I’m Doubting Alden’s Future

[Hawk8789]

I just discovered Alden last December, and my first purchase was the 405. The experience of ordering and returning a few before finding my size was smooth and sent me on a ridiculous journey of new, factory seconds, and eBay. 40 pair later, and I’m frustrated beyond words. Almost every new pair was returned, most used pair were given away, and what I’m left with is puzzling to me. I have many shoes on several lasts, but I’ll focus this thread on the Trubalance, since it’s a perfect fit for my foot. I currently have 5 pair that are good.

They don’t all feel the same, chromexel being the least comfortable, soft calf being the best with shell a close second.

These are the ones that are bad.

And these are just the ones I kept!

The heel stacks are all off balance and a couple had the sole sewn on lopsided so it rolls my ankle. Bedo fixed one for me, the rest I hit with a belt sander since the Thomas heels will need replacing anyway.

I have returned many more…

Problem 1: If Alden wants to continue to raise prices annually, they really need to step up their QC game. Unless perhaps there is an issue with the particular last being used for my size, they have a serious problem. Exactly one new shoe I purchased was wearable out of the box.

Problem 2: Dealers don’t seem to check each pair. The heel problem is visually apparent without having to try them on. One store actually made me pay return shipping on a pair that was so lopsided both ankles rolled extremely to my right.

Problem 3: Alden told me they won’t fix them. I have to find a cobbler and get reimbursed. One of the highlights for Alden is the recrafting, but I don’t trust them to resole my shoes.

I don’t have a problem with the dealers per se, but I’m in manufacturing, and companies live and die by quality control. There’s no excuse for bad products getting into a customer’s hands so consistently.

I still want to love Alden, and I’m not even angry, but I hate to see a company like this disappear and I hope they can stay around for many years to come.

Do I just have really bad luck?

 

[CasuallyWorked]

I think you’re about to get a wave of push back from the Alden fanboys in this forum. I also think Alden’s QC is frustratingly mediocre. Alden makes so many beautiful shoes/boots that when they do it right(50/50) its just amazing. They just don’t seem to care to improve, and if they do, they sure aren’t making any leaps and bounds of a difference. I’m not even upset about the whole “leather board” situation, I just want great QC :/

 

[clee1982]

I know Alden QC has always been blah, exclude the 2nd and eBay stuff, if you only count the new is your sample average acceptable?

 

[Hawk8789]

I’m one of their biggest fans. I will continue buying them. I wore my first pair of Indy boots twenty hours a day, every day, for a month. I can wear other shoes, but the trubalance feels so right I don’t like to take them off. There’s only one pair I can stand in all day at work though, and that’s a problem for a $700 shoe.

 

[Hawk8789]

I know Alden QC has always been blah, exclude the 2nd and eBay stuff, if you only count the new is your sample average acceptable?

1 new pair and 1 factory second was perfect.

A couple bad Hamptons, 1 perfect.

 

[pwc008]

I only have one pair of Aldens - a brown chromexcel loafer, 9.5D in the Van last. Bought them in NYC last Fall.

I have serious foot issues - spurs in both heels; super high instep and equally high arch. Although tight across the instep initially, these shoes are amazing. It's the way the shoe grips my heel - the tighter the grip, the less pain in my heel when I walk. The leather has creased very differently across the top of each shoe. Ask me if I care - I don't. It feels like these are molded to my feet.

 

[Texasmade]

I only have 2 pairs of Aldens, a suede chukka boot and a green suede short wing.

The chukka I've had for years with no issues. Wears fine and even got them resoled by Alden.

The short wing I bought maybe 4 or 5 years ago and the sole separated from the shoe after less than 10 wears. I had to email the retailer and have them contact Alden to ship back and have repaired.

Luckily for me, most of their lasts in different sizes don't fit me very well so I never bought more.

 

[Harwid]

Alden just doesn’t have enough range of sizes to work for me.

Jeff

 

[breakaway01]

I don't know -- only 5 out of 40 pairs are what you'd consider 'good'? Seems to me to be a combination of some bad luck but you may also be more particular than most.

I have 4 pairs and have tried on probably 4-5 more at Alden stores without my having noticed any glaring problems such as the ones you've experienced (like literally not being able to walk in them, apparently).

 

[Erikdayo]

Similar to my experience. I love the aesthetic of Alden footwear, but out of the dozen or so pairs I tried I would only say one or two should been sold at full price. Most of the others B grade. That is just my opinion, of course. A few shouldn't have been sold at all imo. The only brand I have had equally bad experiences with is AE. Most other brands like Grant Stone, Parkhurst, Truman, C&J, Trickers, etc have been largely positive.

Had Alden been at least 50/50 on QC (which is already a very low bar) I imagine I would be still wearing almost exclusively Alden. A few pairs were bad enough for either 50% discounts on the next pair I tried or returned for a full refund even a month or two later. In the case of the full refund it was because the shell was torn. But I had proof that it was like that from day 1, thankfully. I thought it was just an imperfection in the finish at the time.

 

[Hawk8789]

I want to clear here; I don’t care at all about finish quality, leather creasing, or anything like that. I’m talking about improperly made heel stacks on 95% of my new purchases, and even the occasional incorrect sole construction. I’m currently wearing my new 4015 at work and because of the lopsided upper, I put the heel on a belt sander just so I can walk in them without feeling uneven. You can see how much I had to take off just to match the feel of the other shoe. The speed hooks are even, this just shows how far off the shoe was put together.

 

[Duke Santos]

Aldens are great for comfort if one needs that, but they're grossly overpriced given their construction and sketchy QC. I just can't in any way justify paying such a large premium over AE, and that's not even considering that I can almost always get AE at a decent sale price.

When you compare Alden to similarly priced English brands like C&J or Trickers, it's "never in a million years."

 

[Epaulet]

Former Alden retailer here.

I just want to say... there isn't really a way to return Alden shoes back to the factory. If something is clearly defective, then yes, you can. Like the leather is torn or there's a chunk taken out of the sole. But if things are slightly imperfect, then returning them frequently is a fast track to getting dropped as an account. And by slight imperfections, I'm talking things like eyelet alignment, loose grain, heel stack equivalence, etc.

They have more customers than they can serve. Both retailers and end customers. Even as prices have risen, that hasn't changed. Most clients are demanding shell cordovan all the time. If you're an Alden dealer and you're breaking their chops a bit, they'll send the shell items to other stores who don't. If you're breaking their chops a lot, then they'll drop you.

It's not a new development really, this has been their QC for a long time. Some customers are really bothered by it, but most are not. I don't see any scenario where it drastically changes or improves, so you might just be better off looking for alternatives. As another poster mentioned, if you like the chunky Tru-Balance last, you can probably find a good fit with Trickers and Carmina. In my experience, their QC is a lot better.

 

[Hawk8789]

I love the idea of Alden, and when you get the right size on the right last, it’s a feeling like no other. 8D is amazing, but I went to 7.5E, and it’s perfection. I just wish I had better luck. They did repair some stitching that fell apart on the first day, and I will say that their turnaround time was was basically overnight.

 

[mebiuspower]