What hat are you waiting for today?

[BobHufford]

Another mystery hat ... of sorts. No idea on size or if any markings other than the one shown. Too bad about that frayed ribbon (that they pointed out in the description).

It was $13 so I feel lucky...

1908:

 

[deadlyhandsome]

Another mystery hat ... of sorts. No idea on size or if any markings other than the one shown. Too bad about that frayed ribbon (that they pointed out in the description).

It was $13 so I feel lucky...

1908:

THAT is a great looking hat! Come on 7 3/4!

 

[Blare]

Another mystery hat ... of sorts. No idea on size or if any markings other than the one shown. Too bad about that frayed ribbon (that they pointed out in the description).

It was $13 so I feel lucky...

1908:

Nice pick up Bob. Looks like it could be something

 

[Blare]

 

[Hurricane Jack]

Five days at the same USPS Distribution Center. Now it will probably spend three days in a semi-trailer trucking across country, arriving at my local sort center just in time for the long holiday weekend. Good thing this is Priority Shipping!

View attachment 337344

The efficiency continues at its finest. You can't make this stuff up!

 

[Edward Reed]

The efficiency continues at its finest. You can't make this stuff up!

View attachment 337635

I once tracked a package from Atlanta and it arrived at the main postal distribution center here at my town in South Carolina then got sent to Chicago! it stayed there for two weeks then was sent to Indianapolis where it was then sent back to Chicago... a few days later it finally ended up back in my state but two hours away where it lingered for a few more days before it finally came back to my main postal center and finally delivered. sometimes I think the postal employees throw packages into the wrong bin and they end up on the wrong truck. once the item shows up in Timbuktu those guys scratch their heads and don't know wtf to do!

 

[Bushman]

I once tracked a package from Atlanta and it arrived at the main postal distribution center here at my town in South Carolina then got sent to Chicago! it stayed there for two weeks then was sent to Indianapolis where it was then sent back to Chicago... a few days later it finally ended up back in my state but two hours away where it lingered for a few more days before it finally came back to my main postal center and finally delivered. sometimes I think the postal employees throw packages into the wrong bin and they end up on the wrong truck. once the item shows up in Timbuktu those guys scratch their heads and don't know wtf to do!

Funny thing about logistics, is many shipping companies, USPS included, consider it cheaper and faster to simply send packages to crossdock facilities in the wrong area, where it will then become somebody else's problem. For instance, a seller on eBay will ship via FedEx, but FedEx finds it cheaper to dump the package off at an Amazon facility, which then gets picked up by USPS. It's extremely bureaucratic.

It mostly has to do with the endgame location and inventory count. If most of the packages are going to the Midwest, it's faster for your SC bound package to be sent to Chicago, where it'll hitch a ride to a shipment bound for SC, than for Atlanta's distribution center to wait around to fill a semi-truck bound for SC only. The problem is Atlanta doesn't know that Chicago doesn't have enough packages to justify a shipment to SC. So Chicago sends it to Indianapolis just to get it off their hands. Indianapolis sees that the package is supposed to go to SC, assumes there's been an error, and sends it back to Chicago. In the meantime, while your package was sitting in Indianapolis, Chicago accrued enough packages heading to SC to justify sending yours back down south.

I once tracked a package at the Chicago USPS distribution center, only to be sent to the wrong town's post office, and then sent back to Chicago, where it then sat for over three weeks before finally getting to me. I was almost questioning if it would have been faster for me to simply call the distribution center and ask if I should just drive the hour to pick it up. But working in logistics myself, I know that's not how it works.

 

[Edward Reed]

Funny thing about logistics, is many shipping companies, USPS included, consider it cheaper and faster to simply send packages to crossdock facilities in the wrong area, where it will then become somebody else's problem. For instance, a seller on eBay will ship via FedEx, but FedEx finds it cheaper to dump the package off at an Amazon facility, which then gets picked up by USPS. It's extremely bureaucratic.

It mostly has to do with the endgame location and inventory count. If most of the packages are going to the Midwest, it's faster for your SC bound package to be sent to Chicago, where it'll hitch a ride to a shipment bound for SC, than for Atlanta's distribution center to wait around to fill a semi-truck bound for SC only. The problem is Atlanta doesn't know that Chicago doesn't have enough packages to justify a shipment to SC. So Chicago sends it to Indianapolis just to get it off their hands. Indianapolis sees that the package is supposed to go to SC, assumes there's been an error, and sends it back to Chicago. In the meantime, while your package was sitting in Indianapolis, Chicago accrued enough packages heading to SC to justify sending yours back down south.

I once tracked a package at the Chicago USPS distribution center, only to be sent to the wrong town's post office, and then sent back to Chicago, where it then sat for over three weeks before finally getting to me. I was almost questioning if it would have been faster for me to simply call the distribution center and ask if I should just drive the hour to pick it up. But working in logistics myself, I know that's not how it works.

very interesting! actually kind of makes sense if not an overly convoluted system! lol! my main issue was it was already here at my postal center just a few miles away but still got sent out to Chicago! I tracked it and it was here so I assumed it would be out for delivery only to find it was back in the system and MIA until it ended up in Chicago. ah well, I have had local mail take two weeks to arrive but mail from California show up in 2 days! go figure lol!

 

[Zombie_61]

I was once told by a former UPS employee that these companies will sometimes route certain packages through a specific "hub" (i.e., a sorting location) that is nowhere near it's destination simply so they can justify the falsely inflated shipping costs. I once had a package go from San Diego, CA, to my home just east of Los Angeles, CA, by way of Chicago. When I asked why it took a 4,000 mile round trip for no apparent reason, the representative lied and told me it was "standard procedure" and that all of their packages had to be scanned through that location.

 

[Edward Reed]

I was once told by a former UPS employee that these companies will sometimes route certain packages through a specific "hub" (i.e., a sorting location) that is nowhere near it's destination simply so they can justify the falsely inflated shipping costs. I once had a package go from San Diego, CA, to my home just east of Los Angeles, CA, by way of Chicago. When I asked why it took a 4,000 mile round trip for no apparent reason, the representative lied and told me it was "standard procedure" and that all of their packages had to be scanned through that location.

WOW! efficient! lol! I am amazed sometimes just how quickly I can get a package just on normal first class or regular priority mail... then I'm sometimes baffled at how long it takes. lol!

 

[deadlyhandsome]

I ordered a retirement gift for a colleague from a store in Santa Rosa, California: about 150 miles northwest of me. It shipped via USPS on July 1st and was delivered on August 27th! I filed a lost package claim three weeks after it shipped and was told it wasn’t lost since it had been scanned into the system. I even got a letter telling me that my complaint had been resolved and that the package was at a distribution center 70 miles from me. My idea of resolution would mean that I received what I paid for, but the post office feels otherwise. Almost two months to go from Northern California to Central California, and according to the tracking it was never more than 150 miles from me the whole time.

 

[Frunobulax]

My wife recently ordered some jewelry from Etsy, and the seller was across town here in Dayton - probably 5 miles away. We got a kick out of it being sent through Indianapolis before being delivered back in Dayton a few days later.

 

[WonkyBloke]

Another fur felt on the way! I couldn't say no to this one.

Hatsandcaps in the UK suddenly dropped the price of Christy's Epsom Fedora from £112.95 down to £73.95. They only tend to do that when they're down to just one or two sizes, normally the ultra small and ultra large sizes. Not this time. 58 and 62, and I'm a 58. The clincher was they've got a 15% off everything Spring sale on, which means a £113 hat delivered to my door for under £63. It would be rude not to!

They also had a black Foldaway on sale at £84 (less the 15%), and I was torn between the two for a while. I opted to go the the Epson for the slightly narrower brim (2.1/4"). I would still like a Foldaway, but I'd prefer something other than black for that. A dressy black hat should be more "set" in its shape, which I expect the Epson to be. A Foldaway is probably more casual in its shaping, and I should probably wait for a more casual colour to come along at the right price.

 

[BobHufford]

Another fur felt on the way! I couldn't say no to this one.

And so it begins ...

 

[WonkyBloke]

And so it begins ...

Ha ha! I must confess, I did start to warm to the previous one once I wore it a bit. I'm still not happy with the leatherette sweat band though, but I do have a plan for that...

I still like my leather, wool, and cotton ones though. In fact I'm on the look out for a bottle of neatsfoot oil for proofing my nubuck (I think there's a shop in town that sells it). I think that one and my cotton ones will still be the front runners though, as I can leave them out without fear of insect damage, and they should be less prone to shrinkage after getting wet too. The felts stay bagged on the top shelf of the wardrobe when not in use, and that may reduce how often I reach for them. (although in fairness, this one that's coming might be too dressy for regular use anyway)

 

[Snowman]

Thanks Matt. If the tracker is to be trusted tonight it is about 9 hrs away. With any luck it should make the local sort center tomorrow night, then be transferred to my Post Office before Fri morn so it can be out for delivery on Fri. If it misses that transfer it will be Tues before I see it as I am in a rural route with no Saturday service.

I bought one May 11 and seller says he shipped on May 12. USPS tracking says it is still at origin point. Probably in a facility somewhere...

 

[steur]

Another mystery hat ... of sorts. No idea on size or if any markings other than the one shown. Too bad about that frayed ribbon (that they pointed out in the description).

It was $13 so I feel lucky...

1908:

They usually turn out to be a size 7. Ain't that a shame! Looks fabulous, Bob.

 

[steur]

Another fur felt on the way! I couldn't say no to this one.

Hatsandcaps in the UK suddenly dropped the price of Christy's Epsom Fedora from £112.95 down to £73.95. They only tend to do that when they're down to just one or two sizes, normally the ultra small and ultra large sizes. Not this time. 58 and 62, and I'm a 58. The clincher was they've got a 15% off everything Spring sale on, which means a £113 hat delivered to my door for under £63. It would be rude not to!

They also had a black Foldaway on sale at £84 (less the 15%), and I was torn between the two for a while. I opted to go the the Epson for the slightly narrower brim (2.1/4"). I would still like a Foldaway, but I'd prefer something other than black for that. A dressy black hat should be more "set" in its shape, which I expect the Epson to be. A Foldaway is probably more casual in its shaping, and I should probably wait for a more casual colour to come along at the right price.

Congrats. Modern Christy's hats are not a good indicator of what a quality fur felt hats could be though. The ones I've seen and handled are rather stiff hats and not well finished felts. Haven't seen the Epson though.

 

[WonkyBloke]

Congrats. Modern Christy's hats are not a good indicator of what a quality fur felt hats could be though. The ones I've seen and handled are rather stiff hats and not well finished felts. Haven't seen the Epson though.

I'm sure it will be perfectly adequate for my needs, and won't be viewed by anyone who expects better. Besides, I have neither the funds nor patience to be chasing "best".

 

[Blare]

I'm sure it will be perfectly adequate for my needs, and won't be viewed by anyone who expects better. Besides, I have neither the funds nor patience to be chasing "best".

Very understandable. Depending on size... you may be able to find something vintage that is as good or better than some of today’s ‘best’ for as little or less than some of today’s.... .... “entry level hats”