Has Anyone Sent Shoes Back To The Manufacturer?

[Fifty150]

I have these shoes that I don't really wear. Because of my lifestyle, they're not a good fit. I ride motorcycles, and sadly, these are not motorcycle boots. I think of them as my "mini van boots". They have been worn less than a dozen times, in about as many years. The last time that I rode the van, I noticed that the stitch holding the shoe together was unraveling.

So I sent them back. I'm waiting to hear from the shoe company. Is it repairable? Is it covered under warranty, as this is not wear and tear. I've never seen the stitch which holds the shoe together, unravel. Or will they try to charge me an arm and a leg to "recraft" a shoe which is otherwise new?

 

[Fifty150]

 

[Fifty150]

On another pair of old boots, one of the pull tabs broke. The manufacturer told me to have the repair done at a local cobbler. They reimbursed me for the cost of repair. The cost of repair was less than the cost of shipping.

 

[Fifty150]

In the bottom of my locker, all the way in the back, I keep a pair of uniform dress shoes. When I pulled them out, I found that the soles had literally deteriorated and crumbled off the shoes. Unworn shoes. Brand new, with the tags, in the box. The cost to resole the shoes was higher than what the shoes are worth. The manufacturer sent a brand new pair, free of charge.

 

[Edward]

Those buckle boots look interesting. I had a pair of British Gulf War I (Desert Storm) era roughouts years ago that I bought from a surplus place and left in the wardrobe for a few months, waiting for Summer. Took them out and the soles had melted to a gummy, sticky mess. Never worn. No idea what happened, but I ended up binning them. Back then I didn't think to chase it up - they were several months old and I hadn't kept any kind of receipts or anything. They were only £15, so not the end of the world.

Depending what they first pair of boots are and whether a lifetime warranty was offered, I don't know that I'd expect much from the manufacturer after twelve years. Could it be the stitch has come loose somehow owing to the leather straining from not being broken in / lack of use? (I'm not articulating this at all well, but...) Doesn't look like something that should happen. Would have though it's a relatively simple repair, though, for somebody with the tools.

I've never sent shoes back to the manufacturer, though I have had some resoled and such owing to standard wear and tear. Always by a local cobbler, though. Did try to buy the wife a pair of those 'for life' DMs a few years ago, but they'd recently stopped doing them at that point (I believe it ended up costing them a lot more than they'd anticipated.)

 

[Fifty150]

So I sent them back. I'm waiting to hear from the shoe company. Is it repairable? Is it covered under warranty?

 

[Fifty150]

Did try to buy the wife a pair of those 'for life' DMs a few years ago, but they'd recently stopped doing them at that point (I believe it ended up costing them a lot more than they'd anticipated.)

I wanted to buy a pair. My plan was to actually wear them all the time. I ride a motorcycle. I really wanted to see how long those boots would last. I did not buy them. I wanted to wait. I wanted to see how they administered the program and how they handled the claims. Next thing that you know, they gave up and stopped selling the shoes. I think they sold "for life" shoes for less than 5 years.

By the time Dr. Martens launched that "for life" program, most of their boots were made in China, Thailand, or wherever. I think what happened was that the company found out that their boots really were not that good. Too many of the boots came back. They were spending more money on repairing boots, replacing boots which couldn't be repaired, and administration of the warranty program - than they were actually making by selling the shoes with the warranty.

In my collection, I have old Dr. Martens that were made in England, and the first boots which they made in Asia. Honestly, I can't tell them apart. They're about the same to me. People point out that the boots have "cheap", laminated leather. But from what I see, the made in England boots had similar "cheap" leather. It's the same sole. In all fairness, I have older boots. Perhaps when they first started Asian production, those shoes were better than the shoes that they sell today. Today's shoes probably do use lower quality glue, and a thinner leather, then stitched with thread that is not as strong.

 

[Edward]

I wanted to buy a pair. My plan was to actually wear them all the time. I ride a motorcycle. I really wanted to see how long those boots would last. I did not buy them. I wanted to wait. I wanted to see how they administered the program and how they handled the claims. Next thing that you know, they gave up and stopped selling the shoes. I think they sold "for life" shoes for less than 5 years.

By the time Dr. Martens launched that "for life" program, most of their boots were made in China, Thailand, or wherever. I think what happened was that the company found out that their boots really were not that good. Too many of the boots came back. They were spending more money on repairing boots, replacing boots which couldn't be repaired, and administration of the warranty program - than they were actually making by selling the shoes with the warranty.

In my collection, I have old Dr. Martens that were made in England, and the first boots which they made in Asia. Honestly, I can't tell them apart. They're about the same to me. People point out that the boots have "cheap", laminated leather. But from what I see, the made in England boots had similar "cheap" leather. It's the same sole. In all fairness, I have older boots. Perhaps when they first started Asian production, those shoes were better than the shoes that they sell today. Today's shoes probably do use lower quality glue, and a thinner leather, then stitched with thread that is not as strong.

What killed DMs was the buyer, really. The market demanded they remain - as they did for years - at £45 a pair. The standard stuff is a bit more than that now, but the price didn't rise at all close to in line with inflation. That of course meant that over time they had to cut corners - first it was moving manufacturing to cut those costs, then it was gradually cutting the costs of the materials. As ever, it wasn't moving the manufacturing base that hit the quality, but cutting the quality of components going into them. Shame about that is I abandoned the brand years ago - in large partv because of a perception of lessened quality, which didn't apply to the whole line, but...


Not long after they offshored the generic production they did reintroduce a "Made in England" like for those who were prepared to pay a bit more for what were a better boot with better ingredients (though some of the market only really cared in was "made here", and that was a big part of the marketing too). I don't think the FL boots were MiE, but they were definitely higher end than the bottom line.

The issue with the For Life was they just hadn't I think done the maths. The take-up was fairly significant, and they over-committed. It wasn't "we'll repair your boots where possible" but they actually went so far as to commit to replacing them entirely. My first pair of DMs were bought new back in 1993. I wore nothing else seven days a week for eighteen months, by which point they were past their best. One of them had cracked above the toe. I suspect if I'd worn them to destruction like that, they'd have had another maybe six months in them. The 'For Life' offer guarantees to replace with a completely new pair of boots for up to GBP189. If I'd gotten in at the very last opportunity for that (buying by end April 2018) and worn them like I did back when, I'd quite possibly now be on my third pair of boots - my second 'free' pair. I suspect also a lot of people then didn't take care of their boots and purposely wore them harder than would have been normal, knowing they would be replaced "free".... the economic model just wasn't there. I believe take-up was also much higher than expected, and they got 'Hoovered' a bit.

 

[Fifty150]

The 'For Life' offer guarantees to replace with a completely new pair of boots for up to GBP189.

That was a poorly conceived program. Were the corporate executives so disillusioned, that they actually thought that their shoes could last forever?

Some shoe sellers offer recrafting, which the customer pays for. It currently costs upwards of $200 USD for a factory recraft. A similar service from a cobbler could cost up to three times as much. And nobody, not Allen Edmonds or Alden, will give you new shoes.

 

[Fifty150]

On another pair of old boots, one of the pull tabs broke. The manufacturer told me to have the repair done at a local cobbler. They reimbursed me for the cost of repair. The cost of repair was less than the cost of shipping.


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The check came in the mail today. It only took a few weeks. The shoe cobbler still has the shoe and hasn't completed the repair yet.

 

[Edward]

That was a poorly conceived program. Were the corporate executives so disillusioned, that they actually thought that their shoes could last forever?

Some shoe sellers offer recrafting, which the customer pays for. It currently costs upwards of $200 USD for a factory recraft. A similar service from a cobbler could cost up to three times as much. And nobody, not Allen Edmonds or Alden, will give you new shoes.

They were the better quality boots. I think they just didn't account for either the size of the uptake, or how hard people would wear them when they would be replaced for free and therefore didn't need looking after....

 

[Fifty150]

The shoes came back. The quality of the repair? You be the judge.

 

[Ernest P Shackleton]

I've had moc toes unravel exactly like that, and I've only owned one or two of the style. I've seen it on work sites too. I've wondered if it was inherent to the style and common to the construction of moc toes.

 

[Fifty150]

That's where the shoe bends by the ball of the foot. Exposed stitches take wear and tear. Thread is only so strong. These were made in The Dominican Republic. I suspect made in The United States shoes would suffer the same fate.

The shoe company paid for the shipping back and forth, and repaired it for free.