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

[Rudie]

Maybe he wants some extra money to buy a better monitor.

 

[EggHead]

Not disagreeing with you here, but I think we are looking at this from different points of view. I am looking for a hat that would protect me from the elements, would match with my clothing and not cost an arm and a leg, and I do own a Winchester beaver felt hat and several vintage ones well under $100, along with some Akubras, so I can compare. Some people here are collectors and they prize difference in vintage felts and for historical reasons. Buying hats on ebay makes sense to me when I can have 4 to 6 hats for the price of 1 custom.

I may differ from many people in the way I view ebay, for me, it's a flea market were I can buy something inexpensive, for others it's an auction house.
It's also a gamble - buying something without seeing first hand or trying on carries an uncertainty. All the ebay items I bought had something that I did not unticipate, but because I built the lower price into the risk, I was OK with that.

A custom $300+ hat will always be the same felt. To my knowledge, all of the custom hatters in the US, save Optimo, use Winchester felt. There's nothing wrong with Winchester felt, but it means that the difference between the felt of a hat from Art, TonyB, Black Sheep, Falcon Park, etc. is going to be small. The variation in vintage felt is huge as to density, thickness, color, etc. IMO, anyone willing to pay $300+ for a custom, but unwilling to pay that much for a high-end, vintage Borso or Stetson (when we're talking large sizes), is paying a heck of a lot for a pretty ribbon and some initials in a sweatband.

 

[clay_in_nj]

Awwww...RATS! I emailed the seller and she gave me info that tells me that the hat is really a 7½! Of course, the hat's already on its way to me.

If it is really a 7-1/2, I could easily double your money for you. . . .

 

[scooter]

I wouldn't worry about it. You fairly described the hat, the photos were good. If anything, tell him to send hat back and resell it. I think he's splitting hairs.

I am glad that I have very few hats left to sell. Just got this email from the guy who bought my Fabroc. Instead of emailing immediately to ask for a refund, I get this:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=250919899586

"Hat had considerably more than some staining on ribbon. Both ribbon and binding on brim were stained considerably, going through to the back side of ribbon, hat needs complete cleaning and reblock with ribbon replacement. This is my best guess but I have forwarded it to a hatter for a professional opinion. With the lighting on pic these stains can not be seen."


What do you think this guy wants? For me to pay for reblocking his hat and replacing the ribbon?

 

[DJH]

Received this thin ribbon Borsalino that I bought from the enigmatic colonelwth in a very reasonably priced BIN

When I've had the chance to give it a good old steaming and brushing, I'll post more in the Brotherhood thread.

 

[alanfgag]

I was curious about that oddly low BIN price... I hope it turned out to be in good shape. Look forward to your pictures.

 

[alanfgag]

only one bid on this nice looking western from Noo Joysey.

 

[DJH]

I was curious about that oddly low BIN price... I hope it turned out to be in good shape. Look forward to your pictures.

Exceptionally good shape as it happens, Alan.

A little dusty, but the felt, sweatband and liner all seem to be as good as new. As you know, I'm rather partial to a nice Borsalino.

 

[randooch]

I wouldn't worry about it. You fairly described the hat, the photos were good. If anything, tell him to send hat back and resell it. I think he's splitting hairs.

I agree.

 

[alanfgag]

Really heavy Stetson straw. I sent a note to the seller thinking it might be a misprint... heard back that such a large hatbox costs a lot to ship.

 

[Rick Blaine]

WTF are you shiping from? Chad?

Really heavy Stetson straw. I sent a note to the seller thinking it might be a misprint... heard back that such a large hatbox costs a lot to ship.

Bollocks - Almost seventy bucks shipping to Tennessee?... no.

 

[John Galt]

Yeah, I was watching this one, then saw the shipping cost and deleted it from my watch list. What does Optimo charge for shipping - $20.00.

 

[randooch]

Really heavy Stetson straw. I sent a note to the seller thinking it might be a misprint... heard back that such a large hatbox costs a lot to ship.

Looks like he relisted it and changed the shipping. It shows $12.48 to Oregon.

Say, this homburg fetched $255! It is a 7 5/8, but still. One of you folks?

 

[Rodkins]

I almost picked up this Stetson 7 5/8 7X BIN for a larger domed lounger but just couldn't pull the trigger. I probably should have.

 

[randooch]

I almost picked up this Stetson 7 5/8 7X BIN for a larger domed lounger but just couldn't pull the trigger. I probably should have.

I bet it's a 6 5/8.

 

[Rodkins]

I bet it's a 6 5/8.

That was really the only reason why I held off. The look of the size of the crown compared to the brim suggests a 6 5/8 while the overall appearance of the hat compared to the box suggests a 7 5/8.

 

[Terry "The Hat"]

Bollocks - Almost seventy bucks shipping to Tennessee?... no.

I shipped my Shady Oaks hat to Tom Dean (to reblock) for $7.20 Priority Mail in a regular hat box. Some of these shipping charges are out of this world. You can also tell that cold weather is here because the price of nice felts has sure gone up.

 

[Marc Chevalier]

If anything, tell him to send hat back and resell it.

This is excellent advice. Even if you are in the right, DO NOT try to fight the buyer on this. If you do, the buyer will probably file a chargeback claim with his credit card company: PayPal will yank the money right out of your bank account, and the buyer WILL win the claim -- no matter how much proof you provide that he's wrong. Furthermore, the buyer's credit card company will yank an extra $20 from you as a "claim processing fee".


I speak from bitter experience as a seller. Trust me, it's much better to just refund the price, get the hat back, and resell it.

 

[SteveAS]

very sharp Stetson 40, Mode Edge, 7

I was the under-bidder. It sure looks nice, so congratulations to the winner!

 

[hatophile]

I was the under-bidder. It sure looks nice, so congratulations to the winner!

Man, that is nice, I'm sorry I missed that one!~