eBay

nojusticenopeace · ‎08-18-2016

Just wanted to share that people who "collect" things suck. They drive up prices to buy stuff so they can put it on a shelf and stare at it. I want to buy pipes to smoke out of. I can tell from the bidding history of the people who keep sniping me that they're buying a "collectible" to add to their collection of china dolls and postage stamps or whatever other tacky bric-a-brac they've festooned their walls with. I buy estate pipes because they're cheaper than new ones and I need a variety because the shape, material, and quality of manufacture all change the flavour profiles of different tobaccos. In other words, I want pipes to use them as PIPES. They buy estate pipes because they want to stick them in a drawer to collect dust for half a century until they die and their kids toss them in the garbage.

Collectors suck.

afantiques · ‎08-18-2016

Pipesmokers suck

Otherwise they blow flaming tobacco all over the place!

My experience is that there are plenty of pipes around that do not command astronomical prices (I have sold quite a few that do) but are still well made briars that come in a variety of shapes and sizes. I have seen Sasieni pipes for $20 even though I have sold one for hundreds.

lady.stark · ‎08-18-2016

I understand your frustration. However, the bidding process is to sell to the one person who's willing to pay the highest price. Whether they are collectors or not does not matter. And... as a collector myself (not of pipes though), I know some items are worth a lot. And in a few years, they will be worth more if I want to resell. Collecting is not about collecting dust on shelves. Sometimes, it can also be about reselling at a higher price. Just my 2 cents. 😉

sylviebee · ‎08-18-2016

That's funny: You think it's more noble to smoke a pipe than it is to own a pipe.

In many cases there's a fine line between trash and collectibles and the only thing that makes an item valuable is that someone else wants it. The more people that want it: The higher the value.

So many of those things have no inherent beauty.

I find collectors amusing and, unlike you, I love it when they drive prices up.

It never occurred to me to hate the competition.

momcqueen · ‎08-18-2016

Well, I'm not sure that collectors suck but I would caution you against drawing conclusions form the bidding histories of people who've outbid you. All you can discern from someone outbidding you is that they were willing to pay more than what you were willing to pay for something you both wanted.

If your complaint is about sniping, that's different. That can be fixed by altering your bidding tactics.

Bid once and bid at the end of the listing. Place your last max bid with less than ten seconds remaining. Add 15 per cent to the max bid you want to place to cover a couple of bucks difference and you have changed your bidding strategy and will therefore win more often. I never lose the auctions I want to win.

I place my own bids and don't subscribe to any sniping service or software, either.

Or, if auctions irritate you too much, then stick with Buy It Nows.

Remember you can have a goods cheap but you cannot have a good item cheap.

Good luck.

pjcdn2005 · ‎08-18-2016

If collectors didn't exist I doubt if eBay would have ever started up or become as popular.

Anonymous · ‎08-18-2016

It means that you didn't bid enough $$$ to win them.

i.am.vivian · ‎08-18-2016

@nojusticenopeace wrote:
I buy estate pipes because they're cheaper than new ones and I need a variety because the shape, material, and quality of manufacture all change the flavour profiles of different tobaccos. In other words, I want pipes to use them as PIPES.

You buy estate pipes because they're cheaper than new ones but if it weren't for all those collectors and instead everyone only ever wanted pipes to use them as PIPES all you would find to buy would be cruddy used pipes all spitty, chewed and sooty and not the nice clean well-kept estate pipes you are bidding on now.

momcqueen · ‎08-18-2016

That's funny because it's true. Cruddy, gnawed pipes, saturated with gummy nicotine is all that would remain.

nojusticenopeace · ‎08-22-2016

You know, those "cruddy, chewed, spitty, nicotine-gummed" pipes can be rejuvenated. I buy pipes in rough condition from time to time and repair them. Soak the stem in bleach and use black Superglue and sandpaper to remove tooth chatter. Then soak cotton balls in alcohol and use them over a series of days to draw out the tar and sugars from the wood. Scrape the cake in the bowl down to wood, use wood filler to fix any imperfections, then a layer of carnauba wax to bring up the shine and you've got a pipe good as new, ready to be pressed back into service. I love seeing cheap, nasty pipes being sold off from the estate of some dead guy who smoked from them every day for 60 years. I think of it as a passing of the torch from pipe lover to pipe lover, as I hope my own pipes are enjoyed by some other smoker one day when I'm gone.

Sadly, because there's a market for collectible pipes, you don't often find them in rough condition any more. Antiquers and pickers haunt estate auctions and snatch them up, then repair them and sell them on at a profit. They generally don't love the pipes, just the profit they can make from them.

femmefan1946 · ‎08-23-2016

, then repair them

Actually--- to do all the work you describe to turn a 'cruddy' pipe into something saleable, does require love.

Here in BC the minimum wage is 17cents a minute.

How many minutes at minimum wage does it take to turn crud into beauty?

Whether the pipe is then used by the owner or sold to someone who appreciates the craftsmanship says nothing about the motivation of the repairer.

1Timothy 5:18

pierrelebel · ‎08-23-2016

For readers who need a translation:

1 Timothy 5:18King James Version (KJV)

18 For the scripture saith, thou shalt not muzzle the ox that treadeth out the corn. And, The labourer is worthy of his reward.

King James Version (KJV)

Public Domain

nojusticenopeace · ‎08-23-2016

"The community has no bribe that will tempt a wise man. You may raise money enough to tunnel a mountain, but you cannot raise money enough to hire a man who is minding his own business. An efficient and valuable man does what he can, whether the community pay him for it or not. The inefficient offer their inefficiency to the highest bidder, and are forever expecting to be put into office. One would suppose that they were rarely disappointed." -- Henry David Thoreau, Life Without Principle

I had the same doctor for 45 years. He was a terrible doctor, but a very nice man. And I stayed with him because he enjoyed what he did and he liked helping people. I always enjoyed going to see him. He wasn't very good at his job, made a lot of mistakes, and might well have been the death of my mother (he diagnosed her cancer as indigestion and an active imagination), but I'll take well-meaning incompetence over cold, indifferent efficiency any day. I don't want to buy a pipe from someone who sees it as just another widget which can be sold at a profit. A pipe is as much about the aesthetics and the story of its manufacture and history as it is about the quality of the pipe itself. I guess I'm an odd duck on eBay, since people here are all about turning a buck. I prefer to see eBay as a giant garage sale rather than a business venture, which I guess is why I'm annoyed at collectors who want something to invest in instead of something to use and enjoy.

sylviebee · ‎08-25-2016

@nojusticenopeace wrote:
.............. guess I'm an odd duck on eBay, since people here are all about turning a buck.

You say these things as if there is something wrong with selling on eBay to make money. Is there a better reason for a seller to be here?

Sellers who sell what they also love and make money doing so have chosen their item(s) well, but

Sellers who try to sell what they love and don't turn a profit should move on to something more lucrative.

billybishop72 · ‎08-28-2016

1) Collectors collect because when they are buying, organizing and displaying their collection it takes away their day to day stress and problems. Neil Young was asked why he has a barn full of vintage cars that he never drives. He replied that when he is by himself and he sits in one...all his problems disappear....even if it's temporary. I have that same feeling when I get a vintage comic book, model kit or whatever in the the mail.

2) Collectors become part of a social group at some point which leads to friendship, discussion and activities.

3) We preserve this 'stuff.' for future generations and the historical record. We are its custodians.

I enjoy my collection and collecting...and I joke with my daughter when she asks..."When are you going to sell all this stuff? It's worth thousands!" I say, "I'm not....but you are!"

Cheers...