Any experience with eBay -Jacket- purchases?

[Baeau]

Add in for you. This is my Ebay tweed.

[Tomo]

I just missed this on ebay yesterday (had to deal with an urgent work matter and missed the last 40 minutes of biding). It went for £42, less than I would have gone to. Lapels look a bit wide (but an easy fix) and a small hole in the elbow (invisible mend or leather elbow patches). Certainly worth keeping an eye out for vintage (although most run too small for me).



I also recently bought this new Jacket and Vest from McCalls for £150 (about 1/2 price in their sale) - very happy with it:


They also have other Jackets on sale right now with Argylls and Crails from £75 - that's less than $100 and a Sherrifmuir for £250 - must be a safer bet than one from Pakistan.
https://www.mccalls.co.uk/products/j...s/sale-jackets

[Tobus]

I just missed this on ebay yesterday (had to deal with an urgent work matter and missed the last 40 minutes of biding). It went for £42, less than I would have gone to. Lapels look a bit wide (but an easy fix) and a small hole in the elbow (invisible mend or leather elbow patches). Certainly worth keeping an eye out for vintage (although most run too small for me).

Wow! I have a jacket in that exact same tweed, nearly identical but with Crail cuffs. The label is Lanacburn Tweed. Mine, too, has wide lapels (which probably dates it to the 1970s, I would guess). I hope that whoever got it will enjoy it. The pattern really stands out from the crowd, and in a good way IMHO.

Vintage jackets are the cat's meow, especially when good deals can be found.

[ShaunMaxwell]

I’d long been wanting to get a russet/brown tweed jacket/waistcoat, and one my size recently appeared on eBay. I made the purchase and the set arrived yesterday.

I’m pleased with it and like that the herringbone tweed has undertones of red, green and yellow. Here’s a closeup of the tweed in bright sunlight:





Patience on eBay can pay off! Here are my five tweed eBay-purchased jackets (Lovat blue, Lovat green, olive with dark red/black overcheck, russet brown and bottle green). All came with waistcoats but the bottle green.

I know others have done better (ahem, Tobus), but there are some nice jackets to be had at bargain prices. Avoid the temptation to purchase the Pakistani stuff, as you’ll likely come to regret it.

Cheers,

SM

[OC Richard]

I have plenty of experience buying and selling ex-hire and used.

Me too, and like several others here I feel it's the best way to get high quality made-in-Britian jackets for a less-than-Sialkot price.

I currently have two black Argylls, two tweed Argylls, and a Prince Charlie, all high-quality jackets in super condition, each got for around $100 on Ebay over the years.

My problem is that I wear a size 50 and jackets in my size don't often show up on Ebay. Prince Charlies yes, but with tweed Argylls one shows up around every five years or so.

Just curious about the Pakistani versions...

Some of the Indian Subcontinent jackets are fairly nice.

Some have strange styling quirks.

Some have fabric that's poor quality. There's an odd feel to much Indian Subcontinent tweed and tartan: even if it's thick it feels flimsy and insubstantial, with a silky or waxy surface, and slightly shiny.

Some aren't tailored properly and have a distinctive boxy fit and look.

But I have seen I.S. jackets which have good styling, nice fabric, and good fit.

Just a few weekends ago at our largest California Highland Games (Caledonian Club of San Francisco, held annually since 1866) there was a vendor from Scotland which had a large selection of lovely tweed jackets.

One rack was full of jackets selling for around $100 which I'm positive were I.S. made.

I almost bought one! The tweed looked and felt like genuine tweed, the jacket fit perfectly, and the styling was acceptably traditional. At that price it was very tempting.

I know I have seen jackets like that with labels from Scottish firms (which shall remain nameless, I've got in trouble here for naming names). Thing is, you can put in a label that says MacWhatsit Highland House Scotland which refers to where the firm is based but does NOT say where the jacket was made. Unless it has a label stating Made In Scotland or Made In UK the chances are that it's I.S.

Personally I would ONLY purchase an I.S. jacket in person, unless I was prepared to receive a poor-looking and/or ill-fitting jacket in the post.

Here's an obvious I.S. tweed Argyll. The pocket flaps are too high, the cutaway is inelegant, and the buttons on the cuffs are too closely spaced. The buttons on the pocket flaps have a subtle feature: the centre button is placed at the bottom of the flap while the outer buttons are higher up. Sometimes the outer buttons are in the middle, sometimes they're at the very top. This high-low-high button placement is quite distinctive and sometimes is the only giveaway of I.S. origin (along with the lack of a label specifically stating where the jacket was made). It's easy to fix, of course.



Compare with a made-in-Scotland tweed Argyll (got used on Ebay for around $100)



(The pipes are 1945 Starcks.)

[Piobair]

Yuuuuup, I think we all agree that Scots made jackets are superior and I think it’s super that people have gotten deals on eBay or Gumtree or off the back of a truck. Pretty sure I lost an auction to one of the members of the forum recently, but that’s another story. Again, I don’t need to be convinced...

I’ve watched doublets and tunics from Pakistan go through an evolution in quality, so I was curious if their jackets were getting any better. Jackets seem to be a relatively new addition to the product offerings coming out of Pakistan, so maybe they'll figure it out in 10 years. Until then, will stick with what I’ve got.

[Karl R]

Pretty sure I lost an auction to one of the members of the forum recently, but that’s another story.

If you were bidding on a 40R charcoal tweed jacket & waistcoat, then you can change that from "pretty sure" to "absolutely positive."

[Piobair]

Ha - no worries there... 40R would fit me like wet suit. That's the other challenge with Scots vintage/used as mentioned above... a lot of highland-wear that comes up on eBay tends to be on the small side (like 36/38R, oof).

[Tomo]

a lot of highland-wear that comes up on eBay tends to be on the small side (like 36/38R, oof).

Certainly my problem - nearly everything I see is too small. This is doing the rounds at the moment, and in my size - but not quite what I am looking for: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Vintage-H...QAAOSwGg5c7RL0

[Queenslander]

I would love to buy vintage but the sleeves are always way too short for my arms, and without seeing the item in person I have no way of knowing if there will be enough fabric to lengthen them. For me it's a trade off (at that price point) between having a really nice item that looks ridiculous on me, or having something that fits reasonably well. At this point in my life I can't justify the expense of a Scottish made tailored jacket, and if I don't feel comfortable wearing the garment I won't wear it.