A Large Hoard of NOS Vintage Hatband Ribbon

[Warbaby]

On my recent travels to eastern Canada and upstate New York I met someone who has quite a large hoard of N.O.S. hatband ribbon. As far as I can tell there are about 200-250 rolls in a wide variety of colors and widths. I asked the owner to make me a price on all of it, but I have to wait for a couple of weeks for the answer because they're remodeling part of their house and the cartons of ribbon are buried in all the stuff they're storing in one room.

Is this something that the hat makers on the lounge would be interested in? Should I pursue negotiating a price and does anyone have any ideas on what a good price would be?

Here's a photo of one roll that I brought back with me and a couple of shots of stacks of rolls that were accessible at the time.

 

[tonyb]

Snap it up, man. If you could use a partner on this deal, please don't hesitate to let me know.

 

[tonyb]

Is this something that the hat makers on the lounge would be interested in? Should I pursue negotiating a price and does anyone have any ideas on what a good price would be?]

Not to spark a bidding war here, but it's worth quite a bit. Check out the prices of the new cotton/rayon blend finished edge stuff (which isn't as desirable as the vintage ribbon) to get some sense of what it would be MINIMALLY worth.

Ka-ching.

 

[tonyb]

As I recall, it was Jimmy Carter who said something about lusting in the heart. This must have been what he had in mind.

 

[Brad Bowers]

I'd certainly be interested. Can't let Tony have all the fun.

Brad

 

[tonyb]

Can too.

 

[tonyb]

Seriously, Warbaby, if I had the line on that stuff, I'd make an offer large enough to pleasantly surprise the seller (presumably), in the knowledge that I would almost certainly recover my costs and then some, seeing how hatters are always on the lookout for quality ribbon. If there are indeed 200-250 full (or nearly so) rolls, that's quite the find.

 

[Art Fawcett]

breathe Tony, breathe!!! lol lol

grab a paper bag & keep it handy.

Warbaby, you have struck at the heart of us hatters...enjoy the ride. I'd also be interested in what's there.

 

[billyspew]

Congratulations on the find!

I've been buying quite a lot of this off OFAS for the last few months for restoration of hats. I've generally being paying about 2-4 dollars a yard (yes yard).

So if you've got a 200-250 rolls of 50 yard rolls, that's quite a lot.

There's recently been someone selling rolls of 5 yards for about 20 dollars BIN.

I would be interested in a small amount of yardage in a selection of colours, if you choose to sell like that.

TTFN,

Bill

 

[FinalVestige79]

THAR BE RIBBON IN THEM THAR HILLS!!!

Congrats on the find Warbaby! It seems you've struck it rich. How do you guys find this stuff? I mean really?

 

[majormoore]

Count me in on the ribbon, I will buy the whole lot, send me a price. Or maybe Art and I can split the cost and divide the ribbon between the two of us.

Major Moore
Buckaroo Hatters

 

[bendingoak]

I would be interested as well.

 

[billyspew]

Sound like you have a lot of interest!
If I were you I'd take advantage of their generosity, it is after all a good cause.

 

[besdor]

I had no idea that vintage ribbon was in high demand. I know that what is made today is not of the same quality. There are few decent ribbin makers left . I would alsos be interested in the ribbon if it is for sale. Count me in!!!





Steven
www.bencrafthats.com

 

[Warbaby]

To show that I was serious and to insure that I get the lot, I called the owner of the ribbon this morning and said that I'd like to buy the 50 rolls that were accessible now (shown in the photos above), then get a price on the rest of it when they can get to it. They're going to think about it and call me back tomorrow with a price on the first lot.

Not being a hatter, I'm not buying the ribbon for myself but to grab it while it's available and pass on to the lounge members who can put it to good use. Of course I'll keep a few yards for my own use, but the rest of it will go to you guys. I wouldn't mind making a little on it, but it won't be much because I'll need to turn it over fairly quickly since buying it will pretty much clean me out financially.

I want to be fair about sharing it among you all, but I'm not sure how to do it. Assuming the owner's estimate of 200-250 rolls is accurate and most of them are full, that's gonna be somewhere around 7000-10000 yards of ribbon - plenty enough for everyone. So please help me out here with some suggestions about how to distribute the hoard fairly.

 

[DanielJones]

Man, that's a great looking supply. Hope y'all get it.:eusa_clap

Cheers!

Dan

 

[reetpleat]

Maybe you could sell fifty percent of it wholesale to anyone buying a certain amount, to recoup your money, then sell the rest at a more retail price. Those that need only a little bit for a few hats shouldn't object to a retail price as it would only be a few bucks. That way, everyone gets some, you get your expenses paid, and make a little money for your troubles.

 

[cookie]

Hat Ribbons

Exactly... or "johnnyphi" a large lot of it amongst our professional hatter members and keep some for us punters to buy in small lots or share out with informal deals...

 

[reetpleat]

Well, I am certainly going to keep my eyes open in the thrift stores and for closed hat shops. not that I wouldn't take notice of a closed hat shop anyway.

 

[carter]

Warbaby, That's a unique find.
My take on this is that the hatmakers will be more willing to take larger numbers of rolls and this probably makes sense to you as far as recouping your investment and some profit in a shorter time period.
That being said, the members who do their own restorations and/or conversions may take a larger number of rolls.
Certainly these would be better than one-off sales.
I'd query the hatmakers and see what they think is a fair price/yard.
Looks like a reasonable seller's market to me.