Staggeringly insulting vendors!

[Speedbird]

Of late, having recently discovered and joined the Fedora Lounge, I have been surfing around and educating myself in areas of my interests.

Over the years I have formed a view on surplus and vintage stores and their owners - and mainly that view is that they are grumpy individuals who don't particularly like people. I worked for one 20 odd years ago. There are a couple or three such individuals in London even today. One famous, or perhaps infamous, such owner operates in the Walworth Rd in SE London. He is/was far more keen on not letting anybody steal anything than actually selling anything! But he did sell good kit, if you knew exactly what to ask him for - almost like a true quartermaster! Heaven forbid anyone actually browsing!

Anyway, here in the forum I have been unable to contain myself with excitement. I have been sounding off about things I have knowledge and experience of and asking questions like mad. I realised that my knowledge and experience is limited to what I have actually experienced thus far in my lifetime and is, in some cases, also from 20 years ago. So I thought I would broaden my horizons and use the Lounge to educate myself on stuff I care about or I am interested in.

And in doing so I have been looking up vendors and brands and names mentioned here. Today I found lost worlds. I won't even bother putting their proper noun names in capitals. They don't deserve it.

I have never seen or heard such an insulting and bigoted marketing pitch in all my life....

"BE VERY WARY OF SO-CALLED "NON-COMMERCIAL," "INFORMATION ONLY" WEB SITES AND CHAT GROUPS, RUN BY SELF-APPOINTED "EXPERTS." SUCH ARE USUALLY MANUFACTURER SHILLS OR "BASEMENT BOMBARDIERS" ("Mom, throw down some more soap." ) OF A HILARIOUS, SELF-IMPORTANT SORT. (Think the priceless and hopelessly plump Comic Guy in THE SIMPSONS!) The manufacturer shill is, of course, the "stooge" who stands in the crowd during the shell game and puts up twenty after twenty to entice others into the fraud.

REMEMBER WHAT GOEBBELS SAID: THE BIGGER THE LIE, THE MORE READILY PEOPLE WILL BELIEVE IT. Unfortunately this is true in the esoteric business of flight jackets. Distrust ostensibly objective, here-to-help-you "enthusiasts."

Rampant and almost beyond belief on what we disaffectionately call "THE FAIRY FORUMS," where "men" like to talk to other "men" about how they look in flight jackets. Cross-dressers. Trainspotters. Eunuchs. The "JACKET QUEEN" cult. Ambassadors of geekdom. Replicants."

The full splenic rage can be seen here:

http://www.lostworldsinc.com/Vintage_Americana_Flight_Jackets.htm

Unbelievable! They could make the best clothes in the world and I would rather run naked down a street tearing white phosphorus from my body than wear any of their clothing!

Any other examples ... or anyone actually willing to defend this type of marketing, feel free to jump in!

 

[ukali1066]

I agree mate...I noticed the arrogant king s**t attitude of that guy too

 

[Creeping Past]

Lost Worlds

He's been mentioned in a couple of threads over the years here, I think, including in this thread.

 

[Fletch]

I've long suspected it has something to do with being ex-military, particularly ex-US military. I don't know if Stu is, but then again, he is waaay over the top. Charlie of History Preservation is a little out there, too, tho nowhere near Stu.

A more typical vibe might be that of Rollin from At the Front, or a tick down from there, Jerry from What Price Glory. Staggeringly insulting they ain't, but don't ask dumb questions, or even legit ones if you do so too often. It's in stock when it says it's in stock, and sizes run how they say they run, and if they don't say, maybe you should get a life.

 

[aswatland]

Yes, I have heard about this guy many times. His rants should put any sane person off his products. He clearly has problems with serious collectors who use forums such as this and are critical of his jackets.

 

[Edward]

Re Lost Worlds..... My B3 is a Lost Worlds product. I can't claim any degree of expertise as to its accuracy, but the quality is certainly excellent. I bought this jacket from John Lever, who imported it from Lost Worlds. As long as I've been aware of LW, such rants have raised an eyebrow with me, as it seems as if he's basically attacking the very sort of people who one would have thought likely to be his target market. The implications about other manufaturers stay reasonably the right side of the libel laws (given that it's a small pond...), but really they're a bit, well.... I'd just rather be doing business on the strengths of my own products than the weaknesses of someone else's, but whatever. What does strike me as offensive about these rants rather than somewhat eccentric is what reads to me as implicit homophobia - look at the terms in which he disparages those who attract his ire. That's his First Amendment right and everything; equally, I'm free to take my business elsewhere as a result. YMMV, of course...

 

[Seb Lucas]

Who cares? I think it's actually pretty funny. Sure the guy's probably a dick, but a war was fought so that he (and others) had the right to have their views. Some of that war was fought in jackets we covet.

 

[dr greg]

a good laugh

Wasn't this the guy who had the utterly hilarious ad for Grenfell trenchcoats? I looked for it again but he must have taken it down.

 

[Phantomfixer]

At the Front

Let me state this... I am not an At the Front employee or spokesperson! Now having said that I think their site is amusing and entertaining. If you ever have been around reenactors here in the US then you know where ATF is coming from.
Stuart from LW is a jerk but has a great product. I won't buy anymore from him but he does have The best hides IMO.
just my 2 cents

 

[frussell]

My twisted sense of humor

If I had the money, I'd buy something from Lost Worlds right now. That site cracks me up. I have no trouble laughing at myself. Having worked with leather, I even agree with some of his statements about horsehide. Sorry, but I enjoy a non-politically-correct jolt now and then. Too bad his prices are so high, I'd be on the phone right now. Thanks for this, I needed a laugh. Frank

 

[anon`]

Let me state this... I am not an At the Front employee or spokesperson! Now having said that I think their site is amusing and entertaining. If you ever have been around reenactors here in the US then you know where ATF is coming from.
Stuart from LW is a jerk but has a great product. I won't buy anymore from him but he does have The best hides IMO.
just my 2 cents

I'm with this guy, though I can't comment firsthand on the quality of either company's products. I do love ATF's running commentary on khaki/OD3 in particular: snarky, but not grossly insulting.

Anyone else amused by the fact that this rant about "WEB SITES...RUN BY SELF-APPOINTED "EXPERTS"" is in fact posted on a website by someone who believes himself to be an expert on the subject?

 

[Johnnynotoes]

Good ol' Stu...I'd like to tip a few back with that chap. Can you imagine the monologues after a few glasses of inhibition diluter? Would be a funny evening I expect...the trick would be how to duck the scene when the room finally and inevitably turns on the dreckster. Nice looking jackets. Not all I like but the classic looking styles are winners in my eye.

 

[sixties.nut]

Your Insulted? I'm Mortified !

To save you a little time searching, stay on your side of the pond! Your money will go a lot further for a leather goods. The other fellow in New York hasn't got a lick of good sense either even though he does have a glossy website. Trick you into thinking it's a real deal. One email sent will lend a response indicating it all falls down quickly from there.

Without a doubt the american leather goods economy is at it's all time lowest. Unless your a corporate buyer and they don't come along all that often and far between. I contacted several looking for a custom coat, none were willing to be the least bit accomodating.

It's made me take a long hard look at a lot of things, being critical of our politicians, unemployment, cash flow, you name it! I now see the problem isn't just the effects of a recession/govt mismanagement. It's the little guy's themselves when they gripe about this or that they only need to look no further than their shaving mirror. If I told just one of my customers he couldn't have an item in red as opposed to blue, I wouldn't have many customers for very long.

Especially since I'm paying christmas bonus out of my pocket on a (at best) marginally profitable fiscal year. It might be just the very reason I had to send off for a jacket off shore. It seems folks here are just to lazy to make a product in onezy-twozy sales or just too lazy period?

In the case of LW, I early on read that was the go-to guy for the best. Once I hit that site I knew that was BS, and yeah, I to like a bit of Non-PC when I can find it. But not when I'm searching to buy something. At least he's so far gone that you know right from the get go that he's a nut. Pit Bull dogs, what's that got to do with flight jackets or jackets of any kind?

So if your still looking for flight jackets look to Scotland or look to Turkey. That's all you need to know.

Regards,

 

[Geesie]

Maybe the Outerwear forum description should be changed from "Bomber jackets to trench coats." to "THE FAIRY FORUMS," where "men" like to talk to other "men" about how they look in flight jackets"

 

[sixties.nut]

LW should be changed to....

LOST MIND lol lol lol lol

 

[Johnnynotoes]

I am missing something here. What or who is in Turkey? I've heard of something called Pops some time ago but I don't think it sits anywhere near Aero. Or is Turkey generally known for quality leather?

 

[sixties.nut]

It is if you have a HOOK !!!

Obviously a really long one at that.

 

[Tomasso]

Wasn't this the guy who had the utterly hilarious ad for Grenfell trenchcoats?

It's stain resistant .

 

[juan]

It's stain resistant .

That's hilarious.lol

 

[Geronimo]

There are a lot of stress factors in selling things over the internet. There are reading-comprehension-challenged customers, who can't read what is plainly written, repeatedly, all over the page for the item.
There are stolen credit cards, too. When the owner finds out, he calls the CC company. They do a chargeback, and get their money from the seller. The thief ends up with the item, the owner of the card ends up with his money back, and the seller eats a loss of several hundred dollars.
I'm sure repro clothing purveyors get the detail sticklers in abundance. Combine detail sticklers with idiots, and you get remarks like:
"You're A2 is wrong. It doesn't look anything like what Newkirk wore in Hogan's Heroes. You're prices suck, too."
It can be infuriating. One can still use a modicum of decorum/business sense and not print a multi-page rant on what you think of the very 'special' customers.