Grapevinehill on ebay

[newhatguy]

There has been some discussion of this vendor in other threads...does anyone have any dealings with or knowledge of this "store"?...Are they "real" Stetsons? Some have said Stetson now only licenses the name and doesn't make the hat.....could these be of inferior quality?(I know to many of you this would be relative).Or could they be overruns or seconds from the factory store?

In other words are they worth the gamble.

newhatguy

 

[Aaron Hats]

I have an inquiry into my sales rep. I'll let you know if I find anything. I'm curious too how he's selling them so cheap.

 

[SHARPETOYS]

They have been on Ebay since 1999 with a approval rating of 99.9%. They have over 100,000 in sales. If you have a question on quality of there Stetson hats I would write them. As far as I know the hats are first quality.I don't see a gamble here!

 

[newhatguy]

I have an inquiry into my sales rep. I'll let you know if I find anything. I'm curious too how he's selling them so cheap.

To me..as a businessman..."he" would have to be "paying" about $10 to $14(or less) each to make any profit and assume the risk of a low auction..many of his sales are $15 to $30....this has the look of something produced in China...or the look of something fishy....labor,felt cost and shipping from mfg for around $10.Kinda makes you wonder.

 

[Biltmore Bob]

Buy one to see, let us know.

They look OK to me, some even look like old stock.

 

[Winkydink]

ok i am naive but

are fedora hats being made in china now too? and sold under u.s. brands? i bought a ford escort zx2 in 1999 cause i wanted to buy u.s. well it was manufactured in mexico with 60 % foreign parts. now i am not a nationalist chauvinist, but what made america a superpower was manufacturing, industrial might. not working for macdonalds or walmart. which now sells tons of stuff from china. what kind of food does macdonalds sell in china? and what does walmart sell in china? what do we still make here?

ok i am sorry this got off topic but i get carried away on this.

winky
ps wise men of fedora lounge you dont need to answer anything besides the hat question ok?

 

[Biltmore Bob]

Stetson and Resistol Hats are made in Texas, most brands are owned by Hatco and made in Garland TX.

I don't think Chinese slave labor is making felt hats, their too busy making Mcdonalds Happy Meal Toys.

 

[jeboat]

Grapevinehill vendor

I bought 2 of their hats, one Steson and one Dobbs. I paid a total of $35.52 for both hats PLUS $29.90 ($14.95 each) shipping. Even though both hats were shipped in the same large cardboard box they charged me the same shipping/handling for EACH hat.

Not a bad price for two name brand hats made in the USA, but I feel they should have prorated the shipping for the second hat.

As for the quality, they are typical low end fur felt hats, not wool. They have a synthetic "leather" sweat band and factory-like lining(glued).

If you want a cheap name brand hat go for it! If you want to spend money on low end items that is your business. Like everything you buy on E**y it's a gamble.

jeboat :cool2: :cool2: :cool2:

 

[Fedora]

don't think Chinese slave labor is making felt hats,

Yep, felt is being made in China now. Expect to see lots of it in the future. What sort of felt they are making, I do not know, qualitywise, but you can bet they will have cheap prices. And modern equipment!! For me, I take pleasure in knowing that my felter is using the same equipement used back in the 30's and 40's that made the fine felt of yesteryear. Call it nostalgia. And, "buy American" It keeps our felt factories employed and open. Fedora

 

[SHARPETOYS]

Emails

I wrote the Ebay seller.

My email

Hello,
Are all these Stetson hats first class or factory seconds? Please advise.
Thank you,

Roger

His answer
Thank you for your email. Yes the hat is first rate and brand new.

Best Regards,

Sam

Email Customer Service Representative

 

[nicolasb]

Due to a contractual agreement with our suppliers, we CANNOT ship outside of the US.

Grrrr.... :rage: Typical.

 

[chuckbeverly926]

Grapevinehill

Re: Grapevinehill.

I am new to the ‘Lounge’ and would be considered by most to be a novice hat collector. However, I have been collecting hats for forty years – granted – mostly junk but it is an enjoyable pass time. I have purchased five hats from Grapevinehill and have found them to be ‘as advertised’ and of first quality. I would recommend Grapevinehill to anyone; they seem to me to be a first class operation.

Thank you for the Lounge, I enjoy it greatly and have learned much.

cb

 

[Aaron Hats]

I just heard back from my Stetson rep. The seller is not buying from Stetson (Hatco). They probably scooped up these hats at an auction (maybe from a closing hat store) or some type of clearance house. I think you'll find that most of the styles are not current. With that said I wouldn't hesitate to buy from him with his feedback rating.

Quote:
Originally Posted by grapevinehill (on eBay)
Due to a contractual agreement with our suppliers, we CANNOT ship outside of the US.

Grrrr.... Typical.

I doubt that's the reason they won't ship internationally. Most sellers don't have the technology to feel safe with international transactions. Since getting set up properly we have safely shipped all over the world. It's actually easier for us to process orders from the UK than it is from Canada. For some reason, some Canadian banks don't report all the necessary info to the US banks for us to properly validate the account.

Enough of my babbling.

 

[MJL]

I picked one up. It was delivered the other day. It seems to be the usual current product from Stetson. If I had to guess I would say this is old stock being sold off. I do have a complaint about the shipping costs, $14.95. I can ship a 10+ pound rifle for the same price or less. I HATE getting ribbed in shipping and that is what this is. I do not mind paying what it costs to ship but when a seller decides to tack on extra profit by nailing you on the shipping costs it makes me think twice before dealing with them. In contrast, I had a hat shipped to me this week from another buy I made on ebay and it cost less than $7.

 

[ronin]

I've bought two of these. They both seem slightly flawed: Obviously both are new/unworn, but the one has a 'soft spot' in the right rear quarter of the crown where it wants to sort of 'fold in' when wearing it- a 2-inch area of the felt is 'more soft' than the surrounding material. Secondly, there is a sort of ring etched on the top of the brim that is concentric with the oval. The other hat has some small odd looking folds on the brim when the brim is snapped down.

I have other recent new Stetsons, so this is not characteristic. For all I know mine are anomalies and the rest at the auction site are fine. In my experience these have the feel of 'seconds'- flawed but perfectly wearable. At these prices it is not worth returning, but at the same time these are automatically relegated the 'older hat to wear hiking or if the weather is threatening' pile.

 

[jeboat]

I had it for the grapevine

I agree with the hats having flaws. The Stetson I bought has a spot on the crown. The Dobbs is ok as far as I can tell. They are indeed good enough to wear informally but are definitely not first class. They are also not worth sending back...

I am currently in mediation with them over their expensive shipping costs, about the same as the what the hats fetch. Obviously they hedge their bets in shipping costs because the auction in E**y is a crap shoot for them as well as the consumer.

After thinking about it, I'd say save your $$$ towards an AB! You will not regret it.

jeboat :cool2: :cool2: :cool2:

 

[Biltmore Bob]

I'm sure they are seconds....I had been thinking of getting one, but have changed my mind...they ain't so cheap no more. I recently ordered a hat from the Stetson Outlet center in St. Joseph Missouri, knowing I was getting a second, $45 for hat and $7 for shipping. I got a decent hat, it is a second however. The sweatband is lower on the left than the right, there is a nick in the brim at the edge on the right, little things, but what the heck, I knew I was getting a second, they told me it was a second. So there was no was no surprise when it arrived. After hearing about Grapevinehill I won't be doing business with them. I will, however, order from the outlet center.

 

[Aquia33]

Will buy again from Grapevinehill

I recieved my new purchase from Grapevinehill (ebay auction) today and I am extremely satisfied. I bought the Stetson Three Forks, sage green model. Yes the shipping is a little on the high side, but they are up front with the charges, so it was no suprise. All things considered, I saved a bundle with Grapevinehill as compared to prices for the same item from other online outlets -Google "Stetson Three Forks".

As for the hat, the inscription on the left side of the sweat band is --Royal Stetson, John B Stetson Company. The right side has the inscription --Cabela's Three Forks. The satin liner has the red & gold Stetson logo. The felt is uniform. All sewing is even throughout the lining, sweat band and hat band. No seconds here, just good quality and good craftsmanship.

 

[Biltmore Bob]

Some folks are just lucky, I reckon.

 

[jeboat]

Grapevinehill hats

As I mentioned in my earlier post about Grapevinehill, I was in mediation due to my negative feedback on his shipping charges being "off the charts."

I was contacted by a mediator and we both told our sides, his being that the charges of $14.95 per hat were clearly stated. I, on the other hand, took the position that the ridiculously high charge was stated by them to be because of separate shipping to maintain the "integrity" of the Stetson. What a joke!!! The hat is of mediocre quality at best. Besides both hats came in a single box, totally contrary to his own policy! Cheaper that way...

The resolution was that he credited $10.00 back to my Visa account and the ratings, not the words, were withdrawn by both of us. It made no sense to me that he would worry about a $17.00 hat and $14.95 shipping dispute. Then it dawned on me, he wants to maintain a high satisfaction Ebay rating and he probably gets a fair number of negative comments withdrawn in this way. It cost him at least $30.00 for the mediation plus the $10.00 back to me.

Oh, BTW, he has banned me from buying from his site. Oh rats!!!! Now I can't get rooked again!

jeboat :cool2: :cool2: :cool2: