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

[RickP]

New hats today part 2... Time for a basic black dress hat . This one is a Stetson Key Club Dexter. Really nice Imperial felt and Ultimate finish. 2-1/2" raw edge brim. Moderately firm felt like my other Imperial Ultimate finish hat, stiffer than the Three Forks, but definately way softer than a western hat. Center dent crown. Really nice clean hat... really doesnt need any work other than some dusting. Oh...And it needs a new feather... this one looks like a fighting chicken pecked at it.... Somewhere Ive got a ziplock bag with a few hat feathers waiting to get used

No such thing as too many black hats lol

 

[RickP]

New hats part 3.... Another black hat. This one a cute little Royal Stetson Downs. 2-1/4" brim with raw edge. Teardrop crown. Moderately light weight and fairly soft felt. This hat looks almost new. nothing but dusting off and just a hair of steam on part of the brim. needed for this one. Its going to be a nice "knock around town" hat when I dont want to risk a nicer hat.

Ill say todays Ebay haul was thumbs up on all three hats! Even the packaging was better than it had to be.

If it wasnt raining, Id take one out for a run somewhere, but I think theyll just stay inside today

 

[RickP]

Another ebay package today. Yesterdays deliveries were all a scale of 9 out of 10.... this one has some challenges. Another great packing job. Almost like it was vaccum packed and slipped snugly in a shipping envelope. A little bent up but fortunately its in decent shape and should shape up well. A little 2-1/4" brim basic black Royal Stetson lid with no model/ build tag. Im guessing 70's- early 80's. Shape of hat looks very much like the Downs I got in yesterday, but this one has a wider 1-3/4" ribbon. I wanted it because it was from Henry the Hatter in Detroit where Fred Bear bought all his Borsalinos. ( Fred was my childhood hero) Sweat and liner are clean and in good condition. brim snaps up and down nicely in front and back... Just need to do a bit of shaping to flatten the brim a bit and get rid of the side brim curls. ( I suspect from a tight shipping envelope) Only real issue is that its marked 7-1/4 and measures a TIGHT 7-1/8.. had a few little surface spots that brushed off, so suspect it got wet once and shrank as it dried Oh well I have the gear so safely steam and stretch to where I need it. guess Ive got a half dozen black hats of various styles now

 

[RickP]

A few minutes of steaming and stretching and Ill say theres hope! lol. Havent done anything to brim beyond steaming and hand manipulation... already looks way better. Mild stretch seems to be holding size after 45 min. Fits great. Not my highest end hat, but it will be a great casual leather or jean jacket hat this fall ( I like black hats)

 

[steur]

A few minutes of steaming and stretching and Ill say theres hope! lol. Havent done anything to brim beyond steaming and hand manipulation... already looks way better. Mild stretch seems to be holding size after 45 min. Fits great. Not my highest end hat, but it will be a great casual leather or jean jacket hat this fall ( I like black hats)


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Nice haul, Rick. And good to see some love for black hats.

 

[Randall Renshaw]

MacLachlan Fedora...2 7/8" Wide Brim Hat w/Ribbon Vintage 40's Capone Champagne | eBay

This is MacLachlan Fedora.Al Capone style Champagne. 2 7/8" Wide Brim.

www.ebay.com

I know many of us watched this nice looking size 7 Mac auction off at $600!!
It’s a Forty, though I think that stood for the sum of underside moth holes. I’m not against owning vintage hats with mothing, but at that price?
Bet the seller was happily surprised.
I have a super sweet, unbitten, white 7 3/8 Mac that I was sure I’d never sell, but dang…

 

[BobHufford]

but dang…

@MikeinRome won that one. I salute his dedication to owning some rare hats — regardless of the moth love.

 

[Randall Renshaw]

@MikeinRome won that one. I salute his dedication to owning some rare hats — regardless of the moth love.

Good for you.

Especially good for the Mac seller.

I’m glad for all us sellers who can turn an unexpected huge profit on small sized, imperfect vintage hats, including you, Bob.
I salute thriving capitalism—which, should make us all happy.

 

[Randall Renshaw]

I don’t like to be misunderstood as much as the next guy and I’m supposing I was here.
I didn’t know who bought the Mac and it’s irrelevant to my reason for making the post.
I merely was flabbergasted at the price it auctioned off for. Just as anyone would be who keeps a close eye on vintage hat prices, including Bob. Usually size 7s don’t go that high no matter what it is, especially one having significant moth damage.
I’m not against owning hats with moth damage, but when it’s heavy it certainly, usually, has an effect on the sell price.
I didn’t bid on the hat or even hope to win but I did put it on watch to see how high it’d go, since it was a nice looking Mac Forty.
I know what the hat is, so I don’t need to be schooled, it just went for a super high price.
Which is awesome for the seller.
Any buyer is welcome to spend as much of their easy money as he wants to. Doesn’t matter none to me. More power to them!
And also while at it, I’ve never been one to be upset about being legally outbid.
As I said, it keeps the capitalism wheels spinning!

 

[RossRYoung]

That’s considered significant moth damage? Looked like maybe 5 nibbles/holes? I own wayyy worse lol

 

[Randall Renshaw]

It may not be a significant amount on some $150 or so, hats, but in my opinion, and you have a right to yours, it is for any size 7 40s/50s hat that sells for the high high.
And yes, there’s “only” 5 big divits, but a whole bunch of small ones all over, top and bottom, if you look closely.
Anyone can certainly spend the big bucks on any moth damaged hat they want, I don’t care.
I’ve bought several myself, but I guarantee it’s for the low low. Exceptions made for really really old, rare hats.

 

[Mighty44]

Oppenheimer’s hat? Looks like a 7 3/8: https://www.ebay.com/itm/1267997114...YmjVyitQ4e&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

 

[Bill Hughes]

Just arrived today. It’s a OPS (1951-1953) Stetson Royal Deluxe. The color didn’t photograph well. It’s a taupe/tan but appears more grey in the photos. It was listed as beige. Virtually mint condition. I made an offer and was pleasantly surprised when it was accepted. It accepts any creasing. I brushed and hit it with some steam and now it’s ready to go.

Crown: 5 3/4” open (bashed is 4 3/4” front, 4 1/4” back)
Brim 2 3/4” raw
Ribbon 1 1/8” olive

https://www.ebay.com/itm/196850567627

 

[Rmccamey]

Nice catch, Bill.

Just arrived today. It’s a OPS (1951-1953) Stetson Royal Deluxe. The color didn’t photograph well. It’s a taupe/tan but appears more grey in the photos. It was listed as beige. Virtually mint condition. I made an offer and was pleasantly surprised when it was accepted. It accepts any creasing. I brushed and hit it with some steam and now it’s ready to go.

Crown: 5 3/4” open (bashed is 4 3/4” front, 4 1/4” back)
Brim 2 3/4” raw
Ribbon 1 1/8” olive

https://www.ebay.com/itm/196850567627

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[RickP]

Once again the joys of ebay! lol
Won a 5x Stetson Gun Club. Actually didnt look too bad except for a little dirt. Felt, sweatband and liner are in good shape. Supposed to be a 7-1/4 with a 3" brim. Its actually a 7-1/2 with a 3-1/2" brim. Did some cleaning steaming, and smoothing so Ive basically got it back to an open crown...at least its at a good starting point. Fortunately Im always up for a good challenge.

Lets see what I can do with it!