Estate Pipe - I have a Question

[AcworthAl]

I have never purchased a used pipe. I have a question. Generally do folks buy them because they enjoy cleaning them up OR are they purchased for a collection with the idea of reselling them. In other words, do most folks buy them clean them and smoke them. Or buy them clean them and sell them.

[Mad Hatter]

I always buy for good deals at a decent price but when buying used from Ebay I never pay very much. Some guys will pay nearly going price of a new pipe or maybe 2/3 going price of a new one, which I don't quite understand considering its always a gamble buying used. When there are lots on Ebay with several resellable pipes its not unusual for people who market on Ebay to drive the bids beyond what an individual would pay for their own personal use.

Also some people do like restoring pipes for the satisfaction of a job well done. IMO its much more satisfying to take the time to make your own rather than doo too much restoration on a beat up pipe.

[cp478]

me i enjoy cleaning them up and saving lots of money on some good pipes!

[MarkC]

I can't imagine that paying the going price for a used pipe, cleaning it up and reselling it would yield that much of a profit. Maybe if you got lucky in an antique store, then sold on eBay. But the profit would come there in the "getting lucky" part, not the cleaning up part.

[KevinV]

I clean them and smoke them. Satisfaction acquired from both aspects.

[Dzrtrat]

I clean them up then smoke them...Some pipes you can't purchase in a store so price is subjective to what one is willing to spend. There is a certain satisfaction in finding, restoring, and smoking a treasure that someone else has written off. When you breath life back into something there is a great satisfaction that you can't get out of a new pipe.....And is difficult to understand unless you have done it.

[dj1340]

I bought an old Stanwell Majestic that has become my favorite pipe. Just something about it

[Alpedhuez55]

I like to clean them and smoke them as well. Though I just sold a couple of them for a profit.

[uvacom]

Clean them and smoke them, although none of the estate pipes I've bought required more than a salt treatment (with the exception of one Peterson which was way too much work to be worth it for such a cheap pipe). But I wouldn't say I do that for the enjoyment of cleaning them up, I do it because I'm cheap and I can get a nearly-new pipe for a little less than half of a new one.

[CrankyChris]

I have bought estate pipes through dealers who clean and sanitize them first. I don't like to clean them, but I like a good pipe at a cheap price.

[Crazycoonass]

Ive been keeping an eye on Ebay for cheap lots with the idea of cleaning and reselling them, if your going to do this just keep in mind your profit margin, if u pay 20$ for a lot of 6 pipes u can clean and get 5-10$ each for then u turned a nice profit, since I enjoy just doing the work I dont need to make a fortune, but it can help pay for some higher end collectable pipes if your so inclined to buy a dunhill or something of that nature... Also, it gives me an exuse to get an Ebay fix without my GF threatning to pull the breaker out the electrical box.

[Mad Hatter]

Originally Posted by Crazycoonass

Ive been keeping an eye on Ebay for cheap lots with the idea of cleaning and reselling them, if your going to do this just keep in mind your profit margin, if u pay 20$ for a lot of 6 pipes u can clean and get 5-10$ each for then u turned a nice profit, since I enjoy just doing the work I dont need to make a fortune, but it can help pay for some higher end collectable pipes if your so inclined to buy a dunhill or something of that nature... Also, it gives me an exuse to get an Ebay fix without my GF threatning to pull the breaker out the electrical box.

Yep, a lot of that depends on your motivation, your ability to work efficiently, how much free time you have and what its worth to you.

Here's a picture I've posted before of estates I bought on Ebay, all in the $25 and below range, shipped, averaging about $15. New, all but a couple would be $50 - $100. Most I bought because they are dated and/or older pipes. I didn't really restore any of them, just opened the airways, polished the vulcanite and removed tar from the rims. Sasieni, Kiko, Parker, Hardcastle, Ben Wade, Aldo Velani, etc.

[AcworthAl]

Originally Posted by Mad Hatter

Yep, a lot of that depends on your motivation, your ability to work efficiently, how much free time you have and what its worth to you.

Here's a picture I've posted before of estates I bought on Ebay, all in the $25 and below range, shipped, averaging about $15. New, all but a couple would be $50 - $100. Most I bought because they are dated and/or older pipes. I didn't really restore any of them, just opened the airways, polished the vulcanite and removed tar from the rims. Sasieni, Kiko, Parker, Hardcastle, Ben Wade, Aldo Velani, etc.

Do not have the skills or patience to do it. Additionally I have never purchased a thing on EBay, Received an email ****** swindle several years ago, and simply was put off.

[IHT]

Originally Posted by AcworthAl

buy them clean them and smoke them.

i clean them myself, pretty good, even if they say it's already professionally cleaned.

some sellers don't clean the pipes beforehand (and they wind up in the pipe smokers hall of fame ) and you can get some decent deals that way.
pardner.

[Crazycoonass]

H's right, I got a Savenelli Strait grain for 15$ see
Estate Pipes Reclaimed = Diamonds from Coal
that Im currently restoring, this was the only pipe in the girls Ebay store and she really didnt understand the value of it, I did some reserch and seen simular pipes go for 40-60$ used and 100-150$ new, depending on where u buy them from. Of course I dont plan on reselling this one, Im adding it to my rotation.