On a random trip to the local Salvation Army thrift store I found these...
And they were even in my size!!
I have no idea why they were marked like this. Reminds me of bowling shoes. The factory markings were not legible on the inside so maybe that's why they were marked.
How close is the color to being screen accurate? It looks good to me. It's more of a brown color than my new ones. These fit me just as well as the ones I got from Schmidty. Lucky find eh?
My wife just had to start making jokes about the poor dead guy who used to own these and whose wife gave them to Salvation Army. That kinda creeped me out a bit, but the price made me forget about that part.
I was almost shaking when I went up to the register to pay for them. No, I think I actually was shaking. I probably looked suspicious, like someone trying to steal something... gee I wonder why...
If I didn't love my other pair so much I'd sell them, but two pairs of Alden Indy boots is what I wanted anyhow, so this is a really good thing.
It's really nice to have luck smile my way once in a while.
Indiana Williams wrote:They even have the SA laces ;-) Congratulations
LOL Thanks! Those aren't the laces that came with them. Those laces were a bit worn out. They looked like the original ones. The laces in the pictures are ones that I replaced them with.
Last edited by Cammer on Wed Dec 03, 2008 3:23 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Travner Ravenweird wrote:You didn't happen to check the shirts, pants and jacket sections to see if it got donated with other stuff did you?
Sometimes that happens.
Actually that was why I was there. Indy style stuff is so retro that I figured a thrift shop would be a good place to look. After all, Florida is a favorite place for folks in the United States to retire. So I was looking for an Indy style shirt. While I was there I checked out the leather jackets/pants/shoes, and got lucky with the shoes.
That's where I picked up my LLBeans. Always on the look out for new stuff.
Though I cringe at some of the things I've walked away from and after a change of heart tried to pick up later, sometimes only after an hour or so. Even less in a couple of cases.
Unbelievable, they don't look like they've been worn too much either. The last time I was at a Goodwill, I scanned the leather jacket section just in case
Holy smokes, wonder what the odds were of that happening? Someone must have died! That's terrific (that you got such a deal, not that someone may have passed on)!
Cammer wrote:I have no idea why they were marked like this...The factory markings were not legible on the inside so maybe that's why they were marked.
That would be my guess--someone at the thrift store wrote the size inside so that potential buyers wouldn't have to look too hard to determine whether or not those shoes were the size they were looking for.
Some guys have all the luck...uh, I mean, great find!
Exactly where on the FL Suncoast are you located? (If you say that the Salv. Army store you bought those from was in Bradenton I think I might just throw up...)
Panama Tom Jr. wrote:Exactly where on the FL Suncoast are you located? (If you say that the Salv. Army store you bought those from was in Bradenton I think I might just throw up...)
Not Bradenton, but only about an hour north of there in Pinellas Park.
Actually my size is 10.5E, but the D width fits me fine after breaking them in, otherwise I would be selling them. I just bought a pair a month ago from Schmidty in 10.5D and they really fit me well after breaking them in with a couple pairs of socks and a nice long hike.
Except for the medium brown color, this pair of Aldens is identical to the pair that I previously bought from Schmidty.
Risu wrote:That is totally awesome! Can we get some comparison pics of color?
I would be glad to, except that the colors are currently identical. I used Kiwi brand liquid brown shoe polish, followed by a good soaking with Pecards shoe oil on my first pair and they now look just like the other pair.
So if you have a new pair of 405s and that brown is the color you are going for then that is the recipe. Very easy to do.
jnicktem wrote:I am willing to offer you $30 for these Aldens. Think about it, you will double your investment!
Hmm... that is VERY tempting.
How about instead of my Aldens you give me $30 for the rusty screwdriver I found buried in the dirt next to my garage last summer? It's still pretty good except for the tip got a little bit melted when I used it to jam the doorknob of my office when I lost the key and had to use my oxyacetylene torch to cut off the knob. I never did cut off the knob, but the door caught fire. Now I don't even need to open the door to get in my office. I just crawl through the big hole that is burned in it. Oh, and the plastic grip fell off the screwdriver. So now it looks like a funny shaped steel shaft with rust pits all over it and a melted tip.
Yea, I'll take 30 bucks for it. Free shipping. Paypal okay?
I started this thread for the purpose of sharing my excitement and small good fortune. Most folks have been great and very positive and I truly appreciate that (Thanks guys!!), but I should have been prepared to catch the inevitable sour grapes that were bound to head my way. However I remain too naive, even at my age, and didn't put my helmet on in time.
The bottom line is that there are some folks who would like me to apologize for getting a good deal on a pair of boots and keeping them for myself. They can't quite understand why I would not sell the boots to someone else at my own cost. I really don't need to justify my actions, nor do I need to apologize for good fortune. And I don't partake in drama so I am not going to respond to them.
Therefore at this point I would like to ask a moderator to please remove/delete this thread. This has gone far enough. Let's maintain some perspectiver here. I didn't win the lottery. For crying out loud, it's just a pair of used boots people!
Thats so lucky! And my size too! Ahh Jealousy. Well done.
