The Sale of NOS Johnnyphi hats begins.

[AlanC]

JtL, one thing that johnnyphi particularly wanted with this process was transparency of bidders so that there would be no question that the auction process was above board.

 

[Nick D]

And payment is by PayPal only?

 

[Nathan Flowers]

And payment is by PayPal only?

That's correct. Unless you talk to John and arrange something else (which he may or may not be willing to do), it's easier for him to deal with payment options through a single place like PayPal.

 

[Nathan Flowers]

Did you consider any of the vBulletin auction plug-ins?

It may not be best to modify the board software for a one-time only deal. If you have knowledge of a hack may be easy and appropriate, please PM me regarding it.

For now, let's keep this thread for answering questions about how we're going to proceed with this dry run. I invite you (and anybody else) to PM me any potential suggestions for the successive auction sets. Please title any PMs you send "Johnnyphi Recommendations" for aiding my classification.

 

[GWD]

Based on this first batch, can we assume that there will be one hat of one size per week?

 

[Nathan Flowers]

Based on this first batch, can we assume that there will be one hat of one size per week?

To be determined. We can consider running hats of all the same size each week, but we also would not want to flood the market. I would really appreciate your recommendations (and everybody else's) on this PM'd to me for consideration.

 

[GWD]

I personally am very interested in 3 hats, all in my size obviously. I would perfer they not all be listed in the same week, simply because I wouldn't want to pay for them all in one lump sum. So yes please, do spread out the hats per size.

 

[Stan]

Live auction rules are OK by me

So -- on eBay, if I decide that I am willing to pay $200 for a hat, and the next highest bid is $100, then I am only on the hook for $102.50.

Under the current system, it appears that if I bid $200, then I am on the hook for $200, period. Hmmm...

Under the current system, the winner of any given auction is not necessarily the person who is willing to spend the most amount of money for any particular lid. Doesn't seem to make sense for johnnyphi, or for Lounge members, either.

Is there something I am missing here?

Cheers,
JtL

Hi,

Well, this is how a live auction works. You can either lift your paddle as the auctioneer increments the bid, or you can lift your paddle and sing out a figure.

If you sing out, you pay what you sung, not the last figure asked for (incremented) by the auctioneer.

The way eBay works is an odd curiosity in the world of all auctions, and they can pull that off by virtue of having a rather large computer specifically programmed to keep track of a very large number of auctions, bidders, increments and whatever else it is they have to do.

I'm sure that the FL servers are rather impressive compared to personal machines, but I'd be shocked if they're up to the level of processing that the machines eBay uses!

I suppose that they could have used eBay and just pointed us to those auctions, but then the FL folks would be bidding against the world at large.

I strongly suspect that this way is better.

I know that when the couple of hats I hve my eye on, I'm going to just sing out and not constantly raise my paddle as the auctioneer proceeds. If I win, I pay what I sung - just like at a live auction. If someone else sings out louder after I do, then I tip my hat to the winner and wait for the next one.

PayPal works for me as well. At least I don't have to have a Letter of Credit from my bank before I get my paddle!

Later!

Stan

 

[EVEN-STEVEN]

Here's a thought, perhaps the bartenders have already considered this. (Or maybe I'm nuts ) It's a way of using ebay for the auctions but for all intents and purposes limiting the auctions to Fedora Loungers. Here is my idea:

All hats are listed in some unrelated category, such as "Used Athletic Socks."lol

There are no photos of the hat, just the ID number that Johnnyphi uses for each hat.

It is the Lounger's responsibility to identify the hat they want by the number and bid accordingly.

The desired hat can be easily located by an ebay search for the ID number in the auction subject line.

Given the fact that the hats are listed in an off category and there are no photos - just the ID number... this would guarantee that only Loungers would be bidding.

Does this make any sense?

 

[Andykev]

This is not a SILENT AUCTION!

Holy smokes ! Wow! This is a person selling hats that he luckily found, and he is kindly offering it to Loungers. As said before, Ebay would open this up to the whole world.

I was not involved in the process, but this whole thing is just like when you have a garage sale. If two "customers" eyeball the same "item", generally the one who gets there first and pays the asking price buys the item. But, haven't you ever been to a garage sale where someone says "hey, I'll beat that guys price", and a bidding war breaks out

This is no different that a guy coming in to a bar (LOUNGE) and putting his hat on the table and saying "best price over $75 bucks before closing wears it home".

They all look like nice hats with a reasonable opening "bid" price. How bad do you want -that- particular hat?

This is not Ebay (Thank GOD). Pay attention, pay the price, and then pay the shipping

 

[scotrace]

Well said Andykev. And to again repeat Zohar's plea, this is not the suggestion box thread. Please do that via PM. We'll have to start pruning this thread if it gets cluttered up.

 

[Mr. Lucky]

Come on, people! johnnyphi went to great lengths to make this as fair as possible, the folks here on the board did the best they could, this has been months in the making, so, for the love of mike, show some gratitude that he's offering them here first. If you don't like the way it works, DON'T PARTICIPATE! This is nothing but an opportunity! JUST BID, already!

 

[johnnyphi]

Exactly!

Hi,

Well, this is how a live auction works. You can either lift your paddle as the auctioneer increments the bid, or you can lift your paddle and sing out a figure.

If you sing out, you pay what you sung, not the last figure asked for (incremented) by the auctioneer.

The way eBay works is an odd curiosity in the world of all auctions, and they can pull that off by virtue of having a rather large computer specifically programmed to keep track of a very large number of auctions, bidders, increments and whatever else it is they have to do.

I'm sure that the FL servers are rather impressive compared to personal machines, but I'd be shocked if they're up to the level of processing that the machines eBay uses!

I suppose that they could have used eBay and just pointed us to those auctions, but then the FL folks would be bidding against the world at large.

I strongly suspect that this way is better.

I know that when the couple of hats I hve my eye on, I'm going to just sing out and not constantly raise my paddle as the auctioneer proceeds. If I win, I pay what I sung - just like at a live auction. If someone else sings out louder after I do, then I tip my hat to the winner and wait for the next one.

PayPal works for me as well. At least I don't have to have a Letter of Credit from my bank before I get my paddle!

Later!

Stan

Couldn't have said it better myself. The process may evolve, but for now...

Stan is the man!:eusa_clap

Best of luck and regards to all,
Johnnyphi

 

[johnnyphi]

More than 6 per week...

Based on this first batch, can we assume that there will be one hat of one size per week?

Ideally, we would auction more than 6 hats per week, but I will make sure the selection is diverse. I posted the entire photo shoot for the world to see because I wanted to give everyone a chance to evaluate before buying. You'll see more Adam hats and more 7 3/8 sizes because they are the most common brand and size.

When I choose hats for auction, I'll try to keep everyone interested without breaking the bank for any of us.

 

[GWD]

Ideally, we would auction more than 6 hats per week, but I will make sure the selection is diverse. I posted the entire photo shoot for the world to see because I wanted to give everyone a chance to evaluate before buying. You'll see more Adam hats and more 7 3/8 sizes because they are the most common brand and size.

When I choose hats for auction, I'll try to keep everyone interested without breaking the bank for any of us.

Fair Enough! It's your show, I'm very excited to get a chance to bid one of these fine hats.

 

[johnnyphi]

Flaws and Moth Nibbles

I will try my best to note and disclose obvious flaws in the hats that are posted for auction. I asked the photographer to do his best to take a separate photograph of any obvious flaw in a particular hat.

However, I cannot guarantee that I found all of the flaws when I inspected each hat, and I did not supervise every photograph during the photoshoot, so I do not have photos of every flaw that I found.

I DO guarantee that none of these hats have moth HOLES. This is a money-back guarantee.

Basically, if the flaw was blatant to the photographer, then he took a separate photo of the flaw. In addition, most significant moth bites will be obvious from the standard photos.

Below, you will find an example of a beautiful Schoble hat with obvious moth bites, and the bites are shown in each view, as well as an isolated shot of a particular bite.

 

[jimmy the lid]

Shrinkage?

johnnyphi --

I know that these hats were stored in an attic for some time and probably experienced some periods of heat over the years. Do you have any general sense of whether the sizing on the hats runs true, or is there any perceptible shrinkage to take into account when deciding what size to go with? Perhaps this question is not easily answered, but I'm wondering if you have any thoughts on this.

Many thanks,
JtL

 

[Gaige]

I personally am very interested in 3 hats, all in my size obviously. I would perfer they not all be listed in the same week, simply because I wouldn't want to pay for them all in one lump sum. So yes please, do spread out the hats per size.

I agree. Seems the best way to accomplish this.

 

[johnnyphi]

"Shrinkage"

johnnyphi --

I know that these hats were stored in an attic for some time and probably experienced some periods of heat over the years. Do you have any general sense of whether the sizing on the hats runs true, or is there any perceptible shrinkage to take into account when deciding what size to go with? Perhaps this question is not easily answered, but I'm wondering if you have any thoughts on this.

Many thanks,
JtL

Hey Jimmy,

In general, the sizes remain accurate on the vast majority of the hats. I As you know, I have sold a several hats to individual members of the Lounge, and I have not had any complaints, so far.

There is a known issue with some of the Adam hats that were made with a plastic liner between the sweatband and the felt. In some cases, the plastic has shrunk, and that causes the sweatband to wrinkle. (Example:

)

We discussed this issue in a "Shrinkage" thread a few months ago. (Perhaps Zohar or Scotrace will be able to edit this post to include the link to the discussion thread.) According to Dinerman, a reputable source indeed, the plastic liner can easily be removed, and the leather sweatband will return to its former glory. For those hats, the sweatband problem will be listed as a known flaw.

Regards,
Johnny

 

[jimmy the lid]

Sounds good, johnnyphi -- many thanks!

Cheers,
JtL