Estates and Close Outs: a thread for good links...

[Capn Jimbo]

Without ado (what?!)...


1. Viking Club Pipes
http://www.vikingclubpipes.com/

This site is an actual club headed by what? Yes, a man of the cloth who loves pipe smoking. They buy and sell pipes to help support the club, so you'll find good and honest estates (some new), priced very reasonably, for some great smokers.

2. Pipe and Cigars
http://www.pipesandcigars.com/pipes/discount-pipes/
http://www.pipesandcigars.com/pipes/estate-pipes/

As some know I found two amazing discounted new pipes - a Stanwell and a Big Ben - worth $310, for just $86 (for both). P&C's estate section is nice in the sense that the prices are stated, reconditioned and well described.

3. E-Bay via an Independent Site
http://www.collectorsweekly.com/tobacci ... s/auctions

We all know this one, but here there's a real need for skepticism. One post I read gave some really good information - don't buy a pipe that doesn't have multiple good pics from all angles, and a good description. Better, a few big sellers also do a reconditioning, and offer returns. But there are those who if not charlatans, are close to it - I saw one carved pipe with no description, sales final that only revealed a crack in the bowl on close inspection.

These auctions are very competitive. You can search of course, eg Dai could find a Falcon on the British Ebay, but the link above is a tremendous and handy independent website for finding a good Ebay pipe. Be SURE to check this one out. Lots of options: the best one is "Ending Soon", and it's search option is sophisticated.

I'm good on Ebay but there are some tips. Get a good sniping program (JBidwatcher is excellent and free). Do NOT bid or officiallly watch any pipe, but do enter it in Jbid's private watchlist. The last few hours, if not minutes is where the action is. The former will give you an idea, as the price will often double at the very end.

With this in mind, be honest with yourself - decide the max amount that if successful will give you a decent woodie, and go for it. The worst opportunities are those with lots of early bidding and watchers - these will escalate rapidly at the end - you can click on the bidders and note repeated bids by the same bidders (who are using E-bay's automatic bidding system).

Your advantage: Ebay (and the current bidders/watchers) won't even know you exist, until JBid jumps in the last seconds to capture the item. Good luck.

4. Pulver's Briar
http://www.pulversbriar.com/

This one's run by a guy who loves crossword puzzles and pipes - apparently one benefits the other. All quality estates, with most at very deep-pocketed collector pricing. But you visit anyway 'cause he has some true blue specials that even the Capn finds very attractive, both in terms of style and price. Those who collect the super premium collectibles are fanatical, so a "defect" that most of us might not even notice and voila! A "special" that would otherwise cost hundreds for just tens of dollars.


5. Smokingpipes
http://www.smokingpipes.com/pipes/estate/

Hard to really recommend, though the estate section is well organized and easy to find famous designers and makers, plus desired price ranges. The pipes are reconditioned, tested and minutely graded for a reason. LOTS of VERY expensive pipes, but there are still a few bargains (but that's clearly not their focus). I will say there are plenty of selections in the $100 to $200 range, but only a handful under $100.


6. Pipeworks & Wilke
http://www.vtpipes.com/index.html

Carol Burns is the proprietor, all pipes are returnable and priced very reasonablely. Worth a look.


7. MKELaw PIpes
http://www.mkelaw-pipes.com/html/danish.html

Well recommended, small company. Known to be honest in descriptions, good prices, nice selections, with a fair number under $100.

8. Pipes & Cigars
http://www.pipesandcigars.com/pipes/discount-pipes/

A huge retail site with too many deals to list, great prices. Their "discount" pipe page is where I obtained my limited edition Stanwell Bjarne for about $50 (75% off MSRP), and my lovely little Big Ben Nosewarmer for $35 (list $110). Both were new, first line pipes.


9. Cup O Joes
http://www.cupojoes.com/cgi-bin/dept?dp ... Special+02
http://www.cupojoes.com/cgi-bin/dept?dp ... W&tier2=T1

Another well known retailer. Most pipes are around 25% off, but they too have a close-out page with discounts like Pipe & Cigars (above). Be sure to check the 2nd link above for their "Pipes" page, where sales are indicated in red, eg they apparently are closing out all their Rinaldo's at up to 75% off.


10. Smoker's Haven
http://www.smokershaven.com/smokershaven.aspx

Another large vendor who has "basket" pipes - these are usually good smoking new briars sold at less than wholesale. You can specify shape, straight or bent, likely get a decent starter pipe for $18. Neat.



BTW, all the above were gathered from positive comments at Brothers of Briar, with particular accolades for Viking Club and Pulvers for the likes of us. They also highly recommended searching for "Pipesud" on Ebay as a respected and honest seller. Enuf for now, please add your useful links for good discounted and/or estates...

[Capn Jimbo]

A pipe stud...


...that indeed goes by just that e-name: "Pipestud". A Texan, he has a tremendous following on some of the pipe forums on which he is active. He knows his pipes and tobaccos and turns out he's developed quite a consignment business.

His terms are very simple and lead to economies. People send him pipes which he lists with an open bid of $0.02 - 2 cents, for seven days. The pipe sells and he gets a commission of 30% for advertising, Ebay and shipping fees, packaging and dealing with buyers. Because he lists quite a few pipes (I believe around 50/week) he has a lot of followers who sell through him and alternatively, buy through him.

I took a scan and I will say it appears there are some real and true bargains here.
http://stores.ebay.com/PIPESTUDS-CONSIGNMENT-PIPE-SHOP

I checked his "sold" listings and it seems these are some pretty honest auctions, as there were more than a few real and true bargains:
http://www.ebay.com/sch/Tobacciana-/593 ... ld=1&rt=nc

His home page:
http://www.pipestud.com/

Dai, I'm not sure if he ships internationally, but these are worth a look for some really good looking and well know briar.