COS Hats Resale Value

COS hats: price by condition

Seller-declared grades, sterling with an approximate US dollar equivalent at £1 ≈ $1.33 (July 2026). What each grade means.

What holds its value across COS

• Oversized wool and wool-blend coats, which are the label’s signature and the thing buyers search it for by name
• Archive and limited-edition pieces, which are produced in small runs and are the only part of the range with a collectors’ element
• Plain, structured tailoring in neutral colours, which dates far more slowly than anything printed and stays saleable for years
• Heavier knitwear in merino and wool blends, which holds its shape where the cheaper high-street equivalents do not

What pulls COS resale value down

• Pilled knitwear, which is the commonest fault and shows immediately against the plain colours the label favours
• Faded blacks and washed-out greys, which are most of the range and where fading is most obvious
• Anything with a broken or replaced signature button or fastening, since the hardware is deliberately minimal and any substitute shows
• Basic jersey pieces, which are cheap enough new that a used one rarely justifies the postage on its own

Identifying and dating yours

1. The neck label reads COS rather than any sub-line, and the care label carries a product code buyers can search to confirm the season
2. COS sizing runs large and is cut deliberately oversized, so give flat measurements — buyers who have not worn the label before consistently order wrong
3. Photograph the shoulder seams and the inside of the coat, because the construction is most of why somebody chooses this label secondhand

What lifts any hat, whatever the label

Hats are sized and shaped to the wearer, so condition of the crown and brim decides whether one suits anyone else.

• Recognised hatters and heritage brands
• Undented crowns and true brims
• Intact sweatbands and linings
• Original hat box

And what pulls one down

• Crushed crowns and warped brims
• Stained or perished sweatbands
• Moth damage in felt
• Sun fading on straw hats

Working out what yours is worth

1. Check the crown holds its shape
2. Inspect the sweatband inside
3. Measure the internal circumference

What to state in the listing

• Internal circumference in centimetres, plus any letter size
• Material and whether it is blocked felt, straw or fabric
• Brim width, and whether the brim is stiff or floppy
• Sweatband condition and any stain, dent or fray

Style, material and size: “Wool Fedora, 58cm, Charcoal” or “Panama Hat, Size L, 57cm”. Circumference in centimetres is the search that actually works. Name the style precisely — fedora, trilby, flat cap and bucket hat are all separate searches.

Preparing and photographing it

1. Measure the internal circumference of the band in centimetres.
2. Check the sweatband inside for staining and the brim for loss of shape, which is what ages a hat.
3. Brush felt with a soft brush in one direction and reshape gently with steam if it has flattened.

1. The hat from the front and the side, on a stand or upright
2. The inside band, showing the size marking and sweatband
3. The brim edge all the way round
4. Any maker’s label, plus every stain, dent, fray or misshapen area

When it sells best, and handing it over

Straw and summer hats lift April to July; felt and wool hats October to February. Occasion hats lift before wedding season.

Post in a rigid box, stuffed with paper to hold the crown. A hat in a padded bag arrives crushed and there is no recovering a blocked felt crown.

What buyers ask

Does COS clothing hold its value?

Reasonably, and better than most of the high street, because the designs are plain enough not to date. Coats and tailoring do best; plain jersey basics are barely worth listing on their own.

What size should I list a COS coat as?

Give the label size and the flat measurements together. COS is cut oversized and the label size alone misleads more buyers on this brand than on almost any other.

How much is a COS hat worth?

Roughly £5 to £30 depending on condition, against £5 to £30 for hats generally. The identification points above are what move a listing to the top of that range.

What the fees would take elsewhere

At the mid-range £17 for a COS hat, against what the commission marketplaces would deduct:

Seller-side rates verified 26 Jul 2026, percentages only — the per-order and processing charges those platforms add are excluded, so the real gap is wider.

Listing is free and there is no commission — read how to sell a hat for the title, handover and timing, or the general hat value guide if yours is not a COS.

See also: all COS value guides · value guides by brand · buying a hat · Clothing · condition grades.