I've been pipe smoking, but on and off, for about 40 years. Over the last ten years, the big change is online retail. It certainly existed ten years ago, but nothing like today. I'd learn the "conventional" online retail, mostly our sponsors, before ebay, which is a whole auction game of its own, where you need to learn the players. I don't use ebay myself, but some get great deals, and others get scammed. Online retail has increased the number of blends available, increased the speed and number of newly introduced products, including revivals of discontinued blends. It has greatly expanded the estate pipe market and improved the reconditioning and sanitizing of estate pipes. It has made celebrities within the pipe community, and expanded and accelerated the flow of information. It has elevated the conversation about pipes and tobacco, so reviews are at a higher level, and quality and service glitches are quickly reported (sometimes exaggerated, admittedly). Study the sponsor sites as an entertainment, and you will soon be able to make a list of the changes in pipe smoking for yourself. It would be interesting to hear your impressions, just getting back to this.