Ebay Hats: Victories, Defeats, Gripes & Items of Interest

[frussell]

Sam - I bought a size 8 Resistol from the same vendor recently, and was pleasantly surprised. Seems pretty trustworthy. If you ever want to get rid of it, let me know. I still wear a lot of cowboy hats. I've got an Akubra Silver Spur you might like in a size 63. Thanks, Frank

[randooch]

In the category of Gripes, I was the chump who won this hat:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...=STRK:MEWNX:IT

It arrived today, and what I found prompted this note to the seller:

hello. i received this hat today, and there are some problems that we need to resolve.

first, the hat is a size 7 3/8, not 7 1/2. behind the sweat band inside is a glued on original tag stating this, and "7 3/8" is written in black ink on the back side of the sweat band near the rear of the hat. i don't know who slapped on the paper tag that says 7 1/2, but it was a misleading addition.

second, the hat has 9 places with moth damage, not 2 as stated after i asked that specific question.

third, there are at least 5 yellow stains on the brim, and they may not be removable.

other than that, the hat's fine. (laughter here)

i don't mind keeping it, trying to clean it, then trying to resell it with a more honest description, but i feel like you should refund part of the price i paid. does this sound fair to you? i'd like 20 dollars back, which i think is more than fair.

please reply soon. thank you.

___________

we'll see how it goes. sigh.

[alanfgag]

Sorry that this hat didn't fit - that's always a disappointment - but sounds like the seller had good reason to believe it was a 7 1/2. It looks like a lot of hat for the money spent.

just my .02,
Alan

[fmw]

I agree with Alan. You paid chicken feed for the hat. Why hassle him about paying chicken feed less $5? Personally, I wouldn't have bought a hat that I knew had moth bites, no matter how many were described. You would, apparently, and were already expecting a moth bitten product up front. 2 or 10 moth bites. Is it really that big a deal for someone who accepts moth bites at all?

If you don't like the hat, put it up for sale on Ebay or on the fedora lounge classifieds with a better description and a $40 or $50 fixed price tag and free shipping. I'll bet you will sell it. If you describe and image the moth bites fairly, it will stay sold. The fact is, most people don't like auctions. I quit using them years ago.

[randooch]

Input appreciated, but I still expect an accurate description. As for most people not liking auctions, the success of ebay says otherwise.

[alanfgag]

Input appreciated, but I still expect an accurate description. As for most people not liking auctions, the success of ebay says otherwise.

Ebay, like many forms of internet based communication, can draw out feelings of mistrust and anger that are as much based in the medium than in the players. I'm getting better at reading between the lines of the description and deciphering the pictures and I bid carefully... but I've also wound up winning a few hats that would have been better left on the auction block.

I find it helpful to imagine that the seller is my mother in law. At 88, she struggles with email and the internet. She makes a lot of boo boos, none of them intentional. All of the hats I've been disappointed with suffered from limited internet skills, poor photography and sellers who didn't know what they were selling. Let's be honest... we are all hoping to benefit from such inexperience and discover a pearl that someone else overlooked or marketed badly. You just have to be thankful for your pearls when you unwrap the occasional dog.

cheers,
Alan

[alanfgag]

Here is a recent purchase that I hope will turn out to be one of those pearls. I'm afraid I am becoming a Knox junkie.

[hatophile]

Here is a recent purchase that I hope will turn out to be one of those pearls. I am becoming a Knox junkie.

Looks like a winner to me, Alan, good luck.

[billyspew]

Here is a recent purchase that I hope will turn out to be one of those pearls. I am becoming a Knox junkie.

Nice one Alan, I stared at those pictures when it was listed just wishing it was a little bigger or that I could stretch up by a cm. In the end decided against it.
Glad you got it though.

[fmw]

Input appreciated, but I still expect an accurate description. As for most people not liking auctions, the success of ebay says otherwise.

No, Ebay does a lot better with fixed price listings that it does with its auctions. People really don't want to wait around for a week to see if the bought something or not.