How do you decide when it's time to sell a jacket?

[ProteinNerd]

I'm going through a bit of a de-clutter at home and trying to get rid of stuff I don't use etc. All was going really well until I came to my leather jackets.

There are a few that I really only wear for the sake of wearing them, to justify them taking up space.I'm sure a few members can relate.

So I put 2 of them on eBay, my thedi padded cafe racer and my ELMC Roadstar.

I've had a few offers on the thedi already but I think I have sellers remorse before I've even sold it lol.

If it/they didn't fit I wouldn't have an issue but they both do fit really well, I just don't seem to grab them at all....

Re the thedi, great fit, great jacket but I have 4 black Cafe Racers and it seems to be at the bottom of the list for some reason. I think I'd be happy to sell the ELMC, it's a touch short for me even though that's the correct length for the style.

Any sage words of wisdom from anyone? How do you decide when it's time to sell?

 

[Guppy]

Any sage words of wisdom from anyone? How do you decide when it's time to sell?

It's purely subjective. A few factors that I consider:

• Do I enjoy wearing it?
• Does it fit?
• Do I wear it often?
• Do I have room to store it?
• Do I have other similar jackets that I like better?
• Do I need money?
• How much money could I get for it?
• Would I prefer to have that much money, or the jacket?

Edit: Also, give that Thedi some wear! What are your other CR jackets that you would put above it?

 

[Monitor]

What Guppy says. Except for the space. There's always enough of that.

Other than the fit issues (something that doesn't happen anymore since I know what works for me and what doesn't), I usually decide to sell a jacket only when I find another one that I really like and need money to afford it. But I have to be absolutely convinced it'll be an upgrade over the one I have (and love). Then I'll sell it.
I wouldn't sell any of my jackets if I had enough money to support my addiction, though...

 

[Doctor Damage]

Anything that fits well and looks good should stay, even if you don't wear it much (or at all), and especially if a lot of money was spent on it. I have a bunch of jackets and overcoats I never wear but they're simply too nice to get rid of; maybe I will someday if I find someone that I know will genuinely value them and use them, like a friend's son or someone.

 

[Seb Lucas]

Great question. But actually you don't really need advice or tips, Prote. You just need to act. Stalling and overthinking is one of the great characteristics of hoarding or advanced collecting - "I'll thin it all down one day..." I learned this a while back when I had about 20 leather jackets (and 20 non leathers) lying around. I now have 4 leathers and 10 non leathers and even that is too many. You can go through the process above but I suspect you already know what you want to keep. You've just got to take action. And don't afraid to get rid of jackets you love. That can be part of the process too.

I also found that selling them can be harder than just giving them away. Because you have to think about them and describe them for sale. It's easy to fall in love again with an item you are selling. I found giving jackets to friends or to thrift shops was often easier. This may well depend on how well you are off financially.

If you have a huge collection of jackets made up of pieces that don't fit or can't be worn for some reason (not many of us arrive at this point) then you are in a different league and need more intensive support.

 

[ProteinNerd]

What are your other CR jackets that you would put above it?

Not put above it, just wear more often....

Flat Head Cafe Racer
Diamond Dave Buco J-100
Roland Sands Ronin (for motorcycle use)

It fits, I don't need the money I just feel 4 black Cafe racers is superfluous.


Long shot but if anyone has the thedi in a brown size M they want to trade for the black, I'd go for that.

 

[El Marro]

I am reading this thread with great interest because I have a similar situation with G-1's. I have five of them and only two are worn with some degree of regularity. They all fit well but I think I should probably move some of the ones that aren't getting any use.
Seb, I really liked your post above and I think that you are spot on about it being easier to gift or donate a jacket then it is to sell one. Definitely food for thought...

 

[Hammerklavier]

I am with Monitor, I am not going to sell any of my jacket. I want to see the develop of my horsehide jacket over years, decades, that's why I choose horsehide and Lost Worlds.

 

[Bern1]

I will sell if it doesn't fit or I don't wear it.

But it is hard, sometimes it takes a long time to actually do it. Yet it is really unavoidable in my big picture. Same thing with guitars, amplifiers and motorcycles.......

 

[navetsea]

sell that black thedi in the spirit that you'll look much better in another thedi, maybe a green one.

 

[ButteMT61]

If I don't wear them, and they didn't cost a fortune, they get donated. I feel better doing so as I know many need them, and being the Shrek sized guy, I know they're harder to come by.
I truly don't want to hold onto things I don't use, but I do have some that maybe get the occasional night out, but I can't part with.

If I ever end up with a second place in the colder climes or move, etc., having those will be good. Only a few that would really be acts of desperation to get rid of, and I haven't got there yet.

One other thing for being on the fence. Post up here and ask for opinions. If it's not perfect, you'll wanna get rid of it in about a day

 

[Gamma68]

My stance is this: I want to love everything I wear.

If I don't love an item, if it doesn't feel or fit just right, if it gets bypassed time and again for another similar item, then it gets purged from my closet.

Of course, this is easier said than done.

 

[ton312]

I sell when I'm bored with a jacket. When it's run it's course. Sometimes that's a fast process and sometimes not. Typically I'm looking to move into the next thing. Sometimes the next thing is the same thing but tweaked. Ultimately I sell when I feel I can replace it with something new and not mind the loss of $ for it.
In my years of collecting jackets I've bought and sold probably hundreds? of jackets. For me the joy of this hobby is trying new stuff. It isn't necessarily sticking one out for life. I suppose that's weird. But that's my personalization of this weird obsession. It's not fiscally beneficial but it's fun and has exposed me to many makers and styles. You know how I know when I have one for life? I take it with me when I leave my house for a couple days or go on vacation, even if I know I won't wear it at all. There's only ever been one and I have it with me now knowing full well there was no chance it would ever come out of a garment bag.
If the house burns down in my absence...I still have my family and this one jacket safely with me. That's the keeper.

 

[AeroFan_07]

^^ Pretty much my stance exactly!

Interesting Tony about the "house fire" example. My absolute favorite leather is an odd sized Vanson Mark II Cobra from the late 90's that I bought second hand, literally perfect in fit, break-in and even leather smell. It's been worn for hundreds of hours, by me and the original owner. I let a friend borrow it for use on his Cafe Racer, however mid-winter last year, I asked for it back as I just wanted it around. Shockingly, about a month later, thier house caught fire and they lost nearly everything. Fortunetly, he, his wife and thier little daughter were all fine. So it could have been lost, but obvioulsy there's more important things in life.

I sell when I realize the fit is off, or, as Tony said, I want a change. I probably had 20+ "mall" quality jackets through the 90's and early 2000's before trying a Vanson, and then the habit changed. However if i had to choose an addiction, this one's the best!

 

[l0fielectronic]

Had a slow reasonable sized clear over the past couple of years. Key factor was jackets I just don't wear, for whatever reason. Can't say I've regretted selling anything I have after its sold, though I have had second thoughts when things have got bids on them. I wouldn't rush into selling anything if you don't need to, but if you've thought of selling something, then still haven't worn it six months on, you likely wouldn't miss it.

What helps me, as well as the points listed above, is if there is something else I want to buy, but couldn't justify on its own, if I do so from selling stuff I'm not using, then selling is a good motivator for that.

 

[Edward]

I have a few jackets waiting to be sold. My cut-off pointg for selling is when I knowthey'll never be worn (wrong size, or some tiny flaw that bothers me yet another owner might never even notice) and/or I simply want what will replace them enough to want to give them up in order to help facilitate that. I try to avoid buying on impulse because of the money that can be lost.... There are other thnings I keep around (my Les Pul, for one) that I'm over to the point that I'd never buy it new now, but can't bring myself to swell for a fraction of what I paid when it's hard enough to replace (pretty much impossible in this case - last of the Korean-made ones, and an unusually good left handed one at that). I made a decision very early on when I got into leather jackets that I wouldn't be buying anything "original" unless it was stupid cheap and I was prepared to wear it to death. Illogical as it might seem, I'd rather pay a little more for a repro I know I'll have no problem with and then I'm not afraid to wear it out and around for worrying about damaging a piece of history.

I've sold a few leather jackets over the year and never regretted it. Always because they were too small, or needed a relining (in the days when I was into cheap jackets that weren't financially worth relining), or I just decided I didn't like the style after all (sold a nice US-made cafe racer for that reason about twelve years ago). The ones left to go I won't regret; a couple of them will be replaced in a version very similar, their chief flaw being sizing issues.

 

[zebedee]

If you want to sell things, sell a good amount of them at the same time. As soon as I get back from my HK stint, I'm going to try to sell an Aero, but also going to jettison a load of shirts and other items. I'd quite like to simplify what has become a very large wardrobe that I feel a bit embarrassed about even though no-one knows about it... When I lived with Shanghai winters I could almost justify the overcoat collection, but I don't need five of the things. It'd be great if I could get down to four Aeros, two pairs of well-made boots and work shoes and ten shirts. I could survive and thrive instead of having enough clothing for a moving society.

 

[zebedee]

I'd quite like to find a supplier of last-forever shirts; I pretty much have it down with carhartt and dickies canvas trousers that are pretty much work-suitable and I can wear Loakes with...

 

[Monitor]

I sell when I'm bored with a jacket. When it's run it's course. Sometimes that's a fast process and sometimes not. Typically I'm looking to move into the next thing. Sometimes the next thing is the same thing but tweaked. Ultimately I sell when I feel I can replace it with something new and not mind the loss of $ for it.
In my years of collecting jackets I've bought and sold probably hundreds? of jackets. For me the joy of this hobby is trying new stuff. It isn't necessarily sticking one out for life. I suppose that's weird. But that's my personalization of this weird obsession. It's not fiscally beneficial but it's fun and has exposed me to many makers and styles. You know how I know when I have one for life? I take it with me when I leave my house for a couple days or go on vacation, even if I know I won't wear it at all. There's only ever been one and I have it with me now knowing full well there was no chance it would ever come out of a garment bag.
If the house burns down in my absence...I still have my family and this one jacket safely with me. That's the keeper.

Also the case.

My such jacket would be that Schott CR, the Confederate Motorcycles one. Sure, there are many things that bother me about it - The gussets aren't all that useful, sleeve openings could be narrower and I could do without the branding but all in all, of all the CR's I've seen, that one checked the most boxes for me and I know that right no, there's nothing that would justify going through the hustle of selling it and wasting more money on something that would simply not be an upgrade. Best case scenario, I'd end up with the jacket that's equally good.

I don't claim it's the best CR in the world but it's got mostly everything that I ever wanted from such a jacket. Which is why, yeah, I did take it with me in the mid July when I went to a vacation. I never wore it once of course but it had to have been there...

I get bored with a jacket too and trying on new stuff and simply seeing all these cool jackets is a reward in itself (my girlfriend often wonders why would I buy a jacket when I knew perfectly well it wouldn't fit and how can I explain I just wanted to see how they did just one seam on it (then she goes on with why don't I sign up for a tailoring course to which I have to explain that that's not the point...)) but if I find a jacket that's just really useful and functional and actually does what it's supposed to do, I will keep it.

 

[ton312]

I've also found selling to be equally as addictive as buying. Once I make a sale or two, I start listing everything. It's kind of nice to cleanse occasionally. Ultimately I think there's no good reason for me to have more than two quality leather jackets. Maybe three but that's it. When I see my closet start to get full of 5 and 6 or more. That's when it gets too real and stuff has to go.
I have a catch and release approach. Only a few have made it all the way to the dinner table. It's better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all. LOL.