Vintage 50's BUCO J-100 D-Pocket Perfecto - Take it or leave it?

[Robbie79]

Hey all,
I'm tempted to purchase this vintage 50's BUCO J-100 D-Pocket Perfecto but don't have experience with old leather jackets. They did a special leather cleaning, oiled and impregrated it. Is has a small hole as you can see on the pics. Price is 889 €. What do you think? Worth it or better stay away from it?
https://www.springfellows.de/epages/78079940.sf/de_DE/?ObjectPath=/Shops/78079940/Products/05816

Many thanks! Robbie

 

[Leigh H]

I'm on the fence with this one, the arms are really weathered and the quality of the leather looks really dried out and wrinkled up in places.

 

[jacketjunkie]

I wouldn't recommend buying from Springfellows. Made only bad experiences with faults and issues with the jackets not in the description and hilariously low quality repairs if they did see to the flaws.

 

[Robbie79]

@jacketjunkie and Leigh H : Thanks for your helpful advice. I'll stay away from this jacket due to your advice.

 

[Guppy]

In general my experience has been that new high end repros are simply built to a much higher standard than the originals were ever meant to be. I mean that very generally, not specific to this or any one jacket. Fit and condition are everything with vintage pieces. It's so hard to find something old that fits well enough and is in the condition to be really wearable, and is priced reasonably. I've owned a number of old jackets, and still have several among my collection, but mostly I wear the newer ones, and haven't considered buying another true vintage jacket in quite some time. The lightly used jackets of recent make are much better deals.

 

[dannyk]

In general my experience has been that new high end repros are simply built to a much higher standard than the originals were ever meant to be. I mean that very generally, not specific to this or any one jacket. Fit and condition are everything with vintage pieces. It's so hard to find something old that fits well enough and is in the condition to be really wearable, and is priced reasonably. I've owned a number of old jackets, and still have several among my collection, but mostly I wear the newer ones, and haven't considered buying another true vintage jacket in quite some time. The lightly used jackets of recent make are much better deals.

Agreed. For the 30s-70s jackets you may find great condition but not the right size, or right size and beat to hell. Unless you get lucky and find someone who doesnt know what they have, the prices cost just as much if not more than a repro. And as you said todays jackets tend to built so much better. Whether its better, thicker leather, the quality of stitching, the nuts and bolts. The ability to customize not only size, but you may love some old original but find one feature with it that youd love to change, well chances are you can find a maker who will make that one change for you. You might get lucky, but I agree with @Guppy

 

[Leigh H]

In general my experience has been that new high end repros are simply built to a much higher standard than the originals were ever meant to be. I mean that very generally, not specific to this or any one jacket. Fit and condition are everything with vintage pieces. It's so hard to find something old that fits well enough and is in the condition to be really wearable, and is priced reasonably. I've owned a number of old jackets, and still have several among my collection, but mostly I wear the newer ones, and haven't considered buying another true vintage jacket in quite some time. The lightly used jackets of recent make are much better deals.

Yeah, I was going to say pay the little extra and buy a new one from Real McCoys. But then i've just looked at the prices.
I bought my Buco J-24 from Real McCoys london about 3/4 years ago for £1500, just checking the price now and it's £2,095.00 !!

 

[dannyk]

Yeah, I was going to say pay the little extra and buy a new one from Real McCoys. But then i've just looked at the prices.
I bought my Buco J-24 from Real McCoys london about 3/4 years ago for £1500, just checking the price now and it's £2,095.00 !!

True, prices are outrageous these days. But on the other hand this jacket has a hole in it, is wrinkled and weathered. While the price difference isnt as close as youd hope with the new on youre getting a lifetime jacket if you treat it well, where this one as cool as it is, definitely has seen its better days.

 

[Superfluous]

Hole = deal breaker for me

BTW, there is no such thing as a "J-100 D-Pocket Perfecto." Their description of the jacket is incorrect. A J-100 is completely different from a D-Pocket Perfecto. The fact that they do not know the difference does not speak well for them.

 

[nick123]

That jacket, although cool, has seen better days. I'd skip the focus on acquiring a Buco (unless the particular style really calls you) and instead, search the web for a vintage or repro D-pocket in better condition, and likely at a better price. You can find an old Sears for instance. Or look at Diamond Dave's Buco repro offerings, or if you want to go crazy, a Real Mccoy's J-24. But I think if you are already eyeing vintage, the web is your friend. Just be sure you learn which measurements work for you before buying!

 

[Carlos840]

Hole = deal breaker for me

BTW, there is no such thing as a "J-100 D-Pocket Perfecto." Their description of the jacket is incorrect. A J-100 is completely different from a D-Pocket Perfecto. The fact that they do not know the difference does not speak well for them.

That's exactly what i was going to say.
I would not do business with a seller who thinks a "J-100 D-Pocket Perfecto." is actually a thing.
Who knows what else they got wrong?

 

[Monitor]

I wouldn't recommend buying from Springfellows. Made only bad experiences with faults and issues with the jackets not in the description and hilariously low quality repairs if they did see to the flaws.

Seconded. I consider myself really luck to have spotted shoddy repairs on three jackets they were / are selling that I was interested in before pulling the trigger on either. Of course, none of it was mentioned in the description but the faults were at least visible in the photos. One jacket has an entire hem restitched (the jacket might've even been shortened) which is a major repair.

One I did buy was okay, though.

 

[Guppy]

That's exactly what i was going to say.
I would not do business with a seller who thinks a "J-100 D-Pocket Perfecto." is actually a thing.
Who knows what else they got wrong?

This is what's known as keyword spamming. Someone looking for a Buco J-100, Schott Perfecto, or D-pocket is apt to look at this.

But it's against ebay's terms.

 

[Robbie79]

Many thanks to all helping me making the right decision! I definitely won‘t buy this Jacket!

 

[ksozay]

Just “de-studded” an old Buco I own. If you can find one that fits right, at the right price, worth it. But yeah, prices for these are a little crazy right now.

Before

After

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[dannyk]

Just “de-studded” an old Buco I own. If you can find one that fits right, at the right price, worth it. But yeah, prices for these are a little crazy right now.

Before

After

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Curious how long it took and any damage done?

 

[ksozay]

About 30 mins and just the button depressions that will eventually return to normal with some additional conditioning. Overall, doesn’t bother me and not really noticeable unless you are looking for it.


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[HoosierDaddy]

Aren't there slits in the leather where the studs fastened..??

 

[ksozay]

Yep but they are very small. I was surprised to see how small they were compared to the size of the stud. Given the number of studs, you have to look very closely to see the slits, which was surprising. I was expecting something similar to what happens when someone removes a patch from a jacket and you clearly see the outline of the patch. Fortunately, not the case.


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