Does a well maintained set of U. pipes appreciate or depreciate in value.
I am thinking of selling a D half set (to buy a full set). How should I price
it compared to what I bought it for?
Anything you may want to sell is worth exactly as much as someone else is willing to pay for it. (I got that one from Dr. Phil 
)
In my experience a “great” set will actually appreciate. A “good” set should hold it’s value to within about 10-15 percent of the going rate (which could be greater than your original cost! ). You will certainly loose a lot of money selling a mediocre set.
A set is defined as mediocre, good or great only by the person to whom you are selling.
There are of course other factors such as overall condition, the quality of the reeds, the appearance, etc. However, in my experience it’s the “name” of the set that is the major factor.
Paul
… of course, overall opinion from the contributors of this forum may also influence the value of the set in question…
With any set, part of the sales value should rest upon whether there is a good reed in the stick. If there is no reed, or the reed is poorly executed piece of sh1te, you need to take into account the cost (and/or time) of getting a good reed. Some seemingly good chanters may be difficult to reed.
I’ve spent a lot of time recently shopping for a half set, so I’ve formed an opinion or two about pipes.
The maker’s reputation has everything to do with the value of the set, regardless of whether the actual set is good or not. How many chanters or sets are sold on Ebay where there is no pre-sale inspection? If the maker has a good reputation, the price is high. Pipes are seen as an investment.
If the pipes are in good condition, with no visible damage and made by a reputable maker, I’d be prepared to pay at least what the maker charges to make that set (including cost of adding keys, etc). If keys/valve were added by someone else, I, for one, would be wary. Depending on the maker, and the wait-time, there might be a premium for having the set straight away. However, for me, this would really have to be a sought-after maker (Q&K, Gallagher, Childress, etc).
One very important detail about the price is the market. In January, there were several practice and half sets which came up for sale on Ebay and elsewhere. They didn’t reach the reserve or in some cases, didn’t even receive bids. I would put this down to no one having money after Christmas. In other words, if you want to get a good price for your pipes, wait until people have the money to buy.
As to whether pipes will go up or down in value, again the main considerations are the reputation of the maker and the condition of the instrument. For instance, I bought a practice set in 1996 for $500 and recently refused an offer of $1,000. I don’t know if that’s what the set is worth, but that’s what the maker charges for the same set today.
Anyway, that’s my opinion. No doubt, other people will disagree. (Curious to see their replies myself).