Club Obi Wan

Imagine you have been waiting over 6 months for your Adventurebilt. You receive the "Hat Shipped" e-mail, and now you're really excited. Then, you come home to find this on your front steps;

http://new.photos.yahoo.com/michaelgarc ... 34797530/0

http://new.photos.yahoo.com/michaelgarc ... 34813264/1

Sure enough, it says "Adventurebilt Hat Co." on it, and you're ready to just die!

Needless to say, all other worldly concerns evapoarted and I ripped open the smashed, water-stained box to see how badly my long-awaited prize had been damaged...

http://new.photos.yahoo.com/michaelgarc ... 34808119/4

http://new.photos.yahoo.com/michaelgarc ... 34789632/2

Untouched! I couldn't believe it. I am eternally grateful to the Hat Gods.

You can view the whole album for more pics, and I'll post some of me wearing it in the next day or so. Sorry if I scared anyone!
Chewie

Man, when I saw that box, I feared the worst for ya, buddy! But then, I saw the pics of the hat, and it's like hoo hoo hoo...NICE...Glad that your hat got to you in good shape, even though the box marked FRAGILE didn't! :evil:

All's well that ends well.

Chewie

It seems as if the words "Fragile" on a package is like an open challenge to the handlers...

In the shipping world, Fragile must mean "lets beat the @#$% out of this one"!!!!!!!

Cheers on your AB. Its a beauty!

Does it have a particular bash style?

Coronado3

It seems as if the words "Fragile" on a package is like an open challenge to the handlers...

In the shipping world, Fragile must mean "lets beat the @#$% out of this one"!!!!!!!

It does...I used to work for Fed Ex and some of the guys would toss and be rough with the " fragile " packages...I never did, I had respect for my customers. I never put fragile on a package....its a red flag.

You serious? Would it be beneficial to NOT write fragile on things?

Not like you aren't going to sit on it anyway.

I always avoid writing "Fragile" on anything unless it's very fragile and I'm insuring it. That way they can't fault me for it.

Coronado3, I didn't go for a specific bash. I asked Steve to turn it and the pinch is sort of between a Raiders and a Last Crusade. The Turn is going to take getting used to, appearance-wise. All my hat's are "even". But without it, the hat won't look quite right.
Chewie

That's how just about every Akubra I've ever received have arrived at my house. I've never had an AB arrive this way, though....but then Steve's not that far away from me, so it's not travelling that far.

Needless to say, Steve has learned what CAN happen to his boxes, and packs his hats accordingly. Glad to see yours came through it's 'trial by fire'.

Regards! Michaelson

Wow, I would have been sick if that would have been my hat box! However, your hat is a beauty!! As if things weren't bad enough with me waiting well over two months for the Wested, seeing your hat now has me thinking about that Rabbit AB that I have coming, as if I needed the extra stress...I hope my hat is as good looking as yours!

What you don't realise is that it's all part of the AdventureBilt process. Not only are the hats built to withstand adventure, but the hats are put THROUGH an adventure just to get to your front door!

Just getting a good start. Break it in right !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Glad you did get it undamaged. That is one sharp lookin lid!

That is why the hat is called Adventurebilt....Steve never promissed that the boxes were Adventurebilt ! Glad the lid made it fine...not sure what to tell you about the box...not sure it is even worth recycling? W>

Strider wrote:

You serious? Would it be beneficial to NOT write fragile on things?

Yup, unfortunately I am. Now it isn't common practice for the courier to do this...there are ALOT of great couriers out there, I am merely reporting what I have witnessed. I never write Fragile on a package......its kinda like asking for trouble.

Ripper wrote:Strider wrote:

You serious? Would it be beneficial to NOT write fragile on things?

Yup, unfortunately I am. Now it isn't common practice for the courier to do this...there are ALOT of great couriers out there, I am merely reporting what I have witnessed. I never write Fragile on a package......its kinda like asking for trouble.

sorta like putting a DO NOT TOUCH or KEEP OFF GRASS sign in a kindergarten, right

Yes, exactly. Kind of a psychological thing , like when someone tells you do not touch....and what do you do........

Happy the hat is fine... actually it's great looking! Congratulations on the purchase mate

Glad to see the hats ok. But hey! It's an AB, was there really any doubt it would make it?

Chewie, congratulations on your new purchase!

I can't believe how bashed that box is. It's almost as if Indy himself took it out on an adventure with him.

Good grief!! Perhaps I should leave off the fragile? And maybe put, "please treat this box rough?" Reverse psychology?

I guess that is one of the worse shipping damage I have seen on my own hats, but have gotten in some from Australia that were almost as bad. The good thing is, a crushing sure isn't gonna hurt one of my hats. They were meant to be crushed, and wadded up and abused. I highly reccommend taking a new hat out of the box, and then stomping it a few times if you are after the SOC look. You won't hurt the hat. These things are tough, trust me. Fedora

My box arrived the same way, but the hat is so easily shaped that it didn't matter.

Out of curiousity, fedora, do you generally use regular USPS when shipping within the US? If so, I may have to make some alternate shipping plans when the time comes to send my hats, as getting larger sized packages from USPS can be tricky where I live. I suppose all this might be better off in a PM...

Anyway, Chewbacca, that's one awesome lookin' AB! Glad it all turned out okay!

-GCR

Every AB and like hat I've sent and received from Steve have been through USPS.

Regards! Michaelson

I use USPS Priority, and have had good success with them. Figure I have mailed out close to a thousand hats over the years with no damage to the hats yet. Of course, I mailed Laurents hat to him Oct 30, and as far as I know he has not received it yet!! The same thing happened a couple of years ago with one I sent to Japan. I think the guy got it 3 months after I mailed it. Generally it takes a week to 10 days to Europe using USPS air mail. Occasionally I send a quickly needed hat global express, but the shipping is more.

When I ship to Canada, I use UPS. For some reason(the Canadian fans told me this), USPS is too slow and takes forever to Canada, while UPS is a bit faster.

Fedora

Fedora wrote:I use USPS Priority, and have had good success with them. Figure I have mailed out close to a thousand hats over the years with no damage to the hats yet. Of course, I mailed Laurents hat to him Oct 30, and as far as I know he has not received it yet!! The same thing happened a couple of years ago with one I sent to Japan. I think the guy got it 3 months after I mailed it. Generally it takes a week to 10 days to Europe using USPS air mail. Occasionally I send a quickly needed hat global express, but the shipping is more.

When I ship to Canada, I use UPS. For some reason(the Canadian fans told me this), USPS is too slow and takes forever to Canada, while UPS is a bit faster.

Fedora

Would there be any chance for a US customer to request UPS instead of Priority Mail? As long as there is no extra charge or extra hassle for you, of course. Again, I'm not concerned with the condition of the package or anything like that, it's just that the Post Office won't ship packages over a certain size to my house (if it won't fit into a special bin on the mail box, it doesn't get delivered) while I know UPS will ship any package, any size, directly to my door. If it's the same difference on your end, Fedora, either way (and only if it is), would it be possible?

Sorry to sort of hi-jack the thread, here.

-GCR

Would there be any chance for a US customer to request UPS instead of Priority Mail?

Sure. UPS is quite a bit slower though, unless you opt for the higher priced delivery. I use USPS basically because in most cases it is faster than UPS ground.(2 to 3 days for USPS) And USPS is less expensive for the amount of time it takes to get the hat. I priced the shipping out with USPS originally. Also, going by experience from over a hundered ebay purchases, the USPS always arrived in great shape, while I have never got anything from UPS that was not crushed. Regards, Fedora

The weird thing about the crushed box was that the hat was literally untouched, as if there had been a forcefield around the hat! I wasn't overly worried about the crushing, though. It was the water stains and dirt that concerned me. An AB may be "waterproof" but I've never heard of a "mold proof" hat!
Anyway, here's the picture album link, which now includes more (and better) pictures from the last few days. I LOVE WEARING THIS HAT!

http://new.photos.yahoo.com/michaelgarc ... 2382339456

Chewie

The weird thing about the crushed box was that the hat was literally untouched, as if there had been a forcefield around the hat!

Oh, I may not have mentioned it prior, but the AB is a lucky hat. A Federation once saved me from a nasty head cut, if some of the vets here recall that account. So these days I have the hats blessed by the Saint of Profound Luck- no extra charge for that. If you are not comfortable with the Saint, I can get a local Hoodoo woman to scratch it with a chicken foot and mumble some mumbo jumbo over it to satisfy. Fedora

I now realize you use 'B' on my AB's. That explains the chicken feathers I found in the last liner you sent me.

Regards! Michaelson

I had a severed horse's head in my hat box. What's up with that?

It needed explaining!??

Regards! Michaelson

Well, the severed head certainly wasn't talking.

Neither was my rubber chicken...

Regards! Michaelson

You stop talking, too, if you went through as much sharpie trauma as that rubber chicken did!

Hmmm, the possiblity exists here for a new topic. How do you like your hat box bashed, FedEx bash, Postal bash, etc.

Definately UPS bash. You know they have lots of aggression to work out because of those brown shorts, and they really pioneered the art of box bashing. (Plus, they match the hat.)

Definately UPS bash. You know they have lots of aggression to work out because of those brown shorts, and they really pioneered the art of box bashing. (Plus, they match the hat.)

nice one chewie.

that hat is a beauty my friend. i'm glad that you survived the wait time on it....it makes it that much more special.

when i got my AB, it looked like UPS tried to fold the box in half or bend it around a pole. i wasn't very impressed with them and i still hold quite a grudge against them. the hat itself was quite crumpled inside the box but i managed to pop her back to life.

I just added a few more pictures of me with my AB. Just felt like sharing.
Chewie

http://new.photos.yahoo.com/michaelgarc ... 0079752/14

http://new.photos.yahoo.com/michaelgarc ... 0112642/15

Hey, Steve, can you have that chicken foot rubbed on my 'special ' hats?!?!?

Chewbacca Jones wrote:I just added a few more pictures of me with my AB. Just felt like sharing.
Chewie

http://new.photos.yahoo.com/michaelgarc ... 0079752/14

http://new.photos.yahoo.com/michaelgarc ... 0112642/15

Lookin' good, Chewie!

Fedora wrote: So these days I have the hats blessed by the Saint of Profound Luck- no extra charge for that. If you are not comfortable with the Saint, I can get a local Hoodoo woman to scratch it with a chicken foot and mumble some mumbo jumbo over it to satisfy. Fedora

Now you've done it Steve...you realize Marc is gonna have a fit when he sees you've revealed the secret of the new AB "felt treatment."

Antone

The box seems to be knocked down by the tank of L.C.
Nice adequate start for an Adventurebilt

Great looking hat there!

Did Tom Hanks deliver it after being on a deserted island?

Come to think of it, the package from Castaway was in better condition...AND IT WAS IN A PLANE CRASH!!