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

[Canadian Cowboy]

I could just click and drag to desktop on Mac
today's hat

hat of 12/15

I right clicked copy and it wouldn't let me,I am using windows 7.
cc

 

[rlk]

 

[Tango Yankee]

Really? You don't know why? Look at it carefully ...

Yeah, that one's been on my watch list for a while, just to see if anyone bites...

 

[Mobile Vulgus]

How did you copy the pictures?I tried and a window opened and said Auctiva pics are protected.
CC

You could do a screen capture, then crop it down, maybe.

Of course, as all Mac users (like myself) will say... your first mistake is using Windows. LOL

 

[Mobile Vulgus]

I find the Stetson Whippet craze kind of interesting. The prices are crazy high for a hat that was originally on the low end of Stetson's quality scale, after all. I almost worry that there will be a price crash sooner than later. Can these hats sustain the super high prices they are commanding at this time? I've seen collectibles that go ultra high crash before. Might this happen here? Guess time will tell.

 

[Dinerman]

I know Stratoliners used to be hot like Whippets are now, and while they still sometimes command high prices, they're not like they used to be.

 

[Mobile Vulgus]

Interesting point, Dinerman! See, that is what I am thinking, here. I was thinking of getting a Whippet, but even the tiny size 7's (that would fit me) are going for higher prices than they can sustain in the long run. I'd hate to pay $200 or $300 and find that a year from now they aren't getting higher than $150!

 

[Michaelshane]

You have to remember,there is not an unlimited supply.They don't make them anymore.

 

[Chinaski]

Yeah, that one's been on my watch list for a while, just to see if anyone bites...

It's a bit like seeing an auction for a counterfeit Rolex or Omega. Kind of a perverse pleasure watching to see if someone really gets gutted, monetarily speaking...

 

[Chinaski]

hat of 12/15

By the way, when was the $10 tag surrounding the size tag used? Is there a range of years? Is there a date range for no surrounding tag, the OPS tag, the $10 tag, etc.?

 

[Mobile Vulgus]

You have to remember,there is not an unlimited supply.They don't make them anymore.

True. But that doesn't mean that they MUST hold the highest prices that the collector market pushed on them. I've seen it in sports cards, I've seen it in comic books with particular items that aren't made any more. But I've seen things really climb the price scale only to crash a few years later. And one of the fellows above mentioned that the Stratoliners have dropped in price lately (his observation, as I haven't watched them long enough to know).

I am certainly not proclaiming that this MUST happen. But it could. Such things have happened before.

 

[SteveAS]

You have to remember,there is not an unlimited supply.They don't make them anymore.

That's true of all vintage hats. What makes Whippets so special (valuable)?

 

[buler]

By the way, when was the $10 tag surrounding the size tag used? Is there a range of years? Is there a date range for no surrounding tag, the OPS tag, the $10 tag, etc.?

I would guess the answers would be in here. DatingVintageStetsonsBySizeTag

B

 

[Baron Kurtz]

Are there people who actually view vintage hats as an investment? Surely one could pick a less volatile and easily depreciatable commodity than a wardrobe item.

 

[scottyrocks]

Yeah really, if the value for dollar is acceptable, just buy a hat and enjoy it. Its not like its the stock market.

 

[Mobile Vulgus]

Are there people who actually view vintage hats as an investment? Surely one could pick a less volatile and easily depreciatable commodity than a wardrobe item.

LOL, yeah right? But my guess is that people are paying the high price because they saw one go for that the last three times and now they want to "get theirs" before pries climb even higher. And once they get theirs they likely imagine that they can always get their money out of it later if they want to because it is "worth something." It's how crazes work.

Like I've said, I've seen this in several field of collectibles. Think of beanie babies, for instance. They went crazy on the market for a while, but then the bottom fell out. At some point, everyone that really, really wants one will pretty much have one and the sellers that thought they had a $400 item will find no one is buying at that price. Then they will start cutting the prices and eventually the thing will settle at what ever price is sustainable. In the end the ones that paid the highest dollar at the height of the craze will find that they'll never be able to get their money out of the thing.

It's all pretty much human nature, though, so no surprise.

Granted some collectibles never fall in price or don't do so for a long time. Civil War artifacts, for instance, went crazy in the early 1980s and haven't yet lost their value.

Anyway, this may be what is happening with Whippets. As I said before, there is no guarantee that they will lose the value of the high prices they are going for today. But there is also no guarantee that they can sustain those prices, either. I am no fortune teller. All I am saying is that I've seen bubbles of crazes pop in the past.

I agree with you, though, Baron. I buy what I like and I wear it. I am not buying because I think it is "worth something." Nor am I buying thinking I'll make tons of $$ on an item.

 

[Baron Kurtz]

People get fixated.

People get fixated. Whether it's on hats or whatever else, there are things that every collector wants. Some of those things are not particularly rare, like Whippets or Stratoliners, or Playboys. I await the interest to turn to Playboys and watch the prices rocket (they're still relatively cheap, compared to the prices Stratoliners and Whippets have been able to command).

As has been stated earlier, the Whippets (and the Stratoliners for that matter) were never a very high end hat to begin with, so maybe they don't fall into the category of "will retain it's value". An early Stetson, or a Stetson 100 from the golden era, now: those things were exceptionally well made, and at all the price points and will stand up against anything you can get today quality wise. 40s and 50s and later Stetsons at "affordable" "accessible" price points: not so much.

bk

 

[Mobile Vulgus]

People get fixated. Whether it's on hats or whatever else, there are things that every collector wants. Some of those things are not particularly rare, like Whippets or Stratoliners, or Playboys. I await the interest to turn to Playboys and watch the prices rocket (they're still relatively cheap, compared to the prices Stratoliners and Whippets have been able to command).

As has been stated earlier, the Whippets (and the Stratoliners for that matter) were never a very high end hat to begin with, so maybe they don't fall into the category of "will retain it's value". An early Stetson, or a Stetson 100 from the golden era, now: those things were exceptionally well made, and at all the price points and will stand up against anything you can get today quality wise. 40s and 50s and later Stetsons at "affordable" "accessible" price points: not so much.

bk

I believe you have that spot on.

 

[Tango Yankee]

It's a bit like seeing an auction for a counterfeit Rolex or Omega. Kind of a perverse pleasure watching to see if someone really gets gutted, monetarily speaking...

I sent the seller a message, who responded with a note that they'd received a few e-mails informing them of that fact and that they'll be changing the listing. (Going gender-neutral as it was signed "Con" which I suppose may be short for Connie but who knows?) The seller was also curious as to what homburgs usually go for.

That message was sent to me last night, and the listing hasn't changed yet so who knows if they'll actually do so. What needs to be done is the listing cancelled and then relisted.

Cheers,
Tom

 

[blixa00]

This is a classic case of a thinly capitalized market...in other words there aren't 5 million people waiting to purchase $300 Whippets or Dobbs 40s for that matter! Although folks follow the herd for a while, let's face facts here and admit that hats can be fad items and the fad can change quickly...the latest fashion lines out of New York, Paris or Milan could make fedoras red hot or not! I wouldn't cash out the 401k and put it all into Whippets just yet...on the other hand if I had 10 Whippets in my attic now would be a great time to list them on Ebay!!!!