Finds and Deals for Hats

[jchance]

I find it strange that there’s a Finds and Deals thread on the leather-jacket side that is very active, but there’s none for hats. Sometimes I see a standalone thread a good deal on a hat, but nothing is concentrated in one place. Is the eBay victories thread what I’m looking for? I thought that’s just bragging about what you have already bought, not what you think is a good deal that others should buy. Sometimes I see a post from there that’s useful, but that’s sifting through the weeds.

I’m sure you come across good deals frequently that don’t fit you but you’d like to pass them onto your friends. In the spirit of sharing, you can post them here. No links to your own hats for sale though.

I have a big head and I’m looking for a size 7 5/8 (or larger because I have long hair now). That rarely comes up in the classifieds. But more importantly, I want to see what you’re seeing as good deals. IWTL. After a while, I’d know what to look for.

Rand hat for sale on FB Marketplace

There is a Rand 8X 7 3/8 for sale in Stillwater OK, $100. I know FBM is sketchy sometimes but I have bought several great hats for great prices there. I am not the seller and it is 175 miles from me. It showed up in listings with my home location in Ft Worth area. link...

www.thefedoralounge.com

OTHER THAN eBAY Hats: Victories, Defeats, Gripes & Items of Interest

First Street Leather is closing out their Borsalinos. Fuzzy traveler for $59 shipped is kinda nice. Also closing out Christy’s. https://www.firststreetleather.com/sale-hats-and-caps

www.thefedoralounge.com

 

[BobHufford]

I think it’s frowned upon to list live auction links (other than your own via the Classifieds).

Links to Facebook, Craigslist, etc. should be fine. I’ll try and keep an eye out.

 

[jchance]

I think it’s frowned upon to list live auction links (other than your own via the Classifieds).

Sorry, I’m not in the know. Why is it frowned upon to list live auction links? I get that it would garner more interest and may hike up the price for another lounger who was planning to bid, but chances are no one even knows about the listing in the first place, so everyone else might miss out on a good deal.

 

[BobHufford]

I get that it would garner more interest and may hike up the price for another lounger who was planning to bid,

I think that is primarily it. Nothing “official” that I’m aware of. Maybe the Bartenders can weigh in.

 

[The Lost Cowboy]

Sorry, I’m not in the know. Why is it frowned upon to list live auction links?

From my pov, there are a few reasons for this.

Primarily, there is competition for hats, (more so, it seems, than for leather jackets). We keep things gentlemanly for the most part but it has spilled over into contention in the past.

Someone like you, who likes to advertise every little deal he thinks he's found, is going to create some ripples. And folks don't want to have their favorite source sites broadcasted, either.

Another reason is that there is a thrill to the hunt. Now you want to provide a tool that undermines that thrill.

Maybe other long-time hat users will disagree with me, but that's the view from where I stand.

 

[scotrace]

We dropped the "no links to auctions" rule years ago. Few do it anymore, for reasons listed here. Where's the sport in that?

 

[jchance]

I think that is primarily it. Nothing “official” that I’m aware of. Maybe the Bartenders can weigh in.

Aren’t we all among friends here? If someone posted an auction link that another is watching, that person can claim it and say “hey I’m bidding on that, please back off and don’t compete with me.” Obviously we have to take his words for it, and it’s an honor-system thing. But if no one was watching that item, a good deal would slip through the cracks that could have come to someone’s home and be on his head as a new best friend.

It seems to me that this is more of an every-man-for-himself situation. Does it have to be that way though? You tell me. “Undermining the thrill of the hunt” is gatekeeping, if I just want to provide a tool for deals on hats. I want to get into fedoras (I actually own a vintage Stetson that I don’t know much about), but the learning curve is too steep and daunting. Can someone share deals in my size and I’ll just buy those, through a bit of trial and error? At least I’d know I wasn’t making a bad deal in the first place, in case it doesn’t work out and I need to recoup.

Idk how many hats you own or want to own, but there’s a limit on the leather-jacket side. After about 5-10, leather jacket enthusiasts stop buying and start enjoying the jackets in their rotation. Very few become collectors with 30-80. Their interests in leather jackets don’t stop though. They still browse, for fun, and share deals because they want others to enjoy it, too.

I don’t think I’m being completely unreasonable when it comes to hats. TFL is a free forum, anyone can participate. A thread I started would die to oblivion if no one engages with it. You don’t have to participate if you don't want to. No one is forcing you to share deals. Maybe someone else will. If you think someone else is stepping on your toes because your favorite source sites were being broadcasted, you’re the one being unreasonable. The internet is open and free.

On the leather-jacket side, it’s frowned upon to self-promote and share your own sales or auctions. It’s off-putting and no one likes advertisements. People are open to hear good deals through words of mouth though.

 

[Rmccamey]

Great, you've started a Finds and Deals hat thread. Let's see how it goes. There are a few sites on Facebook that buy and sell vintage hats and share finds and deals as well.

We may not be as systematic as the those on the jackets thread, but we do share finds and deals on various threads here from time to time. Perhaps this new thread will bring all of those together.

Among friends? I believe so and that is why I believe this is one of the best forums on the net. However, as is human nature, many of us gravitate toward a smaller group of members as our "close friends", for lack of a better term. As such, and to tag along with Nathan's comments, when a specific find or deal pops up that is in line with one of our close friends get-list, we often share those via DMs.

On a personal note, a find or deal is in the eye of the beholder. I could post my ideas of finds or deals all day long, but they might not be of interest to anyone. And, frankly, I'd spend more time posting than I would actually looking for hats that are of interest to me.

Good luck with the thread. I hope there are some great deals posted. I'll be watching

Stetson 100. A "deal" a few years ago. Thanks @Bill Hughes

 

[jchance]

Borsalino and Stetson are on the RealReal for a good discount, sometimes nwt sometimes used, except they mostly don’t list the sizes (you might have to roll the dice on that). I have a big head, so it’s a good chance that they don’t fit me. I would have rolled the dice if I have a common medium-sized head or know how to eyeball a hat size based on the manniquin head’s size.

 

[HatsBySam]

https://ebay.us/m/wEL0lL

Local pick up only, for anyone close to Oakland, Ca - something to keep an eye on

 

[HatsBySam]

https://www.christys-hats.com/

Black Friday discounts on some of their hats.

 

[chrowen]

For anyone in or near DC - Christopher Kim‘s Custom Tailoring (at 2000M St NW DC) is closing down and have a “Retirement Sale”. I bought a new Borsalino hat for $150 (down from $450), where, if it helps, the ones I saw were quality superior and dated pre bankruptcy (at least when I was there…). There are, or at least were, a few hats left but in varying sizes. They also have a lot of other stock - suits, coats, pants etc - at deep discount.

 

[jchance]

Cervos, B&B 6 7/8 $26

Pardon Our Interruption...

 

[jlee562]

If you are in the bay area, or within a reasonable drive, Berkeley Hat Shop is going out of business and everything is 30% off. Not sure how many different sizes they have left in backstock, but they had 6x ORs, black Milan Strats, and a few Royal quality Strats. I'm sure they'd ship too. The Temple they had out was Sovereign (i.e. more than 10 years old), and there were a few other NOS modern Stetsons. There was also a handful of Borsos, but they were up high out of reach.

 

[jackadven]

If you are in the bay area, or within a reasonable drive, Berkeley Hat Shop is going out of business and everything is 30% off. Not sure how many different sizes they have left in backstock, but they had 6x ORs, black Milan Strats, and a few Royal quality Strats. I'm sure they'd ship too. The Temple they had out was Sovereign (i.e. more than 10 years old), and there were a few other NOS modern Stetsons. There was also a handful of Borsos, but they were up high out of reach.

Do they have any equipment and tools there in addition to just hats?

 

[jlee562]

Do they have any equipment and tools there in addition to just hats?

Just hats.

If you need blocks and flanges, lookup Randal Alan.

 

[Edward]

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/36639231...XfFbv8Waf|tkp:Bk9SR9TN5vTAZw&autorefresh=true


I spotted this one on eBay last night. It's a navy blue hemp straw Stratoliner, with the silver ribbon and brim binding. I'm always on the lookout when it comes to these hats as they're not available in the UK or mainland Europe. This one might or might not be a deal. It's clearly been squashed, but I think is very repairable (probably just needs a little steam to reshape, no?). The seller is asking way too much for it imo, but they accept offers. I was gonig to try a lowball offer to see, but the shipping charges to the UK are prohibitively expensive, and would ned up with it costing close enough I might as well just wait and buy new. Thought I'd post here, though, as a Flounger Statesite might well be able to benefit from this.

 

[jeffgarf]

Sid's Clothing - https://sids-clothing.com is going out of business. Great sales, if they have your size and the style you want, on their new hat selection, which will, unfortunately, be their last new hats.