MBSD Pipes FAQs

Buying, shipping, selling, trading, estimates, and pipe care. If your question isn’t here, our contact form is the quickest way to an answer.

Buying Shipping and returns Selling and trade-ins Estimates and appraisals Pipe care Everything else

Buying

Yes. Every pipe we sell is carefully evaluated for authenticity, condition, and originality before it’s listed. If something about a pipe is uncertain, the listing says so.

Almost always. Most of our pipes, estate pipes especially, are one of a kind, so the photos and condition notes show the exact pipe you’ll get. A few brands, Molina among them, we sell by quantity, and the listing always says so. For everything else, when it’s gone, it’s gone, so don’t sleep on the one you love.

We rate each estate pipe Great, Good, Fair, or Poor, then get specific: rim wear, chamber condition, stem oxidation or tooth marks, finish wear, repairs, and how clear the stampings are. A single rating can’t capture everything, so read the description and study the photos before you buy.

Yes. About 80% of our restorations are done by Pipe Revival Co, a restoration shop we co-own. Smoked estate pipes are cleaned, sanitized, and reconditioned so they’re ready for their next owner, keeping as much of their original character as possible. Some estate pipes are unsmoked, and the listing tells you which is which.

It’s about how the pipe reached us. A pipe is new when it comes directly from the maker, workshop, factory, or authorized distributor. Anything from a collector, previous owner, or estate is an estate pipe, even if it was never smoked.

The pipe market is fluid. A price from three years ago can be radically different from what the same pipe brings today. We watch the market day to day and week to week, so an old sale price is good history, but it isn’t a guide to today’s value. If you want to know what a pipe is worth now, ask us for a quick estimate on our Appraisals page.

Because our listings are an endless pipe history book. Every pipe we list gets a detailed write-up of its history, specifications, and condition, many of them written by James, our resident pipe expert and historian. We love teaching people about pipes and the people who made them, and those write-ups don’t stop being useful when a pipe sells. Browse the sold listings to learn about a maker’s story or a particular era, one pipe at a time.

Our search works two ways.

  1. To see what’s for sale now, type the maker’s name, like Dunhill, in the search box at the top of the page and press Enter.
  2. To see every pipe from that maker we’ve ever listed, sold ones included, type the name the same way, but don’t press Enter. Wait a moment for a short list to appear under the search box, then click the maker’s name in that list.

The sold pipes are a great way to learn about a maker’s history.

Every night at 9 PM ET. That’s when new pipes go up on the site, and we share them on social media the following morning.

Want a weekly roundup? Every Monday our newsletter recaps last week’s new arrivals.

In select cases, short-term holds may be offered at our discretion. Send us a note through our contact form to ask about a specific pipe. Please also set up an MBSD Pipes account so we can process your hold more easily.

Not yet. MBSD Pipes is online only for now. A physical shop where we can welcome collectors in person is a long-term goal; until then, our photos and descriptions do the talking.

Shipping and returns

Unless otherwise stated, orders ship within two business days. Orders within the US ship by UPS, unless they’re going to a PO Box or you ask us to use another carrier.

Yes, wherever it’s legally permitted. We’ve shipped pipes to smokers and collectors worldwide since 2020.

We ship to most countries for a flat rate of $21. Other shipping options are available at checkout.

The $21 flat rate is Simple Export Rate, an affordable international service we buy through Pirate Ship. Here’s how your package travels:

  1. We hand it to USPS, which takes it to an export center run by Asendia USA.
  2. Asendia labels it with your address and customs details and sends it to your country.
  3. Once it clears customs, your local postal service or carrier delivers it.

Duties and import taxes aren’t included, so your local carrier may collect them when it arrives.

On the Asendia USA tracking page, not USPS.com. That’s the most common mix-up.

  1. Open the Asendia USA tracking page.
  2. Type or paste your AHOY number and search.
  3. After customs, the page may also show a second number from your local carrier. You can use either one.

International updates can be slow, so a few days without a new scan is normal, especially before customs. In a few countries, tracking may stop partway. If your package seems lost, contact us through our contact form and we’ll take care of it.

We’ll email your tracking number automatically after your pipe ships, so watch your inbox (and your spam folder, just in case).

  1. Open the shipping email from us.
  2. Click or copy the tracking number.
  3. U.S. orders: paste the number on the UPS tracking page (or the USPS tracking page if your order went to a PO Box). International numbers that start with “AHOY” go on the Asendia USA tracking page.

Can’t find the email? Send us a note through our contact form and we’ll send your tracking number.

Yes. Every order is insured while in our care and during shipment, unless otherwise agreed.

Carefully, and by people who ship a lot of pipes. Every order is professionally packed for safe transit.

A pipe wrapped in bubble wrap beside an open shipping box with red tissue and an MBSD Pipes sticker

Yes. You can return any pipe, new or estate, within 30 days of delivery, for any reason, and there’s no restocking fee. Pipes need to come back in the condition you received them, with new pipes unused and estate pipes unsmoked. You pay the return shipping, unless the pipe has a flaw or condition issue. In that case, we cover it.

We refund your original payment method within 24 hours of receiving your return. Your card company may take a little longer to post it to your statement.

Ship returns to MBSD Pipes, Attn: Returns, 130 E Elm St #759, Rockmart, GA 30153, with a note in the box giving your name, email, and order number. Questions? Use our contact form.

Selling and trade-ins

Yes. Buying outright is how most of our inventory arrives. We buy traditional tobacco pipes: estate briars, meerschaums, artisan pieces, and antique pipes, from single pipes to whole collections. See We Buy Smoking Pipes.

Cash offers are 50% of the current retail price, or 60% in store credit.

Some pipes don’t fit our site because of the maker, their condition, or other reasons. For those, we’ll either pass or offer a wholesale price. We sell wholesale pipes in large lots of 100 to 500 throughout the year.

Use the quote form on our We Buy Smoking Pipes page. Tell us roughly how many pipes you have and any brands you know. We’ll let you know if it’s a fit before anything ships.

Trade-ins earn a flat 60% in store credit. You’ll need an MBSD Pipes account, so if you don’t have one yet, set up an MBSD Pipes account first. Then fill out the form on our Trade-In page and write “trade-in” in the description box. Once you accept your quote, the credit goes straight to your MBSD Pipes account, ready whenever the right pipe comes along.

We can send a prepaid UPS or USPS label at our discounted rate and deduct it from your quote. If you decline the quote, we return your pipes at our expense.

Usually 3 to 5 business days after your pipes arrive. Every quote is itemized, valid for 14 days, and there’s no obligation to accept. If you accept, we pay by business check, Zelle, or PayPal.

We still quote them. Pipes that are damaged, or wouldn’t justify the cost of restoration, are grouped together at a wholesale rate.

No hard feelings. If you’ve already sent us your pipes, we’ll ship them back to you at our expense.

Estimates and appraisals

Ask us for a quick estimate. Fill out the form on our Appraisals page and write “estimate” in the description box with what you have. Want background first? Read our guide, Help Determining the Value of a Tobacco Pipe.

Yes, on a limited basis, for insurance and similar needs. Ask through the form on our Appraisals page. A formal appraisal states which value it uses, such as replacement value or fair market value, and why.

Pipe care

We don’t repair pipes ourselves, but we’re happy to point you to someone who does. About 80% of our estate pipes are restored by Pipe Revival Co, a restoration shop we co-own, and Briarville handles many of our high-grade pipes. Both take work on customers’ own pipes, so see our Restoration page to reach either one.

No, not the way a new briar does. You can smoke it normally from the start. Just don’t let a thick cake build up in the chamber.

Let it cool before removing the stem, and don’t force or overtighten the connection. Run a pipe cleaner through after smoking, and gently clear chamber buildup without scraping the meerschaum. Never use any liquid other than water, because meerschaum can absorb the taste and smell. Clean, dry hands help it color evenly, which is the fun part.

Everything else

The fastest way is the form for what you need: We Buy Smoking Pipes for selling, Trade-In for trading, Appraisals for estimates, and our contact form for everything else.

Yes. Every Monday afternoon we send a recap of last week’s new arrivals and a look at what’s coming this week. One email a week, unsubscribe anytime. Sign up here.

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