Pre-sale advice - disclose defect or have it repaired?

[DanielCoffey]

I need some advice about people's expectations when buying a second-hand item where there is a defect that will be readily apparent. My personal philosophy is always, always disclose the issue. I never want to try to hide something from a buyer.

The specific situation is that I have a very lightly-worn pair of Wolverine 1000-mile mens boots that I am getting ready to sell as I no longer wear them. Externally the boots are in fine and typical condition for their usage. The heels and leather soles are original and only slightly worn at the toes with all welts intact. I even have the original box and spare Wolverine laces but... there is a defect inside the boots that I have discovered.

There are several nail heads right under the heel that were not countersunk down properly when the boots were made and the light wear I have put them through has cause the thin branded leather half-insole to press down and form bumps around the heads. I can't feel the bumps through my foot but I can see them when I look inside. The boots are out of warranty (bought by me in the UK in 2013) and the shop I bought them from has ceased trading.

What I need to know is this... should I present the boots "as is" with a clear and full disclosure of the defect or should I have them repaired first? I suspect that the half-insole (which is held down by what appears to be adhesive tape) needs to be peeled back, the heads sunk properly and some fresh contact adhesive used to re-fix the half-insole.

Here is a quick picture of the issue for your thoughts...

 

[Lean'n'mean]

I would sell them 'as is' & let the buyer decide what to do about it. Repairing them will probably cost you about half of your asking price which you won't get back. I don't see any real need to repair them anyway as putting in good quality removable insoles will prevent any discomfort.

 

[willyto]

Sell them "as is" but warn the buyer about the problem. You don't want anyone to get hurt.

 

[DanielCoffey]

That sounds like a good plan. I'll include a clear photo of each heel area in good light.

The thin leather lining is only stuck down in its centre by some double-sided tape so I may be able to get at some of the worst offenders and punch them. I don't want to do it through the leather as it will cut it.

I will be replacing them with some William Lennon boots - a pair of 107F Field boots in reverse kip and hopefully a pair of 78TC Work boots in light brown grained.

Cheers for the opinions - it is appreciated.

 

[DanielCoffey]

A quick follow-up... I heard back from Wolverine and they state that their boots are not designed to have this defect repaired. Their opinion is that emerging nail heads are part of the expected wear for their boots. They suggested buying a third-party insole to cover the nail heads.

I have worn this pair perhaps a dozen times so am not that impressed. I decided to examine them more closely since they were out of warranty.

I peeled back the half-insole to look at the construction. From the heel downwards it seems the thin piece of branded leather and a thin sponge is glued with some rubber cement onto a piece of "Texon" fibre-board. The board itself is held in place on the heel stack with two staples and then six flat-head nails are used to firmly attach it to the heel. These are the nails that went in at an angle and were not countersunk or flushed. The staples do indeed prevent the fibre-board being removed and the nails being re-seated. There were a few headless nails showing through the board in one of the boots but not the other.

I took a small punch and sunk the centre of every nail until it was down to the level of the board then took a broad punch and flattened and levelled the head of each nail so that it was flush with the board rather than canted up at an angle. Now when I press down on the thin leather insole layer, I can't feel any lumps at all. I will get some rubber contact cement and lightly re-fix the leather insole to the fibre board. Once that is done, I can consider the defect sufficiently repaired.

I know I couldn't feel the bumps when wearing the boots but it is such a shame that the Wolverine construction techniques prevent small issues like this from being properly remedied. It would have been nice to remove the piece of fibre-board and use new nails to get them straight but I feel I have succeeded in repairing them to my own satisfaction.