The joys and dangers of Ebay pipes

[OC Richard]

Not sure I'm into the chrome-plated mounts, either the look or the weight.

Here are Dunbars in full plain aluminium.



There's a cool beyond-piping sort of thing to that look: orchestral brass and silver instruments are usually plain gleaming metal, and I think the full-plain-metal look would seem the most "right" to orchestral players.

[OC Richard]

I said I'd grab the popcorn on this set and I didn't have long to wait.

It originally was put up for an extremely low opening bid and no reserved price.

Somebody must have clued in the seller to what the pipes were potentially worth, because the seller pulled them down and relisted them for exponentially more.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/27493406063...IAAOSwBDRhM6n0

I can't remember what it was originally listed for, but I think it was one-tenth the current opening bid

[WalesLax]

I said I'd grab the popcorn on this set and I didn't have long to wait.

It originally was put up for an extremely low opening bid and no reserved price.

Somebody must have clued in the seller to what the pipes were potentially worth, because the seller pulled them down and relisted them for exponentially more.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/27493406063...IAAOSwBDRhM6n0

I can't remember what it was originally listed for, but I think it was one-tenth the current opening bid

That same set has been on Bagpipe Central for ~8-9 months at a higher price, so I would imagine the seller knows what they have, but likely was unhappy that others on eBay weren’t quickly bidding it up to where he thinks they should sell, so he “nudged” them with a higher minimum bid.

https://bagpipecentral.com/advert/gillanders-mcleod/

Not that they aren’t a good set of pipes, but the price seems high to me considering the age, nickel (not silver), and imitation (not ivory), all added to the fact that we know nothing about the condition, how they were played, stored, etc. They could be fantastic, but at that price and with those questions, I would want to be able to see and touch them in person first.

I would also say that, for my money, at that price, I’d likely err on the side of a quality new set of pipes, but then again, while I know that Gillanders & Macleod are quality pipes, I don’t personally put a premium on them.

Rob

[OC Richard]

Thanks for the info, I'm not on Bagpipe Central and I didn't know the history of these pipes.

It's odd that he put them up so cheaply initially on Ebay.

When I've seen that in the past it's been clueless non-pipers listing pipes at prices far too high, or low, then immediately pulling them down and relisting them for more normal prices.

There's been a number of times I've seen apparently clueless sellers do things like list 1980s Hardie plain sets for several thousand dollars, when as we know such sets often sell for around $500 on Ebay.

You're spot on with Gillanders and McLeod pipes, they don't seem to be highly sought-after by pipers nowadays.

[OC Richard]

For those who had thought about getting into smallpipes but were put off by the prices here's a Dunbar smallpipe for a very low opening bid.

Who can say how high the bidding might eventually go.

I didn't know Dunbar made smallpipes. I've been on their site many times but never looked at anything other than their fullsize pipes.

These are the setup I prefer and play myself, mouthblown, with drones in separate stocks. The Victorian makers called these "miniature Highland pipes, or chamber pipes".

They have one of those old L&M "elkhide" (chrome-tanned cowhide) bags that last forever and never need seasoning.

I'm guessing they're in the key of B-flat.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Dunbar-Bagp...p2056016.l4276

[JPS]

For those who had thought about getting into smallpipes but were put off by the prices here's a Dunbar smallpipe for a very low opening bid.

Who can say how high the bidding might eventually go.

I didn't know Dunbar made smallpipes. I've been on their site many times but never looked at anything other than their fullsize pipes.

These are the setup I prefer and play myself, mouthblown, with drones in separate stocks. The Victorian makers called these "miniature Highland pipes, or chamber pipes".

They have one of those old L&M "elkhide" (chrome-tanned cowhide) bags that last forever and never need seasoning.

I'm guessing they're in the key of B-flat.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Dunbar-Bagp...p2056016.l4276

I took a pretty close look at these. They were located about 20 minutes away, so I imagine I could have gotten a close look at them, though I'm not sure I'd have known what I was looking at.

I can't find any record of there ever being any Dunbar smallpipes. I guess they could have been a one-off or promotional item. Or maybe they have a Dunbar chanter attached and are otherwise unbranded.

[imrichmond]

I took a pretty close look at these. They were located about 20 minutes away, so I imagine I could have gotten a close look at them, though I'm not sure I'd have known what I was looking at.

I can't find any record of there ever being any Dunbar smallpipes. I guess they could have been a one-off or promotional item. Or maybe they have a Dunbar chanter attached and are otherwise unbranded.

That was my feeling, too. To my knowledge, Dunbar has never made smallpipes, let alone polypenco smallpipes. The chanter appears to be a Dunbar long practice chanter, which would, of course, play in Bb. The drones are reminiscent of Gibson Fireside smallpipes, especially the chalice tops. They are not, however, identical to the current polypenco Firesides. Also, Gibson has been making polypenco Firesides only for about the past five years. They were introduced into the Gibson line as a reaction to the (at the time) stringent export restrictions on African blackwood and cocobolo. As a Gibson retailer, I sold one of the first sets of polypenco Firesides in Canada (perhaps even the first set) and was asked by Gibson for my opinion of them. I strongly endorsed them. They proved popular and Gibson has continued making them.

[WalesLax]

If anyone is looking for bar/bad weather pipes, I stumbled across these
WarMac and Hardie sets.

Rob

[TheeBooch]

well posted, good sir. Ive been simmering on which pipes to buy and this information is as good a gold.

I had an inkling a lot of the pipes on Ebay are waaaay over priced. Ill hunt for something good in the meantime. Patiences is seldom not rewarded.

[OC Richard]

This is one of those Ebay listings that quite possibly could be a wonderful vintage set!!

But with blurry photos and a description by somebody who obviously knows nothing about bagpipes, it's also possible that it's not what it seems.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/15470580496...gAAOSwXtthlWyx

First, L&M doesn't make bagpipes. They're a leather firm, who only made the bag. Happily L&M bags are dated so we see 1998 I think, dating when those pipes were being played. Those bags last forever so the pipes might have been played up until recently with that bag.

The projecting mounts on the bagpipes appear to be that-substance-which-must-not-be-named which in itself suggests, but doesn't prove, that the pipes aren't Pakistani. They made, and probably still make, plenty of **** mounted bagpipes in Sialkot, it's just that they don't make it over here to the USA very often, for obvious reasons.

Even if the set is a legitimate quality UK-made instrument (which I think it is) there's nothing to tell us whether it's a fullsize set or a 7/8 size set (which from c1830 to c1940 were called "halfsize" pipes by the Scottish makers, and what we mistakenly call "three-quarter size" pipes today).

In any case I've asked the seller for better photos, and for him/her to peek under the cords and look for a maker's stamp. Also to see if the pipe chanter is stamped.

The W Ross stamp is, I'm fairly certain, on the Practice Chanter. As usual the seller doesn't realise that the bagpipe and the PC are separate instruments. That PC itself is worth a few hundred dollars, I would think.