Ebay Hats: Victories, Defeats, Gripes & Items of Interest

[Tango Yankee]

I really, really, really hate going to the post office and will avoid doing that at all cost. I pay more at the Fedex store but it is more than worth it. grumble, grumble.

What about doing it online? You can pay for postage, print out the shipping label, and have a carrier pick up the package from wherever you want. No need to go to the Post Office at all! You can even have them ship you free Priority Mail boxes, yes, for free, and purchase stamps and such to be delivered.

I guess I've been lucky. The times I've had to use a Post Office in Southern California the lines haven't been very long and it was a fairly quick process. It's been a while, though, since I mailed stuff home from there while visiting family. Here in rural Ohio they know their customers, and if the carrier leaves a package slip instead of the package I can go ring their back door bell before they open to pick up my package on the way to work.

Cheers,
Tom

 

[Dreispitz]

Black Borsalino

Black 1950 Super Borsalino

 

[ScottF]

What about doing it online? You can pay for postage, print out the shipping label, and have a carrier pick up the package from wherever you want. No need to go to the Post Office at all! You can even have them ship you free Priority Mail boxes, yes, for free, and purchase stamps and such to be delivered.
...

Cheers,
Tom

The way Tom just described works great, especially if you live in a house. It was fantastic to be able to order supplies online, print off postage and insurance, and just hand the packages to the mailman when he/she knocked on my door.

I also like Fedex Ground - very inexpensive and relatively fast delivery.

My experience has been that Fedex and UPS service varies by geography - UPS is great where I now live, but was horrible in Marietta, Georgia. Both Fedex and UPS were horrible about giving up on packages because of some small address glitch, and just sticking them in a pile until I figured out the problem and drove 15-30 miles to pick up the item. And Fedex Home Delivery is a farce - when I find out a package has been shipped that way, I begin proactive damage control immediately.

 

[carouselvic]

Very nice hat and a solid date too.

 

[ScottF]

Black 1950 Super Borsalino

Did you win that!? What a great hat - nice score!

 

[buler]

What about doing it online? You can pay for postage, print out the shipping label, and have a carrier pick up the package from wherever you want. No need to go to the Post Office at all! You can even have them ship you free Priority Mail boxes, yes, for free, and purchase stamps and such to be delivered.


Cheers,
Tom

My postal worker also said that if I print and package at home that I get cheaper rates.

B

 

[Dreispitz]

Did you win that!? What a great hat - nice score!

Youp! Will post more once it has arrived.

 

[ScottF]

Wide-Brim Cavanagh

I put in a small bid and was surprise to come home and find I'd won this. I guess people were scared away by the dirtiness, possible mildew? I'm a sucker for a frayed ribbon.

ebay Cavanagh

 

[rlk]

Very nice hat, but a dimensionally challenged seller. Their opening measurement would come out as a 7-5/8 and the brim isn't likely to be 2-1/2" either(probably 2-1/4")
http://cgi.ebay.com/VINTAGE-MENS-BR...Accessories?hash=item3a57e0f0c7#ht_500wt_1182

I put in a small bid and was surprise to come home and find I'd won this. I guess people were scared away by the dirtiness, possible mildew? I'm a sucker for a frayed ribbon.

ebay Cavanagh

 

[Dreispitz]

I put in a small bid and was surprise to come home and find I'd won this. I guess people were scared away by the dirtiness, possible mildew?

This?

 

[ScottF]

Very nice hat, but a dimensionally challenged seller. Their opening measurement would come out as a 7-5/8 and the brim isn't likely to be 2-1/2" either(probably 2-1/4")
http://cgi.ebay.com/VINTAGE-MENS-BR...Accessories?hash=item3a57e0f0c7#ht_500wt_1182

Hmmm...well, I hope you're wrong. I ignored the incorrect opening measurements, since it has a 7 1/4 tag. But if the brim's smaller than 2 1/2, I would not be happy at all.

 

[Brad Bowers]

Hmmm...well, I hope you're wrong. I ignored the incorrect opening measurements, since it has a 7 1/4 tag. But if the brim's smaller than 2 1/2, I would not be happy at all.

The brim looks 2" to 2 1/4" to me, but that could be deceiving photos. Still a nice hat!

Brad

 

[Stan]

Hmmm...well, I hope you're wrong. I ignored the incorrect opening measurements, since it has a 7 1/4 tag. But if the brim's smaller than 2 1/2, I would not be happy at all.

Hi,

I saw that but skipped it because I figured it was a stingy brim. Looks like the ribbon is taller than the brim is wide, and the widest ribbon I think of would be 2", so I think the brim is no wider, even accounting for some optical tricks from a wide angle camera lens.....

If the ribbon is thinner than 2", then the brim is even narrower than I think...

later!

Stan

 

[ScottF]

Liner went into early 60's(perhaps a little later) and tag into late 50's.

Here's the same hat, same tag (same font, etc), same liner and liner cover, but with the round sweatband stamp:

same hat with round sweatband stamp

 

[Brad Bowers]

Sometimes I'm amazed that sellers don't research their market beforehand. Take, for instance, this '60s wool Crofut & Knapp that failed to sell in a Buy-It-Now auction. I've seen a lot of this sort of thing lately, where sellers figure a hat is worth more than it really is. Far too many of these examples lately for C&K, Cavanagh, and Dobbs.

In some instances, their opening bids (I'm talking $100 and up) are actually worth it for the hat, but buyers are put off by the high opening bid, even though I suspect they wouldn't mind paying that price in a heated auction.

Brad

 

[jamespowers]

Sometimes I'm amazed that sellers don't research their market beforehand. Take, for instance, this '60s wool Crofut & Knapp that failed to sell in a Buy-It-Now auction. I've seen a lot of this sort of thing lately, where sellers figure a hat is worth more than it really is. Far too many of these examples lately for C&K, Cavanagh, and Dobbs.

In some instances, their opening bids (I'm talking $100 and up) are actually worth it for the hat, but buyers are put off by the high opening bid, even though I suspect they wouldn't mind paying that price in a heated auction.

Brad

$175 for that?! Uh, no thanks. I'll give him $5 and a pat on the back. That's about it.

 

[rlk]

Here's the same hat, same tag (same font, etc), same liner and liner cover, but with the round sweatband stamp:

same hat with round sweatband stamp

Maybe the retailers could choose different sweatbands?[huh]

 

[ScottF]

Maybe the retailers could choose different sweatbands?[huh]

I don't know - yet another Stetson enigma.

 

[Stan]

I don't know - yet another Stetson enigma.

Hi,

As if we didn't have enough of those as it is! lol

I suspect that they had several dozen master hatters working at the same time and each one had his own way of attending to the details. As in hatter #1 used stamp 'A' and #2 used stamp 'b', and so on....

later!

Stan

 

[ScottF]

Hi,

As if we didn't have enough of those as it is! lol

I suspect that they had several dozen master hatters working at the same time and each one had his own way of attending to the details. As in hatter #1 used stamp 'A' and #2 used stamp 'b', and so on....

later!

Stan

That's a good theory, but the 'hat evidence' we've seen with Stetson indicates for the most part, predictable patterns. The point I'm making is that this particular pattern is not one we've seen before, so I'm trying to figure out what might have happened. Perhaps this was a 'mad hatter' who located an old sweatband stamp (this one is embossed like the old rectangular stamps, not the half-@ssed ones from the '60s onward) to use for a personal hat, etc. We'll never know, I guess.