Roadsmith
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posted on March 10, 2004 01:51:41 PM new
A realtor friend just brought over about 200 pipes that were thrown out when an old man died. He was a pipe collector and labeled most of his pipes--there are Meerschaums, porcelain ones, Asian opium pipes, briarwoods, corn cobs, etc. The friend wants me to sell what I can.
Besides watching pipe sales on Ebay, where else would you go to get educated?
(My impulse is to start with one category--say the hand-painted porcelain ones--and learn what I can about their value, sell some or all, and then move on to the next.)
As my husband says, this'll be good for me--to learn a whole new category out of necessity. But it's daunting!
___________________________________
Have you noticed since everyone has a Camcorder these days no one talks
about seeing UFOs like they used to?
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Fenix03
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posted on March 10, 2004 02:00:15 PM new
Knowing nothing about pipes either, I would pick one or two types, check out the decriptions, see what common keywords are used and use the information in the various auctions to help do web wide searches for more info. Also check closed auctions to see where the trends are, do a sort by price and find out what are the bi determining factors between the high and low pried pieces are.
I can't imagine this is going to be easy but it could be a lot of fun with more than a couple pleasant surprises.
~~~ • ~~~ • ~~~ • ~~~ • ~~~
If it's really "common" sense, why do so few people actually have it?
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glassgrl
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posted on March 10, 2004 02:46:56 PM new
I think I'd check the Opium pipes first! I'd look for residue, check to make sure they fire up ok etc etc 
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stopwhining
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posted on March 10, 2004 03:22:30 PM new
get ready for some real action on those pipes.meerchaum pipe is made of a material from middleeast called meerchaum and carved with a arab head and very collectible,check to see how bad is the damage and if the end is real amber.
as for opium pipe,if it is a real opium pipe,it is worth something.
handpainted porcelain pipes,are they european ,if so,which country and which maker.
scheiffer the publisher may have some books on collectible pipes,see if barnes and noble have them in stock.
ebay would not allow listing of metal pipe,so check first .
200 pipes,would you sell them all off ebay??
-sig file -------the lobster in the boiling pot of water who tries to prevent the others from climbing out.
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Roadsmith
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posted on March 10, 2004 03:38:35 PM new
Thanks, all, for the great advice here! As usual.
Stopwhining: I personally would probably sell them all off Ebay, preferably in a large group, but the friend has dollar signs in his eyes and suspects, probably rightly, that they'd bring more singly or in small groups.
Hey, why wouldn't Ebay let me sell metal pipes? I've never heard of this before.
I'll try to find a book on pipes.
___________________________________
Have you noticed since everyone has a Camcorder these days no one talks
about seeing UFOs like they used to?
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BIGPEEPA
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posted on March 10, 2004 04:01:30 PM new
roadsmith, be careful or you might get a feedback that says "pipe smelled like smoke".
Maybe in your description you should say THIS PIPE IS NOT FROM A SMOKE FREE ENVIRONMENT. HA HA.
MAY THE LUCK OF THE IRISH BE WITH ALL THE NOSES.
[ edited by BIGPEEPA on Mar 10, 2004 04:03 PM ]
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Libra63
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posted on March 10, 2004 04:07:12 PM new
Check this site out. Some pipes go for big dollars. Also check ebay auctions to see how people word their used pipes forsale. Now of course don't copy them  but get some idea how to list.
http://www.vegassmokes.com/pipes/tobacco_pipes.htm
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sparkz
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posted on March 10, 2004 04:11:08 PM new
Buy a couple pounds of pipe tobacco. Smoke each one of the pipes. Then you can put a line in each auction that reads " Guaranteed to be in working condition". Seriously, I bought a pipe rack with 6 or 7 pipes in it at a yard sale a couple years ago. I listed them individually and made careful mention in the descriptions of every thing that was printed or embossed on them. I was pleasantly surprised at the prices a couple of them brought. Every one of them sold.
The light at the end of the tunnel will turn out to be an oncoming train.
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Roadsmith
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posted on March 10, 2004 04:27:00 PM new
Sparkz: Do you remember a price range for the pipes you sold? I have NO idea! Of course, after I do the research suggested in this thread, I'll know more.
___________________________________
Have you noticed since everyone has a Camcorder these days no one talks
about seeing UFOs like they used to?
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OhMsLucy
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posted on March 10, 2004 04:30:54 PM new
Hi all,
Well, you could start by searching Antique Pipe on eBay. (Do sit down before you click on Completed and sort by price.) Ditto when you search Vintage Pipe.
Good luck! I hope you're charging him a hefty commission.
Lucy
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sanmar
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posted on March 10, 2004 05:06:38 PM new
I would start by going into tobaccoania & check on what is listed under pipes. I have sold some & have done well. Especially with Meerschaum pipes.
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stopwhining
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posted on March 10, 2004 05:08:54 PM new
i have a silvertone decorative pipe which ebay removed.you can find out from ebay why?i think it has to do with marijuana and other illegal drug.
pipe collectors know their stuff,if your friend has $$ in his eyes,best is to start at 9.99 and watch the bidding war.
let the market decides.
-sig file -------the lobster in the boiling pot of water who tries to prevent the others from climbing out.
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sparkz
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posted on March 10, 2004 05:27:14 PM new
Roadsmith...I started each one at $9.99. Half of them got one bid and the rest had multiple bids. One went for over $40.00. I had 5 bucks invested in the whole mess. After I sold the pipes, I listed the round pipe rack, which wasn't in that good of condition, and got $9.99 for it. Altogether, I made a profit that would border on obscene, and I knew absolutely nothing about pipes until I started researching auctions on Ebay.
The light at the end of the tunnel will turn out to be an oncoming train.
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cherishedclutter
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posted on March 10, 2004 06:08:25 PM new
Am I the only one troubled by how the realtor got the pipes? It sounds like they may have been "found before they were lost".
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sparkz
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posted on March 10, 2004 06:09:09 PM new
Also, since it looks like you could be listing up to 200 auctions, you might want to consider setting up a second seller's account to handle this. I have an account strictly for consignment sales and it saves me many hours of work at tax time and my accountant loves it.
The light at the end of the tunnel will turn out to be an oncoming train.
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neglus
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posted on March 10, 2004 06:34:36 PM new
My dad was an avid pipe smoker and he favored Dunhills..they are quite $$ and people don't mind smoking used ones...they just get new stems
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Roadsmith
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posted on March 10, 2004 07:03:28 PM new
Cherished: I understand your suspicion, but I don't think it's well founded in this case. I know this man very well and have always known him to be honest. He says he sold the house several years ago for a stepson who hated his stepfather (the man who'd died) and was the only heir. The fellow had gone through the house looking for cash, jewelry, stuff that looked valuable and was junking the rest. My friend rescued everything he could from one of the dumpsters while the second one was heading down the road to the dump. He put all the pipes he could into a large box and had a dealer friend help him sort them all out. They've been in his garage ever since. He also rescued a suitcase that was still locked but falling apart at the seams. Inside it he found thousands of matchbooks, which he also wants me to sell.
I suppose that could be just a lie, but I really don't think so in this case.
___________________________________
Have you noticed since everyone has a Camcorder these days no one talks
about seeing UFOs like they used to?
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Roadsmith
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posted on March 10, 2004 07:04:37 PM new
Oops! Double listing.
[ edited by Roadsmith on Mar 10, 2004 07:08 PM ]
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Roadsmith
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posted on March 10, 2004 07:06:08 PM new
Triple listing. What's happening to Vendio tonight?!
[ edited by Roadsmith on Mar 10, 2004 07:09 PM ]
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OhMsLucy
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posted on March 10, 2004 09:51:35 PM new
Hi all,
Cherished, I don't think you need to be troubled at all.
I used to sell real estate and you would be absolutely amazed at the mess I sometimes found after the people moved out. I guess they figured they got their money so it didn't matter who had to clean up after them. Well, guess who it was? Right - me. I couldn't turn the place over to my buyer with a bunch of stuff left in it.
If it was too much for me to take care of by myself, I hired a clean-up crew. Which I paid for. Once the sellers were gone, they were GONE!
No point in just trashing good things.
Lucy
Editing out the second Hi all... Duhhhh...
[ edited by OhMsLucy on Mar 10, 2004 09:52 PM ]
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sparkz
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posted on March 10, 2004 10:08:41 PM new
Lucy...I used to be in the moving business. The reason you got stuck with all the trash and junk is because they would give the good stuff to the movers  You would be amazed at what people don't want to pay to have moved. I've had employees bring in major appliances, furniture, stuff that didn't sell at a yard sale, and even automobiles. And when greedy heirs get to fighting, they will give something away just so a sibling can't get to it.
The light at the end of the tunnel will turn out to be an oncoming train.
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cherishedclutter
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posted on March 11, 2004 02:26:27 AM new
Boy! I've been doing this moving stuff all wrong. I've had people move into a house the same day I moved out. I was there with a broom after my movers left to get the house clean for the new owners.
Roadsmith - I feel better about your pipes now. (Not that you needed me to feel better. lol)
Sparkz - I know what you mean about sibblings. There's a woman I know from work. She and her sister were cleaning out her dead mother's house, before their siblings could even make it back to their hometown.
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chathamsue
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posted on March 11, 2004 03:58:43 AM new
There is a pipe/tabacco shop in New Haven, CT that is into these items in a big way. It's called the Owl Shop. If they can't help you they might steer you in the right direction. www.owlshopcigars.com
Sue
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