Peacoat advice

[peacoatenthusiast]

Hi,
I'm new to this forum. I was interested in buying a peacoat for this winter and thanks to the ridiculously helpful post from Peacoat on dating vintage Navy peacoats, decided to give them a try. Unfortunately I'm rather cheap, and decided to go off Ebay. I got a really nice peacoat from the late 50s, which was advertised as in excellent condition, and just received it today to find that it has a few tiny moth bites on the right shoulder, and one small moth bite both in the front and back. I didn't notice anything at first, and only spotted them when looking at the coat from close-up.
I was planning on dry-cleaning whatever I received anyway because I don't trust Ebay that much, and for now I've put the coat in my freezer. I paid around $65 for it so I was wondering whether I should just return it and start looking for another one, or if it was still decent for the price.
Thanks in advance for the help.

 

[ProteinNerd]

Will the seller even take it back?

 

[Dinerman]

Still decent for that price.

 

[peacoatenthusiast]

I don't know yet whether the seller would take it back. I assume that Ebay buyer protection would work for me since it wasn't mentioned in the item description. But it fits well, so if I won't find better for around the same price, I'll just keep it. If I was willing to put up to $100 into something, would that significantly improve my chances to get a pre-60s one in really good condition ?

 

[EmergencyIan]

I don't know yet whether the seller would take it back. I assume that Ebay buyer protection would work for me since it wasn't mentioned in the item description. But it fits well, so if I won't find better for around the same price, I'll just keep it. If I was willing to put up to $100 into something, would that significantly improve my chances to get a pre-60s one in really good condition ?

I would think so. However (and you probably are aware of this), if you're looking for a coat in the winter, on ebay, the price will likely be higher than it would be out of season. Then again, the selection right now is much larger.

- Ian

 

[Peacoat]

I would keep the coat. If you didn't notice it at first, then it probably isn't too bad. As Dinerman said, it is a decent coat for the price. Wear it and don't worry about it.

And, welcome to the Lounge. P.C.

 

[peacoatenthusiast]

Thanks for the advice everyone. I actually went back with a flashlight to get the best lighting possible, and I noticed a bunch more very small bites that I hadn't noticed up-close under natural light. It looks like the coat was rescued just in time...The seller has agreed to give me a discount if I keep it, so that would cover dry-cleaning + some of the moth-proofing expenses I now feel bound to make.

 

[Peacoat]

The easiest way to find moth damage, even damage that isn't normally visible, is to hold the coat up to a strong light source, such as a window, at an angle, and inspect one panel at a time. Although I have obtained good results by holding the flashlight to the coat at an angle while in a darkened room.

 

[Spoonbelly]

Hi,
I'm new to this forum. I was interested in buying a peacoat for this winter and thanks to the ridiculously helpful post from Peacoat on dating vintage Navy peacoats, decided to give them a try. Unfortunately I'm rather cheap, and decided to go off Ebay. I got a really nice peacoat from the late 50s, which was advertised as in excellent condition, and just received it today to find that it has a few tiny moth bites on the right shoulder, and one small moth bite both in the front and back. I didn't notice anything at first, and only spotted them when looking at the coat from close-up.
I was planning on dry-cleaning whatever I received anyway because I don't trust Ebay that much, and for now I've put the coat in my freezer. I paid around $65 for it so I was wondering whether I should just return it and start looking for another one, or if it was still decent for the price.
Thanks in advance for the help.

What size are you? The most common sizes in Kersey coats are 36, 38, and 40. 38 usually being the most abundant. If you are a fairly common size you should be able to find a Kersey coat on ebay quite quickly. The prices have been going up in the past 2 or 3 years for these coats though. It might take a while to find an excellent Kersey coat on ebay for an excellent price. My experience has been that most coats arrive in the condition stated in the ad on ebay. Although some might not be as good as stated. For the most part most have pretty accurate descriptions. I did get a couple which had moth holes, or "nibbles" which were not stated in the descriptions. This is usually a small percentage of cases.

 

[Trotsky]

If it fits, just keep it. The small bites won't detract from the coat. $65 is a good price for a kersey.

 

[RayR]

I have experience with WW 2 era heavy wool coats. Specifically RAF Greatcoats. One had a few noticeable moth bites and I bought it anyway. The way I see it your options are
1 - don't repair it
2 - make very fine dust out of a hidden bit of the material and mix with some fabric glue (I've been told clear nail polish works) and fill in the holes. (have not tried this)
3 - have a tailor pull a tiny stitch in the hole. It is barely visible and keeps the damage from spreading. It's also cheaper than option 4 (I had this done, BTW)
4 - A good tailor can re-weave the material by hand and make the hole go away. Very pricey/per hole. It depends on what you want to do with the coat and how long you want it to last.
If it's a well made jacket, good material, and otherwise solid...it's worth a little extra for repair and will last you many years.

Also, if the moth bites were not mentioned or mis-represented in the eBay ad, you can ask for a return and eBay will make sure you get your money back!

 

[peacoatenthusiast]

I returned it to the seller, who accepted to do a full refund. I realized the coat was actually slightly too large for me to start with, which combined with the moth bites didn't make me want to keep it. I bought another one a size under. At least thanks to the experience I now know how to store/protect the coat from moth.
Thanks for all the advice !