Quality Sporrans for less money

[Piobair]

Might I suggest that you continue to highlight interesting sporrans that you find out there in the big wide world marketplace, but refrain from posting until after the sale has concluded, or perhaps de-identify the seller or the marketplace (ie just show the photos). That might be within the rules whilst also allowing you to guide your very ignorant students who greatly benefit from your knowledge and experience.

This is the approach I advocate, as it doesn't risk manipulating the auction in favor of buyer or seller.

For those looking for search tips, here's an example of what I do:

I usually hit eBay if I want to find a nice sgian dubh to give a piping friend or family member. I usually search terms that acknowledge variant spellings or descriptions someone with limited experience would use. When I see an item identified as "skene dhu" or even "skeen doo," I know it's somebody who might not be as savvy as someone who knows the traditional terminology and may not be as inclined to see if there are other examples in the market place in order to set a price. Same goes for someone who only knows they have some sort of "hallmarked silver dagger." I picked up a vintage Forsyth sgian dubh for about $80 because someone had misidentified it as a dirk and didn't bother to check the hallmarks. The same can be done with sporrans - you should get to know makers marks, but also be prepared to think about it as someone not familiar with highlandwear would describe it, like "made in Scotland purse" or "leather belt pouch l&m." It doesn't work 100%, or even most of the time, but it's a safe bet. Also try searching ebay.co.uk or ebay.ca. Be prepared to sift through hundreds of Pakistani sporrans.

My point behind my initial objection is that the sgain dubh referenced above was an affordable gift because I knew what I was looking for and there wasn't another bidder who had happened upon the listing. It would have only taken one person who knew what they were bidding on to drive the price beyond what I wanted to spend. I'm a great supporter of the free-market and accept that there are other sgian dubh buyers out there, but it would have been a bummer if someone had blown up my spot by telling a forum "hey, check out this thing that's been listed at $80 but was mislabeled and is really worth $400."