On Ebay: The Celt's Cauldron doesn't sell Asian Pipes

Uilleann Pipes
1

Hi All,

At the risk of sounding like a commercial, I just wanted to make a post regarding the Celt’s Cauldron because we get so many emails from concerned buyers wanting to make sure our pipes are not made in Asia, and especially not in Pakistan. Many of the emailers are are from C&F, and most are generally polite, but every now and then we have someone email a message to the tune of “HOW DARE YOU SELL PIPES FROM ASIA AND PRETEND THEY’RE NOT!!!” Well, we have a physical retail store, our own domain, and a store on eBay too, and with all the eBay scamming in regard to pipes, I can understand their apprehension. So I just wanted to clearly state the following:

The Celt’s Cauldron does not sell Asian-made pipes of any kind. We do not and we will not, even though one of the Pakistani manufacturers has actually called us to tell us their pipes are the biggest seller on eBay and we are as good as out of business if we don’t carry them. We are aware of the reputation of Asian made pipes and are committed to selling only quality pipes made in the USA, Canada and Europe. We make no exceptions in this matter. Our goal as a business is to build a reputation as a reliable supplier of only first-rate quality instruments.

Okay, I’ve piped my piece. Aside from that, I’m an old whistle player–been playing for 30 years. I also play Celtic harp and fiddle. I am absolutely in love with Celtic music and live on Cape Breton in the heart of Celtic music country. I’ve been lurking on the board since I discovered it many years ago through a PBS broadcast where one of the creators was being interviewed. Thought I’d come out of the woodwork and post for a change.

Slainte,
Cliff

2

Integrity is a great thing… :adminok: So who is the maker of your pipes??? :slight_smile: :slight_smile: How about posting some upclose pics of your chanters and reeds… Cheers

3

Is this the place that uses pictures of Kennedy practice sets to misrepresent what is being offered?

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I hope not… I’m sure they will reply and post some pics :slight_smile:

5

They do use photos of Joe Kennedy’s pipes.

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http://celts-cauldron.com/merchant/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=11&products_id=93

I think that it is. It has been mentioned numerous times in the past. Take a look at the picture.

7

Here’s an old thread:

http://chiffboard.mati.ca/viewtopic.php?p=334319

and another:

http://chiffboard.mati.ca/viewtopic.php?t=26150&highlight=celts+cauldron

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Somehow I don’t think there will be a satisfactory reply! :open_mouth:

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I read some of the reply’s on those links from the company, they sound kinda fake and the wording reminds me of the nigerian scam emails I get somtimes when I sell stuff on ebay. I don’t buy it for a second, I would say they are in the grey area :slight_smile:

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Hello Jessica,

For a new person to the board with 3 months under her belt and 11 posts, it is surprising that you have spent half your posts being hostile toward a small business which has never wronged you and has only sought to honestly portray its products, and among its other endeavors, provide pipers a safe venue to shop. What I am always surprised by since treading the edges of uilleann piper turf is the hostility among so many uilleann pipers, which is disheartening since I love the instrument and admire the players so much. I had never expected it, and we have never received this kind of attitude from persons pursuing our other instrument lines, such as fiddles or whistles. And since we have made it a point to only sell the best instruments, made almost exclusively in the USA, Canada and Europe, and to disclose on all our wares to the fullest of our abilities, I am not surprised those who have actually shopped with us have been happy. It has been a pleasure helping them find their dream instruments.

It is always easy to attack, Jessica. Usually, a person who lashes out is lashing inward. What, or who, burned you so badly? Did you get burned in a deal on an instrument somewhere? Perhaps you ought to actually try one of our items and see if it is not exactly as promised. Or see if we do not promptly give a refund, S&H included, if we made a listing error and you get something you did not expect. Perhaps you ought to carefully review the wording of the listing you were quick to jump on. Does it not say right at the top in bold letters who it is made by? Does it not describe its nature?

I have sorted through our pipes listings, perplexed by the references to the photo of the Kennedy uilleann pipes. After looking through every single listing, I found the photo in question and have removed it. I imagine it occurred in the very first days we decided to carry pipes, when we knew very little about them, couldn’t tell from appearance one model from the other, and only approached the lines with a determination to carry good instruments. We had a lot to learn in those days, and have since learned a lot, though as I have said, none of us are pipers and we are still learning a lot.

We will continue to provide pipers a safe venue to get their instruments, where they will get complete disclosure on their instrument’s provenance and details. Many people have purchased our instruments and found them exactly as promised. I invite you to see our feedback on eBay, and bear in mind that only about 1 out of 10 satisfied buyers leaves feedback, whereas almost every single dissatisfied buyer will leave feedback. That, I think, says the most about us. Almost 1000 happy customers to date. We are very proud of that. And as we continue in this business, we hope to get better, faster and wiser doing what we do.

We do our best to provide service and instruments to people will value it for ages, but sometimes we make human errors. We are literally just a little ma & pop operation trying to make a go serving the musicians who make the music we love. And that’s what we will continue to be, with luck and by continuing to build a good reputation.

Slainte,
Cliff

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Please pardon the French influence in my English if it sounds bizarre and fake to you. If you truly wish to find out if we are real or not, you are welcomed to visit our little shop on the island of Cape Breton any time. Our address is clearly posted on our websites. Bit by bit, we keep adding to it and making it better all the time. One day, next year maybe, it might be truly impressive. We keep our fingers crossed.

Slainte,
Cliff

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Cliff, you sound like a reasonable person. Perhaps you could clear up any misgivings by clarifying a couple of things for the people who contribute here, or the many more who just lurk.

Who exactly makes the uilleann pipes your shop sells?

Do you sell uilleann pipes from multiple pipemakers?

Are your sets completely built by one uillean pipemaker, or are they a combination of parts from different uilleann pipemakers that you have assembled yourself to make a set?

If various, who are these various makers, especially the chanter and reed makers?

Why not include the names of these uilleann pipemakers on your web site so as to forestall any false accusations?

Thx,

djm

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I guess I took a wee bit too many of those steroids my brother Jesse was taking. They say aggression is a side-effect.

Your description is a bunch of gibberish:


Our practice pipes are made by Pipers’ Choice right here in Canada using traditional methods and come complete with bellows, bag and chanter. They are made from black polypenco in the key of D. Polypenco is an amazingly resonant material which has been accepted as superior for the making of penny whistles, flutes, and other wind instruments. Polypenco produces a lovely warm woodlike tone. It has an extraordinary ability to repel water, allowing the player to play longer in cooler conditions without suffering the detrimental effects of condensation.


I guess if I liked to swim while playing, then this set is the way to go. Are the bag, bellows and reed plastic too? It might do as life preserver in a pinch.

Does it actually look like this?

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As much as I am intrigued by this topic and thread, I would ask the posters to mind their words and acusations. This forum is not the place to flame, and I am very close to locking it.

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We’ve all been reassured that Celt’s Cauldron is not selling those awful Asian pipes, that’s a relief!

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It may indeed be true that they don’t sell ’ asian-made ’ pipes. The question remains, however, as to who actually makes the pipes they sell. The above picture looks like one of those terrible sets with the wading-pool inflation device (bellows).

Seeing numerous paragraphs assuring us that they’re not made in Pakistan or ‘Asia’ without any assertion of where they are made or who they’re made by should be enough information for anyone to make a sound judgement as to the kind of ‘service’ they will get from this company.

They may indeed be a fine company offering fine pipes. I just don’t see why anyone would go to a place selling pipes from an unnamed source when they could get a decent practice set from a known maker at a similar price (D. Daye to mention the least expensive, as well as others turning Delrin).

As always, buyer beware from any source.

Dionys

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Hello DJM,

I’ll be happy to clear up things as best I can. Our practice set of Uilleann pipes is made by Piper’s Choice, here in Canada. People keep asking that question, yet it is placed in the listing, so this perplexes me.

We would like to carry pipes made by other makers and are looking for good pipes with greater availability. We have a couple models under consideration, but won’t offer them till we know they are premium and have a contract on pricing. At this time the practice set is the only set of Uilleann pipes we are selling.

I have personally questioned Piper’s Choice who assure me they make their pipes themselves. They have some good history here in Canada, and we have always found them honest and reliable. These are practice sets and the reeds are plastic, reflected in the price. Wood reed upgrades are available by special request.

And for the final question, every single set of pipes we carry has the maker listed in the listing, without exception. That’s as clear as I know how to make things.

We do a lot more business in fiddles, whistles, harps and flutes. I have to say, people don’t send us flaming emails out of the blue accusing us of selling counterfeit instruments, even though label counterfeiting is rampant in the fiddle industry. We are authorized dealers for some excellent instruments, and get our instruments only from those suppliers, not dubious middlemen. I still have to wonder why there is so much hostility and suspicion among uilleann pipers. I don’t see this kind of thing among any other customers or musical lines.

Perhaps we’re not cut out to sell uilleann pipes, and given they represent less than 1% of our business, we can drop them easily enough. Certainly if the kind of attitudes we get from the UP world don’t lighten up, we will drop them. I love the uilleann pipes, but such hostility is not the kind of atmosphere we want for our business.

Slainte,
Cliff

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Hello Dionys,

Which part of “They are made by Piper’s Choice in Canada” is not clear? They are not imported by Piper’s Choice into Canada. They are not smuggled into Canada. They are not faxed into Canada. They don’t purport to be anything other than an affordable practice set. Yes, by all means, if you want a different set elsewhere, buy them elsewhere. These pipes are exactly what they purport to be, a polypenco set of practice Uilleann pipes made by Piper’s Choice in Canada, as our listing says.

That said, I am going to end this discussion, because those who are choosing to read and pay attention to the listings are not coming up with such ridiculous comments. And those choosing to ignore the details of the listings are just doing so so they can have an excuse to flame. It’s been my experience there is no point arguing with flamers because they just get their kicks from flaming, and the facts of the matter mean little.

Good luck wherever you shop.

Slainte,
Cliff

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Cliff, thanks for giving us straight answers on these issues. A little Googling reveals that Piper’s Choice is primarily a small manufacturer of accessories for Highland pipes. That explains why no-one here has heard of them, and why they have no reputation amongst the uilleann piping community.

It is very important that you have revealed that these practise chanters have a plastic reed. These reeds have an uncertain reputation amongst highland pipers. I am not aware of anyone who has had success with getting two octaves out of a plastic reed in uilleann pipes, let alone sounding good.

Having this info now out in the open, it is caveat emptor for you prospective uilleann pipe shoppers.

djm

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And the winner is… me. Move along, move along, nothing to see here, move along now…