Ask a question, get an answer

[skylize]

If a hat has a fully-intact logo cap with dirt, grime, or some other build-up behind it, what impact would you predict on resale value to cut it out?

Would the value go up because you can remove the ugliness? Would it go down because of the modification of original parts? Would it matter whether it is oil-skin or plastic? Would it be fully-dependent on how dirty or gross it is, being a positive to remove if it looks disgusting, but a negative is it's just some mild spottiness? Would it depend largely on how "collectible"the hat is? Etc.

As an example specimen, I have a Borsalino (not yet photographed, except for this shot) where the logo melted. A lot of the gold-tone paint liquified and separated. That stuck to the textured plastic cap as a globby mess, easily mistaken for a live growing mold culture, completely hiding the image behind it. Best I can tell the logo seems to still be crisp and clear, just obscured.

 

[Mm25]

What would you do with a Stetson 100, too small. I picked it up for a good price quite a while ago, with the thought to resize it up from a 7 to 7 1/4, but haven‘t. Now thinking maybe just sell it, but I suspect the size will limit the interest.
Sell? Resize? Leave it in the closet another 10 years?
Your thoughts?

 

[Mm25]

Second question of the day:
I acquired this Stetsonian a while back as well. Someone previously removed the brim binding. The felt is actually a pale green, so I’m not sure matching ribbon is in its future Recommendation?
My current plan is just keep wearing it, but I would like it restored someday.
Third pic shows the edge, where the old stitch line is visible.

 

[Steve1857]

Second question of the day:
I acquired this Stetsonian a while back as well. Someone previously removed the brim binding. The felt is actually a pale green, so I’m not sure matching ribbon is in its future Recommendation?
My current plan is just keep wearing it, but I would like it restored someday.
Third pic shows the edge, where the old stitch line is visible.

If you're thinking of a restoration, get in touch with Robert at Wolfbrae Hatters. He'd probably be able to fix your Stetsonian, too.

 

[deadlyhandsome]

What would you do with a Stetson 100, too small. I picked it up for a good price quite a while ago, with the thought to resize it up from a 7 to 7 1/4, but haven‘t. Now thinking maybe just sell it, but I suspect the size will limit the interest.
Sell? Resize? Leave it in the closet another 10 years?
Your thoughts?

You’ll lose its collectors value if you resize it. I’d sell it, but that’s just me.

 

[belfastboy]

Second question of the day:
I acquired this Stetsonian a while back as well. Someone previously removed the brim binding. The felt is actually a pale green, so I’m not sure matching ribbon is in its future Recommendation?
My current plan is just keep wearing it, but I would like it restored someday.
Third pic shows the edge, where the old stitch line is visible.

You might not get the exact match, ribbon to felt, but there are lots of custom hatters out there with stock of vintage grosgrain ribbon.. You could go a shade darker for the brim and match it with a new crown ribbon.

 

[belfastboy]

You’ll lose its collectors value if you resize it. I’d sell it, but that’s just me.

I hate to alter great custom vintage hats unless it is necessary to save it from the garbage bin. It does alter it for resell but it is possible to put in a piece of leather to upsize the sweat so you keep the provenance. A new sweat totally alters the resale.

 

[deadlyhandsome]

I hate to alter great custom vintage hats unless it is necessary to save it from the garbage bin. It does alter it for resell but it is possible to put in a piece of leather to upsize the sweat so you keep the provenance. A new sweat totally alters the resale.

The sweatband with a grafted in section maintains some of the provenance, but it still causes a big drop in price and desirability. On most hats I’d venture that you lose at least half the monetary value.

 

[belfastboy]

The sweatband with a grafted in section maintains some of the provenance, but it still causes a big drop in price and desirability. On most hats I’d venture that you lose at least half the monetary value.

I agree! I think grafting in the piece helps just the owner retain the provenance and as it is an altered hat the resale $$ drops a bunch.

 

[Mm25]

The sweatband with a grafted in section maintains some of the provenance, but it still causes a big drop in price and desirability. On most hats I’d venture that you lose at least half the monetary value.

Over time I have gathered around 150 or so hats. Not a huge collection or particularly valuable or vintage, but I have yet to sell a single one. I’m not overly worried about value, but I do feel some concern about the hat losing its provenance. Maybe I’ll put it back in the closet and 50 years from now when I die someone else can decide what to do with it.

 

[Snowman]

What would you do with a Stetson 100, too small. I picked it up for a good price quite a while ago, with the thought to resize it up from a 7 to 7 1/4, but haven‘t. Now thinking maybe just sell it, but I suspect the size will limit the interest.
Sell? Resize? Leave it in the closet another 10 years?
Your thoughts?

You can send it to me. I’ll take really good care of it. Promise.

 

[skylize]

What would you do with a Stetson 100, too small. I picked it up for a good price quite a while ago, with the thought to resize it up from a 7 to 7 1/4, but haven‘t. Now thinking maybe just sell it, but I suspect the size will limit the interest.
Sell? Resize? Leave it in the closet another 10 years?
Your thoughts?

Just list it as Buy It Now, and be patient.

If you had a 7-3/8, you could put it on auction and have almost no risk. Proper value close to guaranteed, with an excellent chance of a bidding war on top of that in your favor.

But people with smaller heads like good quality hats, too. If you aren't in a hurry, there is no reason you should not be able to find a buyer for at-or-close-to what it's worth.

A size 7 is not even that small. Enough people wear a 7 (or are prepared to stretch it to a much more realistic 7-1/8) that you might even stumble onto a bidding war. It's just a way riskier play than with larger sizes. And, I suspect selling it for next-to-nothing would hurt you soul.

 

[skylize]

If a hat has a fully-intact logo cap with dirt, grime, or some other build-up behind it, what impact would you predict on resale value to cut it out?
...

Apparently nobody has opinions on removal of logo protectors?

 

[Genuine Classic Gangster]

I found an old post from the year 2013 which used to have photos inside of that post.

I wanted to download a copy of those photos in order to send them to a hatter so that I could ask him if it would be possible for him to make me a Silverbelly hat which he could guarantee would not have flaws akin to the ones shown in those photos.

However, that post which used to feature photos now does not seem to feature them any more, and instead it just list the previously-present photos as text letters of .jpg file names.

So my question is: is there any means by which I might be able to retrieve those photos?

 

[BobHufford]

So my question is: is there any means by which I might be able to retrieve those photos?

Short of contacting the original poster, probably not. They are missing due to the hosting service either going under or holding the photos hostage for payment (they started out as free hosting then changed their business model).

Or your browser might just be having an off day and if you refresh they might show up.

 

[belfastboy]

Over time I have gathered around 150 or so hats. Not a huge collection or particularly valuable or vintage, but I have yet to sell a single one. I’m not overly worried about value, but I do feel some concern about the hat losing its provenance. Maybe I’ll put it back in the closet and 50 years from now when I die someone else can decide what to do with it.

That is the plan for all my 'stuff'. I can't bear to part with it so I keep it, figuring that the person that has to deal with it after I am dead will not have any attachment to it and it will be easy for them to dispose of it. It will be one helluva garage sale.

 

[Rmccamey]

That is the plan for all my 'stuff'. I can't bear to part with it so I keep it, figuring that the person that has to deal with it after I am dead will not have any attachment to it and it will be easy for them to dispose of it. It will be one helluva garage sale.

I used to think that, too, Robert, until the wife and I had to deal with disposing of a lifetime of crap my MIL gathered. We were still working and having to do extra physical labor, and using up our weekends and vacation time for 4 months, and facing the mental anguish of throwing away "mother's stuff" every time we went to the house, did a lot more to damage the good memories my wife had of her mother than I ever expected.

No, we are not giving away the farm, but we both made a conscious decision at that point. If we don't use something in 12 months - tools, furniture, clothes, shoes, hats, pots and pans - they are sold, given away or thrown away.

 

[belfastboy]

I used to think that, too, Robert, until the wife and I had to deal with disposing of a lifetime of crap my MIL gathered. We were still working and having to do extra physical labor, and using up our weekends and vacation time for 4 months, and facing the mental anguish of throwing away "mother's stuff" every time we went to the house, did a lot more to damage the good memories my wife had of her mother than I ever expected.

No, we are not giving away the farm, but we both made a conscious decision at that point. If we don't use something in 12 months - tools, furniture, clothes, shoes, hats, pots and pans - they are sold, given away or thrown away.

I do agree with you. I experienced what you outlined with my mother. After she passed I had to clean the family home that she lived in for 70 years. She was not a hoarder by any means but she did have 'stuff'.

All my report cards and class pictures, toys from my father's childhood, toys from my childhood, furniture from the 1950's in pristine condition. None of which had any monetary value at all. It was a bittersweet experience going through our family's history and in the end either recycling it or donating it. So many places accepting donations would not touch the furniture......too large for today's living spaces. It took me a number of months to find homes as I refused to throw it out unless absolutely necessary.

One of the saddest moments was donating my mother's 'good' china to a poor struggling couple next door. This was the china from the top cupboard only used for the high holidays and even then not used after father passed away. All that china sat in a cupboard for 70+ years and used just a dozen times.
Last year for Lent my project was to discard something unused, something extraneous each day of Lent. It worked but it was easy......the hard part is still all my 'stuff' that I do actually use and it amounts to still a great deal.

 

[Blare]

I do agree with you. I experienced what you outlined with my mother. After she passed I had to clean the family home that she lived in for 70 years. She was not a hoarder by any means but she did have 'stuff'.

All my report cards and class pictures, toys from my father's childhood, toys from my childhood, furniture from the 1950's in pristine condition. None of which had any monetary value at all. It was a bittersweet experience going through our family's history and in the end either recycling it or donating it. So many places accepting donations would not touch the furniture......too large for today's living spaces. It took me a number of months to find homes as I refused to throw it out unless absolutely necessary.

One of the saddest moments was donating my mother's 'good' china to a poor struggling couple next door. This was the china from the top cupboard only used for the high holidays and even then not used after father passed away. All that china sat in a cupboard for 70+ years and used just a dozen times.
Last year for Lent my project was to discard something unused, something extraneous each day of Lent. It worked but it was easy......the hard part is still all my 'stuff' that I do actually use and it amounts to still a great deal.

My wife often uses that adage of ‘get rid of anything you havn‘t used in a year’ that however flies in the face of my own.. that says ‘anything you toss out because you havnt used it in a year… will be missing when you need it a few weeks later’

 

[skylize]

‘anything you toss out because you havnt used it in a year… will be missing when you need it a few weeks later’

That has been my experience, but with the added frustrating twist that "anything I haven't used in a while, I will remember exactly where to find, right up until the moment I need it. At that point it will certainly be lost amongst all the other things I didn't throw away. And as soon as said need disappears, it will almost immediately rise from the clutter like a phoenix from ashes."

So I guess no different, really, than if I had just thrown it out. Except continues contributing to the same problem for everything else I own.