Estate: Finding and buying, Ebay tips

[Capn Jimbo]

An introduction to winning pipe auctions...


Long ago at a dark time in the Universe, I used to run an automated Ebay selling system for a good friend. In doing so I learned a lot about buying and selling. For example, I learned that it's possible to price on the dear side - not outrageous - but still quite dear, and sooner or later someone who clearly just had to have that item would pay the piper: my friend.

Today, it's worse. Both Ebay and Amazon have set up systems designed to cause great competition and to drive prices up. This means that you have to be both unemotional and smart. There are deals to be had, but heres a summary of what you need to do...

1. How to find the pipe that turns you on, how to search and how to let Ebay search for you.

2. How to research its value both in terms of smokability, quality and the market. For example a first line Savinelli can be expensive, but they are very well made, very consistent and very smokable - and -hold their value. But unlike some other "name" pipes, their 2nds are close to other "names" first quality, and cost much less.

3. How to evaluate the auction. Who is the seller, and who are your competitors. What are the guarantees, and what are they worth.

4. How to "watch" and bid to win - without using Ebay, and in the closing seconds to "snipe" the auction.

That's the prospectus and the intro to "how to" as I know it...

[Capn Jimbo]

And now the long, long version...

...study this and your chances of finding a great pipe and winning it at the best possible price will improve dramtically. This is the really good stuff.


Ebay tips.

1. You MUST get a free “Sniping” program. I've used a number of these, but the very popular and reliable Jbidwatcher is terrific. It allows you to watch any number of items/pipes, and set maximum bids for those on which you choose to bid. Jbid will show all your possible items on one page, with up-to-the-second current bids. Once you find auction(s) of interest, you just transfer them to Jbid.


2. You must first understand Ebay, which like Amazon is designed to maximize the prices paid by you, and the profits paid to them. Ebay is slightly better in that its an auction and doesn't lead to the kind of indirect price fixing of Amazon, but instead encourages “auction fever”. You bid, and all the other bidders are immediately told and the bidding war is on.


3. Amazon's guarantees are terrific – no questions asked. Not so on Ebay who only guarantees that you'll get the item, and that it is delivered “as described”. Many listings are purposefully short or vague, so tough luck. If you object, you're forced into a resolution process, and even if you win that you may have to pay the return shipping. Your real guarantee is the Sellers so read the Seller's guarantee carefully, because Ebay WILL enforce that. The best is an unconditional return policy (usually 7 days).


4. There are a lot of shysters on Ebay (but a lot of good sellers too). If you find an item you really want, or if the listing is questionable check out the seller. First check out his “other auctions”. If this is a good seller, he may have some other great pipes. You can "follow" his auctions. Or you'll find just the opposite. You can also look at what he buys, and you may learn he just buys and resells pipes he found. This is under his “feedback” which is super important.

Any large seller with less than 99.6% positive – and I mean that literally – should cause you to read the negative comments. For these sellers “good” is 99.8% or higher. Believe me, if this seller has screwed anyone or misrepresented anything – not just pipes – you want to know because once it's yours, oh well. Even small sellers, who may be selling Grandpa's pipe collection should be checked out. If you find a really bad comment, you can even checkout the commenter to see if he/she is a whiner.

5. How to find stuff. If you search on say “Stanwell pipe” you'll get all the listing that contain both “Stanwell” AND “pipe”, but not necessarily side by side. But lets say you want listing with either “Stanwell” OR “pipe”: use “(Stanwell, pipe)”, with parentheses. But let's say you want listing for that include Stanwell AND pipe but NOT the word “billiard” or “pot”. Now search with “Stanwell pipe -(billiard, pot)”. Capish? The “-” sign excludes the words inside the parentheses. If you want to search very specifically, use "" marks, eg "Savinelli Fiammata 310".

Lots of times words are misspelled, like “Stanwel”. Oops. This is good for you because very few people will find it, and this misspelled name may lead to a major deal for you. Search on: “(Stanwell, Stanwel)”. Now, either spelling will show up. Or search on “Pipe (Stanwel, Stannwel, Stannwell) and get only the misspellings. Fun – and profitable for you.

Yes, developing a search phase that works well for you takes some time, but here's the good news. If you are logged in, you can “save” the search, and if that isn't enough, you can advise Ebay to notify YOU if that “Stanwell Bjarne pipe” (and the misspelled versions) ever are listed again. In other words, let Ebay search for you, 24/7 and expect an email if one turns up. It will. Go to My eBay > Saved Searches and find that search. To the right of it, click More Actions > Sign up for emails, and you're done. The truth: sooner or later, probably sooner your item will show up, and you will be notified immediately with no further effort on your part.

This is good when you know what you want. BTW, you can also use Ebay's “Advanced” search (right next to the search button to do many of these things. You can specify price ranges, geographical location, pipes that have a "Buy it now", or "Make offer". But don't be too specific, or you may miss a lot of opportunties. Best to start with a general search, then narrow it down. I think it best to organize whatever Ebay finds for you in order of "ending soonest".


6. Now you found something good, what to do? First check the picture(s) of it. For a pipe that should include all views of all sides, top and bottom of the pipe. The photos should be clear, and posted so you can enlarge and scroll around them to closely examine the pipe. The description should match the pipe: some sellers use “generic” photos, NOT the actual pipe. Read carefully the SELLER's warranty and return policy AND the shipping. Jbid is great in that you can make sure the prices it shows are the total cost. I have seen somewhat fuzzy photos that I personally downloaded and enlarged and – yup – defects hard to see were there, but not described. Some sellers recondition the pipe and explain their thorough process – other pipes are sold “AS IS”, and you will have to clean and ream them. Bad photos are a bad sign.

Ignore glowing language like rare, surprising good condition, special find, belonged to my grandmother, etc. A good seller is to the point and quickly and clearly points out every little defect, crack, toothmarks etc., which you can then go back to examine. Some even put arrows on the photos to point them out. These are good sellers. Good so far? Put it on Jbid's watch list if you haven't already.


7. Now it's time to Don't early bid, don't use Ebay's watch. Ever. These only drive up the price, which will be much higher. All the action takes place in the final minutes and especially the last 7 seconds – regardless of the initial bids. Instead use the three or six days before the auction to research what so far looks attractive. First might be Pipaedia page devoted to brands and models:

http://pipedia.org/wiki/Pipe_Brands_/_Makers

There is a search box here for you to enter “Stanwell Bjarne” to read all about the company, designer, quality, etc. Pipaedia often includes useful links for further information on the company or style. If you're unsure, you can also check this next site for a complete list of logos and marking to make sure the pipe is real:

http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/index-en.html

OK, now you've ID'd the pipe and you like the maker. Now you need to know what these actually sell for, so you won't be tempted to go all emotional and bid too much. Remember, there will be another one soon enough. Finding out is easy - Ebay does this for you. For example I was interested in a Stanwell Dansk Club pipe, so I searched for it in the usual Ebay search box and found a couple of them for sale. Next – on the left side – I checked off the parameters I wanted to check for past sales: “Auctions, On Ebay, US and Sold”. Although the new listings were bid up to $15, I noted that most of the sales were on both sides of around $40. The lowest past sale was $37, the highest $116 but with most selling around $40 to $48. Now I knew the market and this helped set my max bid. I knew now that if I set a Jbid snipe at $50, I probably get it; probably at $46; possibly at $40, and not at all likely at $35.

Neat. Now all I had to decide was whether I wanted to chance paying as much as $50.

A good way to do this is to ask yourself: if someone else were bidding, at what price paid would I begin to consider him/her a fool? And second, at what price might it sell for that would I kick myself in the arse for not bidding a couple dollars more? The right bid is at or between those amounts. Sure, sometimes it's fun to see if a low bid might win but not if just a dollar or more would have won. Be honest – find your real minimum and maximum, use your best judgement as if you were buying for a good friened, and set a max bid you can live with, either way.

One other thing: before you do find out what “new” costs – Amazon is a good resource for this – and resolve not to pay more than say 75% or so, of the new price. This would have to be a new or barely used pipe; otherwise just buy a discounted new one. Falcon is a good example: the used market is nuts, with well used Falcons selling for $35 when for another $10 you can have a new one. Stay calm.


8. You've got to avoid emotion. When you see an item with lots of bids, and lots of watchers (all encouraged by Ebay) emotion is in play, and its unlikely to go away. You know that auction emotion is in play especially if you see multiple bids by a single bidder, esp. at the auction is getting short. This may mean there are several bidders using Ebay's own “automatic bidder”. All of these simply drive up the price. What to do? Don't be emotional, or competitive. There will be another item just like this (unless it's a $5,000 artisan pipe). Calmly decide a nice rational bid and wait until the last hour or so. Even if you're tempted to entrust a bid to Jbid, don't! Why? Because even this early decision is a kind of commitment. Another, less emotional copy might come up for sale, and you now you have to remove a bid.. Or you might stop looking. There's really no need to set Jbid loose until the close to the end. Here's another BIG reason not to early-bid, even with Jbid – if you put in an early bid and cause another – more emotional bidder – to roar past you, thus contributing to driving the market up for all.

There's one last thing you can do in an emotional auction. Check out the repeat bidder and see if he/she has as history of overbidding, good to know. In the end though, bid anyway because you never know: it's your bid, and if you do so – late – and are sure to never exceed your personal maximum for the that pipe, it's up to the e-Godz then.

9. Ok, now you've won, how to pay? Paypal. It adds a layer of protection, hides your account info and thus adds to your security - and - you get Paypal protection. Never, ever pay with a check – with your checking account in hand a scammer can empty your account. Don't. By adding Paypal to the transaction you get another layer of protection, again based on the notion that your purchases was “substantially not as described”. You now get two different opinions and two chances to return a piece of junk. A word about feedback: let's say the whole deal went wrong, and finally you got resolution and a return. Leave positive feedback, but only after things are resolved. Remember, a whiny seller may dump on you too, then the next time you win an auction, the next seller may turn YOU down – because now you have negative feedback.

10. Last, tipoffs regarding frauds:

* Won't accept Paypal
* Same photos/descriptions for multiple listings of the same product
* Way too good to be true prices using “Buy It Now!”
* Counterfeits do exist. Check Pipaedia and the logo site for legitimate markings, dots, etc.
* The presence of early bidding shills (see shill post, below)


Last, here's the real news.

Despite what you think, the Ebay market is so big, and so efficient that at best, you'll usually end up paying a fair price, and due to multiple bids, a possibly higher than average price. At worst, you will pay well more than its worth, particularly in emotional situations. If you save money on a nice closeout or estate pipe it's because doing so is (usually) better than buying new. In the beginning it was possible to find LOTS of great deals on both Amazon and Ebay, but it didn't take them long to devise systems that worked to establish the highest possible price.

For example on Amazon I am frequently flabbergasted by the number of listings selling the same model item for the same price, almost to the penny. Exception: the few who sell the item for greatly inflated prices to stupid people. Ebay is better, but only a little. I believe this is because more individuals know how to use Ebay or other auctions. And there are some independent auctions where true bargains, and a few true ripoff still exist.

The people who really make money on Ebay are the sellers, who find stuff elsewhere,and then simply relist it on Ebay. Their sources: garage sales in wealthy neighborhoods, estate sales for the same, government auctions (eg selling unclaimed or stolen merchandise) and abandoned storage lockers.

Another source still is E-bay, and that seems to be a family member, or former smoker, who decides to just get rid of a bunch of some pretty grungy pipes, most worthless (but smokeable), but which – surprise – might include Grandpa's single great pipe, a hidden jewel. You take your chances. For example I saw a package of Falcons – 6 complete, along with some well used bowls that sold for perhaps $35. Out of that mess, I'd bet you could assemble three good ones, a good deal. I also saw a package of four stemless pipes in a similar price range. And you can still find some VERY well smoked briars that were really good pipes, but show wear. Can they be sanded and waxed? Sure. Stained? Sure. Stems replaced? Absolutely, and by doing so you can end up with a very, very good smoking old pipe just chock full of good mojo...


Advanced Tip for Sniping

Many people think the best snipe is at the last possible second or less. But that's not true: the best strategy Sniping is NOT about trying to bid at the last possible second. It is about trying to bid at the EARLIEST possible moment when a return bid cannot be made. This is because your early bid will trump a later one of the same value, or a higher value, if the later one does not reach the new accepted maximum bit that you have set. So it’s actually counter-productive to set your snipe to 2 or 3 seconds (or less). It doesn’t win you any more, and in close bidding circumstances it might lose you the purchase, even if you have an equal or slightly higher bid….

If you want to think this through, let's say the bid is $30. You plan to snipe at $31.51, and another sniper is going to bid at $31. If he snipes at 7 seconds – now the bid is $31 – and you come along at 1 second, YOU lose even though your bid was 51 cents higher. The problem: your bid didn't beat his by the minimum amount, in this case $1. Now if you'd bid at 7 seconds along with him, your bid is higher at the time, and you get the high bid at your $31.51. Now it's up to someone else to beat you by the minimum increment, or $32.51.

Bottom line: if there is a snipe out there that's the minimum higher than yours, you're gonna lose no matter what. So the goal is to bid late enough to beat all the manual snipers, but early enough to establish your bid which protects you against all automated snipes up to the minimum. Capish?

Don't worry, it works – just fackin do it! Set Jbid at 7 seconds, not a second faster, perfect.


Another huge tip:

Another opportunity is based on “buyer thresholds”. This is why almost all retailers sell stuff just below a psychological threshold, eg at $4.99, $9.99, $49.95, and $98.95 and so on. That's because sound lower than $5, $10, $50 or $100. The same is true on Ebay. Monkeys have a tendency to bid just below one of these thresholds. Who cares why, they just do. But knowing this, bid just over the threshold. By bidding just a dollar or two more than the simians, you'll have a MUCH better chance of winning Also use odd amounts. If the minimum bid is $1, instead of bidding say $29, bid $31.57. This also has the advantage of screwing up other snipers in the final moments who may also be using the same tactic.



Flat Ass Bottom Line

Yes, that was long, even for moi, but trust me it's all very solid and useful knowledge that absolutely will help you research, find, locate, bid on and win the precise pipe you'd love to have, and at a very fair price. Believe me, once you know how to search, have used Pipaedia, the Logo Site, Ebay's record of sales and ability to search for you, and have actually made a few snipes with Jbid, you will be amazed how organized and easy it becomes.

What seemed like finding a needle in a haystack is now as easy as the NSA finding out about your private sex life. Hope this helps...

[da'rum]

Nice job Jimbo.

[Capn Jimbo]

Now... a brief summary:


1. Learn how to search to include or exclude certain words. If you're interested in Stanwell's but not billiards or bulldogs, search on "Stanwell pipe -(billiard, bulldog)". The easiest way to get started is to use Ebay's advanced search, which can help you narrow the search even farther.

2. Start with broad searches, then narrow them down. Consider likely misspelling to find super deals. If you're signed in you can save good searches for the future. You can also cause Ebay to find and report new listings the pipe you want.

3. Research your Pipe with Pipaedia, the Logo site, and Ebay's ability to report past sales. See above.

4. You MUST download the free Jbidwatcher sniping program. Set the snipe time for 7 seconds. Do NOT use Ebay to "watch" an auction, and NEVER make an early bid. For beginners, using Ebay's "watch" auction feature is an easy way to get interesting auctions into Jbid.

5. Check the seller's feedback negatives, and stated return policy. You can use Ebay to "follow" sellers you like.

6. Be SURE to use Ebay's own record of "sold" pipes of your model so you know what they sell for. Note the low sales, the average sale and the high sales. If you want this pipe and think the average sale range is acceptable to you, then plan to set your max bid a few dollars higher than the high average. This will (a) usually get you the pipe and (b) will still get you a super deal if possible.

7. Don't, don't, don't get emotional. When you researched Ebay's past sales you'll be shocked at how many of your "hard-to-find" pipe actually exist. There will ALWAYS be another one. Don't EVER fall in love with this one. Ever.

8. Your computer has to be online for Jbid to work. If you're going to be there, don't set Jbid to snipe until perhaps 5 minutes before the end. If you're not going to be there, set the snipe, leave the 'puter on, and come back later. But the most fun is being there for the final countdown to lift off! It's like watching the Triple Crown, honest.

9. Pay with Paypal as this adds yet another level of guarantee against a misrepresented pipe.

Carry on...

[Capn Jimbo]

A fun example...


I saw a listing for an Italian-inspired looking poker, but the name was not famous. I liked the style, so I looked it up on Pipaedia and the Logo Site to discover this was one of Savinelli's sub-brands, and a second. But Pipaedia history of Savinelli noted that their even their "seconds" were of a very high quality. Now while a real collector will reject a pipe for even trivial issues, and wants only the Savinelli stamp, these seconds are absolutely terrific for muckers like me.

The listing opened at around $11, and I found that past sales were in the mid to high $30's for a pipe that if one of Savinelli's first line would sell for $200 or more. The seller has a good record, with good feedback. There were two bidders on it and one of them is obviously a collector or reseller.

Check this out:
http://offer.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... e_ViewLink

Note that this guy has bid on maybe 30 pipes in the last 30 days. This page gives the number of items he bid on, how many times he bid on each, and how close to the end he bid. The bids in "green" are winners. Neat stuff. Here's how I analyzed this guy:

Most of his bids are made once, and only rarely adjusted. My guess is that he snipes, win or lose. He usually doesn't wait until the end to bid. He knows what he wants, and he wants a LOT of pipes. He only bids on pipes, and far more, and far often than a collector. Thus he might be a reseller, looking for bargains to maybe clean up and relist it. I'd think that his bids are at low average at best with his probable goals in mind.

Of course I could be wrong. This could be a nutcase collector who just won the lottery and just happened to bid on 30 pipes in 30 days. BTW, the other opening bidder on is also a 30 pipes in 30 days bidder.

BTW, you can also click to see who is using Ebay's automatic bidder, and who is not. For this pipe one of the two is using Ebay, the other is probably a sniper. But no matter - these guys buy enough pipes that they are highly unlikely to overbid - they are unemotional and know their top price, want a better than average deal.

Or worse yet, both of the bidders are "shills" (see down a couple posts) whose job it is to drive up the prices. If they "win", the product is relisted to find another sucker.

Such bidders are NOT your competitor; rather its the odd emotional bidder who HAS to have THAT pipe that will drive it high. Either way, your measured and unemotional bid at high average or a few bucks more is the place to be.

If you up against pros, you'll get it for less than your bid, and if up against a have-to-have-it bidder, you'll lose and be glad you did.


Fun, but does this matter?

Not really. In the end you simply HAVE to be unemotional and keep reminding yourself that in most cases you will soon enough find another just like it. Knowing the market, and knowing what YOU think is fair, set your Jbid somewhere in the range where you won't feel the fool for bidding a little too low, or a little too high. Set your max for this pipe and bid it.

And remember - there will ALWAYS be another one just like it...

Then watch the race...

[Capn Jimbo]

Late breaking tips here, for advanced searches...


One of the very rare ways to get an absolutely SUPER deal is when the seller has "fat fingers" and misspells the name of the item, eg "billard" for "billiard". This is a HUGE opportunity because depending on the rest of the listing, it will not show up in properly spelled searche, ergo this misspelled pipe will rarely be found and bid on.

But smart you - using the program below or your own good sense - can find out the common misspellings and search on them too:

http://www.fatfingers.com/default.aspx

Try it... or simply make your own misspellings.

[Capn Jimbo]

More fun: What "The" ?!


Stupid bidders. This does not refer to you or other smart and unemotional snipers. Some examples:

1. Bidders who bid early and bid often. They WANT that item and think that if only they persist, they'll scare their competitor away. Unfortunately they end up repeatedly bidding against another nut case, or an automatic bidder who already has set his max. Result: they will pay more, sometimes much more than the market.

2. Bidders who are actually attracted by "busy" items. They think that somehow this means that THIS particular item must be really special, so they jump in and - pay a high price.

3. Here's one for da'Rum. There are bidders for any piece of sheep dropping, to wit - recently as a joke - was it you d..? - a clever Aussie wrote the word "The" in blue ink on a scrap of paper and put it up for auction, describing this special item thusly:

"I am selling the word 'The'...a versatile word that can be used in literally thousands of sentences, Ideal for any situation, this fun-loving item fits perfectly in the palm of your hand, wallet, or purse. Handwritten with blue ballpoint pen, on a torn piece of Reflex A4 paper, this versatile word can be used in literally thousands of sentences.

For example: 'The dogs have escaped again'; 'I will buy some meat from the local deli.'; What's the time?'

Now are you sitting down? Really, sit the fack down. This listing generated 43 desperate bidders, who bid "The" up to an amazing $10,099 AUD, with three days still to run. Even though Ebay shut down the auction, I actually consider this auction entirely open, honest and accurately described. Apparently Ebay seeks only the common but not Compleat Fooles. Amazing, but remember this is what you're up against on some of your auctions.

Carry on...

[Capn Jimbo]

Last Warning! Shill Bidding


I ran across some fairly recent university research that examined auctions and bidding patterns for a number of larger sellers (with hundreds of items or more). The study found patterns of just a few bidders driving the auction, and sometimes repeat auctions of the same, or similar items.

This is what's called "shill bidding". Either the seller, an associate or in some cases a professional shilling service is actually driving the bidding up to a price predetermined by the seller. This way the seller ALWAYS gets his price, and often more by the monkeys who "beat" them.


Signs of Shills

Auctions cancelled/relisted;
Many items “sold”/relisted (one item noticed, seven times);
Lots of bidders, lots of bids, lots of “nibble” bidding;
Lots of “newbie” bidders (ie <30 days eBay membership);
Lots of very low feedback-count bidders;
A large majority of bidders are multiple-item bidders,
A great many with high “% with this seller” activity;
Far too many bidders with the most extremely atypical 30-Day Summary statistics (probably third-party commercially-supplied shill bidding).
Afterwards received a “Second Chance Offer” because many of these regular, atypical, winning bidders “did not pay”.

. . . . . . .Citation


The fix is in. Check the link above to find out how bad this has become. It's getting very, very hard to find a legitimate deal, yet another reason to snipe and bid unemotionally. Which begs the question: Is this illegal?

Yes, but only technically. The studies show that Ebay has gradually loosened their requirements in a way that shilling becomes easy and possible. Although it can be assumed that shilling is extremely widespread, the only time Ebay has been known to act is when the rare customer complains.

The tipoffs? A sellers auctions always seem to be driven by one or two early bidders with a long bid history for the same category, eg "pipes". Very few "completed" auctions with feedback and/or bidders who rarely post feedback (they bid, they don't buy even with hundreds of auctions).


How 'bout the example I posed above?

After reading this article I then researched the seller of the pipe I sought. He is definitely a large seller of many things other than pipes. First thing I noticed most of his pipe auctions are very early bid by one or two bidders, each of whom has a bid history of 30 pipes in 30 days. Often one of them is an "automatic" bidder (intended to drive the auction), the other would appear to be a sniper whose task is to hang back and make sure the seller gets his minimum price.

Thus the fix seems in on this pipe. Should I be bothered? Nope. See below.


Flat Ass Bottom Line

The fix is in and probably has been for quite some time. Large corporations like Ebay and Amazon are wizards at stacking the deck, via encouraging bidding, encouraging price matching, or writing regs so loose that a shilling elephant could walk through them. Still, there are plenty of small sellers, so there still are a goodly number of true deals to be had. All said, no worries, as it reduces to this, again:

Be unemotional, set a max bid that you can live with and that still represents a good value - to you - and go for it. If the auction is shilled you may still win, but at your price; if it is not you may get a super deal and last if your up against a "The" buyer, you'll lose any way. Pay no attention to anything other than your own research and evaluation, and a max bid you can accept.



*******
http://www.ecommercebytes.com/forums/vb ... se-Study-2
(If you want to see how manipulated Ebay has become, plus some "red flags", click here)

[da'rum]

Be unemotional

That's pretty much the golden nut of advice.

Also when it comes to pipes there are so many great smoking pipes out there at 50-100 $ that there is absolutely no need to pay much more unless you find that one pipe that really blows your hair back. Even then eexperience is needed to know that you're not buying a pretty dud.

[Capn Jimbo]

A real life example and somewhat emotional bid...


...by me. A interesting tale.


I decided it would be fun to find a good used pipe to clean up (ie an estate pipe). As we surely know estate pipes come in all conditions. Sites like the huge Pipe and Cigars have a staff that finds good estates (with good potential value), then do a decent job of cleaning, or as they'd prefer, "refurbishing" them. This means a good decarboning, reaming the cake down, cleaning and opening up all the passages, treating to get rid of ghosts, and a nice polish of the exterior. These estates are really quite nice, obviously broken in and sell for half or less than a new one - sometimes well less.

Compare to Ebay where you can find one in rough condition for a lot less, but you do the work, which does not appear to be hard. In fact I spoke with a well known independent pipemaker and estate seller who assured me that any handy person can do it.


The buy

So my goals were: low price for an attractive pipe that looked workable, and from a respected maker. Finally I ran across a pipe stamped "Fiammata 310 KS". Through Pipaedia and the Logo site I learned the following:

It was made by Savinelli whose pipes seem to be very well respected for consistent high quality, great briar and smokability. One of their models is an Italian version of a poker. "Even their seconds are reported to be great, and simply have trivial issues. Now it turns out that Savinelli has a luxury line called "Giubileo Oro".

These pipes largely handmade, extremely artistic and with striking vertical grain. Only the best briars and talent makes these, which cost in the mid hundreds of dollars. It turns out my find, the "Fiammata" (which means flame for their striking vertical grain and color) is not just a Savinelli second, but is really a top of the line, Giubileo Oro second.

It's condition actually didn't seem that bad. The finish and stem were dulled, but I could see the wonderful flame grain and color still apparent. The stem seemed intact. Still, because it is a not very well known second, my Ebay sold research indicated a market of around $30 to $40, with some going over $60 or a bit more.

Finally, a personal call to a non-related, non-Ebay pipemaker established a fair value of $35 to $45 in this condition, for a pipe that probably sold new for around $200, give or take.


The Bidding

So now I'd found a nice pipe that I really liked (a problem here with emotion). The pipe had opened for around $9 on Ebay by a seller whose other sales indicated he sells a lot of lower priced estate pipes, that ulimately sell for $15 to $30, occasionally higher. He does no restoration at all, just wipes them off and lists.

There were two early bidders, both either shills or probable snipers, that brought the bid up to $11.99. Although experience bidders usually don't early bid, some do if there is no bid on an item they like, as this prevents the seller from removing an item with no bids.

My strategy: watch secretly and research, which I did, and show no interest, while I decided my bid. But even knowing what I know, I recognized what was really a very good and desirable find. Decent condition (considering no work had been done on it), great heritage, and a popular poker-based Italian styled pipe, with what could be stunning grain, etc. Did these other two pro's know it?

Probably. Both had bidding histories of having bid on nothing but pipes for the last 30 days - 30 pipes in 30 days. Either one or both could also be shills driving up the price. Now here's where the value of not bidding and just watching pays off. Since there were no further bids, and this pipe was holding at a mere $11.99, there were no prices to drive up, and it became obvious that there was limited interest, though of course they know there are bidders like me. But the key: they don't know for sure. If they are real buyers, they are now thinking a super good deal is in sight and might be tempted to bid a little lower than they would if there was a lot of interest. If a shill, they didn't want to make a bid so high that they would "win", and the pipe would have to relisted. The possiblity of greed or a better deal beckoned.

So here's what I did. I knew the pipe was honestly worth $35 to $45 but dang it, I really liked this pipe and broke my own rule and became emotional to a degree. But after reading the seller's guarantee, I found that he would accept returns within 7 days of receipt, but I'd have to pay the postage (maybe $4). That did it! I could now submit to my emotion, go somewheat higher than my own rule, and still be able to send it back. My bid?

$51.57, and why? I was certain this would win, as it was 15% over the high value of $45, and was over the buyer threshold of $50 (a psychological barrier) by more than the minimum increment. The odd cents were added to mess up other bidders insofar as that minimum increment of $1. Even if I won at $51.57, I'd keep it if proved to be really exceptional, and if not, eat $4 to return it. My arse was covered, in spite of my emotional failure.


The result?

It was agony watching it count down. I was up against two frequent flyers who were obviously going to snipe, and one of them, plus another lurker did just that. There was a flurry of last second bidding - 5 bids I recall - and voila! I won it, and for just $42! This was right about what this pipe was worth, and was what I was more than willing to pay. Now it is true that my emotions might have cost me another $10, but I have to admit that I couldn't quite be ice cold about this one, especially since another of this exact Fiammata hadn't shown up on my Ebay sold history search.

Had I seen more of these, like say a Falcon (bad example, LOTS of these), I would NOT have bid higher than $45 to $47. If there were plenty, I'd might start throwing out $35 bids and would surely snag one sooner or later. So that's my story...

And I'm sticking with it.

[Capn Jimbo]

A bit about the Fiammata 310 KS...


Hopefully, this may explain why I broke my own tissue paper clad rules in re emotion. First of all and as mentioned, it seems common knowledge that even the low end Savinelli's are considered fine pipes in every regard. Many of these sell new from $80 to $150. They have a number of better lines that sell for $150-250; these are characterized as being made of premium briar with great grain patterns and finishes.

Here's one of the mid-priced Savinelli's in their classic poker-based shape, the 310 KS:

. . . . . . .

This is one of Savinelli's many standard shapes, the 310KS, that demonstrates their subtle Italian presentation of classic shapes, in this case, a poker. Very nice. My Fiammata is this shape, but made with the Giubileo's very special briar,vertical flame grain, understated black stem, and special honey/flame stain, next.

Then comes the creme de creme: the Giubileo D'Oro's. I estimated these at $400, but I was wrong - these super-premium pipe sell from $700-$900 - these represent 0.1%, the very, very best briars, and amazing grain, particularly what they call the "Fiammata", or "flame" grains. These flame grains are vertical and presented in a striking honey flame, high gloss finish and with the Giubileo's understated black stem. Stunning.

. . . . . . .

The Giubileo D'Oro is so valued by collectors that even their reconditioned estate pipes sell for about $200. I have now realized what a hidden gem I found. This Fiammata 310KS is actually a Giubileo D'Oro second, which probably means its a better briar than even Savinelli's mid priced (to $250) lines, but with the gorgeous vertical "flame" grain of the Giubileo D'Oro's.

A rare pipe indeed. Only the fact that it's carries the dreaded "second" implication made it of little attraction to the deep pocketed collectors, but for moi? I'm thrilled. I could care less about the name, but I'm in love with the look, the grain and the Savinelli reputation for quality.

To be fair, I'm almost afraid to develop my reconditioning skills on this one, so I plan to buy a super cheepie or two just to play with before I have at the Fiamatta.

[Dai]

Nice but, beyond my humble budget.