Stetson Imperial

[Rick Blaine]

...

The hat itself has small divots throughout from moths, the greatest concentration of which lie on the front brim.

Discoloration in a band about two inches thick above the ribbon wraps itself around the felt, turning the silverbelly into a light pinkish color.

The top of the hat has been unexplainably darkened where it was bashed, almost as if someone with dirty hands touched it to press it back into place and never bothered to clean it.

The rear of the sweatband has bubbling in the back.

All of these are fairly minor details, but I am very irked that I paid so much without knowing of these detractions. I still love the hat, but I am considering leaving negative feedback.

...

....Oh doesn't that just piss you right off ???!!!

I have had a few experiences like that recently. I picked up a Stratoliner in a lovely light dove gray for a $50 BIN auction and when it arrived it had dozens of moth bites. I was so very disappointed, so I wrote the seller the following note:

Mr. B___
This hat arrived today & upon examination was found to have significant moth damage not reveled in the auction listing. There are well over a dozen pits in both the crown & brim, far more damage than an item fairly described as "VERY GOOD CONDITION WITH NO DEFECTS OR PROBLEMS". For this reason I would like either a total refund upon return of the item or a partial refund that reflects the true condition of this hat.


To his credit the seller refunded the purchase price as well as the shipping one way so I wasn't out more than eight bucks but honestly, whatta drag!

 

[Damon Falzone]

Bogie, I feel your pain. I just had a similar experience with a recent ebay purchase, a Knox 20. It wasn't "near mint" (fairly dirty, some small moth holes), nor was it a stated size 7 1/4 but a size 7. There was even a label stating size 7 under the sweatband! I swear this is the last ebay hat for me. I'm going to save my money, avoid aggravation and get a custom hat made from one of our resident hatters.

 

[Bogie]

Holy frikking freedom fries! Nice catch!

Call me crazy, but...I think that hat would look really nice with a wider ribbon.

I also don't think that the small flaws take away from the hat.

No you aren't nutty, I know just what you are talking about.

I have an older Borso (20's-40's) that is in a lighter creme color with a nice dark brown ribbon about 1/4 an inch wide. It is gorgeous, and definately the best hat I have at the moment. I guard it with jealousy.

I sent the seller an email today, and we'll see how it goes from here, hopefully I will get some kind of re-embursement from all of this.

 

[Bogie]

I hate to double post, but now I'm mad.

Here is what I sent yesterday:

I received the item yesterday, however, there are several detractions with the hat that you neglected to mention; among them are:

The hat itself has small divots throughout from moths, the greatest concentration of which lie on the front brim.

Discoloration in a band about two inches thick above the ribbon wraps itself around the felt, turning the silverbelly into a light pinkish color.

The top of the hat has been unexplainably darkened where it was bashed, almost as if someone with dirty hands touched it to press it back into place and never bothered to clean it.

The rear of the sweatband has bubbling in the back.

I have pictures of all these marring detractions, and I would like to come up with a solution.

In the end I would still like to keep the hat, and I would rather not leave you negative/netural feedback yet I feel that the item I was sent is not the item in the picture.

I would like to resolve this matter as soon as possible,


Here is the seller's reply in full:

You still would like to keep the hat but are not satisified with it? I do not understand. It is the same exact hat as pictured. You did not ask any of these specific questions prior to purchasing. I would like to know what you are expecting?....

This is the only time I have had a problem buying a hat from ebay, and I could not imagine it turning into a hassle like this, any suggestions?

Perhaps I am in the wrong here, but his utter lack of mention of the deficiencies, however minor they are as well as his simple explanation of it being the same hat in the photo is infuriating to say the least.

:rage:

 

[Damon Falzone]

Bogie, sometimes you just have to chalk it up to experience. Sounds like you're not going to get a reasonable response from the seller. So, is it worth getting aggravated over? Probably not. I'm in the same boat as you, as indicated in my previous post. I decided to send the hat to Optimo for renovation. It's a Knox 20, and generally in good shape. Graham can probably re-size it to fit me. Along with a new sweatband, a cleaning and a blocking I'll have one sweet hat. And still less expensive in total than a modern completely mediocre factory hat. Think about it.