A-1 type jacket is it the real thing?

[Anonymous]

I ended it because I got a $1500 offer from well known collector/dealer out of Seattle. I paid $10 for it 8 years ago so it was a deal. This jacket I found out is pre 30's. Some of the snaps are marked Carr Fast Co Boston. Which was the trade name of United-Carr prior to a merger in 1929. So this helps date this to at least the late 20's. As for who or what this was used for is anyones guess. I got very little info from the "family" of the original owner. I really really wish I didn't have to sell this, but when your out of work and more bills than money is coming in you need to make sacrifices. Unless someone wants a size 44 prewar debow that needs all the stitching redone for about this amount I would keep the "A1". Which I really doubt.

Congrats on the sale I am very happy for you ,Did the collector who bought give any insight to why he offer so much ? on a jacket that most think is not a real A-1 type always willing to learn .(Knowledge is power ).

Best Rgds Jeff

 

[yankee air pirate]

No, he didn't. Other than the snaps and some old matches in the pocket there is nothing to verify the jacket as an issue a1. But by judging from the varity of A-1s seen in photos it is likely most early ones were private purchase. AT minimum this jacket is an example of early aviation wear. I tried to be upfront about this jacket and even told the new buyer again the poor state of condition. But I geuss he knows something I don't. I tell you should have read some of the smart a** comments I got from ebayers about this. I don't know if they thought I was trying to scamm people or what. But I thought I was very up front about the jacket. I could have easly made some outlandish claim about this being lindberghs jacket he wore on his trip to the moon in the wright flyer all while saving amilia Earhart from the Nazis like others sells have done but I didn't. So I was confused about why a few ebayers were sending me such stupid comments. Oh well, still sad to let this go.

 

[yankee air pirate]

I ended it because I got a $1500 offer from well known collector/dealer out of Seattle. I paid $10 for it 8 years ago so it was a deal. This jacket I found out is pre 30's. Some of the snaps are marked Carr Fast Co Boston. Which was the trade name of United-Carr prior to a merger in 1929. So this helps date this to at least the late 20's. As for who or what this was used for is anyones guess. I got very little info from the "family" of the original owner. I really really wish I didn't have to sell this, but when your out of work and more bills than money is coming in you need to make sacrifices. Unless someone wants a size 44 prewar dubow that needs all the stitching redone for about this amount I would keep the "A1". Which I really doubt.

Congrats on the sale I am very happy for you ,Did the collector who bought give any insight to why he offer so much ? on a jacket that most think is not a real A-1 type always willing to learn .(Knowledge is power ).

Best Rgds Jeff

I forgot to thank you for the kind comments dubow

 

[deeb7]

on a jacket that most think is not a real A-1 type ...

Jeff, I don't think that anyone denied that it's an A-1 type .... it's just not a Type A-1.

Great price though .....

 

[Anonymous]

Hi your most welcome , I do ebay and my handle is brookthebird been on since 2003 and also had an Antiques store for 10 years .The only thing that take the pleasure out of both is dealing with a small minority of wierdos with self appointed degrees of conceit .I started selling antiques when I was 13 years of age down Portobello Road London ,learned a lot from many people one thing I do know is nobody knows it all allthough some people think they do (these are the ones I enjoy buying off most ) .I have bought Tiffany lamps off dealers and sold them on 50x what I paid ,I have friend that has put all his children through college and paid cash for their $2mill house buying and selling part time .If I live to be 200 hundred I will never know what he knows ,and you know the stuff is still out there hidden in plain sight .So another jacket will come your way that I am sure of and the guy that bought your jacket did so to make a profit .He obviously knows something we dont ,one thing we both know he has already buyers lined up for it .One tip I will tell you when your out hunting most people view at eye level ,the money makers look up, down, underneath, behind ,inside boxes , talk to everyone to what they are looking .Many people and dealers will then take you into their stash ,if your not turning $50 into $200and $200 into $1000 minimum your doing something wrong .The stupid stuff is even making serious money eg Bell helmets from the 1970s (crap condition) are getting ungodly amounts check it out on ebay .If it helps while your out of work punch in 5 type of items at random in completed items on ebay select highest prices .Do this every day and go out and find it ,cheap lap top and broad band air card should you want to know if you found something you should spend your money on to make money .I wish you the best of luck and hope you not out of work to long hope I helped a little .

All the best Jeff

 

[Anonymous]

on a jacket that most think is not a real A-1 type ...

Jeff, I don't think that anyone denied that it's an A-1 type .... it's just not a Type A-1.

Great price though .....

Deeb what ever it is the buyer is no fool and will only spend money to make money .My gut told me it was something the forum did not know and I still do not know and maybe we will never know .I want to know because if I can find these I want to sell them to get Good Wears .Imagine 2 Good Wears for $16.00 if I could find a hundred of these I could have John Chapman making jackets for me and imagine the wait time then . :lol:

Jeff

 

[Anonymous]

I will say this and then no more !.The dealer who bought obviuosly has had one of these through his hands before and knows what it is ,I do not know of any dealers who lay out $1500.00 to make an extra $100.To any one who bitches the seller pulled the the item lay off he is out of work and needs to put food on the table.Nuff said outa here .

Jeff

 

[yankee air pirate]

Up until recently I really had no time to buy and sell. Most stuff I bought was for my small personel collection. Like this "a1" I didn't buy it to resell and never thought it was worth $1500 either. I bought it because of it's age, history and the fact I may never own one of these again. The buyer is from Hellers Cafe which buys and sells a lot of vintage "Americana" to japan and is well known in many collecting circles for his great finds. So he is most likely buying this to resell it to make a profit. Oh well life goes on I geuss. If I could have sold my prewar/earlier war dubow for a grand I would have moved that instead. But unfortunately the stitching has come undone and while the leather is very strong and the size is great it just will not sell for much more than a few hundred dollars. Good luck in your pursuits in great vintage finds Jeff!

 

[asiamiles]

Up until recently I really had no time to buy and sell. Most stuff I bought was for my small personel collection. Like this "a1" I didn't buy it to resell and never thought it was worth $1500 either. I bought it because of it's age, history and the fact I may never own one of these again. The buyer is from Hellers Cafe which buys and sells a lot of vintage "Americana" to japan and is well known in many collecting circles for his great finds. So he is most likely buying this to resell it to make a profit.

You're correct in your thinking, it isn't worth anything like $1500, but sometimes someone will pay way over the odds for some reason, for example to use as a pattern or to feature in a book or magazine or whatever. So the value of such an item is not set in stone. The buyer may well have already guaranteed sale, and perhaps was aware that another dealer might be ready to cut in on it, prompting them to offer so much. It's a bit odd because if they'd offered $500 I would guess you'd have taken it in a heartbeat?

 

[joeson]

Up until recently I really had no time to buy and sell. Most stuff I bought was for my small personel collection. Like this "a1" I didn't buy it to resell and never thought it was worth $1500 either. I bought it because of it's age, history and the fact I may never own one of these again. The buyer is from Hellers Cafe which buys and sells a lot of vintage "Americana" to japan and is well known in many collecting circles for his great finds. So he is most likely buying this to resell it to make a profit.

You're correct in your thinking, it isn't worth anything like $1500, but sometimes someone will pay way over the odds for some reason, for example to use as a pattern or to feature in a book or magazine or whatever. So the value of such an item is not set in stone. The buyer may well have already guaranteed sale, and perhaps was aware that another dealer might be ready to cut in on it, prompting them to offer so much. It's a bit odd because if they'd offered $500 I would guess you'd have taken it in a heartbeat?

Dealers like Hellers can count A-list celebrities amongst their clients.This means that if the item fits the bill,price is irrelevant.

 

[Andrew]

...It's a bit odd because if they'd offered $500 I would guess you'd have taken it in a heartbeat?

He might have also politely told him to run away...

Odd? The buyer has no idea of the sellers situation so can only assume he wants the most he can get for it and he was keen to beat others to the punch. The buyer obviously wanted it badly enough so he was wise to offer in balance what he felt it's worth to him. Who knows what his motives were. Offering a BIN on Ebay is asking a Seller to basically do you a favour, going in too low is likely to aggravate.

 

[asiamiles]

He might have also politely told him to run away...

Would you have?! The seller can answer the question himself, if he so wishes, but I know if I had been offered $500 for that jacket (despite its age, I think it's worth next-to-nothing; even if it had been an issued A-1, to me it wouldn't have been worth $1,500 in that condition) I'd have thought Christmas had come early. It's curious that a member estimated its final selling price as $1,500 and that's what the buyer offered. Maybe he became aware of the jacket via VLJ?

 

[Andrew]

He might have also politely told him to run away...

Would you have?!

Nothing ventured nothing gained- it happens all the time. If I wanted something badly enough I would, and he obviously did. To be expected with auctions of rare or potentially rare items. It's also common for the Seller in such auctions to tell them to bugger off.

He might have also politely told him to run away...

... know if I had been offered $500 for that jacket (despite its age, I think it's worth next-to-nothing; even if it had been an issued A-1, to me it wouldn't have been worth $1,500 in that condition)

Me neither but as of the date of sale it's now worth $1,500

It's curious that a member estimated its final selling price as $1,500 and that's what the buyer offered. Maybe he became aware of the jacket via VLJ?

Probably..... :idea:

 

[zoomer]

I disaggree with the value when there are so few around or exhibited condition takes the back burner ,having a complete collection means owing such a jacket .

Well put. Never ever ever underestimate the drive for completeness.

A collection - of anything - never becomes Serious unless driven by obsession, and the obsession of obsessions, the one that sums everything up, is completeness. In a way, if you don't want it all, you don't want it enough.

 

[Anonymous]

I disaggree with the value when there are so few around or exhibited condition takes the back burner ,having a complete collection means owing such a jacket .

Well put. Never ever ever underestimate the drive for completeness.

A collection - of anything - never becomes Serious unless driven by obsession, and the obsession of obsessions, the one that sums everything up, is completeness. In a way, if you don't want it all, you don't want it enough.

Zoomer you have a nice way with words I enjoy all your posts ,no bs .Laid out in a few lines directly to the point ,and no fear of being misunderstood to all .Your not related to Winston Churchill by chance ?


All the best Jeff