EBay Shoe Help

[drays4life]

I bought a pair of John Lobb Bordors on eBay since they were an attractive price at $295 shipped, but when I received them, they have some "pitting" in the leather. In short, it looks like small spot where the leather has rubbed off /peeled off or been discolored. When I contacted the seller about it, he said that he learned a wax and water polishing technique from John Lobb and when he does it, the wax peels in these small spots. Most of the effected area is on the apron of the shoe (where they are mostly disguised by the creasing) or the sides. There is one spot on the toe where it is somewhat noticeable, but it might just be because I know that its there. The shoes look good otherwise, except for quite a bit of creasing. They fit well also.

What I need help on is: is this guy's explanation reasonable? Will it hurt the shoe in the long term? Should I return them, or is it still a good enough deal?

I hope you can see it in the pics...

 

[Jared]

Originally Posted by drays4life

I hope you can see it in the pics...
I think you're going to need pics that are in-focus before anyone can help you.

Just guessing from your description: spit (or water) shining creates a ridgid layer of wax that can crack or flake if done over a part of the shoe that flexes.

 

[Styk33]

Those pics are very blurry.

 

[drays4life]

Yeah, I know the pics aren't great. Those are the best that I could get thus far. I'll see if I can get something better. Thanks.

 

[j]

Well firstly, you (he) shouldn't try using the mirror shine (water/wax) technique on parts of the shoe that flex, like the apron or sides. Only on the reinforced parts like the toe and heel counters. If you build up enough wax to get the shine and then bend the part, it will crack and flake off. That may be what you're getting there.

On the toe, I'm not sure what I'm looking at, but it doesn't sound like he quite knew what he was doing, so if they were mine I'd probably strip them and start fresh with a proper shine job. It's possible that a part of the toe has absorbed something that wax won't stick to, or any number of other things could have happened.

 

[Leaveitothexperts]

Read this thread . . . .

http://new.styleforum.net/showthread.php?t=28390

Your pictures are really out of focus and like everyone has said, it is difficult to see what we are looking at . . . .

But if your shoes looks something like the thread above, then you may have a solution as j suggested in that thread . . .