Ebay Guide, I submitted one today!

[John in Covina]

Well I wrote a (seller) buyer guide for fedoras in Ebay, and maybe just maybe it will help. They said they'd review it and post it in a few hours.

The submission entry won't let you copy and paste, i had something written but had to redo it in the box.

 

[moustache]

Splendid!!

Well I wrote a (seller) buyer guide for fedoras in Ebay, and maybe just maybe it will help. They said they'd review it and post it in a few hours.

The submission entry won't let you copy and paste, i had something written but had to redo it in the box.

Look forward to reading your work John.Ebay can always use another guide.

JD

 

[John in Covina]

Fedoras & Men's Dress Hats

I gave it a little editing this morning and re-submitted it so it will be a few hours before it is up again.

"Fedoras & Men's Dress Hats" is the Title under the clothing section.

It has already had 2 views!:fedora:

Best regards,

 

[Baron Kurtz]

Post a link. There's a good chap.

bk

 

[John in Covina]

Thanks!

Look forward to reading your work John.Ebay can always use another guide. JD

**********
Thanks my friend! It is more of a seller's guide than buyer's guide. I tried to list what is critical and good information. Plus a diatribe on those ebay pictures.

 

[Feraud]

Great. I am looking forward to reading it.
I hope clarified what vintage means to some of these sellers!
"Looks vintage" is not actually vintage!

 

[John in Covina]

See if you can get there.

http://reviews.ebay.com/Fedoras-amp-Men-apos-s-Dress-Hats_W0QQugidZ10000000002178236

It needs some more tweaking, but i think it is a good start.

 

[Sefton]

John, I just read your guide and it is excellent. You're doing a real service for sellers and buyers. Thank you for the good work!:eusa_clap

 

[Marc Chevalier]

Covers all the bases. An excellent guide that will help a lot of folks. Thanks so much for it!

.

 

[John in Covina]

Glad to help.

Like I have said before, I learned a lot here and if I can turn around and pass along that great info, I am really happy to share.

I have rules, well their more like guidelines, or actually more like suggestions really, when it comes to dating a client!

 

[John in Covina]

Men's Dress Hats: A Guide for the Online Seller and Buyer. (Jan. 2011)

There are a variety of styles of hats that fall under the category of Men's Dress Hats. The most famous is the Fedora which has fairly wide latitude of parameters for dimensions, yet still is a Fedora. If you have questions as to whether or not your hat is a fedora, visit some of the online stores and check the pictures to get a clue, because many online sellers are calling the hat they have listed a fedora when clearly it is not a fedora! Homburgs, Bowlers, Derbies, Top Hats, Pork Pies, Alpine Hats and Stingy Brims are all part of the Dress Hat mix and you'll be better off getting your description right. Knowledge about what you are selling helps the potential buyer zero in on your item when you label and describe it correctly in your ad.

The Felt and what’s this made of? While we may see some Fedoras made from wool felt, these are low end. Wool felt tends to not have the product lifetime of FUR FELT. Many types of men’s hats were often made of a fur felt from such animals as Beaver, Rabbit, and Nutria along with some exotic species. As in the past blends of furs and even synthetic fibers have been used. Good / Better / Best - Wool felt is serviceable (for a while) and it therefore falls into the realm of Good while Fur felts are considered to be Better to Best in quality for hats. If you can be sure of the fur or blend be sure to list the information as it can really stimulate the buyer’s interest. The reality remains that wool felts are more a lower grade though serviceable hat. The fedora's cousin the Western or Cowboy Hat often listed the Beaver fur content as a series of X’s, with the more X’s the better, but the grading was not consistent from maker to maker and it seems from decade to decade even by the same makers.

Defects, wear and age issues come down to a question of restoring a hat to good condition. The quality of the felt, particularly fur felt will allow for cleaning and reblocking to get a crisp shape back to the hat BUT the charges for these professional services can be quite high. 99% of the dry cleaners in business today no longer have the knowledge and ability to clean and reblock hats so steer clear unless there is reasonable history of good hat service known to you. The problem with our time is the local hatter may no longer be local, so a buyer will probably need to drive a fair distance or send his or her vintage (used) acquisition across the continent to get any cleaning and/or restorative work done by a reputable hatter. Restoration and shipping comes into consideration regarding the value of that hat you are interested in selling or buying. Hat components such as sweat bands and ribbons or liners may need replacement and are available for that renovative work but will add to the cost of restoring a vintage hat. Holes in the felt may not be repairable! Holes from handling such as at the pinch or the dreaded MOTH holes and divots can reduce the value considerably. I have read that some small holes can be fixed so they are not noticeable but have no information as to what is small enough or how that is done.

Posters be fair: list and show in photos, as best as possible, all defects. Dirt and dust may not be too difficult to remove but smudges, oil and sweat stains and any damages must be listed and shown. Caution: untrained cleaning can damage a hat. Sweat marks, body oils and daily grime can usually come out when professionally cleaned. Like dry cleaning we find that some of the grime is water soluble and some types of grime are cleaned with solvents like Naptha.

Smells or odors should be noted! You may wish to cure this by a good airing out. You can also try a “refrigerator odor” baking soda box inside a plastic bag with the hat for a few days.

How about that Photo with the ad? Pictures that clearly show the details will help the prospective buyer. If you have a good camera to do "macro" pictures or can enlarge with a photo program, try to show all sweat band imprints, and liner details! Also check behind the sweat band for any tags or writing for more information, these bits and pieces can often mean a lot to a knowledgeable buyer. Styles of 'crests' and print style can help identify the time of manufacture. All of this info is good detective work to provide to your target consumer!

Get pictures of the hat from top, bottom and sides showing the ribbon and bow. Try to get natural lighting to indicate the actual color of the hat. Clarity is much better than out of focus shots. Fuzzy shots make the viewer feel they are being used to hide defects. Don't clutter the shot with other stuff or busy backgrounds. PLEASE, restrain yourself, don't be artsy or cutesy with the pictures, let the hat speak for itself.

Your write up: Measurements and dimensions are critical for a true appreciation of the style and the most critical: the SIZE of the hat. Inches with fractions will work best in the USA. Describe the crown give a height with a front and back height. Describe the brim, measure the width of the brim, does it curl? Up or down. Is there a ribbon or some sort of binding at the edge of the brim? You should measure the width of the ribbon around the crown and say what color it is as accurately as possible.

SIZES: even if you do find a size tag it is good to measure as hats tend to shrink with age! If the size tag indicates Oval or Long Oval be sure to list that info too as long ovals are sought after! Measure around the inside at the sweat band with string or a cloth or paper tape. Size conversion: 21-3/4" = 6-7/8ths, 22" = a 7, 22-1/2" = a 7-1/8th, 22-3/4" = 7-1/4, 23" = 7-3/8, 23-1/2" = 7-1/2, 24" = 7-5/8, 24-3/8" = 7-3/4, 24-7/8" = 7-7/8, 25-1/8" = 8

Regarding sizes, the majority of men have a hat size of about 7 to 7-3/8ths. Smaller hats below a size 7 are slow movers as few adults are that size. (These small hats maybe sold as a child’s hat?) Hats 7-1/2 and larger are also sought after because they tend to be rare and it seems that there is not enough large hats for the large hat wearers.

Check for a wind cord or wind trolley: this is a button and cord for attaching the hat to a shirt or jacket button to keep from loosing it on a windy day. If you have one you may see it wrapped around the ribbon just above the brim.

Create a "Title" containing: Style, Maker, Model Name, Color, Size and maybe the age of the hat if known! If you have other info list it after those pieces of information. That title list is the meat and potatoes of what people need to know it helps and those that are focusing their search.

In your write up list as much info as possible. Any questions that a collector may ask you please publish as it is NOT privileged information and will help you accurately sell the hat. Unless you have information as to the age of the hat, don't guess, hat styles were often revived such as in the 60's and later, so you easily could be wrong.

Damaged hats or dirty hats often can be restorable. You may have a rare, notable style or model so it really could be worth listing, let the collectors get into a bidding war over it.

If you have the box that goes to the hat, try to keep them together and offer as a set. Also the box may have more details about the hat or where it was originally purchased. Please note however that the box may not be the one that goes with the hat so some common sense as to the link of box information and hat information has to be assessed before you list the information as accurate.

The better your listing is, the better it makes for great buying experience! Happy selling!