Buys on Ties

[BlueSteel]

Hi All,

In 2022 I took some steps to refresh and rebuild my wardrobe of CM items.

I ordered some lovely ties from Amide Hadelin and from Shibumi Firenze...no regrets - all beautiful ties!

But I got to thinking over Christmas that with the shift towards casual clothes for men over the last couple years, might there be some great deals to be had on neckties on ebay now?

So I was bored this weekend and spent a few hours surfing ebay to explore this.

First observation - ebay is awash in neckties for sale...99% of them are terrible crap. Many: are in bad shape including stains and fabric pulls, are made of some awful blended material like polyester, have horrible patterns/colors on them, are poorly constructed, are overpriced, are possible counterfeits, and/or are the wrong size (too short, too wide or too skinny, etc.)

However...

Second observation - if you know what you are looking for, and have some time to invest in weeding though the thousands of uninteresting listings, there are some truly amazing scores to be had.

At the end of it all, I was able to purchase 5 gorgeous Italian designer silk ties from several different ebay sellers, including two 3-fold ties by Luciano Barbera (hardly ever worn) and a 3-fold Calabrese 1924 Napoli that was never worn...all with great patterns and proper/contemporary sizing...these 5 wonderful ties cost me a total delivered price of $14.00USD each. (Each one of these ties new would retail close to - or even north of - $100).

Needless to say, I'm thrilled with that outcome.

And I don't know about you guys, but wearing a pre-owned tie - something that does not go directly on your skin - is something I'm quite comfortable with.

Anyone else jumping in on some of the used tie bargains out there?

 

[Duke Santos]

I don't do a lot of second hand, but my few purchases have been the long gone and dearly lamented A. Sulka. There's usually a good selection of their ties on ebay at very good prices. Impeccable quality, usually made in Britain or France.

 

[BlueSteel]

I don't do a lot of second hand, but my few purchases have been the long gone and dearly lamented A. Sulka. There's usually a good selection of their ties on ebay at very good prices. Impeccable quality, usually made in Britain or France.

I have never owned a Sulka tie, but did see some nice-looking ones on ebay for good pricing as I was doing my deep dive this weekend!

 

[gimpwiz]

LuxeSwap has some pretty nice ties every week!

 

[comrade]

I own a bunch of Sulka ties, purchased from Sulka.
They are extremely high quality. Also, I recommend
Hilditch and Key ties, some of which I got online very
inexpensively.

 

[A12321]

Any recommendation for nice wool ties in the selling in the US? Not looking for pre-owned.

 

[Duke Santos]

Any recommendation for nice wool ties in the selling in the US? Not looking for pre-owned.

Rampley & Co. They're in London, but they'll have your order to you via DHL Express in 4-5 days.

 

[Duke Santos]

I

I own a bunch of Sulka ties, purchased from Sulka.
They are extremely high quality. Also, I recommend
Hilditch and Key ties, some of which I got online very
inexpensively.

Sulka was still around for a bit when I finally started having Sulka money. I still have the sport coat and one of the two ties that I bought there. Really impeccable quality. My tailor did a little work on the jacket and said how he impressed he was with the fabric and construction.

Sadly, the second tie was left at a friend's place in Napa. This guy was still working in restaurants while getting his label off the ground, and I'm sure my dear Sulka tie was abused and ruined at a restaurant job.

 

[BlueSteel]

Any recommendation for nice wool ties in the selling in the US? Not looking for pre-owned.

You might still want to check ebay - lots of small sellers with many ties available that are "NWT" (New With Tags). Some of these are just overstock, past season remainders, etc. Huge array available, and sometimes the pricing is super-low...even for high-end brands. Some will ship for free within the US too.

 

[gimpwiz]

There's also "NWOT" (new without tags) which requires a bit of trust that the item is in fact new, and just happens to not have tags. Might be something that was gifted without tags and the recipient didn't like it, or something someone bought, de-tagged, and then somehow never made it into the rotation.

Truthfully for myself I am fine with "LNWOT" (like new without tags) because I am generally pretty unconcerned with pre-owned stuff. But I understand you being leery about it, @alan111.

 

[BlueSteel]

There's also "NWOT" (new without tags) which requires a bit of trust that the item is in fact new, and just happens to not have tags. Might be something that was gifted without tags and the recipient didn't like it, or something someone bought, de-tagged, and then somehow never made it into the rotation.

Truthfully for myself I am fine with "LNWOT" (like new without tags) because I am generally pretty unconcerned with pre-owned stuff. But I understand you being leery about it, @alan111.

Yes - I just today received a silk tie I purchased on Ebay with the description "Mint pre-owned condition with no signs of any wear". Completely accurate. No chance this tie was ever even knotted before. I'm thrilled. It is a beautiful Italian tie in the length and width I like that retails for $135...and I paid $15 delivered.

 

[gimpwiz]

Well go on, share the photos

 

[BlueSteel]

Well go on, share the photos

Lol - will do when I'm in front of my computer this eve!

 

[BlueSteel]

Here is today's delivery - a bold pattern, but I love it and will wear this a lot (using the seller's pics cuz I suck at taking pics):

 

[gimpwiz]

Very nice! Actually reminds me of a sulka tie I bid on from LuxeSwap recently. Had to drop out because I didn't want it enough (at least partially because I don't exactly wear ties often.) A lovely pattern, bold but friendly, without even approaching clownish or silly. Good buy!

The two key elements to taking product photos is lighting and background / backdrop / positioning. Indoor lighting at night is always going to be insufficient by itself. Indoor lighting, unless you own actual stage lights, needs to be complemented with big continuous light or a decent flash bounced off the ceiling/walls or through soft-boxes. As such I would try to take natural-light (especially smartphone) photos indoors on a sunny day or outdoors on a cloudy day. As far as backdrops go, a simple white sheet may be sufficient. Or hang it around your neck, over a reasonable shirt (ie, a plain white dress shirt for most ties.) Make sure if using a smartphone that it color/brightness balances for the tie and not the backdrop. --- or just use the vendor's photos like all of us lazy people do! Hah!