Somebody nearly scooped my new Savinelli estate pipe right from under my nose with a last minute bid.

Sneaky buggers... Good thing I am nothing if not tenacious. That and having no life really makes it easy to keep an eyeball on my bids  

Nice pickup. Let us know how it smokes.

I always avoided pipes with trenches tunneled into the briar because it gave me the impression that they were carved in to cover up imperfections. They wouldn't deface an unblemished specimen, would they? Having said that, the "beauty" of the outside of the briar is unlikely to affect the quality of the smoke, right? Correct me, please.

Great pipe.  I love my Savinelli. Enjoy.

I know what you're talking about. I had a few pipes that I bid on last week, and in the last 10 minutes or so some douchebag out bid me on three different pipes. My bid on all three held for over a day, and in the final moments... bam! I didn't win.

Quoteljlemer - 2/22/2012  3:34 PM

I always avoided pipes with trenches tunneled into the briar because it gave me the impression that they were carved in to cover up imperfections. They wouldn't deface an unblemished specimen, would they? Having said that, the "beauty" of the outside of the briar is unlikely to affect the quality of the smoke, right? Correct me, please.

You are correct...the rusticated and textured pipes are generally the ones made from briar with blemishes or imperfetions.  Not really a lesser quality pipe performace-wise, just not as perfect looking on the outside.  But the upside is that due to the textured surface, the outside of the bowl stays cooler.  And in some cases those piples are priced less than the smooth version.

QuoteRoscozRevenge - 2/22/2012  12:49 AM
Sneaky buggers... Good thing I am nothing if not tenacious. That and having no life really makes it easy to keep an eyeball on my bids  

  It was probably Bob.  He doesn't have anything to do at night now, either.  

Looks nice!.

Quotemetalhead y cigarguy - 2/22/2012  12:44 AM

Great pipe.  I love my Savinelli. Enjoy.

I know what you're talking about. I had a few pipes that I bid on last week, and in the last 10 minutes or so some douchebag out bid me on three different pipes. My bid on all three held for over a day, and in the final moments... bam! I didn't win.

Ebay.  If you really want it, you better be there at the last minute.  I've won and lost in that frenzy.

Quotemetalhead y cigarguy - 2/22/2012  12:44 AM

Great pipe.  I love my Savinelli. Enjoy.

I know what you're talking about. I had a few pipes that I bid on last week, and in the last 10 minutes or so some douchebag out bid me on three different pipes. My bid on all three held for over a day, and in the final moments... bam! I didn't win.

Ebay.  If you really want it, you better be there at the last minute.  I've won and lost in that frenzy.

QuoteBrlesq - 2/22/2012  7:49 AM
  It was probably Bob.  He doesn't have anything to do at night now, either.  

   

Nice looking pipe there! Good looking out against that sniper

Waiting til the last minute, if you are awake and ready when it closes, avoids senseless bidding wars between two or more people determined to win no matter what and thus saves money. Some folks consider bidding to be a form of betting.

QuoteHot Stuff x - 2/22/2012  2:24 AM

Quoteljlemer - 2/22/2012  3:34 PM

I always avoided pipes with trenches tunneled into the briar because it gave me the impression that they were carved in to cover up imperfections. They wouldn't deface an unblemished specimen, would they? Having said that, the "beauty" of the outside of the briar is unlikely to affect the quality of the smoke, right? Correct me, please.

You are correct...the rusticated and textured pipes are generally the ones made from briar with blemishes or imperfetions.  Not really a lesser quality pipe performace-wise, just not as perfect looking on the outside.  But the upside is that due to the textured surface, the outside of the bowl stays cooler.  And in some cases those piples are priced less than the smooth version.

les hit the nail on the head... i've been learning more and more about this ever since i started making pipes. sometimes you have an absolutely beautifully grained block, but when you are shaping you can uncover sandpits or other blemishes, heartbreaking really... the upside is there are some really fantastic rustication and sandblasting techniques that IMO can end up looking better than smooth finished pipes. i have a soft spot for a nice blast. but they do indeed command less money than their smooth finished brethren.

I hear ya on the rusticated pipes there Larry, but for some reason I really liked the look of this one. And since I have been hitting the pipe more often these days I figured why not put that one on the rack? That is to say when I manage to find myself a rack.

Funny thing about this situation was that I generally make a bid based on what I want to pay and just leave it alone, but I happened to see the outbid email come in and just for curiosity sake took a peek. Oh man did I get pissed when I saw that my bid had stood for 2 days and that this jerk had bid with less than a minute left. THIS AGGRESSION WILL NOT STAND! MAN! So in my fury I snaked the snake that tried to do some snakin' on me.

Very cool that you are making pipes Sam! If you are not to bashful I would love to see some pictures or maybe even a beginners tutorial to pipe making on the main page.

Quotesam a - 2/22/2012  12:55 PM

QuoteHot Stuff x - 2/22/2012  2:24 AM

Quoteljlemer - 2/22/2012  3:34 PM

I always avoided pipes with trenches tunneled into the briar because it gave me the impression that they were carved in to cover up imperfections. They wouldn't deface an unblemished specimen, would they? Having said that, the "beauty" of the outside of the briar is unlikely to affect the quality of the smoke, right? Correct me, please.

You are correct...the rusticated and textured pipes are generally the ones made from briar with blemishes or imperfetions.  Not really a lesser quality pipe performace-wise, just not as perfect looking on the outside.  But the upside is that due to the textured surface, the outside of the bowl stays cooler.  And in some cases those piples are priced less than the smooth version.

les hit the nail on the head... i've been learning more and more about this ever since i started making pipes. sometimes you have an absolutely beautifully grained block, but when you are shaping you can uncover sandpits or other blemishes, heartbreaking really... the upside is there are some really fantastic rustication and sandblasting techniques that IMO can end up looking better than smooth finished pipes. i have a soft spot for a nice blast. but they do indeed command less money than their smooth finished brethren.

I follow that thinking and while what you say is often true, it's not always the case.  While many pipes are created to hide blemishes, some pipes are actually created to improve the appearance of the grain by using a sandblasting technique that involves selecting specific briar samples that are highly amenable to this process and removing the softer areas of the briar to assure the intended design and grain enhancement is achieved.

Certain high end versions of these unique works of art can and do indeed command high prices.

Nice looking pipe, Dan. Should give you years of smoking pleasure!

Fight fire with fire and snipe yourself.

Just remember that regardless of when your bid is placed, it still has to be the highest to win. EXCEPT, when 2 bids are the same or there isn't enough difference between them to meet ebay's minimum bid increment. In that case, the 1st one in wins.

So, if people were completely rational, the best strategy would be to bid on an item the second it is listed.  I'd stick with the sniping strategy.

(Automated) sniping is a timesaving convenience for people that want to avoid drawing early attention to an auction item, 'nibbling' bidders (bidders who have no max in mind, bidding the minimun increment over and over until they're the high bid), and competitive emotional bidders and bidding wars that come with them, all of which normally result in a higher final price. If you have the time, you can do it manually.

http://www.hidbid.com is a good sniping service to use, it is web based, so you don't need to worry about leaving your computer on for your bid to be placed.

If for whatever reason you do not like the idea of sniping, decide on your absolute maximum bid, and place it.  If you win, great.  If you lose, the winner paid too much as far as you are concerned. Bid once.

Make sure you're eligible to bid on an item before scheduling a snipe (or doing it manually), so that your bid will be accepted. As long as you live in a country that the seller ships to, you don't have many (or any, I think as little as two within the past six months can get you blocked) unpaid strikes lately, and you have enough positive feedback, you should be ok. If you have a problem with one of those things, you could contact the seller and ask them to accept your bid, as long as you know early enough.  

A couple more benefits of sniping:

1. Sniping is actually a way of combatting shill bidding - when the seller or his buddy bids on the item until they're the high bid, and know your max, then retract their bid, and use yet another account to bid on the item, bidding just below your max. You don't give the shiller time to retract their bid in order to leave you as the high bidder, close to your max. You can't do much about a shill bidder letting their bid ride to the end of the auction, if it just raises but doesn't exceed yours.

Also, look out for 2nd chance offers, as they would be a reason for the shiller to let their shill bid ride, you may want to decline any and look for a different seller with the same item. Unless of course, the price seems ok with you, even though possible artificially jacked up.

2. You can just cancel a snipe with as little as five minutes left (I guess depending on which service or software you use) in an auction, if you change your mind about bidding on an item, and your bid won't be placed. If you place a bid on ebay and then retract it (not a seller's or ebay's favorite thing), you can be blocked from bidding on other auctions after doing this a few times, not sure what that # is.

Here's a couple links to pages for eBay bid increments:

http://pages.ebay.com/help/buy/bid-increments.html

http://pages.ebay.co.uk/help/buy/bid-increments.html

http://pages.ebay.de/help/buy/bid-increments.html

Fair enough George. Something to think about at the very least.

QuoteROTHNH - 2/22/2012  10:33 AM
I follow that thinking and while what you say is often true, it's not always the case.  While many pipes are created to hide blemishes, some pipes are actually created to improve the appearance of the grain by using a sandblasting technique that involves selecting specific briar samples that are highly amenable to this process and removing the softer areas of the briar to assure the intended design and grain enhancement is achieved.

Certain high end versions of these unique works of art can and do indeed command high prices.

absolutely... the work of bruce weaver, jim cooke, and brian ruthenburg all come to mind. their blasts are incredible and frankly i think more beautiful and interesting than most any perfect straight grained smooth pipe. i by no means think that sandblasted pipes are inferior to smooth, i actually prefer them and would pay more for a nicely blasted pipe then i would a nice smooth. but the market value for smooth finished pipes is higher than it is for the same pipe with a sandblasted finish.

Ya nice pipe and I will post a picture of my Dad's pipe very very old....still works.

I am interested in hearing how it smokes. I have looked at the Savinelli's too, but having been brought into the hobby on Peterson's I tend to balk at everything else.

Quotesam a - 2/22/2012  9:55 AM

QuoteHot Stuff x - 2/22/2012  2:24 AM

Quoteljlemer - 2/22/2012  3:34 PM

I always avoided pipes with trenches tunneled into the briar because it gave me the impression that they were carved in to cover up imperfections. They wouldn't deface an unblemished specimen, would they? Having said that, the "beauty" of the outside of the briar is unlikely to affect the quality of the smoke, right? Correct me, please.

You are correct...the rusticated and textured pipes are generally the ones made from briar with blemishes or imperfetions.  Not really a lesser quality pipe performace-wise, just not as perfect looking on the outside.  But the upside is that due to the textured surface, the outside of the bowl stays cooler.  And in some cases those piples are priced less than the smooth version.

les hit the nail on the head... i've been learning more and more about this ever since i started making pipes. sometimes you have an absolutely beautifully grained block, but when you are shaping you can uncover sandpits or other blemishes, heartbreaking
really... the upside is there are some really fantastic rustication and sandblasting techniques that IMO can end up looking better than smooth finished pipes. i have a soft spot for a nice blast. but they do indeed command less money than their smooth finished brethren.

Do you have pics of your pipes? I'd be interested in seeing them.

As for smooth vs. sandblast/rusticated, I prefer the latter. I just like the look and feel in the hand.

Quotemetalhead y cigarguy - 2/22/2012  6:44 PM

Quotesam a - 2/22/2012  9:55 AM

QuoteHot Stuff x - 2/22/2012  2:24 AM

Quoteljlemer - 2/22/2012  3:34 PM

I always avoided pipes with trenches tunneled into the briar because it gave me the impression that they were carved in to cover up imperfections. They wouldn't deface an unblemished specimen, would they? Having said that, the "beauty" of the outside of the briar is unlikely to affect the quality of the smoke, right? Correct me, please.

You are correct...the rusticated and textured pipes are generally the ones made from briar with blemishes or imperfetions.  Not really a lesser quality pipe performace-wise, just not as perfect looking on the outside.  But the upside is that due to the textured surface, the outside of the bowl stays cooler.  And in some cases those piples are priced less than the smooth version.

les hit the nail on the head... i've been learning more and more about this ever since i started making pipes. sometimes you have an absolutely beautifully grained block, but when you are shaping you can uncover sandpits or other blemishes, heartbreaking
really... the upside is there are some really fantastic rustication and sandblasting techniques that IMO can end up looking better than smooth finished pipes. i have a soft spot for a nice blast. but they do indeed command less money than their smooth finished brethren.

Do you have pics of your pipes? I'd be interested in seeing them.

As for smooth vs. sandblast/rusticated, I prefer the latter. I just like the look and feel in the hand.

I have to say that for me I tend to prefer smooth or partially rusticated finishes.  I've always liked the simplicity of natural wood grain.