EBAY STRATOLINER WARNING!!

[fedoralover]

There are 2 Stratoliners selling separately on ebay right now from the same seller in which he is charging over $32.00 for shipping.

I know the bidder on the gray one is a member here. Please be aware of this excessive charge,

And also PLEASE notice that it appears that there is a sweatband tanin leach through on the crown. You can see a faded out line around the bottom of the crown. Sometimes this will come out and sometimes not. Don't get suckered just because its a Stratoliner.
fedoralover

 

[fatwoul]

fedoralover: eBay vigilante.

Good work, fl. I hope the bidder reads this.

eBay scams really annoy me, because the victims are unseen; sure, they could be some rich know-nothing who maybe has it coming, but they could just as easily be some poor old lady trying to buy her grandkids a present.

I don't mean to suggest that some scams are OK, depending on the victim, but you know what I mean - the rich know-nothing can afford the loss more than the poor old lady.

 

[moustache]

Many thanks Fedora Lover!! We all need to keep an eye out for each other.

JD

 

[surely]

right on fl

 

[carter]

Thanks for the warning. I looked at both earlier. Good thing they were too small.

 

[dostacos]

I would like to say he does have 100% positive and the ship is variable, mine shows $28.05 still seems high

Dan

 

[J.T.Marcus]

It is indeed excessive. Thank-you for the heads up!

 

[deanglen]

As of the time of this posting the seller seems aware of the perception of his shipping charges.

dean

 

[dostacos]

I have over 300 total transactions on ebay, [all buyer] and I have had the same comment from other sellers.

FYI: he asks for a note to give a more accurate shipping cost. and stated that he used the automatic calculator which triggered the high shipping. as I said I have encountered that before.

the seller either hangs around here or others have asked him about it.

I am NOT the seller or a bidder [[7 5/8 ]

it never hurts to ask the seller if you think the price is high for shipping....

 

[Tango Yankee]

I think we have an honest seller here who isn't knowledgable about hats.

I sent him a note asking about the brownish cast above the ribbon in the photos, whether it was a trick of the light (we know photographing felt can be tricky) or if it was there in person. He replied within minutes, said it was very slight in person and he hadn't noticed it, asked whether or not it was something that could be cleaned, and that he would make a note of it on the listing.

When I replied I told him that cleaning might/might not help, and that sometimes a larger ribbon is put on to cover it. I also suggested he look on the inside of the felt for the staining to confirm it came from the sweatband.

Nice hat, otherwise. Bummer on the stain.

Regards,
Tom

 

[Tango Yankee]

An update

I've exchanged a couple of emails with the seller. The stain is not on the inside of the felt, but when he obtained the hats the grey one was inside the brown one.

You may have noticed that the auction of the grey Strat has been ended. This is so he can decide what to do about the stain. He is considering having it cleaned. I suggested Gus Miller or Optimo, or to look around the Lounge for others, but also that he might want to try cleaning it himself with Scouts and a hat sponge--it may not be cost-effective to send it for cleaning if he's going to sell it. It's worth a try, anyway.

The issue with the postage is one many have run into since the USPS changed how they charge for shipping larger packages--go over a certain size in your box size estimate and the cost goes up like a skyrocket. This is one reason I'm now getting hats that are shoehorned into smaller boxes than they need. As Dean mentioned, this has been corrected on his auction.

He seems like a good guy; I'd have no problems at all doing business with him. Sometimes all a seller needs (and wants, most of the time) is a heads up that there may be an issue with their auction. I've found they're usually happy someone took a moment out to let them know.

Cheers,
Tom

 

[feltfan]

I think we have an honest seller here

I hope he appreciates all the free publicity he has received,
directly to his target market!

 

[Tango Yankee]

I hope he appreciates all the free publicity he has received,
directly to his target market!

I think he does, but this is the first time he has come across hats at an auction and doesn't expect to see any more in the near future. As for the hat in question, he's going to try cleaning it with Scouts and a hat sponge. If that doesn't work he'll relist with info about the stain and let the potential bidders make the decision as to whether they want it or not.

Cheers,
Tom

 

[luvthatlulu]

As an eBay Seller myself...

and one who has recently sold and shipped a few hats, I have to say that the shipping charge referred to does not seem so high at all and I may have to defend this Seller. I don't know the particulars in this case, but here are a few examples of hat shipping that I have recently done:

Stetson Gus Cowboy Hat in box to 92673 from 37934 - $27.87
Wgt 4lb 15.4oz Includes USPS "Balloon Parcel Post" charge of $13.48 because of the size of the package.

Stetson Open Road Hat in box to The Netherlands from 37934 - $32.00
Wgt 3lb 9.6oz

These figures do not include the additional cost of a shipping box which varies from $3 - $5, even at Walmart, and any other packing materials used (a small bag of "popcorn" is $5.00 locally)! Guys, the USPS determines the rates, not the eBay Seller; although I'll concede some Sellers either deliberately or unintentionally overcharge (I've done the latter myself) by checking Priority Mail rather than Parcel Post as the shipping method. Believe me, it makes a difference. I'm sending a customer right now $28.22 back by personal check due to my error in checking Priority Mail!

Now, don't misunderstand, I don't like these amounts any more than you do; but Sellers should not be expected to spend their time and money finding these hats, paying to list the hats, paying to get paid for the hats (Paypal fees, if used), paying to package the hats, and absording the shipping costs for sending these hats just so you and I can gloat about the "steal' we got on eBay!

Agree or disagree?

 

[Not-Bogart13]

luvthatlulu is right about the charges. Along with the recent upping of first class stamps, package rates became more dependent on size. The guy at the Post Office counter told me that a half inch could double my shipping costs!!! So if the box is big, BLAMMO! I got really close with something I sold on eBay a couple of weeks ago, so that's how I found out.

 

[homergeg]

hat in hand

I'm the seller of the hats that this thread is about. When I saw the numbers that had the hats in their watch lists for the hats explode so quick last night, I knew there must have been some message board talking about the hats, and a little googling later here I was. I was ashamed that my lack of research caused anyone to feel that my listing was less than honest. Thanks to everyone for the crash course education I've received in the last 24 hours. I did some research and found that the shipping cost for USPS priority mail now explodes for high mileage shipping no matter how light the package is if the length + width + height of the box is greater than 36 inches.

The solution I'll offer from now on for items that are greater than that limit, like hats in a hat box, is to make sure to offer parcel post, as it does not increase the fee at such a small size.

Thanks for the info on the brown cast on the grey hat. My untrained eyes absolutely did not see that, but now I sure can. Hopefully it will clean easily, but at least if it doesn't then the prospective buyers know what they are in for.

And please, if there is anything wrong with that brown hat that I'm not describing that is just yelling at your trained eyes, tell me, as I do not want to go through or put anyone else through the sell of a poorly described item!

This is the first time I've come across men's vintage hats in several years of auctiongoing. So don't worry, if I contribute to this forum in the future, it will be because I've taken up collecting hats off of Ebay myself. I like the way the fedoras look, but I've also learned that my hat size is around 7 3/8 and that does make a big difference!

 

[Art Fawcett]

Thanks for the reply Homergeg, and Welcome to the Lounge. I hope you stay a while now that this has brought you here.

Gent's I have been facing this issue since June, when the USPS rates went bonkers. When putting your shipping together online ( only online) USPS ONLY offers Express or Priority. I have discovered that with hats in my simple white box weighing only two pounds total it is actually cheaper to go Express. From here to Florida or the east coast the actual cost for one of my felts in the black box is $30.95 Priority. That is actual postage, insured.

 

[EricH]

So Art, if I order 10 hats at a time and pick them up myself I get the 11th one free?

Eric
Of course if I came home with that many VS hats I might end up in a box..........or several

 

[Duck]

Welcome, Homergeg!! As Art said, thank you for your post. Many of us have been burnt on some hat deals, so we can tend to be a little jaded in our ebaying

 

[moustache]

Indeed yes Homergeg,welcome.Glad to have you here and hope to read your posts soon.

JD