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

[froguy]

I was bidding on this hat until it was "cancelled". Was willing to go rather higher based on another Hopkins "para" I have which I love. If, when it shows up, its anything like what I think it is you got a steal. Look forward to seeing the comparison what what you're thoughts about it are.

 

[John Galt]

I was bidding on this hat until it was "cancelled". Was willing to go rather higher based on another Hopkins "para" I have which I love. If, when it shows up, its anything like what I think it is you got a steal. Look forward to seeing the comparison what what you're thoughts about it are.

Sorry about that ;-). I went looking for it again as soon as I got the email message from eBay - got lucky this time, if it is what it appears to be. Frankly, a new paper "Panama style" hat of any sort of quality would probably have cost more.

As noted in my revised post, the seller appears to have been innocent - eBay had reportedly associated their brand new account with another user and cancelled all of their listings.

John

 

[froguy]

Well at least it went to a good home. Would be interested in seeing what you get.

 

[jskeen]

Somebody picked up a deal on this;
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-BOR...4UF3koNdBCPqIFAJ%2Bd8%3D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc

I was going to bid on it, but got stuck on a tcon with the boss and couldn't get free to switch computers. Hope one of us got it!

 

[hatsRme]

Is this really a Cav?
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Mens-Vintag...079?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item257f977827

 

[ManofKent]

Is this really a Cav?
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Mens-Vintag...079?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item257f977827

I don't know how you could doubt the hat and box belong together :eeek:

 

[jskeen]

I don't know how you could doubt the hat and box belong together :eeek:

Really, I mean, the consistency of style, that inimitable elegance, the Je ne sais quoi that just says quality and sophistication.....

That or somebody's cat coughed up a hairball on top of the box and they decided to take a picture of it.

 

[LoveMyHats2]

You are bidding on a straw Cavanagh fedor /Panama/ Boater hat in absolutely great condition, sized 7 1/2

They left out it was also a top hat, stratoliner and on weekends drives the limo for miss daisy! lol!

 

[John Galt]

I was bidding on this hat until it was "cancelled". Was willing to go rather higher based on another Hopkins "para" I have which I love. If, when it shows up, its anything like what I think it is you got a steal. Look forward to seeing the comparison what what you're thoughts about it are.

FG:

It actually is a Montecristi, and a very nice one. Certainly better than I can ever really afford to buy at market. I will post pics a little later, with the old parabuntal for comparison. Sorry for the teaser...

John

 

[John Galt]

Here is the Hopkins of Baltimore Montecristi:

 

[John Galt]

More of the same:

 

[John Galt]

That last photo was "horizontal" on the brim. This one is "vertical."



I get about 20/20 weaves, for 400/inch, but I don't know if I'm counting correctly.

 

[John Galt]

This is the parabuntal dated to the end of the last century by the curator of the Portland Hat Museum, in consultation with her (undisclosed) hat experts:

 

[splintercellsz]

Beautiful!

 

[John Galt]

More of the parabuntal:











The last two are horizontal and vertical, respectively, for the parabuntal. I get about 32/32, but again, I do not know if I am counting correctly.

 

[John Galt]

Montecristi & Parabuntal respectively, side by side.





Weight comparison:

Montecristi - 3 1/4 oz with silk pug (easy on/of -not glued)

Parabuntal - 1 1/2 to 1 5/8 oz (scale won't commit) with sweat band.

It is hard to read (you cannot see the small "e" in the photo), but the parabuntal says "LeCoeur," I believe, in pencil, and is also marked with a "G," and the size - 6 7/8.

The Montecristi is also marked as to size, 7 1/8, and has some other numbering and what looks like initials in the crown.

The parabuntal had these faux Bakelite & brass (the "brass" is plastic) buttons attached when I bought it (Etsy some time back), but I removed them because I don't like them and believe they were probably added after the hat was purchased.



--------------------

The Montecristi came with an incipient little crack in the right front crease of the crown. The parabuntal is sublime, and feels more like cloth than straw.

Any thoughts you might have as to age and specific quality will be very much appreciated. I don't know much about these hats, and came up empty re LeCoeur when I looked.

These are the most beautiful "Panama" hats I've ever handled, But I may well sell them both because I am afraid that I may inadvertently damage one

 

[fedoracentric]

Montecristi & Parabuntal respectively, side by side.

View attachment 2274

My wife said that this image looked like two women with their butts... well let's just say she thought it looked Not Safe For Work.

 

[fedoracentric]

I have been watching the ebay seller that goes by the name timothiescloset for months now and I just don't get him. He seems to have learned a tiny bit, but for the most part he seems utterly clueless.

First of all his descriptions are often wrong. He either completely misidentifies model types or misses manufacturing date estimates by decades and often both at the same time.

But the funniest thing is that he starts auctions out with some of the most absurd prices on the Bay. He used to start nearly every auction at over $400 no matter what hat he was trying to sell. Very, very few fedoras would ever go for a $400 first bid on ebay.

But, lately he's seemed to learn a tiny bit by pricing at under $299, but it is still funny because most of his hats would never go for but half that regardless.

If you look at his sold list on feedback almost every single hat he's sold was a "or best offer" deal and you can bet what he got was substantially less than he wanted to start with. Also, few of his sales were for hats where his first price was over $300.

One would think that after a while of never getting what you think your hat is worth that you'd realize you don't know anything about hats and would stop pricing at such outrageously absurd prices and try a different strategy. Or at least try to learn something.

Anyway, this guy has been a head scratcher for me. One would think he'd make a lot more $$ and sell more hats if he changed his practices a bit because many of the hats he's had have been very nice.

But come on. A 1950s Dobbs or Knox for $400? Not gunna happen. (Or would so only rarely)

Anyway, that is my ebay vent for this month.

 

[ofcoursemyhorse]

I have been watching the ebay seller that goes by the name timothiescloset for months now and I just don't get him. He seems to have learned a tiny bit, but for the most part he seems utterly clueless.

First of all his descriptions are often wrong. He either completely misidentifies model types or misses manufacturing date estimates by decades and often both at the same time.

But the funniest thing is that he starts auctions out with some of the most absurd prices on the Bay. He used to start nearly every auction at over $400 no matter what hat he was trying to sell. Very, very few fedoras would ever go for a $400 first bid on ebay.

But, lately he's seemed to learn a tiny bit by pricing at under $299, but it is still funny because most of his hats would never go for but half that regardless.

If you look at his sold list on feedback almost every single hat he's sold was a "or best offer" deal and you can bet what he got was substantially less than he wanted to start with. Also, few of his sales were for hats where his first price was over $300.

One would think that after a while of never getting what you think your hat is worth that you'd realize you don't know anything about hats and would stop pricing at such outrageously absurd prices and try a different strategy. Or at least try to learn something.

Anyway, this guy has been a head scratcher for me. One would think he'd make a lot more $$ and sell more hats if he changed his practices a bit because many of the hats he's had have been very nice.

But come on. A 1950s Dobbs or Knox for $400? Not gunna happen. (Or would so only rarely)

Anyway, that is my ebay vent for this month.

You're thinking about it all wrong.

Lets say its a Knox Premier Whippet clone. Normally he would lucky to get around $100. (And i've seen some recent ones in excellent condition sell for less.)

But if he prices it at $300 knowing full well that its worth around a third of that and someone makes him an offer for $150. He gets more than he would at auction most likely and the buyer feels like they've made a score by knocking them down on price.

 

[ofcoursemyhorse]

Knox Superfine.