Dock
Well-known member
- Joined
- Dec 15, 2007
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Right after x-mas I start saving cash for the March NY pipe show in Newark.NJ. Whenever I have extra money it goes into a special jar. Around January I look through all of my pipes and decide which ones need to find new owners. These are listed on e-bay. As buddy Rich Esserman says, "to me the flip side of buying a new pipe to enjoy is selling another which for whatever reason has fallen out of favor in my rotation". All of the money generated from the sale of these also goes into the jar. I never count up the cash til' the night before I leave. last year I sold off roughly 300 pipes on e-bay from November to February. I kept less than 50 from my original collection. Almost all of my English, lesser American and Italian briars all went to new homes as I began focusing on quality over quantity. Needless to say I had quite a bit of working capital to re build my collection. This year I sold off less than 10 in total. I have NO idea how much is in the jar but I'll count it up later tonight. :lol:
Now comes the question of what to buy with the jar's booty. I notice that the blasted grp 3-4 lighterweight bent pipes are the once I reach for more than any others lately. Obviously this is the direction that I'll be going in. For the longest time I've been on the lookout for the right Sixten Ivarsson. The problem I have with a pipe this expensive is the fact that it likely won't see much action. I'm a careful smoker to be sure but anytime you use an irreplaceable work or art/investment piece some of the joy of smoking it is lost slightly becuase you're constantly aware of just how special the item is. We're not talking about pocket change here. A nice Sixten can and will fetch a grand plu$. That kind of investment deserves special care. Usually pipes this special spend way more time in my racks than in my mouth. I'd also like to ad a Brad Pohlmann. Unfortunately there are few BP estates out there so I'd have to buy new. Smoking that BP just once will devalue it roughly by 40-50%. That's quite a hit to take if the pipe doesn't smoke well for you. Guess that's why I love estates so much! You can't really lose on em'! I also would like to ad a half a dozen Stanwells for my everyday smoking pleasure. These are pipes to be brought to work and in the yard without worry. They're cheap and easily replacebale. Best of all the ones that I currently have smoke like a dream....
I would imagine that the show this weekned will be a definite buyer's market with the economy as bad as it is. From what I hear the tables have sold out totally. At least there will be pipes to buy there. Unfortunately for the vendors I'm NOT 100% sure that there will be tons and tons of folks to buy them. Usually my pipe club has 5-8 members going. This year there will be only 3 of us. In talking to many of my buddies (non club members) who I always see at the show this week I was bummed out to hear that most of them will be sitting it out. Two had lost thier jobs and one will be working. These folks are "heavy hitters" with deep pockets. The vendors will be poorer without their presence believe me!
I will write a lengthy show report upon my return on Sunday...Stay tuned....
Now comes the question of what to buy with the jar's booty. I notice that the blasted grp 3-4 lighterweight bent pipes are the once I reach for more than any others lately. Obviously this is the direction that I'll be going in. For the longest time I've been on the lookout for the right Sixten Ivarsson. The problem I have with a pipe this expensive is the fact that it likely won't see much action. I'm a careful smoker to be sure but anytime you use an irreplaceable work or art/investment piece some of the joy of smoking it is lost slightly becuase you're constantly aware of just how special the item is. We're not talking about pocket change here. A nice Sixten can and will fetch a grand plu$. That kind of investment deserves special care. Usually pipes this special spend way more time in my racks than in my mouth. I'd also like to ad a Brad Pohlmann. Unfortunately there are few BP estates out there so I'd have to buy new. Smoking that BP just once will devalue it roughly by 40-50%. That's quite a hit to take if the pipe doesn't smoke well for you. Guess that's why I love estates so much! You can't really lose on em'! I also would like to ad a half a dozen Stanwells for my everyday smoking pleasure. These are pipes to be brought to work and in the yard without worry. They're cheap and easily replacebale. Best of all the ones that I currently have smoke like a dream....
I would imagine that the show this weekned will be a definite buyer's market with the economy as bad as it is. From what I hear the tables have sold out totally. At least there will be pipes to buy there. Unfortunately for the vendors I'm NOT 100% sure that there will be tons and tons of folks to buy them. Usually my pipe club has 5-8 members going. This year there will be only 3 of us. In talking to many of my buddies (non club members) who I always see at the show this week I was bummed out to hear that most of them will be sitting it out. Two had lost thier jobs and one will be working. These folks are "heavy hitters" with deep pockets. The vendors will be poorer without their presence believe me!
I will write a lengthy show report upon my return on Sunday...Stay tuned....
