The secondhand top hat market is very lively. For the very enterprising individual,top hats appear to be a very good market to get into. While today they are usually only associated with the wealthy, years ago they were popular with all the classes.
Antique top hats in wearable condition are typically hard to find. The price often varies with size (larger sizes more expensive) and condition, immaculate condition being much more expensive. Many surviving hats are in sizes smaller than an average man today can wear.
Silk top hats can be inherited, bought refurbished, or bought second-hand and then refurbished if necessary. So estate sales of old or wealthy families would be a good places to start looking to find top hats. Also try looking in small towns where there use to be wealthy families. The antique shops or second hand stores may not be aware of what they got.
