Should I Exchange? Or am I Being Too Picky?

[jorshillay]

Hello!

I just received these Allen Edmonds Bartletts in the mail, and as several reviewers mentioned defects, I inspected the shoes carefully. I found a couple small problems and I'm wondering if these are worth exchanging for, or if I'm just being too picky about it. You can see along the edge of the leather on the heel, it looks mangled and unfinished. Then on the other side is done correctly, but then there's this random line on the leather. Then by the laces again there's another line, which looks like it's a scratch of some sort. And last, the stain seems quite uneven, with random dark patches. If this is just normal stuff, that's fine and I can deal with it, but if you think it's worth exchanging, let me know. I'm not very experienced with AE.

Thanks!
Jordan

 

[mhip]

The very first photo of the heel blem would be enough for me to ask for a replacement.

 

[dieworkwear]

Personally think the shoes are fine. They're going to get a lot more scuffed than that within ten mins of wearing them outside. The "stain" just looks like burnishing, even if not the best applied.

My main caution is that you've bought a pair of tan oxfords, and those generally go best with lighter colored suits. If you don't own a lighter colored suit, I think you'd be better with a different shoe.

 

[Phileas Fogg]

^ excellent advice above re: shoe color and appropriate suit combinations.

As far as the blemishes goes, return them. There’s no reason to have to settle for something that is already damaged out of the box. Would you drive a new car off the lot with a ding in the door, knowing that within a year you would probably have a ding in the same place?

 

[jorshillay]

My main caution is that you've bought a pair of tan oxfords, and those generally go best with lighter colored suits. If you don't own a lighter colored suit, I think you'd be better with a different shoe.

Thanks for the advice, I hadn't really thought about that. However, I do live in Florida and definitely wear a lot of light colored apparel for our perpetual summer. These will work great!


Though they would get scuffs, I still think I'm inclined to exchange. If these were factory seconds, I would expect as much. But considering they're supposed to be new, I don't think they should have passed through quality control.

 

[jorshillay]

^ excellent advice above re: shoe color and appropriate suit combinations.

As far as the blemishes goes, return them. There’s no reason to have to settle for something that is already damaged out of the box. Would you drive a new car off the lot with a ding in the door, knowing that within a year you would probably have a ding in the same place?

Excellent point, thank you.

 

[dieworkwear]

Thanks for the advice, I hadn't really thought about that. However, I do live in Florida and definitely wear a lot of light colored apparel for our perpetual summer. These will work great!


Though they would get scuffs, I still think I'm inclined to exchange. If these were factory seconds, I would expect as much. But considering they're supposed to be new, I don't think they should have passed through quality control.

Oxfords should be worn with suits, not just lighter colored apparel. It's a formal shoe.

If you have lighter colored suits, they can look great. But if you're mostly in sport coats or casualwear, I think you'd be better off in a more casual shoe.

Example of tan oxfords worn well:

Example of them looking less great

 

[notdos]

If it’s not visible at arms length, just go with it.

 

[mebiuspower]

It's inline with AE's QC....

 

[taxgenius]

It's inline with AE's QC....

Oy.

 

[ValidusLA]

It's inline with AE's QC....

Sadly I agree. The last couple years has seen precipitous decline in quality and QC.