Ok, now we enter the realm of just plain silly! (With apologies)

[DanielJones]

This was a Stetson fedora I was watching because there wasn't much action on it in several days but I wasn't going to bid on it because I had two secured already. I'm glad I didn't get into this bidding war. Some folks have way too much money and not enough brains.
http://cgi.ebay.com/VINTAGE-STETSON-FEDORA-ROYAL-DE-LUXE-GREY-7-1-4-NR_W0QQitemZ150005290559QQihZ005QQcategoryZ52369QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
This one got way out of hand in a short time.[huh]

Cheers!

Dan

 

[feltfan]

Doesn't seem silly to me. Take that money to your
local hat retailer and see what you get. Granted, the
size is very common, so opportunities will arise, but
if that's the hat the buyer wants, what the hey?
Looks like a classic 40s Stetson with a nice wide brim
to me.

There have certainly been much more ridiculous eBay
hat wars in recent years. Heck, I've participated in
sillier bidding wars.

Personally, I don't brag about how much I pay for a
hat. I am here to share information about hats so I
can learn something. If someone really wants to know
what I paid, I might say, but I'd be much more interested
in discussing dating the maker's mark or comparing felt.

If I saw a hat I really wanted, why not pay $200? I've paid more.
I'd rather pay ten bucks, but as I noted above, $200 is chump
change in the new hat world and some vintage hats are nicer
than most new hats.

BTW, the buyer was a Lounger. It appears he was bidding
against someone with an eBay handle similar to someone's
name on the Lounge, too. Putting aside the issue that we
are bidding up the prices, what I really worry about is
that making fun of someone's spending will make that person
too embarrassed to share photos of the hat with us. Then we
don't learn as much.

 

[Dixon Cannon]

Geesh!

I've passed up a hundred beauties like that Stetson over the years. It's not the price (I would have been that silly bidder!), it's that they never fit my FAT HEAD!! I would pay that price or more if it was just a 7 3/8 - 7 1/2. Yep! I gotta go see Art - I know!

-dixon cannon

 

[J. M. Stovall]

Of the last 14 auctions that guy won, 13 were fedoras (the other was a vintage tie). Maybe he has a store.

 

[Solid Citizen]

Way TOO Much $$$$

Sorry, I concur with Mr.Jones on price, way too high & surprising since sellers photo spread on listing was not attractive on face value [huh]

SC

 

[SinatraStyle]

I noticed this last night as well...

Too rich for my blood...but I'm just a newbie. We'll see what happens over time.

"To each their own," I say. Apparenty someone (or two) really wanted that hat. I've gone over my max a couple of times to secure a purchase; it looks like the winner of this auction may have done the same. Or maybe it's something they've been looking for for quite some time.

If the winner is a Lounger, I'd love to see some pics. Auction site pictures rarely to the hat justice.

 

[havershaw]

Hey, I just bought a vintage Borsalino on eBay - and had it gone up to $200, I would have paid it. (Thankfully, it stayed reasonable.) When you really want something, it's worth whatever you have to pay for it. I just figure that I can always sell off some of my collection to pay for something I really want. I saw that Borsalino and knew I'd rather have it than a few of the really nice (but rarely worn) hats I'd been holding onto. Same thing with suits. If I see something on eBay I really want, I just figure out which of my suits I don't like as much as the one I want, then sell one to pay for another.

And Royal Stetson Deluxes are really, really nice. I say, if it's worth it to you, go for it! that seems a little steep to me, but I agree - modern hats will be more expensive and not as high quality (Adventurebilt and Optimos excluded). I paid close to $300 for a Peters Brothers modern Borsalino three or four years ago, and while I enjoy it, it's the least nice felt quality of all the hats I own - and the most expensive!

Of course, the bad thing is that a bunch of folks will see this auction ending price, and then put their Stetsons on eBay, asking ridiculous prices.

 

[WEEGEE]

NICE BUY TONY T

:eusa_clap :eusa_clap :eusa_clap

 

[Cruiser]

Seems a little high, but not outlandish, to me. Nice hats in my (common) size have gone for more. Let's see the pictures when you get the hat.

 

[Tony in Tarzana]

Thanks, Weegee. lol

 

[Siirous]

Hey, I just bought a vintage Borsalino on eBay - and had it gone up to $200, I would have paid it.

Sorry I'm fftopic:, but I saw that hat as well and wondered how many people realized it wasn't a Stetson. Be sure to post pictures when it comes in; it looked like a really nice one!

Back on topic: Price is in the eye of the beholder, if the buyer is looking at the perfect hat to top off his very expensive custom tailored suit, then they will have no problem paying that much.

Of course, that being said I'm a college student, so once it hits 50 bucks I'm shattered

 

[Tony in Tarzana]

Yeah, Havershaw, I saw that Borso (did you see the other one, too?) but it was too damn small. lol

I'll have to console myself with my new Knox 20 that I got for $15.50 (plus $10.50 shipping, drat it.)

Maybe I should open a store? lol

 

[Joel Tunnah]

"Way out of hand"? You cannot buy current production of identical quality for any price, and you can't have a custom hatter duplicate this hat for $189. So, to me it looks like the buyer did well by himself.

 

[Razzman]

Who decides whats just plain silly?????

[huh]

This was a Stetson fedora I was watching because there wasn't much action on it in several days but I wasn't going to bid on it because I had two secured already. I'm glad I didn't get into this bidding war. Some folks have way too much money and not enough brains.
http://cgi.ebay.com/VINTAGE-STETSON-FEDORA-ROYAL-DE-LUXE-GREY-7-1-4-NR_W0QQitemZ150005290559QQihZ005QQcategoryZ52369QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
This one got way out of hand in a short time.[huh]

Cheers!

Dan

Dan,
I know it was nothing personal. But what difference does it make if somebody, "in your opinion", pays too much for a hat? What is too much? It is necessary for you to call them silly and stupid??? You recently purchased two hats on ebay. The total for both hats including postage was $155.00! Roughly $75.00 each. What was your maximum bid? What were you willing to pay? You were fortunate. You got a so-called deal? But nobody else was really bidding at that time. What were you willing to pay in the end for those two hats you so desperately wanted? I'm not trying to be argumentative here. It's just that other folks set their own limits. I was one of the other guys bidding on the vintage Stetson. At that price it was still less expensive that a new custom hat. However, I liked it and I set a price that I was willing to pay for it. As did the person who won it. I guess the hard part here, is that both of us are FL members. I didn't expect this sort of outburst. It's great to share your good fortunes, or a great ebay deal. Sometimes there are deals to be had on ebay. Yes, I too have seen items sell for what I thought was an exorbitant amount. Yet I didn't feel it necessary to berate the person who purchased it, nor the others who bid on it. Just my opinion.[huh]
Cheers,

 

[J. M. Stovall]

Of the last 14 auctions that guy won, 13 were fedoras (the other was a vintage tie). Maybe he has a store.

Hey Tony, I just realised you are "that guy" . It is a very nice hat, and you have to admit, you are on a run of hat purchases. Have you been stung on any of those? They all looked nice in the photos.

 

[havershaw]

Tony,
Nice lids man! I noticed you picked up a Playboy recently too. How's the felt on that? I've had two, and they were pretty different.
Yeah, I saw the other Borsalino, and bid on it, but when I got outbid in the $56 range, I decided to concentrate my efforts on the brown one so I could afford to pay as much as it might end up being. i wondered too how many folks didn't realize it was a Borsalino. I wonder if that's why it went cheap-ish (I thought it would go for much more, in its condition and color).
And 7 is exactly my size, so I don't think we'll ever be a problem for each other.

 

[Fedora]

Many of those vintage Stetsons are worth 500 bucks. If you can get one for less than 250, you are stealing it anyways. You are not just getting a great hat, you are buying a piece of history that will never be repeated by Stetson. You better get them while you can, as I suspect in the years to come, the prices will be way up there as more folks learn about the vintage offerings, and as more folks start to seriously collect them. If you are young, buying and collecting vintage hats might me a good investment, especially if you can buy them for less than a bill. Fedora

 

[tonyb]

It's been said, oh, a thousand times, but I'll make it 1,001.
A vintage hat in nice condition that can be had for anything less than the cost of a new custom can be considered a bargain, for all the reasons we've chewed over many, many times already.
I have more bought-new Borsalinos than I care to admit. I'd gladly swap one, or even two, for the hat Tarzana Tony just scored, and he paid less than any one of those Borsos cost. Not that he would ever consider such an exchange, and my conscience wouldn't allow me to do it anyway. Couldn't do that to a fellow vintage-hat fancier (although if it were a dealer, it would be another story).
Now, I wouldn't go as high as some will on those vintage lids, but that's only because I'm cheap (meaning I'm constitutionally disinclined to pay more than I have to; new Borsos can't be had cheap, but vintage lids can, so I wait for luck to roll my way). Still, I wouldn't sell one for less than he paid, if I sold one at all, because old hats of the sort most of us lust after (like the one we're talking about here) are a finite resource. Sure, I've sold some nice old hats for a whole lot less, but those were narrow-brimmed jobs that just ain't right for me. I'm satisfied that they went to someone who really wants them, and I'm guessing it won't be long until hats of that style and vintage are fetching considerably higher prices.

 

[Marc Chevalier]

With eBay auctions, price is relative.

If you compare the winning bid price of a fine vintage hat to the typical sticker price of a fine (or even not so fine) new hat, then you can say that the vintage hat was a bargain.

If, however, you compare the winning bid price of that same vintage hat to past (and lower) winning bid prices of similar vintage hats, then you can say that the hat was expensive.

In short, it depends on your point of view. [huh]

.

 

[Prairie Shade]

Free Country

If I had been the seller I would have been very happy!! I have a callous on my wrist from moving the mouse over ebay. I just decided that whenever I want to add to my "collection", I just go down in the basement, rifle thru boxes and find one I already own and havent worn for a while. Zap, a new hat. Or so it seems. One head, one hat, maybe that would be enough. I think there is something to be said for minimizing!!!!! Well, that said Im off to ebay again.