Ex hire or Pakistan??????

[KingsOwnEnemyKraut]

Gentleman, these days one finds a lot of ex-hire stock on ebay. what is quiet nice if you look for not expensive but quality stuff.

But sometimes i realy wonder if this is the real Mccoy....there are shops that sell for example a PC with vest in EVERY size for 69 Euros....

I wonder if these stuff is not used british made but brand new abroad stuff....or even used abroad stuff.....

[Taskr]

Who is the seller. What feedback is there.
A deal too good to be true usually isn't. Usually; because sometimes great value can be found.

[OC Richard]

Feedback score isn't always a guarantee. Many buyers don't know enough to realize that they're getting Pakistani-made goods. Many don't realize that such a thing as Pakistani-made Highland Dress exists. They see something listed on Ebay that claims or implies that it's a legitimate Scottish-made item, they buy it, and when they get the item it seems fine and they leave good feedback.

Somebody who has seen hundreds of UK-made jackets and hundreds of Pakistani and Indian-made jackets can spot the different right away.

There are one or two sellers on Ebay who list vast numbers of "ex-hire" items which I don't believe are such. They're new items, which appear to my eye to be mostly from Pakistan or India. I examined one of these "ex-hire" kilts, implied to be UK-made (though not openly claimed), and said to be of heavyweight 100% wool tartan fabric. The kilt was actually a crudely-made machine-sewn thing made out of flimsy Pakistani-made tartan with a dubious wool content.

I've asked a current Ebay seller about certain of their jackets, which they claim are Scottish-made, but which evidently have no label stating such.

Keep in mind that any firm or company anywhere on earth can call itself "Scottish Products Company" or "Authentic Scottish LTD" or what have you. If there's no label stating "Made in UK", "Made in Scotland", or "Made in Britain" I would assume that it's not.

[LKM]

In my experience, a true ex-hire or former rental seller on ebay will have odd sizes or advertise some goods as something like "costume quality" and even mention damage. It is normally the cheaply made knock-off sellers that have all sizes available on a regular basis.

When my wife and I got married I picked up a former rental tuxedo (this was before I purchased a kilt, or I would have worn a kilt in the wedding) from an actual tuxedo rental company in the US for $30 US off ebay. I checked the seller information and found an actual business address and website for the seller. Most of what they were selling were mildly damaged or sizes that people don't rent as often. As I wear a 42L and fit best in the slimmer Euro style over the wider US style I was able to find what I was looking for in good condition in a few weeks of searching.

I have searched from time to time and have not yet found any high quality ex-hire kilt jackets in my size. I sure there are some out there, yet I would need to be looking close to when they post the jacket for sale.

[Panache]

The golden adage!


"If it sounds too good to be true, it probably isn't"


Cheers

Jamie

[The Wizard of BC]

Please remember that a jacket may be both - Made in Pakistan or Hungary - and - formerly use by one of the hire companies.

Quite a few hire companies are now using jackets made outside of the UK due to the cost. A jacket and vest perfectly suitable for rentals can be purchased for under $100usd from most of the offshore companies. Someone renting these may not know or care where it was made.

No, these jackets may not be of the same quality as those made in the UK but when you replace your rental fleet every third or fourth season the cost can be quite a lot. For example I currently have 56 UK made jackets in my rental fleet. That is an investment of over $10,000 US dollars. In jackets alone. When you add to that the Kilts in all the sizes made from three or four different Tartans, sporrans, kilt pins, shoes, hose, flashes, belts and all the other accessories you may need like tux shirts and bow ties, the difference in the cost of a UK made jacket vs one made in Hungary or Pakistan can become significant to a small shop like mine.

[thecompaqguy]

Feedback score isn't always a guarantee. Many buyers don't know enough to realize that they're getting Pakistani-made goods. Many don't realize that such a thing as Pakistani-made Highland Dress exists. They see something listed on Ebay that claims or implies that it's a legitimate Scottish-made item, they buy it, and when they get the item it seems fine and they leave good feedback.

Somebody who has seen hundreds of UK-made jackets and hundreds of Pakistani and Indian-made jackets can spot the different right away.

There are one or two sellers on Ebay who list vast numbers of "ex-hire" items which I don't believe are such. They're new items, which appear to my eye to be mostly from Pakistan or India. I examined one of these "ex-hire" kilts, implied to be UK-made (though not openly claimed), and said to be of heavyweight 100% wool tartan fabric. The kilt was actually a crudely-made machine-sewn thing made out of flimsy Pakistani-made tartan with a dubious wool content.

I've asked a current Ebay seller about certain of their jackets, which they claim are Scottish-made, but which evidently have no label stating such.

Keep in mind that any firm or company anywhere on earth can call itself "Scottish Products Company" or "Authentic Scottish LTD" or what have you. If there's no label stating "Made in UK", "Made in Scotland", or "Made in Britain" I would assume that it's not.

From time the seller or kilt maker insists it's an "Authentic Scottish Kilt" or otherwise, it's Pakistani Gold Brothers (aka Scotland Kilt Company) sell "The Kilt" PV, which is I think a higher-end Pakistani kilt; but Scotland Kilt Company also sell ex-hire kilts (usually anything over £100 is quality) which are made in the UK. I have just bought a nice Anderson tartan ex-hire from them. Another good place for kilts is "Kilts4U", and I generally search 'ex-hire kilts' and decent ones can be had ranging from £100 upwards. A couple of the Pakistani outfits have cottoned on (pun intended) to this, and unknown higher priced brands like "The Ceilidh Collection" or dubious tartans you've never heard of (like Dalrymple) are enough red flags for me

[kingandrew]

Derosa,

Looking at the two jackets, I would point out a couple of details.

The House of Edgar Argyll jacket has a pronounced "waist," rather than just being a box around the torso.

House of Edgar also has an elegantly curved opening at the bottom of the jacket to accommodate your sporran.

The other jacket is a straight sack from shoulder to the bottom hem.

The cutaway on the second jacket is very low and very slight, leaving the sporran mostly hidden. This is rather awkward if one needs to actually use the sporran. It also prevents others from seeing the sporran you carefully picked out wear with this outfit. It just doesn't look right--like wearing your shirt untucked with a suit jacket or leaving your fly unzipped.

The House of Edgar jacket is a classic Argyll style jacket with the usual elements, such as turn-up cuffs, epaulets on the shoulder, and the distinctive pointed pocket flaps with buttons. I don't know if the other jacket is advertised as an Argyll or is presented as some "modern" style of kilt jacket. But it certainly looks more like a Saxon suit jacket that has been slight altered in an attempt t make it work with a kilt, rather than something designed for that purpose.

There may well be more, but those are the things that jumped out at me.

Andrew