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

[Rodkins]

Well this was refreshing. A couple of days ago, I snagged a nice looking gray Open Road. This morning, I spot an email from last night from PayPal "your payment has been refunded" (uh-oh...). Opening it. I find the refund is for $3.26, with a note from the Seller "Shipping was less than anticipated. Happy Holidays". Very nice!

Nice.

 

[Charlie Huang]

I won this satin opera hat from a member of the Magic Circle:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=150535130856&ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT

The crown is around 5 1/8" high which is pretty low (taller toppers look better on me). Condition is okay save for a few wear points on the fore and aft where the satin is in contact with the folding mechanism.

Anyways, it gives me a choice between this and wearing the grosgrain Herbert Johnson for white tie.

 

[Gumbo Book]

I recently won this Stetson and it came in the mail last night. It's a Stetson Twenty with a mode edge. It fits perfectly and the felt is very nice. The sweat band is a bit cracked and the ribbon is pretty stained, but this one is a keeper. I may eventually have some work done to it but for now I'm going to do my best on it and wear it.

I'm putting more pics up in the New Hats thread.

I really-really like this colour combination. Mid brown with a two inch band ( is it two inch ?)

Great hat, Well worth "sorting out"

Gumbo.

 

[hatophile]

I won this satin opera hat from a member of the Magic Circle:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=150535130856&ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT

The crown is around 5 1/8" high which is pretty low (taller toppers look better on me). Condition is okay save for a few wear points on the fore and aft where the satin is in contact with the folding mechanism.

Anyways, it gives me a choice between this and wearing the grosgrain Herbert Johnson for white tie.

Capital topper, Charlie.

 

[Mr. Lucky]

Another nice, and surprising, score. I never think I'm going to win these!
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dl...dv3sds3S7%2Fsgmkg0%3D&viewitem=#ht_500wt_1156

 

[Mobile Vulgus]

I keep looking at Borsos and just can't spring for the costs. Everything I watch a Borso they end up over $100 and I just don't have the cash for that.

 

[SteveAS]

Another nice, and surprising, score. I never think I'm going to win these!
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dl...dv3sds3S7%2Fsgmkg0%3D&viewitem=#ht_500wt_1156

With no liner shot, mediocre photos, and a terse description, I'd call that hat poorly listed. But that's a low price for a big Borsalino, so you might just have earned your screen name!

 

[blixa00]

Just picked this one up on Ebay http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rt=nc&nma=true&item=200557114561&si=8rjeaXFN0vGC64y2AkT88UpG%252Fg8%253D&viewitem=&sspagename=STRK:MEWNX:IT#ht_7371wt_905...haven't seen too many Knox 30s listed anywhere so I thought I would take a chance! It looks like a valuable "ratpack stingy" model too (hahaha) which just makes it sweeter! Here's hoping the "fading" mentioned is just some dust...the Knox 20 and 40 that I have are some of the best felt I own so this one should be really nice!!

 

[blixa00]

I recently won this Stetson and it came in the mail last night. It's a Stetson Twenty with a mode edge. It fits perfectly and the felt is very nice. The sweat band is a bit cracked and the ribbon is pretty stained, but this one is a keeper. I may eventually have some work done to it but for now I'm going to do my best on it and wear it.

I'm putting more pics up in the New Hats thread.

That one looks real nice...might be worth sending it to Optimo for a refurbish!! Great score!!

 

[email68]

As a newbie... how do you know what to look for when shopping on ebay? Are there any key words to look for? I could see that I might easily over pay for something not knowing better.

-Tim

 

[Chinaski]

email68 - Welcome to the Lounge! There's really no short answer to your question. A good start would be to read through a good bit of this thread. If you have a particular hat model in mind you might see members feedback on what went low and what went high.

It's good to watch a particular model for a while and see how much they seem to generally fetch on the open ebay market. Hope that helps.

 

[gtdean48]

As a newbie... how do you know what to look for when shopping on ebay? Are there any key words to look for? I could see that I might easily over pay for something not knowing better.

-Tim

I do a couple of key searches = "vtg fedora (my hat size)", "stetson (my hat size)", "resistol (my hat size)"....
Substitute any other brands you are interested in. HTH

 

[Rodkins]

I really-really like this colour combination. Mid brown with a two inch band ( is it two inch ?)

Great hat, Well worth "sorting out"

Gumbo.

The ribbon is 1/16" under 2-inches. Nice eye-ball work.

 

[danofarlington]

I do a couple of key searches = "vtg fedora (my hat size)", "stetson (my hat size)", "resistol (my hat size)"....
Substitute any other brands you are interested in. HTH

I type in, "do the search that gtdean just did," or "rlk just did," and I find my results are better that way.

 

[gtdean48]

I type in, "do the search that gtdean just did," or "rlk just did," and I find my results are better that way.

You should add Lefty because that dude can find some stuff out there...

 

[T Rick]

As a newbie... how do you know what to look for when shopping on ebay? Are there any key words to look for? I could see that I might easily over pay for something not knowing better.

-Tim

Being successful with eBay (from a buyer's perspective, and I'd guess from a Seller's as well) is all about doing your homework. Sometimes we'll end up with beginner's luck, other times buyer's remorse (even happens to us experienced folk). I should point out I'm far from experienced with hats there (building on that daily), but I've got a LOT of experience buying on eBay, from watches to vintage razors to guitars and amplifiers (professional quality), even automobiles (the two I currently own both came from there).

You really will get a feel for both how to search and how to research and refine these processes more by doing than anything else. Try "Vintage hat" in your size and see what comes up. Try the abbreviation Dean just mentioned (Vtg). Try brand names, sizes near yours, misspelled words (for razors a favorite trick of mine and other's is to search on the often misspelled Gillette leaving off an L or a T, sometimes finding one that thousands of other bidders will miss). Refine your search to "recently listed" sometimes, to pick up on new offerings, particularly with a "Buy It Now" (BIN) price. Sometimes a Seller will undervalue an item, and the first there gets it.

Other times, "Ending soonest" may show something others have missed or neglected (especially with poor listings as described above, bad pictures or not enough info or a less than stellar heading, though CAUTION: some of these, like bad pics are also tricks for some less than scrupulous Sellers to take advantage of unwitting buyers, and it's not always possible to discern which you have before you).

There is always a risk, but like anything else, it's about analyzing the risk/reward ratio and choosing where to take your shots. Educating yourself (like you're working on now) is the path to success .

 

[Michaelshane]

Nice one.....

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=270681010814&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

 

[Feraud]

As a newbie... how do you know what to look for when shopping on ebay? Are there any key words to look for? I could see that I might easily over pay for something not knowing better.

-Tim

Now you are asking for the GlenGarry leads which are for closers only..

 

[zetwal]

As a newbie... how do you know what to look for when shopping on ebay? Are there any key words to look for? I could see that I might easily over pay for something not knowing better.

There is no easy way to answer this question. You have to define your tastes and then jump in. The more hats you actually handle the more you will come to understand what you are looking at in auction photos.

In general, know your true size and purchase hats in that size. Don't buy hats with obvious damage or alterations. Bid the most you are actually willing to pay (not what you would like to pay in the best of all possible worlds). Don't swallow hook line and sinker what anyone says in the auction description. Build up your own knowledge base and let your eyes and experience guide you.

 

[alanfgag]

Sage advice.