Poorly Listed eBay Treasures

[n_irwin]

I posted this pipe earlier today on the Pipe Acquisition of the Year thread, but I was curious to see who has had similar experiences.

I scored this Reuben-era Charatan on eBay earlier this year. It was listed incorrectly as a Chataran (sp.) and there was only one photo, so I was the only bidder.

I’m sure many others have had similar experiences. Who else has had the fortuitous experience of a score on eBay because of a poorly listed item? Show us some pics.

 

[chilllucky]

I worked with a guy who for 4-5 years made a pretty decent living flipping poorly listed ebay stuff. Designer clothes, jewelry, watches and the like. He stopped doing it because he said the search algorithm started getting better and including more common misspellings in the results. "Rolux"

 

[didimauw]

View attachment 190400

I posted this pipe earlier today on the Pipe Acquisition of the Year thread, but I was curious to see who has had similar experiences.

I scored this Reuben-era Charatan on eBay earlier this year. It was listed incorrectly as a Chataran (sp.) and there was only one photo, so I was the only bidder.

I’m sure many others have had similar experiences. Who else has had the fortuitous experience of a score on eBay because of a poorly listed item? Show us some pics.

That's a beautiful pipe! And becoming one of my favorite shapes! The more teeth I get pulled, the less I like straight pipes! Hahaha.

I know @Chasing Embers had a few good scores from misspelled gems.

 

[Briar Tuck]

Yes, over the years I've scored quite well on eBay and elsewhere on things that were either spelled incorrectly or lacking critical information. As was mentioned though, their search algorithm has greatly improved over the years, so misspelling scores are harder to achieve now.

That's a great looking Chataran.

 

[anotherbob]

That's a beautiful pipe! And becoming one of my favorite shapes! The more teeth I get pulled, the less I like straight pipes! Hahaha.

I know @Chasing Embers had a few good scores from misspelled gems.

I just got a horrid image. You smoking a billiard and when you take the pipe out there being two or three teeth just stuck to the stem. I had to share that since I don't like leaving horrors just sitting in my own mind.

 

[sablebrush52]

View attachment 190400

I posted this pipe earlier today on the Pipe Acquisition of the Year thread, but I was curious to see who has had similar experiences.

I scored this Reuben-era Charatan on eBay earlier this year. It was listed incorrectly as a Chataran (sp.) and there was only one photo, so I was the only bidder.

I’m sure many others have had similar experiences. Who else has had the fortuitous experience of a score on eBay because of a poorly listed item? Show us some pics.

Well, there was this one:

And a number of others, but mostly from years ago, before eBay improved its cross referencing, so most misspellings have been cataloged and no longer lead to a dead end for the seller.

My best was a collection of a dozen pipes that I picked up for a little over $400. The pictures were so bad that the pipes looked like slightly blurry silhouettes. I recognized the shaping on a number of them so I knew on what I was bidding. My haul included a mint Barling straight grain, 2 Comoy Blue Ribands, 6 Sasieni 8 dots, a KBB Tivoli, and two no name "Algerian Briar" pipes. All of them were in lightly smoked to almost unsmoked condition.

 

[n_irwin]

That's a great looking Chataran.

I imagine I will always refer to this pipe as The Chataran

 

[n_irwin]

Well, there was this one:

And a number of others, but mostly from years ago, before eBay improved its cross referencing, so most misspellings have been cataloged and no longer lead to a dead end for the seller.

My best was a collection of a dozen pipes that I picked up for a little over $400. The pictures were so bad that the pipes looked like slightly blurry silhouettes. I recognized the shaping on a number of them so I knew on what I was bidding. My haul included a mint Barling straight grain, 2 Comoy Blue Ribands, 6 Sasieni 8 dots, a KBB Tivoli, and two no name "Algerian Briar" pipes. All of them were in lightly smoked to almost unsmoked condition.

That’s incredible!

 

[Briar Tuck]

Well, there was this one:

And a number of others, but mostly from years ago, before eBay improved its cross referencing, so most misspellings have been cataloged and no longer lead to a dead end for the seller.

My best was a collection of a dozen pipes that I picked up for a little over $400. The pictures were so bad that the pipes looked like slightly blurry silhouettes. I recognized the shaping on a number of them so I knew on what I was bidding. My haul included a mint Barling straight grain, 2 Comoy Blue Ribands, 6 Sasieni 8 dots, a KBB Tivoli, and two no name "Algerian Briar" pipes. All of them were in lightly smoked to almost unsmoked condition.

Wow, that one cleaned up nicely; gorgeous.

I've also done quite well when buying lots (not just pipes) and recognizing hidden gems in the mix. If one has the time to spare scouring the listings you can find some real bargains.

 

[OzPiper]

This small "fish logo" Sasieni.
Misspelled - I was the sole bidder

 

[ashdigger]

Jury is still out on this one. I’ll know more when it’s in my hands.

 

[karam]

Jury is still out on this one. I’ll know more when it’s in my hands.

View attachment 190467View attachment 190468View attachment 190469

This one's funny, was it grandma who fished out dead grandpa's pipes and sort of made a photo with her 10 year old phone?

 

[Chasing Embers]

Not the biggest fan of IM Corona so I'll leave this here. Search for i11 Corona lighters.

 

[ashdigger]

This one's funny, was it grandma who fished out dead grandpa's pipes and sort of made a photo with her 10 year old phone?

Pretty much nailed the description.

I figured it was worth the gamble.

 

[sablebrush52]

Jury is still out on this one. I’ll know more when it’s in my hands.

View attachment 190467View attachment 190468View attachment 190469

Possibly the buy of the decade, but the profile between the stem and the band looks a bit off. Being that the images is so blurry, it just might be a figment of the photography.

 

[ashdigger]

Possibly the buy of the decade, but the profile between the stem and the band looks a bit off. Being that the images is so blurry, it just might be a figment of the photography.

That profile definitely has me wondering. But, life is a chance.

 

[georged]

... the profile between the stem and the band looks a bit off.

My guess? Someone took a push tenon stem from a different pipe and sanded/shaved its parallel-sided tenon into a cone shape that stayed put when twisted into a military stummel.

 

[Alejo R.]

Listed like English pipe.
5 dollars.
The white spot can be seeing upsidedown.

 

[didimauw]

I just got a horrid image. You smoking a billiard and when you take the pipe out there being two or three teeth just stuck to the stem. I had to share that since I don't like leaving horrors just sitting in my own mind.

Took me three hours to get my teeth out of this stem! That's why I was able to smoke this Grabow for a whole year, it was stuck in my mouth!

 

[anotherbob]

Took me three hours to get my teeth out of this stem! That's why I was able to smoke this Grabow for a whole year, it was stuck in my mouth!
View attachment 190539

my word man that sounds like the very definition of blessing/curse. On one hand gives you a great excuse to smoke. Sorry I can't take it out the thing is stuck but it makes it even worse when you get the laughs while drinking milk.