Club Obi Wan

After months of not buying any gear, I went kind of nuts over the
past two weeks and ordered an AB, a Federation Dlx. (to hold me over
until the AB comes), and a pair of Aldens (there goes the tax refund)
Today, my Aldens arrived. The fit is great but I noticed two flaws
pictured below. :evil:


I took them to my local Alden dealer and he said there wasn't anything
to be concerned about. These are part of the construction of the shoe that
are normally covered when the shoe is finished.
My question is this: am I just being picky, or is it reasonable to expect to not
see these construction holes/cuts on a pair of $320 shoes? Have any other
Alden owners experienced anything like this?

i honestly don't look that close. those imperfections do not look like they will impede the performance of the boot imo.

when i received my first pair, the eyelets were poorly finished so that they would always saw the laces apart. i went through 4 or 5 pairs of laces thinking this was normal. in the end i just crushed the rough edges down with some pliers.

i wouldn't let that bother you....once you get some dust and scuffs on the boots you won't even notice those things are there

I would exchange them. They have a hole, and what looks like a tear in the leather. For $320, they better be perfect.
'Blues

IndyBlues wrote:I would exchange them. They have a hole, and what looks like a tear in the leather. For $320, they better be perfect.
'Blues

I agree. I don't own a pair of Aldens (yet ) but if I paid 320 for a "NEW" pair of shoes they better have no imperfections.

Indiana Scones wrote: I took them to my local Alden dealer and he said there wasn't anything
to be concerned about. These are part of the construction of the shoe that
are normally covered when the shoe is finished.
My question is this: am I just being picky, or is it reasonable to expect to not
see these construction holes/cuts on a pair of $320 shoes?

I say you have all the right to be ticked about it. For that price, they shouldn't have difects at all in my opinion.
Have you tried contacting them through emails showing these pictures? Perhaps your local Aldens dealer wasn't bothered changing them for so little but maybe the main company will.

I agree that for $300.+ you shouldn't have to put up with these flaws.
Having said that, I often, due to my own impatience, convince myself to put up with minor imperfections. I rationalize that with wear and use the item would end up "less than perfect" anyway.
It's a tough call to make but the bottom line is if you're not satisfied then I wouldn't let the local Alden dealer deter you from returning them for a "perfect" pair.
I'm just glad my Aldens were blemish free. I'm not sure I would have had the patience to return them.
Good luck.
Tron

If you decide on the return route, I only hope you haven't worn them yet. Alden's will be hard pressed to take them back in used condition.

Regards! Michaelson

I only hope you did not wear those outside. Aldens will not take them back unless they are just like they were out of the box. So if you want to return them, I hope you were walking on carpeting. Otherwise, Aldens probably won't accept the return, that is why I took a long time to consider my Aldens fit or not and walked on the carpet with them and made sure not to hit anything. You should definately consider a return if your shoes looked like that out of the box, you paid good money for those. Hope you can return those and get a new pair.

IndianaChris

I would exchange them. They have a hole, and what looks like a tear in the leather. For $320, they better be perfect.

Absolutely!!!

Aldens will not take them back unless they are just like they were out of the box.

I would make a stink even if you have worn them outside. Those are obviously manufacturing flaws which should have consigned these to the irregular file.

That won't wash, CK. They'll point out that these problems were apparent when they came out of the box, and should have been addressed before they were worn.

By wearing them, they can not be sold in their 'seconds' market, and are therefore non-returnable.

Regards! Michaelson

I only tried them on inside, so returning them should not
be a problem. Fortunately I noticed before going outside.

I just hope that this is an aberration, and not an indication of
the current quality control standards. Maybe it was supposed
to be an "irregular" pair. If I bought them as such, I would
have been happy. Come to think of it, maybe I can work
something out, hmmm... must look into that.

Good deal. You're in the bargaining position.

Regards! Michaelson

That mis stitch on the back must be pretty common. The first pair I got had that problem, but the guys at the shoe store broke the heel counter fixing the lacing hook.... ....and the second pair they ordered for me had the same problem. But that "slice" on the heel almost looks like the leather split when the heel was being slugged on.
Adam

Definitely attempt the return! I've dealt with alden directly for flaws such as this. Mine were tears in the leather down in the corners of the tongue. Alden is very difficult to deal with with returns,and it took some strongly worded emails and calls to get it done,but they eventually did it and I got a perfect pair. Just stand your ground and keep on them!
As for getting a deal on that pair as 'seconds',,,good luck ;-) I tried that with flawed pair I sent back. I offered to buy them back at the discounted 'seconds' price,,no go ;-(. They probably just sold them to another poor sole as 'new'.

TR

IndyBlues wrote:I would exchange them. They have a hole, and what looks like a tear in the leather. For $320, they better be perfect.
'Blues

Agreed.

Yeah, either send them back or ask for a partial refund as a "second market" pair.

Yeah, that isn't up to par for the price, I could see those holes getting ragged and maybe even enlarging as time went on.

That mis stitch on the back must be pretty common. The first pair I
got had that problem

I've found out that it is fairly common, it is a hole from the construction
process, but is usually hidden. I did not deal directly with Alden but sent
the pics to the company from whom I made the purchase. The gentleman
I spoke with agreed that the heel should not look that way and will take a
return. I tried to get a "seconds" discount but was told that the boots must
physically go back to Alden to be inspected and labeled as seconds. It
was worth a shot. Still... new ones will be on the way.

They probably just sold them to another poor sole as 'new'.

sole? I should have seen it coming.

The rear hole is common in Aldens and some vintage shoes that use similar construction techniques will have them. I have non-Indy Alden shoes with the holes. It's just part of it.

Edit: This is a pair of shoes I received today, Nettleton longwings, probably dating from the late '50s-60's. Nettleton was a maker similar to Alden back in the day. Note the tiny holes in the heel counter of both:

http://img266.imageshack.us/img266/1106/p1012180bj1.jpg

As for the split/slice near the sole I think that's a legitimate gripe. If it bothers you--obviously it does--you should exchange them. You don't want it to nag you forever.

While it doesen't look like that tear and hole would have any serious effect on the wear of the shoes they should still have been classified as "irregulars"...Especially for the price...Call them up and get them exchanged right away...

sneakertinker wrote:While it doesn't look like that tear and hole would have any serious effect on the wear of the shoes they should still have been classified as "irregulars"...Especially for the price...Call them up and get them exchanged right away...

While I don't own any by Alden, I do have some "custom" boots (weird feet- Russell Moccasin- not Indy related). The "hole" in the heel may be a manufacturing contact point as I've seen that on other hand made shoes. It should have been "worked out" or burnished and sometimes they forget- it should not impair the boot (even gives a kind of panache is what one salesman said!). It should be fixable, nqa! The split, that's a problem, imho. I certainly wouldn't accept it in a $300+ custom made shoe or boot!! I would think any company would take that back even with wear as it is clearly a defect (but, I don't know their policies- I'm just speaking of any company I'd do business with *again*!)

Thanks for your insight, guys. I'll admit, this is my first pair of
quality hand-crafted footwear, so these traditional construction
techniques are new to me. But, I'm here to learn

My "seconds" didn't look like that, so you were right to take them back.

I got mine directly from the factory in MA and I tried several pairs before getting the correct size. it seems to me that they all had some minor issues. Actually, in mine, both tongues tend to go to the side. I will be taking them back to the manufacturer to get it fixed. I think that if you're not happy with yours, you're entitled to get them replaced.

My Aldens have this cut, it's part of the process to bend the leather. It has never been a problem for me and has never let water in or anything like that. Don't be too concerned.