Hat prices

[ideaguy]

Am I not seeing something, but are hat prices jumping up and up??
A "Vintage Mens Swing Deco Borsalino Hat 7 3/8 size" just sold
on OFAS for $316.00!! ??
With bad pictures, mistakes in the listing...what goes on here?
I'm noticing other hats of lesser quality bringing some bucks as
well. I know it's usually cyclical, but this cycle is absurd-IMHO.

Any comments? I'm floored...

 

[carouselvic]

Borsalino

I watched that hat sell. I don't believe that hat was any where close to the age that they said. The liner, hang tag and the way the sweat band was sewn did not seam right to me. I did bid on the Borsalino that sold about 15 minutes later, same bidder bought it, I came in second. Yes, prices are still rising.

 

[Spellflower]

Boy, I better hurry up and get my extra lids listed!

 

[RBH]

Some folks will pay anything for a Borsalino, same goes for a Open Road or Whippet not to mention a Cavanaugh or Dobbs and then we can get in to the Mallorys. Get my point. And it does not matter how many they have, as they are collecting fedoras.
I myself would love a thin ribboned Borsalino, but alas... the price is ALWAYS too much for my size.

 

[carter]

Hat prices do seem to be higher than they were just a few months ago. A very nice Open Road went for well over $150.00 within the past couple of days. Recently some Whippets and WWII Militay Caps went for a premium as well.

It seems to me that there are more buyers for these items lately. Online forums are contributing to knowledge and this should equate to more knowledgable buyers. After this, it may just be supply and demand. More demand for the same or a lesser number of items will drive prices up.

It's very possible that Sellers are becoming more knowledgable as well. Those that watch the marketplace must be learning something.

The practice of posting an opening price and a BIN price where the initial bid (if it isn't the BIN price) eliminates the BIN option also helps drive prices up. In most (but not all) cases, it makes as much sense to just take the BIN option. Once that option is gone, the sales price often exceeds the BIN price that was initially posted.

I think there are still plenty of good purchases to be made but probably not as many on OFAS as there once were. That still leaves thrift stores, estate sales, flea markets, other online sellers, etc.

 

[carter]

Some folks will pay anything for a Borsalino, same goes for a Open Road or Whippet not to mention a Cavanaugh or Dobbs and then we can get in to the Mallorys. Get my point. And it does not matter how many they have, as they are collecting fedoras.
I myself would love a thin ribboned Borsalino, but alas... the price is ALWAYS too much for my size.

I agree with this in general but have to point out that there have been some recent sales on OFAS that seemed low to me as well. The seller in Bandera, TX that I bought two fedoras from had very little action. I bought the Biltmore Winter White fedora and another off-white fedora for under $150.00. Not a steal but not a bad price either.

I won a 7 5/8 Borsalino Stockman for just over $113.00. A very good buy when we saw the same style from the same seller in 7 1/2 go for twice that about a week later. Again, not a steal but a good deal.

I've also dropped out when auctions for an Open Road, a Whippet, and a WWII Crusher headed for rarified airspace.

My point is that sometimes you get lucky, sometimes you see what no one else sees in a listing, and sometimes you know when to quit. There will always be another day.

I have also bought, sold, and traded hats in the Classifieds here on the Lounge. I have never been unhappy with any of those transactions.

 

[surely]

a stetson clear nutria boss of the planes went recently for a paltry $65...[huh]

 

[carter]

a stetson clear nutria boss of the planes went recently for a paltry $65...[huh]

Excellent price. What was the size?

 

[tinmanzzz]

Check This out..

Vintage BORSALINO Hat - Near perfect! 7-3/8


http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=130182365513&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT&ih=003

Too Rich for me........
(and tooo small)

 

[indycop]

Some folks will pay anything for a Borsalino, same goes for a Open Road or Whippet not to mention a Cavanaugh or Dobbs and then we can get in to the Mallorys. Get my point. And it does not matter how many they have, as they are collecting fedoras.
I myself would love a thin ribboned Borsalino, but alas... the price is ALWAYS too much for my size.

I have given up hoping for a vintage borso in my uhh size!
And I bet after may anything with a full brim is gonna cost more regardless of brand, style or color.:eusa_doh:

 

[bolthead]

I have given up hoping for a vintage borso in my uhh size!
And I bet after may anything with a full brim is gonna cost more regardless of brand, style or color.:eusa_doh:

Why, what size are you Indy?

 

[indycop]

Why, what size are you Indy?

You know thats just wrong!! 61cm, 24 in long oval, 7 5/8:eusa_doh:

 

[Spellflower]

$251 is a lot of money to pay for a hat, but it's still less than a lot of places ask for a new Borsalino.

Also, adjusting for inflation, top of the line hats cost quite a bit even in the Golden Era. Maybe we've just been spoiled by being able to pick up good stuff for cheap in past years.

Or maybe I'm just trying to justify spending $200 on my Whippet!

 

[HungaryTom]

Seeing this all

I think the custom made hats are still the best: They cost some 300-400 dollars, are custom made, fit you and you risk no misrepresentation of the seller.

That price range is low enough to get the desired handmade beaver felt quality but high enough to keep any collection in the reasonable number of hats.

Yes the prices go up as the dollar got very weak.

The food got also higher prices lately.

I don't know but don't you feel too that the hat wearing gets really back to fashion? The lounge grows, I see more and more felt hats in the winter, ad a few straw in the summer. Not only the beizbowl kapz.

What do you think?

Regards:

Tom

 

[surely]

Excellent price. What was the size?

it was size seven. the sweat was trashed, no lining; I thought one could reblock the hat in a larger size and loose some of the brim width and end up with one fine hat.

 

[carter]

it was size seven. the sweat was trashed, no lining; I thought one could reblock the hat in a larger size and loose some of the brim width and end up with one fine hat.

I think the size (7) is the answer to the price ($65.00). That's a small hat. Even with a reblock, you're going to end up with a 7 1/8, a 7 1/4, or a 7 3/8 at most.

Most buyers probably don't want to [or know they can] have the hat reblocked and have the sweatband, ribbon, and liner redone.

Whoever bought it probably will do this and are glad they bought it at that price.

 

[Red McCutcheon]

d

The Christmas season could be driving prices up a bit, too. Lord knows I'd be thrilled to find a vintage Borse under the ol' aluminum Christmas tree.

 

[scotrace]

It's US

When I first came here, I think there was a similar thread about vintage hats reaching the ridiculous $50 mark.

For every active FL member, there's at least one lurker, taking what they learn from all these "I just won a KNOX!" (woooo) threads and going straight to eBay. And I am seeing plenty of members posting "Wow! Lookie what I got!" threads about 70's stingies that would have been 'throw it away and keep the nice box" items two years ago. So those prices are also climbing.

 

[HamletJSD]

The idea is spreading that hats are important protection for skin cancer and such. I know several people who've started looking to wear hats more often for sun protection. Where else would you look in this day and age, but the internet? It only takes a small fraction of people (in the set thinking, "I should start wearing a hat") doing research and starting to collect to push prices up.



The hype around the new Indi movie can't be helping, either ... not that I believe it's a major influence, but a blockbuster release with a hat that almost equals a character in the movie ...

 

[Twitch]

ideaguy- there are assorted level of participation in the fedora world. There are those that pay $2-300 for a hat and don't bat an eye. They spend equally exorbident prices for other clothes too. There are those that seek out bargains but buy something occassionally at more than they thought they would if they really like it. There are those who watch and watch as similar hats continue to appear and then pounce when they can and spend little.

For MOST of us the old clothes/fedora thing is a sideline in passing it's not some rule of daily existence. I wouldn't spend $300 for any freakin hat. I don't have to. Most of the ones I've found on Ebay were unworn and none cost more than $30 plus shipping. That's about what they're worth to me and since there are over 200 vintage fedoras on Ebay most every day it tells me they're not in short supply.

99.999% of all the folks who will ever see your hat will not be able to tell its price, quality, wool/beaver content or age if it is kept clean. If you spend $300 for a hat you better wear the hell outta it to get your money's worth. Throwing it in the closet for when you feel like dressing up isn't going to do it.