Vintage 1930s ‘PUBLIC ENEMIES’ Oxblood Fedora, size 7 ½

[Marc Chevalier]

Looks like Marc got lucky and has a couple of amateurs in a good old-fashioned bidding war.

Not necessarily amateur. Occasionally, bidders "bid up" an auction early in the game in order to intimidate others from bidding against them (since doing so would be "futile"). It's a psychological tactic that sometimes works.

 

[Tango Yankee]

True, didn't think of that as it wouldn't work for me if I really want a hat. I may have mentioned it before, but I learned that lesson the hard way on a hat you were selling a few years ago. These days I decide what I'm willing to bid and set the sniper. If it's a must-have, I set the sniper very, very high. With that approach I don't have to worry about other bidders and I'm not running up the price on myself. It may still end up high in the end, but not because I've given someone else a reason to try to find my top price long before the bidding ends.

You may recall the hat that I missed out on; it was a lavender lid you sold. I did win (consolation prize?) a black '30s hat from you about the same time. I was still new enough to vintage hats that I didn't realize at first that the fraying of the back edge of the bow was intentional. Fortunately I didn't try to "fix" it! lol


Cheers,
Tom

 

[Marc Chevalier]

Auction ends in one more day.

 

[El Sid]

How fun. I'm not in the running, nor do I intend to snipe, but it's cool to know it is being sold by the dude in the pajamas. Sort of lends a little modernn provenance. If I though I could squeeze my 7 5/8 long oval mellon into it respectfully, without altering its beauty, I'd be in on the excitement tonight. Good luck Mr. Dillion--it will look very nice in your avatar, especially if the pretty lady remains.

 

[randooch]

Should be an interesting finish line. Whoever c***9 is seems determined.

 

[Marc Chevalier]

Whoever c***9 is seems determined.

And for good reason, IMO. Who knows when a vintage fedora from this era, in this rare color -- and this quality, condition and large size-- will appear again on the open market, if ever?

 

[randooch]

Spoken like a seasoned salesperson!

 

[Chris Dillon]

c****9 was me, and I lost. . . .and I want to cry

 

[Garrett]

Figured it would go more than $285 but still a nice sum. Congrats to the new owner!

 

[Marc Chevalier]

Figured it would go more than $285 ...

It went for less because I made a mistake in the title listing. For the size, I typed "7 ½" instead of "7 1/2" or even "7½". As a result, the list of titles showed a number "7" and an empty space, with the tiny "½" appearing in the row below it. Most people doing an eBay title search scan would have only noticed the "7" and assumed that the hat was a small (and less valuable) size 7.


My error -- and by the time I saw it, I could no longer correct the title (due to eBay restrictions).

 

[Tango Yankee]

Bummer, Marc!

I, too, expected it to go much higher but thought it was somewhat possible that it would stay where it was for the past few days. I didn't expect it to split the difference!

Chris, earlier I referred to another hat that Marc sold that I wanted, but was out bid on. That was years ago, and I still want to cry when I think of it! The lesson I took away from there and that I offer to you is that for something like this you need to go all out and more if you really want it. Hats like this one don't come around very often. If this hat was in my size I'd have set a sniper with a minimum bid of $400, perhaps higher. I understand, you may not be able to afford that and frankly, I should spend my money elsewhere that needs attention. But sometimes, ya gotta bid like ya mean it!

Sorry you've joined my little club of "People who learned the hard way they should go big when bidding on Marc's amazing hats"!

Regards,
Tom

 

[Chris Dillon]

Boy don't I know it! Forgot to check on it until there was literally 3 seconds left and I couldn't hit confirm fast enough!! Such is the life of a 7 1/2! Guess I need to look into this sniper business!