The joys and dangers of Ebay pipes

[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

[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

Did somebody here buy these? I'd be interested to know what you ended up with, if so.