Quality problems or bad luck with shoes?

[dreamtripper]

Over the past few months, I've had problems with several shoes I've bought:

The first is a pair of Church's Grafton's I ordered from a shop in the UK. After 5 wears, the left and right shoe are wearing significantly differently. They are black, but when I took them to my cobbler, he was of the opinion that they were from two different batches of leather. I think I might be out on a limb here because the store I bought it from is in the UK (very pleasant to deal with incidentally) but I'm not sure what they'll be able to do to resolve the problem being that I'm in NYC.

The second is a pair of Alden cordovan wingtips in black. I have 4 cordovan shoes from Alden - all great, but this pair seemed to develop small spots on the surface. Wiping clean/polishing/buffing improved things a little but did not get rid of the problem completely. The store I bought it from was nice enough to send it back to Alden and I'm optimistic they'll resolve the problem somehow.

Have you experienced anything similar? I feel that when spending $500+ on a pair of shoes they should not have these sorts of problems after just a few wears.

Maybe overall quality is going down or perhaps it's just the price to pay when dealing with a semi hand finished product???

 

[pebblegrain]

No machine-made shoe maker guarantees matching hides. Pay MTO for that.

 

[dreamtripper]

I didn't notice these types of issues with cheaper shoes I bought 10+ years ago. A pair of Graftons retails for $720 in the US. MTO is ideal, but at the Grafton's price point I don't think the left and right should wear significantly differently.

The 3 other pairs of Alden Cordovans I have show wear, but nothing like the black pair I referred to in my post.

Originally Posted by pebblegrain

No machine-made shoe maker guarantees matching hides. Pay MTO for that.

 

[fritzl]

Originally Posted by dreamtripper

Maybe overall quality is going down or perhaps it's just the price to pay when dealing with a semi hand finished product???

this...

...and you didn't listen to the advice in your initial 5k thread, anyway

grafton: hard to imagine that they used different batches. that's not the standard, not even in RTW.

btw, who buys alden shell these days?

 

[dreamtripper]

I was interested in opinions. Everyone has different tastes and I ended up doing what I liked.

That said, I don't think you should have to spend $1K plus to get shoes that wear evenly. I have a 10 year old pair of Church's wingtips that have aged more gracefully than these Graftons.

Originally Posted by fritzl

this...

...and you didn't listen to the advice in your initial 5k thread, anyway

grafton: hard to imagine that they used different batches. that's not the standard, not even in RTW.

btw, who buys alden shell these days?

 

[mktitsworth]

Originally Posted by fritzl

btw, who buys alden shell these days?

Is there a particular reason not to buy Alden Shell?

Matthew

 

[entrero]

Spending +$500 on a pair of polished binder shoes is always a bad idea..

 

[dreamtripper]

They are black calf, not polished binder. I specifically wanted to avoid the polished binder and there are several calf options, but they need to be ordered in most cases.

Originally Posted by entrero

Spending +$500 on a pair of polished binder shoes is always a bad idea..

 

[Icehawk]

Originally Posted by dreamtripper

The second is a pair of Alden cordovan wingtips in black. I have 4 cordovan shoes from Alden - all great, but this pair seemed to develop small spots on the surface. Wiping clean/polishing/buffing improved things a little but did not get rid of the problem completely. The store I bought it from was nice enough to send it back to Alden and I'm optimistic they'll resolve the problem somehow.

I don't own cordovan but the spotting seems to be a common "problem" since I see mention of it all the time here... I believe it just a property of the leather and either you live with it or don't buy cordovan.


As for the Graftons you don't tell us anything about the problem other than "they aren't wearing the same" - ok... so one shoe has no sole and the other has had the upper rip out? One has a worn heel and the other has no liner? Give us something to work with beyond a generic "my shoes done broke".

 

[dreamtripper]

With regards to the grafton the upper flat part right above the toe box and below the laces is very creased with lines on one shoe, whereas the other shoe has hardly any creases. Some creases are expected, but my feet are not that different to cause that much of a variation. I need to figure out how to post up pictures - it will probably be a lot clearer.

 

[dreamtripper]

Maybe you're right about the Cordovans, but I have a pair of $8 colored boots I've worn in inclement weather several times, that still look more or less new so I don't think all cordovan is this way. Maybe it's something to do with black cordovan??

Originally Posted by dreamtripper

With regards to the grafton the upper flat part right above the toe box and below the laces is very creased with lines on one shoe, whereas the other shoe has hardly any creases. Some creases are expected, but my feet are not that different to cause that much of a variation. I need to figure out how to post up pictures - it will probably be a lot clearer.

 

[rabiesinfrance]

I reckon it's 50/50 that I'll get a PERFECT pair of shoes straight from the box. These days, I try to buy in-store so I can examine the shoes before I buy. Even with the quality makers QC leaves a lot to be desired, in my experience. Part of me thinks that they hold back their best stuff for their own shops and then send the rest out.

Here's a few examples:

Grenson "Rose" 'Albert' - an enormous dent in the toe box near the welt and the broguing was way off. Clearly a REJECT. Sent to Grenson for assessment. Grenson then 'lost' them, and Pediwear refunded the payment. This took months.

Crockett & Jones 'Cottesmore' - long loose threads on the buckle strap - had simply not been finished off properly. Bear in mind that this boot is close to Handgrade in price! Again, a REJECT.

Church's 'Canberra' - big dye spots on the upper. Very noticeable, very annoying.

Lots of other examples - poor finishing, irregularities. It pisses me off to be honest, because someone is not doing their job properly. I mean, if you think about it you've got three main points of failure: the people who made the shoe in the factory; the people who did the QC in the factory; the store, who didn't check their stock. You really have to work hard to balls it up, and yet it happens all the time!

If you can afford it, buy the vey best e.g. Edward Green.

 

[patrickBOOTH]

I feel that it is unlikely that the whole army could be out of step. Experience tells me that people with contiuous issues with things are simply fastidious.

 

[pebblegrain]

the operative word is luck. you might get matching, you might not. To have 50-50 odds and complain that you didn't win is wrong

 

[dreamtripper]

Not complaining, just seeking to hear the experiences of others.

That said, if you experienced these problems in a $1000 pair of shoes would you complain? $3000? - probably so, right?

I personally think it's unfortunate that these problems exist even in the $500-$700 range.

Originally Posted by pebblegrain

the operative word is luck. you might get matching, you might not. To have 50-50 odds and complain that you didn't win is wrong