Panama Hats Direct

[Ranger1]

Hello to all,
I am new here and I am interested in buying a new panama montecristi hat. I am interested in two different companies on the internet and would like to know more about Panama Hats Direct. com (PHD). The site is www.panama-hats-direct.com. I have already visited Panamabob's website and his is great site. Has anyone ordered a hat from PHD before and what was the quality and service like?

I have decided to purchase a panama hat because of skin cancer in my family and I am very fair skinned and work in the sun alot.

Any advice will be appreciated.

Thanks,

Ranger1

 

[SHARPETOYS]

First i would like to say Welcome to the Lounge.
I have ordered from Panama Hats Direct, it was a Special Reserve and when i recieved it i wasn't happy with it and sent it back. I didn't feel like the hat was worth the price being asked for it. I have several of Roberts hats different prices, grades etc and i have been pleased with all of them. Put it this way i have never sent a Montecristi back to Panamabob. The proof is in the pudding. He will bend over backwards to get you the best hat for the money you are willing to spend. My last Montecristi from him took 7 months for him to get for me and he rejected 100's before he found that one. I must be honest with you thru this process Panamabob has become a dear friend. I wish you well on your search for a Montecristi Panama hat. Here is a few pictures of Panamabob hats i have.

http://fedoralounge.skyblueproductions.net/showthread.php?s=&threadid=828

 

[Ranger1]

Thanks Sharpetoys,
I have e-mailed panamabob and he is going to take care of me! I have saw nothing but good things about him here at the lounge. Now all I have to do is get the dough from my wife and I will be set!

Looking forward to getting my first Montecristi panama shortly!


Ranger1:clap

 

[SHARPETOYS]

Looking forward to getting my first Montecristi panama shortly!


Ranger1

You will love your Montecristi from PanamaBob he will take real good care of you. I know he has for dozens of people here at the Lounge. He's a honest "Hatter". Once you get one you'll want more!

 

[Mystic]

BUMP...

I know there are most likely several threads about Pamamahatsdirect.com, but this one came up first with the search.

Any new experiences or recent input on PHD?

In view of what I have read about Panama Bob's troubles recently; anyone have any recent experiences with PHD?
If so, care to share your thoughts?

 

[Daniele Tanto]

My experience last year was positive.
I bought two hats from Panama Hats Direct in the discounted section, and both were to my liking.
One was Fino grade and the other Fino Fino. Both respected the "straw woven rules".
They are well finished and the shape very accurate.
Some might not like the leather sweat band and inner lining. I have not found any particular problems, you can still claim to have a sweatband fabric and eliminate the lining.
The price paid was perfect.
We must take into account that the market for Panama hats is .... confused
I mean that often there are some misunderstand of the woven grade and finishing.
I have had other experiences not so good with other sellers

My dream is to have an Italian straw hat like the marvellous produced during the last two centuries, but everything seems vanished, here, in the name of Panama

 

[RJR]

My experience last year was positive.
I bought two hats from Panama Hats Direct in the discounted section, and both were to my liking.
One was Fino grade and the other Fino Fino. Both respected the "straw woven rules".
They are well finished and the shape very accurate.
Some might not like the leather sweat band and inner lining. I have not found any particular problems, you can still claim to have a sweatband fabric and eliminate the lining.
The price paid was perfect.
We must take into account that the market for Panama hats is .... confused
I mean that often there are some misunderstand of the woven grade and finishing.
I have had other experiences not so good with other sellers

My dream is to have an Italian straw hat like the marvellous produced during the last two centuries, but everything seems vanished, here, in the name of Panama

I've never had an issue with PHD.

 

[Ordinary Guy]

I will say I have had both good and bad results with PHD..... the good out number the bad but both did exist with my purchases over the years.....

 

[Mystic]

Thanks for the updates and comments guys.

With the higher prices on ebay now and small number of hats to buy from in my small head size I'm considering a Cuenca grade 4 or a Sub Fino in the Optimo style.

I can no longer justify $200 -$300 for a hat that wouldn't get much head time. But, I have been looking for another hat to wear along with my Panama Bob and other straws and Milans.

 

[TheDane]

can no longer justify $200 -$300 for a hat that wouldn't get much head time. But, I have been looking for another hat to wear along with my Panama Bob and other straws and Milans.

Lately several loungers have been buying custom hemp hats from Peters Bros. in Fort Worth at $150. I received mine yesterday, and I'm very satisfied. Not a Montecristi - not a Milan - but a very, very nice straw hat, all on it's own. My first PB hemp is just that ... my first

You may want to check out, what others have bought here: http://thefedoralounge.com/threads/peters-bros.82936/page-19#post-2092189

- and earlier posts in the same thread. Lots of satisfied customers show and talk about their purchases

 

[Mystic]

You may want to check out, what others have bought here: http://thefedoralounge.com/threads/peters-bros.82936/page-19#post-2092189

Thanks, Good looking hat. Looks great on you!! I'll look into it.

 

[Mystic]

Panama Hats Direct may have just scared me off with my first inquiry about ordering a hat in my size that they do not ever have in stock.

Customer service tired, what I call, bait and switch. They tried to switch me to a hat they had in stock that is 2 sizes to big and that had different brim dimensions around the brim. They said all they had to do was take it down 2 sizes and put in a leather sweat.

I don't make hats, but, this sounds like the bastardization of a hat to sell an odd ball in stock.

I'll have to put Panama Hats Direct on the back burner.

 

[TheDane]

Panama Hats Direct may have just scared me off with my first inquiry about ordering a hat in my size that they do not ever have in stock.

That sounds like a really bad first encounter. To be fair, I don't believe they are completely off, though

The first size is a free gift from installing a leather sweat. A leather takes up a size - while a grosgrain one takes up next to no space.

The next size is a bit more tricky. I believe most soft Panamas are so flexible, that you could moisten/steam the lower crown and fit it to size on a band block. Though I fear, it would result in distortion of the crown, if not fully re-blocked ... but I'm not sure

I absolutely understand your hesitation.

 

[Mystic]

I absolutely understand your hesitation.

Well, sorry to say that now I no longer am just hesitant. It's a flat out won't do any business with this Casey guy.

Two more angry ranting emails from him showed up last night. Seems he gets a very angry offended attitude when he is questioned and a customer doesn't swallow everything he says just because of who he thinks he is.

I don't know this guy from anyone else on the internet selling stuff and I'm not just going to lay down and send my money for anything he throws out at me just because he has such a high opinion of himself and his hats.

It may be all true, but, I don't know it. I have never ordered a hat in my life and I'm not going to order one now without asking questions and questioning what I will end up with.

From my first and only experience with this Casey guy at PHD. He is a very angry little man with a terrible attitude towards new potential customers.

I am glad I have a nice little collection of hats that I like and enjoy. I have moved on from my "Hat Fever" and no longer need any more hats. I just wanted a light weight Panama as another alternative to my Panama Bob, milans and straws.

The prices and attitudes of hat sellers (including ebay & other sites) seems to have become as nuts and angry as the U.S. political campaigns.

I just don't need the aggravation.

Others may have very different experiences. Sad to say, my experience wasn't a good one.

 

[-30-]

"Two more angry ranting emails from him showed up last night."
Mystic.

What a Wonderful Way he has to destroy his business; but it is His Business!
LOL.

Regards,
J T

 

[Ordinary Guy]

Panama Hats Direct may have just scared me off with my first inquiry about ordering a hat in my size that they do not ever have in stock.

Customer service tired, what I call, bait and switch. They tried to switch me to a hat they had in stock that is 2 sizes to big and that had different brim dimensions around the brim. They said all they had to do was take it down 2 sizes and put in a leather sweat.

I don't make hats, but, this sounds like the bastardization of a hat to sell an odd ball in stock.

I'll have to put Panama Hats Direct on the back burner.

You did better than me on one of the bad times i had..they told they had the hat I wanted and then shipped something totally different.. when I complained they tried to discount the price to me.... with $40 shipping back and forth the hat can get a bit more expensive that advertised......... you did better than I did... but to their defense before they did fine a few hats I ordered.. but the last two , not so much.... maybe I was just a bit unlucky......

 

[tropicalbob]

Mystic - I thought there was something sleazy about their website, and everything I've seen about them seems to bear out my initial impression. Decency and consideration are still out there, but you just have to look around a little. This kind of angry ranting at potential customers is new to me, though. There's a guy who makes leather jackets whose name appears occasionally on those forums who does the same thing: if anyone says anything the slightest bit critical about his product he goes off the deep end and continually sends them nasty emails. What a world! The great consoling thought is that many, many people are going to see this and think,"i guess I'll look elsewhere." Guys like that deserve to be run out of business.

 

[AndyR]

I got lucky with my one PHD purchase. I did not deal with Casey though. William took care of me. I got a hat that was too large. My fault. I never would have believed it, but the measuring tape I used was totally inaccurate.

I called and said I wanted to return it and just get a refund because I didn't want to risk more shipping on another hat. William offered to send me a replacement hat (one that was in stock that I picked) and take care of the shipping for me. I went ahead, took a chance and it fit well, so I ended up happy.

 

[Genuine Classic Gangster]

I've had dealings with Casey in recent months.

In my experience, he has been nothing like Mystic describes.

I've talked with Casey many times over the phone, through long distance calls which were paid for via his toll-free number, that is, on his own dime. He was likewise extremely generous with his time, answering all of my questions, and in addition, giving me tons of explanations that went far above and beyond just what I had asked him. He seemed always to try his darnedest to make sure I had as complete of an understanding of what I was buying as is possible.

In all of those conversations, Casey never tried to sell me on anything.

Casey also made clear to me that if he doesn't have a hat in stock that will meet the needs of a particular customer, then he is willing to try to acquire one that will. However, Casey told me that some customers do not like that option, because that means that they have to wait, and sometimes they do not want to wait.

Based on my good impression of Casey, and the way how his dealings with me contradict how Mystic describes Casey's dealing with him, I expect that Casey would have an alternative perspective to Mystic's interpretation of these events. For example, what Mystic interprets as a "bait and switch" on Casey's part, Casey might see as nothing of the kind. Rather, Casey might have been thinking something like: "I don't have a hat in stock that is already made to Mystic's liking, but perhaps I can still help him out by offering to modify a hat so that it will meet his needs after the modifications."

As they say, every story has at least two sides. But we aren't hearing both sides of this story, since Casey has had no chance to provide his version of events.

As for the angry emails, I am reluctant to blame Casey for those, because Mystic obviously has expressed very strong negative statements against Casey that might not be objectively true. To say that Casey has pulled a "bait and switch" would naturally be extremely offensive to Casey if he had not actually done so (personally, I highly doubt that Casey would ever do such a thing). Who wouldn't be angry after being accused of that? I bet that every single hatter in existence would be angry if such a thing were said about him or her.

 

[Daniele Tanto]

I repeat that my experience with PHD has been positive.
It just seems likely a person who sells hats is so foolish to give a bad impression and evil, ruining his business.
I have not had phone conversations with Casey, neither with his collaborators, I live across the world, and I communicated via e-mail. We widely understood and nothing went wrong. Maybe I was particularly lucky.
It is no doubt that for Panama and Cuenca sellers is much better to deal with hats ready made in stock.
This is the rule for the 90% of the vendors I approached.
Build a new panama means waiting time, sometimes a lot.
Many buyers are hesitant and then trigger on both sides of the misunderstandings.
I tried recently to vary a hat from another seller and the result was modest. Acceptable in order to not spend more money than customs duties and shipping.
And then we say clearly that it is very difficult to order a custom panama for a decent price .... and here begins the confusion (let's call it) in the market of straw hats made in Ecuador.