Frequently Asked Questions

Because we ship all over the world and shipping costs vary by location, shipping costs can vary significantly. We do not markup or make a profit on shipping costs. Shipping costs also vary by weight, so the heavier the order, the more it will cost to ship. To give you an estimate, an order with one Panama hat shipped to the United States typically costs about $35.00. Import tax to your country is your responsibility if required, but most hats arrive without any charges from customs agents around the world but their are exceptions to this, USA is one of those countries that does not seem to charge for 1 or 2 hats the value is not high enough, since we are only shipping one hat at a time rather then a large import. We can't know or quote this to you, nor do we collect any taxes from you at checkout.

You will see an exact shipping quote for your order as you begin the checkout process. Your payment information is not required to receive an exact shipping quote.

Well, the simple answer to that is that we make less on the sale of each hat. Many factors are involved with our ability to offer them at lower prices, such as our location in Ecuador, where the hats are made, our hat shop which is located in Montecristi, Ecuador, as well as we have an office in Florida, so our operating costs are much lower than other places- and by the way... that is where we get our name "Panama Hats Direct"!

The product is made by the same weavers in the same town as any other genuine Panama hat company. The finishing details will be different between each company, but we are not left behind in quality in any way!

In a few years, you may want us to clean, reblock & repair your hat. We are happy to offer this service to you- in fact we are the only company that makes this service available, because although some other hat shops may be able to block a good hat body, they are not able to repair the straws if there are any broken ones. If they try, they simply glue the straws, but we can actually remove a broken straw and replace it with a new straw!

This process is very tedious and very difficult to do, so we only service our hats in this manner. If you purchased your hat from us, then we can help you with any repair and shaping problems you may have anytime in the future- just contact us.

If you order from our inventory, your order will be ready fast, though we still need to work on the hat so your order goes in the "Queue", older orders are worked on first. We move threw orders fairly fast without compromising quality of the product, giving a custom approach to every hat. Since all final finishing details are considered on each order. We will need to hand stitch in a Sweet band, according to your hat size, we hope you take a measurement and give us that since we can do in-between sizes, just tell us at checkout in the comments box below where you put your credit card information. We finish exterior hat bands according to your request, and then block the brim and add stiffener and pinch protector and liner and final blocking to each orders requirements. So there is a little finishing time needed so we do not charge till the day we ship, unless you use PayPal. which is an option at checkout, look for the button to pay by PayPal.

Click here to add: Expidiated order request

if you design your own Panama hat, we need a little more time to finish a custom order, but is worth the short wait time! Imagine a custom Hat Woven just for you! Tell me, who else can offer you that? That's why we are Panama hats Direct !:)

Once we have completed your order, we will use the method you selected at checkout to ship it. shipping time frames quoted are shipping times, we also need prep and weaving time, on every order.

If we do not have it in stock or the stock item you selected will not fit your request for some reason, like a different hat size than the stock item ordered, then we will exchange any stock item for a custom-made replacement of equivalent quality and grade, and made fresh if needed. and may increase the overall time frame.

Custom orders take on average 3 weeks to finish.

Shipping time depends on what method you selected when you checked out.
We offer two main methods: Standard, which is: DHL to Florida in a batch of hats that arrives at my reshipper in the USA, then is repacked and reshipped to you to reduce international shipping cost and customs clearance issues into USA from our end.

DHL Direct is faster since it is not only shipped the moment it is finished, but it goes directly to you threw Fast 3-4 Day shipping service to the USA, or similar time to many other countries. Other countries have problems with Customs but DHL always clears customs fast and reliably with guaranteed shipping insurance. Though we will guarantee any shipment ourselves, DHL offers it as part of their service. We recommend DHL direct shipping for any country other than the USA since USA is easy to ship to; it is other countries that shipping is more difficult, and DHL excels in this area.

Standard mail from Florida: 9-12 business days - this means we first ship in bulk your order with other orders to Florida, using Express Mail Service, then we repack the hats and reship from our location in Florida.

DHL Direct form Ecuador: 5-7 business days - we ship from our office in Ecuador directly to you, once the order has finished.

All shipping times are on average, not a guarantee, and we still need time to finish your hat before we can ship it. Generally, we need a week or more, depending on the time of year, and whether or not it is a stock item or a custom order. If ever you need a better idea of when you will receive it, please contact us directly. Please see the above information on "Wait Time"

We will email you a notice when we ship, so you can be watching for it. We need varying amounts of time to get it ready to ship, depending on your order. Each order is different, but once we have your hat ready to ship, we will use whatever method of shipping you selected at checkout. We also send you pictures of your hat as we finish the process, so be watching for those email updates, it will indicate to you that your order is very close to shipping. And you can see the final result before it is shipped in the images provided.

RUSH ORDERS: Yes, we can rush your order! If you need your hat in a special hurry for some reason, then let us know and we will be able to place your order ahead of other orders to ship it faster for a fee to be fair to others who can and are patiently waiting for their order.

Click here to add: Expidiated order request

If you haven't done so already, download our measuring tape from our sizes page, or click here.

Please understand we do not use hat sizes we use measurements.

I know it sounds the same, but really it is not because a hat size from one company can be radically different from another company so what we need to be sure we are both on the same page sort of speak is to measure yourself no matter weather you believe you know your size or not. Many people find they are a little different then they have always thought, once they measure. It is a custom hat we make in-between sizes just add a comment in the comments box at checkout if you fall between sizes just list your real measurement in the comments box and we will make it the hat to fit you.

How do you determine what brim size you should select? Well, this is a difficult question for me to answer because a lot depends on your personal taste and where you live.

For example, if you are in Texas, you could easily get away with wearing a 4" brim, and you would fit right in. But if you were in downtown New York City, then a standard-size brim would fit in much better, based on the community.

Wider brims tend to look more western, while shorter brims look more fedora style and more city style. The brim can change the look quite a bit so give it some consideration. Also, if you are thinking of a large brim, err on the conservative side- a little short rather than a little larger is generally best with large brims.

But of course, also factored in this is your personal taste as well as your personal body build and character, all of which I am not able to answer for you. However, generally, the larger the person is, the larger the brim can be and still look in proportion.

The standard size brim is between 2 ^5/8" to 2 ^3/4" and sometimes can reach as much as 2 ^7/8". This applies to all Montecristi hat models, so if you order a Plantation with a standard brim, it will be very similar in brim size to a Fedora because what makes that hat different is the crown Shape, not the brim size.

Cuenca hats have a 2" to as much as 3" brim on occasion, but they are not something we can custom-make for you. Cuenca hats are pre-built and mass-produced hats, so we can only take from what is currently available. This, of course, does not apply to our Montecristi hats, which are all custom made by hand in any dimension .

Yes. If the brim size that you want is not available in our current inventory, you can go to the Panama hat designer and create your own with any size brim you like!

While you're purchasing your Panama hat, it's a good idea to pick up some extra hat bands. They're great as spares, or swap them out to make your Panama hat suit every occasion!

To add bands to your order or just order bands separately, just go to the Hat Bands page and you can browse from over 70 different styles of hat bands that we offer.

Other Accessories Other Accessories

You can add as many as you like to your current order, or place an order for just bands.

Interior sweat bands are standard on all hats. Our Montecristi hats have a leather sweatband made of a nice oil tanned leather that resists sweat stains and absorbs oils from your forehead, and prevents penetration to the outside of your new hat. It is designed for maximum comfort at 1.25" wide, not too wide that it makes you sweat more, and not so narrow that it can not catch sweat. At 1/8" thick, it is perfect to stop sweat and oils from penetrating through the band. (Many hat bands from other companies are usually only 1/16")