Rubber / Dainite Soles - Should Shoes Be Cheaper?

[MalfordOfLondon]

I've always thought that shoes with rubber soles should be cheaper than shoes with crafted leather soles. I'm not sure why but I've always assumed that fitting shoes with rubber soles would require less work and so this should be reflected in the price?

What do you all think? I'm bringing this up as I wanted a pair of rubber sole shoes for the winter and had a look in EG - I really liked a pair there but struggled to justify the cost compared to a shoe with a beautiful layered channelled sole...

 

[AndrewRogers]

Originally Posted by StephenStyle

I've always thought that shoes with rubber soles should be cheaper than shoes with crafted leather soles. I'm not sure why but I've always assumed that fitting shoes with rubber soles would require less work and so this should be reflected in the price?

What do you all think? I'm bringing this up as I wanted a pair of rubber sole shoes for the winter and had a look in EG - I really liked a pair there but struggled to justify the cost compared to a shoe with a beautiful layered channelled sole...

Sure shoes with leather soles require a bit more work but rubber soles involve a bit, too. By the time the shoes get to you, the price really doesn't reflect the actual cost of making them all that match. The difference, if passed on to you, would not be so great as if you didn't need to pay for things like marketing, etc.

 

[Groover]

Originally Posted by StephenStyle

I've always thought that shoes with rubber soles should be cheaper than shoes with crafted leather soles. I'm not sure why but I've always assumed that fitting shoes with rubber soles would require less work and so this should be reflected in the price?

What do you all think? I'm bringing this up as I wanted a pair of rubber sole shoes for the winter and had a look in EG - I really liked a pair there but struggled to justify the cost compared to a shoe with a beautiful layered channelled sole...

Having seen first hand how a sole is channelled and subsequently stitched, the amount of time it takes adds very little to the overall time taken on the whole shoe.

The cutting of the channel is done by machine and takes about a minute per sole, sole is then stitched as per any other sole, probably about 30-45 seconds. Closing the channel is done by applying a solution into the channel and then it's flattened back down on a brass wheel spinning at high speed. The shoes then go on to have their soles trimmed.

 

[MalfordOfLondon]

Thanks for the replies.

So you're saying that even with a shoe by say Edward Green - the time it takes to fit a leather sole as opposed to rubber is pretty marginal?

 

[AndrewRogers]

Originally Posted by StephenStyle

Thanks for the replies. So you're saying that even with a shoe by say Edward Green - the time it takes to fit a leather sole as opposed to rubber is pretty marginal?
Marginal as a representation of what you're paying. It might cost twice as much to do, for all I know, or even three times, but the difference to you, the end user, wouldn't be worth passing on in a price decrease. The cost of products rarely represents how much they cost to produce. Books are a perfect example. Hardbacks do not cost twice as much s paperbacks to produce. In fact, the cost in producing hardbacks is a minimal premium, yet the consumer pays almost twice the price of a PB for a HB. This is known as price discrimination and can be seen in the reverse with your problem: rubber soles cost less to make, but you're not being charged any less. In short, while the cost of making the shoes is one part of the final price that you pay, it is not all of it and there are far more things going into making that RRP or even sale price, which is why the marginal decrease isn't worth worrying about. NB I like EG very much and have paid full-price for them many times. They make great shoes and this discussion applies to them and any other maker equally. Also, rubber soles are still attached in exactly the same way and have to be cut and trimmed. In a perfect market, this would not happen

 

[MalfordOfLondon]

Very informative post thanks! I suppose you have to get out of the mindset of cost = value of materials + work and take into account all the marketing etc etc.

 

[AndrewRogers]

Originally Posted by StephenStyle

Very informative post thanks! I suppose you have to get out of the mindset of cost = value of materials + work and take into account all the marketing etc etc.

Yep and enjoy the shoes.

 

[DWFII]

The difference time-wise for machine stitching a rubber sole versus a leather sole is negligible. The difference between machine stitching either and hand stitching is not only significant it is the hallmark of a top quality bespoke shoe.

It might take five minutes per pair machine stitching...with channel which is cut simultaneously in either rubber or leather.

It may take an hour per shoe at 10-11spi to stitch a leather sole by hand--& that time does not include cutting the channel and closing it. (A hand cut channel cannot reasonably be done in rubber.)

Of equal significance is the cost of the material. Some leather soling especially on top shelf bespoke shoes may be pit tanned and have spent upwards of a year in the tanning pits. naturally, it costs more than rubber soling.