Pipes: Hobby or Investment

[pipebuddy]

Pipes could become more expensive if you buy new as in unsmoked, and resist the temptation to smoke it (that's fricking hard, though)... And you must be current with which pipemaker is "Hip" on the market.

Like pruss said, if you seek ROI, buy tobaccos. They do take value with time, that's for sure.

 

[aldecaker]

@deathmetal- what are you, nuts? You can't smoke out of office equipment!

 

[sablebrush52]

If you think that pipes are an investment vehicle, I have a bridge in Brooklyn and some swamp land in Florida to sell you.

 

[JimInks]

Sablebrush: my dentist has a bridge cheaper than yours. :nana:

 

[gregprince]

My pipes are for my smoking pleasure. If I calculate what I could sell them for and factor in the pleasure they have given me over the years it's a cheap hobby, but a lousy investment.

 

[jpmcwjr]

Interesting!
Could we view pipe and tobacco acquisition, and smoking, as an investment in pleasure and satisfaction?

 

[jkrug]

Pipes are an investment in your own personal happiness but that's about it. As pruss mentioned there is however some profit to be made on good well aged tobacco if you can sit on it for awhile. As with all things some blends could potentially bring in a good premium as they become discontinued and hard to find and other blends may not fetch as much. ::

 

[aldecaker]

@jkrug- And here's the Catch-22! The more rare a discontinued blend becomes, the less I would want to part with my own stash of it. I only cellar blends that I really like, but after this thread, that may change. :wink: I guess the only only exception would be the several tins of Escudo I have ageing, but I haven't given up on that one yet.

 

[warren]

Never buy something you like as an investment. If you have an attachment to the object you probably won't sell it and recover your moneys. Only invest in things you can readily part with.
Pipes as an investment? Not a good idea. Repairing or reconditioning used pipe? Those are jobs or careers. Possibly a hobby or diversion. Buying the Dunhill marque, tooling up a shop, purchasing the materials, hiring the help, obtaining the work space, insurance, etc.? That's an investment in pipes.

 

[perlasca]

I don't intend to sell my stuff. I buy what appeals to me and enjoy the satisfaction it brings.

I don't necessarily "cellar", it's more like a stock room. I don't buy tobacco with the intention of

waiting ten years before I smoke it, though I respect you guys with that will power lol. I do have some tins with age on em, but that was more unintentional.

I'm not interested in buying up a blend and sitting on it because it's rare (Penzance, Stonehaven, ETC).

I really only have two pipes that may potentially be of some value to someone else. A Glenn Tinskey, because he doesn't make pipes anymore and he made this one as a teen, I believe. The other is a GBD Virgin Perspex.

 

[peckinpahhombre]

Buy pipes and tobacco because you like pipes and tobacco. There is way more opportunity for investment gain elsewhere, even though this has been a really brutal week in the markets.

 

[jpmcwjr]

What? Only 500+ points drop, the worst in four years!
I really cringe over the misuse of the word investment, such as "I am investing in a boat", or car, or golf clubs.

 

[pruss]

Don't listen to Peckinpahombre. He's simply trying to keep tobacco production levels down to maximize his return when he starts liquidating his cellar in 2023.
-- Pat

 

[warren]

A classic car maybe, it the market is really low. Golf clubs? I used by Arnie or someone of significance in a major and the price is right? Possibly. A boat? Been there down that once. Never again. The owner was selling in a bind. The price was right. The market was crap. Took a couple of years, add two years of storage, I came close to getting my money back. Lesson earned! Lesson learned.

 

[gloucesterman]

A boat certainly isn't an investment, it's a hole in the water you pour money into.

 

[jpmcwjr]

Yes, there are money making opportunities in boats, cars and golf clubs. But you really have to know your sh**, which is work, or just be very lucky. I could have clarified that these purchases were of the pedestrian kind.
I have a couple of very early Ping putters and they may be worth something, but I don't know where to go on that.

 

[jpmcwjr]

G-man— One of my favorite metaphors is about owning and sailing an ocean racing boat: "It's like standing in a cold shower tearing up $100 bills".

 

[warren]

glouseterman: No it was an investment. I set foot on it once with the marine appraiser. It was a steal and a sound investment until the cost of diesel rose, a new president bought some tax instability, etc. If I had (lots of if's when investing) held onto it for a couple more years I could have made a few K. I decided to cut my losses just a wee bit early. Nature of the game! Some days you eat the bear. Some days the bear eats you.

 

[gloucesterman]

My only experience with boats is that they cost me money. I bought them to use, so maintenance, fuel and improvements were all out of pocket. The wife used to tell me " the only difference between you and the kids is your toys are a lot more expensive". I'd have to admit she was right. The guys that seem to make money in that trade are the brokers. They get their cut even if you sell at a loss and they don't have any money in it. Speculating on any market can be pretty iffy. Especially in luxury goods (and a boat is something most people don't need, commercial fisherman excluded). The cost of fuel really hurt the marine industry. Bigger boats in particular. I knew a lot of guys that never left the dock. They just used the boat as a summer cottage. If the boat meets certain criteria you can treat them as a second home and that brings some tax advantages. A lot of them thought of it as a waterfront cottage without the property taxes!

 

[elbert]

This is a little off topic, and I might even be wrong--but I think we have a "live-aboard" on the forum here. That's always struck me as a deeply appealing lifestyle...except I live in Iowa!
Pipes as an investment? There are probably better ways to "diversify your portfolio". But they do offer those of us without a 'portfolio' a little solace, in their own way...