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

[Marc Chevalier]

.
Did any Loungers buy these terrific, very rare deadstock 1920s hatbands?

The stripes and colors are incredible!


http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-192...167?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item231542596f

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-192...138?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item25689d6f9a

 

[HatsEnough]

I don't know about you, but this ebay seller's photo really excites my buying interest...

 

[Benzadmiral]

Just won this one: http://www.ebay.com/itm/270841496935?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2649

It's a hair small, but my olive early-'70s Churchill, a 6 7/8, now fits firmly on my pointed little head after judicious water-spraying and stretching, so this one should be okay. The seller says the color is lighter than the charcoal-ish brown in the interior pic, closer to the shade in the other shots.

 

[monbla256]

Just won this one: http://www.ebay.com/itm/270841496935?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2649

It's a hair small, but my olive early-'70s Churchill, a 6 7/8, now fits firmly on my pointed little head after judicious water-spraying and stretching, so this one should be okay. The seller says the color is lighter than the charcoal-ish brown in the interior pic, closer to the shade in the other shots.

That's a NICE looking Royal Stetson !! And at a good price also! Now are you gonna wear it when you fly your plane

 

[Benzadmiral]

Hey, I don't even like getting on airplanes flown by someone else!

 

[monbla256]

Hey, I don't even like getting on airplanes flown by someone else!

But NOW you have your LUCKY hat

 

[Ordinary Guy]

The Fabroc is too big for me, or I'd have been bidding on it. It is indeed a Fab hat and a nice price for the buyer.

Would have sold for way more if the label had said Whippet or Borsalino - lesser known brands are a great way to find great hats at good prices.

 

[Lefty]

These are fantastic. Wick seemed to be the most prominent hat band company, as I've found many ads for them.

.
Did any Loungers buy these terrific, very rare deadstock 1920s hatbands?

The stripes and colors are incredible!


http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-192...167?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item231542596f

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-192...138?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item25689d6f9a

 

[DJH]

HAHAHA! I seriously thought about adding 'Whippet'-style, but I cringe when others do it.

I cringe too, but having having said that I do have a hat with certain qualities to sell. I'm seriously thinking of shamelessly using both Whippet like and Whippet-esque in the description.

I should make a killing

 

[EggHead]

Scott's fab Fabroc

I looked at that one too. But the word "lavender" turned me off.

 

[Rudie]

Same has happened to me. I ask "is the brim width at least 2 1/2 inches wide"? They usually get it after that.

All right, so I saw a hat size 7 and asked, if it was true to size. I asked specifically for brim width (wider than 2 1/2 inches?), height of the open crown (over 5 inches?) and inside circumference. The crown looks quite high, by the way. This was the answer: "Hello, The brim width is 2 1/2 inches, the height to crown is approximately 4 inches and the inside of the hat measures approximatley 28 inches around."

28 inches? wtf????

 

[HatsEnough]

... and the inside of the hat measures approximatley 28 inches around."

28 inches? wtf????

Yeah? So? It is a hat for one of them sports mascots with the giant heads. Ya know?

 

[Rudie]

Ah, that's why. Stupid me.

 

[Lefty]

A similar hat in 7 5/8

 

[alanfgag]

oops?

 

[mattface]

Stetsonian, 7 1/8

A similar hat in 7 5/8 takes a bit more cash.

I really do not understand why folks pay more for a Whippet than a Royal Deluxe in the same shape and size. It's ludicrous to pay more for a tiny bit of red ink than for better felt without the name. I'm not complaining, just incredulous. I'll take the Deluxe, and let others fight over the Whippets.

 

[Joshbru3]

I really do not understand why folks pay more for a Whippet than a Royal Deluxe in the same shape and size. It's ludicrous to pay more for a tiny bit of red ink than for better felt without the name. I'm not complaining, just incredulous. I'll take the Deluxe, and let others fight over the Whippets.

Matt, I will take it one step further and state that the entire Whippet Craze is Ludicrous. I've had them, examined them, and found that even though they are far superior than almost any felt made today, they were just a regular everyday hat that cost $10 in the past. Nothing more, nothing less. And you are correct, I have seen Royal Stetson's with the EXACT same dimensions as Whippets sell for half of the price of a "true" Whippet just because the liner doesn't say "Whippet." I have owned Champ, Lee, Mallory, Dobbs, Stevens, etc, and I can tell you that for the price that these Whippets are commanding, you can buy some incredible hats from other manufactures at fractions of the cost. I just don't get it. [huh]

 

[Marc Chevalier]

I really do not understand why folks pay more for a Whippet than a Royal Deluxe ...

Because people have a tendency to be lemmings.

 

[HatsEnough]

Well... it IS why they call it a craze, after all. There isn't usually too much logic in a craze. Remember when everyone had to have a Cabbage Patch Kid doll and were paying three times what they retailed for to get one? Yet all they had to do is wait a month or two and they'd get it at retail all day long.

Still, I do understand the Whippet craze to a degree. Sure it was the low end hat of the day but it seems to embody the perfect ideal of what a fedora "is." It has the perfect style and look and was one of Stetson's most popular models. It seems to be the quintessential fedora. I think collectors are responding to that essence.

Plus it is a named model. You'll notice that all Stetson's named model hats seem to get premium prices. As a collector of all sorts of things in years past I can say that things that can be put in nice categories lend themselves to collectors far more easily than generic things. So a high quality Stetson De Luxe or Imperial may be to us the better quality hat, but more collectors will get excited by a "Stratoliner," or a "Bantam," or a "Playboy," or a "Whippet" because those have cool names.

I have 7 Whippets, myself. But the most I've paid for one is $140 (but most under $100) and that is no worse than buying a new fur felt fedora and since the vintage Whippets are loads better than the modern hats, I don't feel I did badly. Then again, I am a tiny size 7, so I don't have to contend with those $250 and more prices.

 

[Joshbru3]

.
Did any Loungers buy these terrific, very rare deadstock 1920s hatbands?

The stripes and colors are incredible!


http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-192...167?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item231542596f

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-192...138?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item25689d6f9a

WOW!!!! How did I miss these??? I know many on the lounge don't know how rare these really are. To find original NOS 1920's Frayed ribbon & Bow combos is next to impossible. If any lounger bought these, I would LOVE to buy a couple from you.