for and what price range that pipe is new and used. Look very carefully at the pictures, especially the junction from shank to stem and the button, top and bottom. Some sellers that are top notch: Steve Fallon "Pipestud", Coopersark, great-estate-pipes, treasurepipes.

 

[maker]

I buy plenmty of items including pipes on Ebay. Generally, the savings you get are balanced out by the duds and spur of the moment bids.

 

[drydock]

I've started to ask sellers to please separate the stem from the pipe.
I've been lucky so far, but have received a few soft mailing envelopes with the pipe loosely wrapped in tissue--all parts attached. I felt lucky that the pipe didn't get broken in half during shipping.
Overall, my Ebay experience has been very good. I only felt duped once. The plus side is that I've discovered some overseas B&Ms that sell via Ebay--and they've been wonderful to discover that way.

 

[jaytex1969]

Sable, it would be awesome if you or another experienced person would start an educational thread concerning this advice:

Educate yourself to be able to see the signs that a pipe has been smoked too hot, otherwise abused, or had extensive plastic surgery. They've visible for those who have learned to recognize the signs.

 

[cigrmaster]

You should have a set criteria for the pipes you buy. Weight of pipe, bowl height, inside bowl width, inside bowl depth, length of pipe. Are you smoking flakes in the pipe or are you going to smoke English blends or aromatics. You should know all of these things before you buy. I buy pipes based on how well I think the pipe will smoke my favorite blends.
I smoke flake tobacco 98% of the time and I have learned over the years, what size pipes I like for my flakes. I like certain shapes like Dublins, Apples, Billiards, Rhodesians as they smoke my flakes really well. Buying pipes willy nilly and not thinking about the tobacco you like, can be a waste of money. If you enjoy smoking a nice complex English blend, buying a group 3 sized Dublin with a conical shaped bowl, isn't going to let you get the most that the blend has to offer.

 

[piperay70]

Well thanks for all the advice. Was yesterday most of time hooked in E-bay and boy what a prices. Got my eye a Chacom Maya and the price was too high. Saturday found 2 Hyde Parks (Comoy's seconds) in horrid shape for 30 DKK around 5 bucks from local yard sale. Lot's of fixing to do. E-bay is seductive and I shall make my move soon. I'll let you know.

I'll wish you all good start for the upcoming week and cool smokes.

-Ernie

 

[craiginthecorn]

Having purchased dozens of pipes via online auctions, have made some excellent buys, but have bought more than a few clunkers.
My rule of thumb is that I only bid on pipes if:
- There are great photos covering every portion of the pipe. And I mean great photos. Properly exposed, accurate color, and sharp.

*** AND/OR ***

- A well-known and reputable seller.
Some highly reputable sellers get away with just so-so photos, which saves them time and money. However, with those sellers, you can depend upon them to highlight deficiencies in the pipe. There are a few highly visible pipe sellers on eBay that I have chosen not to do business with. One sets absurdly high buy it now prices and relists the same pipes frequently so they’re always popping up to the top of the search. Others fail to say anything about the pipe itself and state that the photos tell the story. After awhile, you’ll come to know which sellers you have confidence in.
Stay away from online estate auctions. I’ve been burned too often with these. The auctioneers typically take too few photos with not enough detail. These estate auctions typically have hundreds of items of various types. Pipes are something these auctioneers know quite little about. They also neglect to tell you about important defects. I’ve been burned pretty badly by this kind of thing.
I just sold my first pipe on eBay this last weekend — a relatively early twice-smoked Ser Jacopo. I sold it because I had bought it in an online estate sale and the auctioneer didn’t provide dimensions nor a photo of the nomenclature. It turned out to be a very large Maxima model and I generally prefer group 4 or smaller. The good news was that I was surprised to find it was unsmoked. I got a fair price for it on eBay. I posted many excellent photos and described it accurately. While I have a good eBay reputation with a 100% approval rating for almost 300 transactions, I had previously never sold a pipe. There will be more. Hopefully, I’ll develop a reputation as a reputable pipe seller over time.

 

[PaulTheScandinavian]

Craiginthecorn, Thank you for taking time adding these tips.

 

[peckinpahhombre]

I have nothing to add other than to emphasize that you need to look at the dimensions very carefully. It is just impossible to tell from the photos without some point of reference. Small pipes look large and vise versa. When I first got into the hobby, I bid on a patent era dunhill from Coopersark and won. It was a fair chunk of change and the pipe looked fantastic in the photos. Then it arrived, and I learned that it was a Group 1 and was very, very tiny. I still have that pipe. It is fun to look at and, every time I do so, I chuckle and think of that several hundred dollar mistake. What a clown I was . . . er, am.

 

[cigrmaster]

peck, I did the same thing on a 1970's Dunhill that was a group 3. I was expecting a group 5-6 as the pipe looked huge in the pics. I ended up selling it as it was not that expensive but I did learn my lesson much like yourself. Now I make sure I have every dimension that is part of my criteria and if the seller misses just one of them, I contact them to make sure I have them all. Many times people will leave the weight off their descriptions as they don't have a scale. If I don't get the weight, I don't go after the pipe.

 

[saltedplug]

Not, not with Pipestud, Marty Pulver, Mike Glukler and smokingpipes in business. But if you must, you had ought'ah know what you're doing, and even then it is a haven for scammers.

 

[mackeson]

I've bought a few pipes from ebay and gotten great deals doing so, although it's been several years. That being said... buyer beware!.

Sable had some great advice and "Best practices" to follow. I've been caught up by not following the best advice...

Don't get emotionally attached to "winning". That's the hook that eBay uses to get people to overbid.

Just know what you want to pay at the start, and let it go if the bidding goes higher.