I have a old SWC low quality hat. It's hard to tell much from pictures but the shape of the brim does not suggest high quality. Have you actually seen the hat?
I have an old hat too. And I treasure it.
But those are flexfit caps. These are the shit. Unless you buy a custom fitted cap you're not getting a better one. Even then I might prefer a flexfit as it is very comfortable. If there is such a thing as a professional baseball style cap, this is in that category. Way nicer than the original lightweight cap with the cloth cinch.
Even on ebay the blank hats go for around $10, and custom logo caps are easily ~20ish.
It is a fair price IMO.
1) $23 to me seems super-fair. Also, this is a 3rd party vendor selling them following my instructions of "Please make yourself a small profit so you will be happy to continue making these for the community" - if that price had to be revised up $1 per unit at the start I have no issues with that
2) Like capsLOCK said, Flexfits start around $10-$12. In quantity you can get them to around $8ish. Now you simply acquire an embroidery machine and do all the legwork, including shipping it. Seems like a solid deal IMO, really happy to have found a provider.
3) Actual hats ---> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=loV2VlwBTe0