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.

[McMurdo]

Last year I needed to get a new jacket for my nephew's wedding, here is the old thread

http://www.xmarksthescot.com/forum/f...wedding-91337/

Here are the photos





The first one was boxy and was made of a poly wool blend, not the quality I was looking for.

Here it is when I wore it for a funeral recently.

[OC Richard]

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.

An excellent point and something to keep in mind.

A couple years ago I was going over the sites of a large number of Kilt Hire firms in Britain, and it was the first time I encountered firms hiring what obviously were Pakistani-made Highland Dress.

There was an obvious price dichotomy between the firms hiring the real thing and firms hiring Pakistani, as one might expect.

Also the big hire firms (and some are very big, with shops in several major British cities) turn over their offerings regularly. If they decide to retire a certain style/colour of jacket, or a certain tartan, you'll see a huge number of the same items in a wide variety of sizes become suddenly available.

I'd love to be able to visit Scotland, what, in February when all the hire shops are selling off their retired things. A friend who used to live in Glasgow picked up a number of great things cheaply.

All of my jackets are high-quality Scottish-made jackets of very nice fabric got for around $100 ex-hire. My black Argyll has the size written large in white ink on the inside.

PS have you actually encountered Hungarian-made Highland Dress? That would be interesting to see.

[Mike S]

Last year I needed to get a new jacket for my nephew's wedding, here is the old thread

http://www.xmarksthescot.com/forum/f...wedding-91337/

]

I've been quite pleased with the jackets, shoes, and accoutrements that I've ordered from Kilts-4-Less as well.

[OC Richard]

I've been quite pleased with the jackets, shoes, and accoutrements that I've ordered from Kilts-4-Less as well.

They appear to have a mix of things. I've seen them sell things which are obviously Pakistani/Indian, and having very carefully worded descriptions. (I've examined some of these things in person.)

Yet they also sell things which they state are "made in Scotland". It's difficult from photos, but some of the ex-hire kilts I've seen them list on Ebay look like they could be UK-made.

Now, for example, they're listing on Ebay a number of Prince Charlies that they state are Scottish-made. What gives me pause is the label they show says merely "Heritage Scotland" which implies, but does not state, where the jacket was made.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/50S-Ex-Hire-...EAAOSwC6dZsSq8

I did ask Kilts4Less, and they responded with the following:

As the Jacket listing below the name Heritage of Scotland is the name of a liquidated highland dress manufacturer. We purchased all their stock when they closed over a year ago.
They were located in Glasgow Scotland and all goods were made onsite at their factory. They were called Heritage Clothing UK.

https://www.thegazette.co.uk/notice/2607715

I see that the above notice sheds no light on the precise nature of Heritage of Scotland's business.

Heritage Of Scotland is an Ebay seller of Pakistani goods:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Great-Gift-S...cAAOSw-jhUIuhF

(Note the carefully worded description, with no mention of where the stuff was made.)

I just checked, Heritage of Scotland's site still functions. It's obvious that these are Pakistani kilts; their casual kilt is 15 pounds, their "full deluxe kilt" is 49 pounds!

https://www.heritageofscotland.com/s...%7C%7Ckilts%7C