Club Obi Wan

Good morning all. I have been absent from COW/Indy gear for quite some time. I was fairly active for a few years in the early 2000’s. My work got crazy and I was moving a good bit with my jobs. Anyway, I am retired now and will have more time for leisurely pursuits. Before I left, I was blessed to have ordered an Adventurebilt Fedora when Steve was taking initial orders. As I’m sure everyone knows, the first run (not sure how many) have the Liner with the Gold Staff of Ra artwork. This is the one Lucasfilm ordered him to stop offering due to copyright issues or something.

My question is for any old timers on here:

Can anyone give me an idea of the resale value of my fedora as I am thinking of selling it? I assume these may be a little more valuable than current AB. Feel free to PM me if this shouldn’t be posted.

Welcome back!

It’s difficult to say.

I bought a second hand 2008 AB that was a Raiders and re-blocked to a CS hat by Steve from a member here with that liner, that was $480 about 2 years ago. That member sold 10+ AB’s at that similar price point. I have an AB Deluxe made by Marc Kitter from 2015 I bought 2 years ago on eBay for a song at £325. On the other end of the spectrum an untouched Delk AB with that liner was in the Bazaar this year for $1200, not sure if that ever sold and I’m not going to give my opinion on that price. If someone bought it at that then I hope they enjoy it.

Other than that $1200 hat, I’d say the big factor keeping the prices down (from what I’ve seen sell on eBay, Bazaar, Facebook) is there is a massive range in choice now, with screen accuracy on point, excellent materials and craftsmanship. It’s very different market from the mid 00’s.

If screen accuracy is your bag you can get a Raiders SOC which is scene perfect, you can get a hat made by Michelle from HJ who is a hatter who made the DoD hat. If a CS hat is what you’re after you can get an AB CS from Penman on the same block used in the movie or from Advintage. I don’t think many buyers place a massive premium on it being made by Steve, as we are now spoilt for choice, and the market is saturated.

So in many senses, in my view, the price being relatively low is because AB was a victim of its own success and led to so many more offerings.

At the of the day it’s only worth what someone is willing to pay, and eBay is your best bet to set the price. Advertise it on Facebook groups etc. In my mind many of these items have a special personal value to each of us, which doesn’t always correspond to a high price tag.

Cheers

Gerry


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The AB’s, as with ALL our gear, is simply worth what someone is willing to pay. After all, unless unworn and still in the box, it’s used clothing. Though quality made, only fans are interested in provenance.

Keep in mind, Steve sold the linings separate too. I have a couple stashed back in my hat boxes myself, so though of interest to us hardcore fans, no one else cares.

I’ve seen them sell anywhere from $250 and up, depending on felt and condition.

The advice given above is excellent.

Regards! Michaelson

What I'd be curious is how much an AB with a CS tissue liner would generally be worth? There weren't too many of those, if memory serves...

I echo what has been said above.

Size will impact the resale value. A more common size will factor positively in the caculation.

I assume your AB is beaver felt? Steve did make rabbit.

Comparing pricing for the AB Legacy line will be a place to start, but as Michaelson said, aside from those who care about the provenance of being made by Steve; it's a used piece of clothing. I don't know what the wait times are for an AB Legacy these days so being available immediately could work favorably.

Asking more questions than providing answers, I'm afraid.


Regards,

Indiana Jeff

Some pics would be nice -I also had a first run -it had a wider brim and exceedingly soft floppy felt that I loved and that he never did again, unfortunately - you practically had to bash it every time you put it on! I do remember the crown being a bit too tall. In those days we still believed in the 6" crown!

I don’t know if this is permitted, but I am loathe to watch this happen.

For your valuation purposes just to say the hat at €1500 at the moment is the same one that was up a year ago at €1200 by the same seller. I had previously agreed to buy it at €600 in Jan 2022 ( I was the best offer) but had to back out due to needing a new clutch.

Best

Gerry


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And I would also add that we're likely at peak market, probably nearing the end of that peak, and this is very likely the last time we'll see an Indy hat/gear peak. As more of a buyer than a seller -- I wear my hats out -- I'm actually anticipating a nice price drop in the next 12 months or so. Kind of like what happened after the CS bubble popped which also coincided with the Recession. Just a glut of stuff out there and many people looking to unload stock. And really I'm anticipating (okay, hoping) for a major drop in felt costs in the near-ish future as the DoD bubble pops and really the broader market for felt hats in general decides prices are too high and people move on.

Anyway, I doubt you'd ever realize a better seller's market and a higher price for a vintage AB than now.

Good point!

I think speculation and flipping has already begun. I’ve been watching a DoD HJ on eBay with some amusement.

I couldn’t care less what any hat sells for. But I had a feeling my initial comment was a little misleading as it suggested a sale and a set price point.

Prices and markets are made with buys and sells, not just offers of sale.

Gerry


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Yeah, I've noticed more flipping lately on ebay. Though it's often Wested DoD and Legacy jackets they got the measurements wrong on. There used to be a major glut of USW jackets on ebay in the 2010s; I picked up some for like $80 practically new back around 2016. The hats get a little trickier because many are also in need of a reblock and ribbon/sweatband refurbishment. Something tells me we'll eventually start to see some HJs turn up for a decent price once the fur felt novices realize how much maintenance is needed and how much it costs.