My work involves a lot of standing and walking and often requires a suit. Up until now I've been the kind of guy who tried to find brands like Cole Haan or Frye on sale, in the $100 range or less, and I've gone through so many shoes that just haven't made the cut in terms of comfort and/or durability. So I wanted to finally get some really good shoes that would be comfortable and last a long time. Luckily for me the timing was right as Allen Edmonds was/is having a sale. I found this pair of factory seconds for a cool 99 bucks. No concerns going with 2nds for this pair since these shoes might take some punishment anyway. I ordered 2 pairs planning to return the size that didn't fit (even with a $25 restock fee, this seemed like a cheap way to go to get the right fit). This is my first ever experience with AE.
The strange part about it is that the two pairs I received are pretty different, even though they're the same product. As you can see, they appear to have uppers that were finished differently. The most surprising thing, though, is the insoles - you can see the pair on the left doesn't have the comfort insoles (and appears like the one on AE's product page), while the ones on the right have the more comfortable "Road Warrior" insole. The pair on the right was the better fit for me, which is good because I prefer the look of the upper and the comfort of the insole. The pair on the left also definitely has flaws that I might expect on a 2nd, while literally the only flaw I can find on the pair on the right is stitching that's slightly off on the toe of one shoe.
The shoes on the right are great, and I'm keeping then, but I thought I'd share this since two pairs of the same shoe are actually pretty different. Might be good info for anyone on the fence about going with 2nds!
