Sperry vs Quoddy

[gdl203]

Originally Posted by Teger

the reason o'connel had them for so cheap is because they probably had old stock. with the recent surge in popularity, quoddy has to hire on more workers and jumped up the price of their shoes.
Sounds like a whole new economic theory - some sort of reverse economies of scale?

 

[Mr T]

Originally Posted by porcelain monkey

On sizing, the mocs seem to run true to size. I am a 10 E and they fit just like other similar shoes (LL Bean for example).

Agreed. True to my size 9.5 as well.

 

[porcelain monkey]

Originally Posted by gdl203

Sounds like a whole new economic theory - some sort of reverse economies of scale?

Yeah, I agree. Unless the price of materials went up, shouldn't they be able to justify those extra workers by selling more shoes, thereby keeping prices relatively stable.

 

[SkinnyGoomba]

Originally Posted by greekonomist

Navy Alden boat shoes are pretty nice looking IMO.

+1 thats the first pair of boat shoes i've seen that i would actually consider wearing.

 

[SkinnyGoomba]

Originally Posted by gdl203

Sounds like a whole new economic theory - some sort of reverse economies of scale?

its a bare market for boat shoes right now.

get in while things are cheap!

 

[PartagasIV]

I wear a 12 in Sperrys...would this translate to a half size down with Quoddys?

 

[dfagdfsh]

Originally Posted by gdl203

Sounds like a whole new economic theory - some sort of reverse economies of scale?

as the popularity rise they had to increase their staff to meet demand, so that does raise infastructure costs, no? and they can raise their price because people are willing to pay it for a quality product.

$100ish for a made in america shoe with a leather quality as nice as some AE's I've seen was too good to be true, although I'm glad I got my bluchers while it lasted.

mocs fit true to size or if you have a narrow foot you could probably size down a half size.

 

[dfagdfsh]

Originally Posted by PartagasIV

I wear a 12 in Sperrys...would this translate to a half size down with Quoddys?

I'm a 12 in Sperry and am a wear in both the 3 eyelet blucher and the canoe moc

 

[porcelain monkey]

Originally Posted by Teger

as the popularity rise they had to increase their staff to meet demand, so that does raise infastructure costs, no? and they can raise their price because people are willing to pay it for a quality product.

$100ish for a made in america shoe with a leather quality as nice as some AE's I've seen was too good to be true, although I'm glad I got my bluchers while it lasted.

mocs fit true to size or if you have a narrow foot you could probably size down a half size.

I agree that for what you get Quoddys are a bargain, and perhaps they are just reacting to this reality. BUT, I still do not believe that because they are selling more shoes, and need to hire more people, that they need to raise prices. This does not make sense. You invest your capital in your inventories and marginal costs such as salaries, and make it back when you sell your product. This is what bank loans and lines of credit are for. Also, commodity prices are testing lows, so the leather, rubber, nickel grommets, etc., not to mention the oil or gas to heat the factory in Maine, are all cheaper.

Now, perhaps they could not get a loan, and need the money faster to pay all these new workers. Perhaps their profits were razer thin by design in order to build a following and the current model is simply now sustainable. There could be many reasons for raising prices. But if Quoddy is increasing prices during the worst economic slowdown since the Great Depression because they are SELLING MORE SHOES, something is quite wrong.

(Stepping off soapbox now)

 

[gdl203]

Originally Posted by Teger

as the popularity rise they had to increase their staff to meet demand, so that does raise infastructure costs, no?
No - labor is a variable cost (to keep things simple) so the # of man-hours to complete a shoe is the same no matter how many shoes are produced (assuming there's no gain in productivity - again to keep things simple). However, fixed costs (rent, management costs and offices, etc) are not variable and can be spread over a larger revenue base when sales increase. Therefore, margins increase when sales go up (and not the opposite). In some instance with very high capital costs, there are step functions in costs (e.g. build a whole new furnace) but not in this type of business.

Originally Posted by Teger

and they can raise their price because people are willing to pay it for a quality product.
Yes. That they can. It's called milking the cow (the cow being you guys of course)

 

[HHS]

mooooo

 

[gdl203]

Originally Posted by HHS

mooooo

That was not meant in a pejorative way btw. All brands need their cows and I'm a cow for some of them...

 

[HHS]

Originally Posted by gdl203

That was not meant in a pejorative way btw. All brands need their cows and I'm a cow for some of them...

Not taken that way at all, no worries...

I had just ordered the navy/brick bluchers immediately before reading the thread - so I had to actually moo when I saw the post - I moo because it's true!

 

[gdl203]

Originally Posted by HHS

I had just ordered the navy/brick bluchers immediately before reading the thread - so I had to actually moo when I saw the post - I moo because it's true!

These are pretty cool, I must say - too much $ IMO but still cool

 

[gavb]

i realise the thread is years old but it annoyed me! ive owned both and felt ripped off at sopending the extra 100 on quoddies. there is no difference in the 2,both qualitylether and construction. so do the math ,buy sperry,all day