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

[moontheloon]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/201373189668?_trksid=p2060778.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

This one went very high, funny thing is the seller probably got it at an estate sale for ten bucks.

I was in on the last minute bidding but a sniper came in the last second with a bananas bid ... over payed in my opinion

 

[Bob Roberts]

very few vintage stetsons sell for this much. Desirable size, desirable model, desirable era (opa) and a few willing to pay to win it make for an exciting auction. I could share a similar disbelief on current production stetsons, but i won't go there.

PLUS one!

 

[Bob Roberts]

An OPA era VitaFelt Whippet in 73/8?

Yep that would fetch a good price.

On the whole, vintage Stetsons are a pretty good deal compared to the modern ones.

PLUS one!

 

[moontheloon]

selling and asking are two different things

if you hit up ebay enough you will see that those hats will be there for a very long time

no one in their right mind is paying the prices that timothiescloset asks

 

[TheDane]

Very few vintage Stetsons sell for this much. Desirable size, desirable model, desirable era (OPA) and a few willing to pay to win it make for an exciting auction. I could share a similar disbelief on current production Stetsons, but I won't go there.

+1 - and very desirable color combo and ribbon pattern. But the modern Stetsons ... hmmm ... well, at least they make fantastic survival kids! You get a drinking vesel for "The Last Drop" - and the ribbon tacking is designed to let you catch a cod, big enough to keep a small platoon from starving

It looks like Mr. Timothy actually is selling a hat every third day in average - but the vast majority is sold at "Best offer".

 

[DJH]

Mr Tim's pricing seems to get higher all the time.

He does have pretty good sales every now and again - keep an eye out of you fancy any of his hats.

 

[photogravity]

For some recent eBay auctions here's what I've encountered.

• Dobbs - A tan Dobbs fedora (1970's vintage I'm guessing) had a goodly amount of moth larvae damage which was undisclosed. I believe that at least some of the damage can be covered with a wide ribbon, but I shouldn't have to do that.
• Borsalino - The listing for this one said there was moth damage by stating "There are a couple of flea bites lower on the brim toward the back - I could not get a good picture." If a picture of the other side of the hat had been taken, the damage would have been plain for most anyone to see. The damage is pretty extensive. I can only assume pictures weren't taken of uploaded because the damage might have resulted in the loss of a sale.
• Borsalino - This was listed as being my size (7-1/2), but is smaller than the size the listing indicated (probably a 7-3/8). In the defense of the seller, there were no tags anywhere in the hat to indicate what the actual size is.
• Stetson Sovereign Fedora - This was listed as a 7-1/2 but the tag clearly showed it was a 7-1/8. I passed it to a friend who I thought it might fit, which it did, and gave it to him as a gift.
• Bailey western hat - As with the preceding item listed as a 7-1/2 but the tag said 7-1/8. There was even a picture of the tag in the auction, but is was so blurry and out of focus, you couldn't clearly see what the size was.

How do most of you folks avoid these kinds of issues? I guess that a lot of you folks send a message confirming the size and request additional pictures of the item. In the case of an auction that seems like a reasonable solution, but in the case of a newly listed BIN at what might be considered a great price, it seems like you would buy now and ask questions later. Anyway, that's my story and I suppose I'll stick with it since it's out there now.

 

[fashion frank]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/201373189668?_trksid=p2060778.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

This one went very high, funny thing is the seller probably got it at an estate sale for ten bucks.

What was the attraction on that hat it looks like it was in a war zone ???

All the Best,Fashion Frank

 

[alanfgag]

... How do most of you folks avoid these kinds of issues?

You are bound to encounter some items which are not what you expected. For older vintage hats, there is a large library of photos in the dedicated brand threads here that can help you identify the era of an auction item. Look carefully at the auction photos. Ask questions of the seller. Request a measurement of the length and width of the head opening. Add these numbers (in inches) and divide by two - it will give you the hat size (US). Be selective in what you bid on. Keep an eye on the seller's rating. If not 100%, read the comments. If you do receive something that is not as advertised or is a big disappointment (bad moth damage), work with the seller on a settlement. Be cordial. I've never encountered a situation where the seller would not make an adjustment or accept a return. It is in the interest of both parties for the experience to be positive.

Just a few thoughts. In the end, there is no substitute for experience. Just try not to acquire a garage full of clunkers in the process.

 

[Frunobulax]

Well, so far I've been pretty lucky. The worst was a Bond hat that was advertised as a 7 1/4, but was clearly labelled 6 7/8. I sent a photo of the inner paper label to the seller and asked for a refund. I was then accused of "ripping the stitching out of the hat" because the seller didn't understand you could lift up the lining to see the tag behind the sweat. After a couple of emails, I finally figured out the seller thought that the front-to-back measurement in inches was the size. I finally talked them into a refund/return, but had to listen to a sob story of how it was hard to sell on eBay. Then the hat went back up at a higher price. It was a crappy little hat, anyway.

Mostly, though, I take the caveat emptor attitude. It's up to me to glean enough information to make me comfortable with the purchase, and if I make that decision, I'll accept what arrives, unless there is blatant fraud. I've only come across this once, where a seller advertised a collectible CD and I wound up with a CD-R.

I've had more good than bad luck, though. But I've left some nice things sitting there for somebody else because I just wasn't sure enough to risk my hard earned dineros.

I now also recognize a few sellers that I've gotten good deals/products from. That helps.

 

[fashion frank]

Ask questions of the seller. Be cordial.

That's great advise from Alan and that what I always do, ask questions and or even ask the seller to post more pictures and as Alan stated check the sellers rating ,that's always a good tip off of the sellers integrity .

Here's a perfect example , I'm a size 6 7/8 the seller has listed the hat as small ?
So in this situation I would contact the seller and ask him to take a tape measure and to measure the circumference of the sweat band and across the opening as well as the width of the brim itself .
Also if you look at the hat the size tag does indeed state small but if the seller ( who most likely has no idea about hats) was to pull down the other tag in all probability has the exact size on it.

What is also interesting is that the tag does have the brim width and also states "regular sm." but I've never seen a tag on a new hat like this ,especially a Dobb's to not have the exact size on it ?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Dobbs-of-Ne...1&pid=100005&rk=3&rkt=6&sd=161743113588&rt=nc

All the Best ,Fashion Frank

 

[photogravity]

You are bound to encounter some items which are not what you expected. For older vintage hats, there is a large library of photos in the dedicated brand threads here that can help you identify the era of an auction item. Look carefully at the auction photos. Ask questions of the seller. Request a measurement of the length and width of the head opening. Add these numbers (in inches) and divide by two - it will give you the hat size (US). Be selective in what you bid on. Keep an eye on the seller's rating. If not 100%, read the comments. If you do receive something that is not as advertised or is a big disappointment (bad moth damage), work with the seller on a settlement. Be cordial. I've never encountered a situation where the seller would not make an adjustment or accept a return. It is in the interest of both parties for the experience to be positive.

Just a few thoughts. In the end, there is no substitute for experience. Just try not to acquire a garage full of clunkers in the process.

I'll add in your tip on getting the size from the seller. Knowing how the size is arrived at is useful information. I am trying to be selective with what I bid on, but sometimes I'll see something that's almost too good to pass up. Admittedly, I've gotten some really good deals on eBay: Knox Premier Madison Avenue, Stetson Temple, Resistol Flatop, Churchill (presumably - it was sold at Lewis & Thomas Saltz) with a Cav Edge, and Akubra. For all five hats I'm only in for $266.57 (shipping included), which I think is quite reasonable.

In both cases where the size was wrong, the sellers did offer a return, but that's a pain and the prices were so low, it wasn't worth my time to return them. Same with the Dobbs, not worth my time given the cost. If they were higher priced items, I'd be making noise. The Borsalinos, OTOH, are another story entirely. For the one with the moth larvae damage, I believe I can do a repair of the areas and the cover some of the rest with a wider ribbon, but the hat that is too small is another story. I've not tried to stretch a hat and it appears there are varying degrees of success.

I agree that most folks on eBay are reasonable, though I have had a couple situations where a seller has gotten combative for reasons that were not readily apparent. Thanks much for the advice.

 

[facade]

For some recent eBay auctions here's what I've encountered.

How do most of you folks avoid these kinds of issues? I guess that a lot of you folks send a message confirming the size and request additional pictures of the item. In the case of an auction that seems like a reasonable solution, but in the case of a newly listed BIN at what might be considered a great price, it seems like you would buy now and ask questions later. Anyway, that's my story and I suppose I'll stick with it since it's out there now.

Mostly I simply choose not to gamble. Hats are not rare on eBay. So unless you after a rare hat or an absurd bargain, no need to bid on hats with debatable or limited information. If I receive a hat that's misrepresented, I send it back. In those rare cases where I gambled and predictably got burnt, I kick myself and keep the hat.

Sizing concerns are an easy fix. Almost all hats still have a size tag as long as you know where to look. When a seller is guessing at the size, I simply send them a message telling them where they are likely to find a tag and asking them to confirm the hat's size.

Hat sellers on eBay, with a few exceptions, are either uninformed or deliberately deceptive. It amazes me how often I see hats listed as a Stetson (Dobbs, Knox, etc.) because they were found in a Stetson box despite the fact hat itself is clearly not a Stetson. Unless I can see it in a photo, I take anything said about the hat with a grain of salt.

 

[g.durand]

All of the advice above is very good. I'll just add that regarding sizing, I never trust anyone to accurately measure the interior dimensions of a hat. As an old carpenter, I know how easy it is to make a mistake, even if you measure things all day, every day. I was burned once when a seller listed the inner circumference of the sweatband that turned out to be 1/2 inch off. Fortunately the seller refunded my payment and accepted a return. If the hat doesn't have a size tag either attached to the sweatband or beneath it, and if the seller can't validate that by posting a photo or sending one upon request, I don't bid.

 

[g.durand]

selling and asking are two different things

if you hit up ebay enough you will see that those hats will be there for a very long time

no one in their right mind is paying the prices that timothiescloset asks

If you check the completed listings for this seller you will see that many of the hats sell for "Best Offer". I know that can be less than half the originally posted price. I also know that eBay may hide the best offer price and may show a higher price than what the hat actually sold for. I bought one hat from the seller for half the originally posted price when it went on "sale", but it's a rare hat and I thought it was worth it.

 

[triple-d]

I have over a dozen that weren't as good as I had hoped...lol Definitely gained experience in the process though. I have 6 or 7 that were better than expected, and a few more that are worth sending off for a refurb.

 

[triple-d]

I bought one today .........going to have to sell a kidney to pay for it, sure hope I survive the surgery to wear it...........

 

[g.durand]

triple-d, modern surgical techniques pretty much ensure you'll survive to wear it. I wonder if any of the high-dollar sellers would take a kidney in direct exchange? You know, cut out that pesky middleman.

 

[javadave61]

Great advice here, fellas.

I would add a tip for determining the actual color of the hat. I download the images and run them through some basic color correction software. You can get decent free photo processing software out there. Start with the autocorrect feature first. But then, if it has a "dropper" tool (looks like an eye dropper), you can use the dropper to select a neutral area of the photo (i.e. some form of gray, usually). The software calibrates the rest of the color in the image based on your selection. The problem is when the seller photographs the hat on psychedelic green background or something. That's why some hats' colors are so misrepresented. The camera tries to balance the color, but can't find a neutral place in the image to serve as a baseline. So if you see hats photographed on weird color backgrounds, don't trust that the camera captured the color correctly.

So far, my two best ebay finds came because of bad color representation in the photographs. Who wants to buy a puke green hat after all? But after correcting the images, I realized they were both silverbelly. Got them for a great price that way.

 

[rogerstg]

On a Buy It Now for a cheap enough price, I just take a chance.

I received a hat yesterday. The Ebay description was:

CHAPEAU FLECHET BLACK HAT WITH TRIM SIZE 7 3/8 made in usa
Very nice hat great shape except small piece of lining come apart see pic not noticeable when on can be tuck back in place kinda western style very sleek

With mediocre pictures:

But for $8, $15 with shipping, I took a chance, hoping that it was not some cheap wool hat.

I received a nearly mint, except for slight wear on the sweatband, fur velour fedora.



It's pretty nice, though I don't know much about velour. It seems luxurious and formal, though the hatband seems more suited to a casual hat. Still, it was worth the minimal risk, IMO.

Roger