A barometer of how the world is changing

[TMB]

Remember when you used to be able to take a pair of shoes to the cobbler, get them fixed? re-stitched, re-soled ...

I went to take my shoes in for re-soling yesterday and found the shoe repair place, gone.

In fact there is now only one shoe repair place in this city of over 200,000 people. One.

People now treat shoes as throw aways, pay $5, wear them until they break then throw them away. Sort of mirrors a lot of what we see in other walks doesn't it.

You can't even get a pair of shoes repaired now-a-days.:mad:

[majorpat]

Buy some Limmer's from New Hampshire. Mostly boots but they also sell some walking shoes that look cool. They will fix them when worn.

[Keith A]

I experienced the exact same thing a while back. Been using this one guy for shoe, belt, and hand bag repairs for many years. He did great work and always seemed busy when I stopped by. Then I went to drop off some shoes and he was gone...and there are very few shops still open in our area.

[happycampyer]

Lots of places in NYC for shoe repair, and VIP is one of the best (granted, pop. > 200K). I think it really depends on where you live. In general, we have long since become a culture of disposable consumption (to make it cycling related, look at SRAM components).

[MattTuck]

Don't see why a cobbler couldn't do good business over the web. Just as easy to ship shoes to them, as it is to find one in town and drop them off. Maybe easier to send them in if you don't have a good cobbler or any cobbler in town.

[Ken Robb]

Don't see why a cobbler couldn't do good business over the web. Just as easy to ship shoes to them, as it is to find one in town and drop them off. Maybe easier to send them in if you don't have a good cobbler or any cobbler in town.

Good idea. The price of soles/heeels for many shoes is a problem. I can buy a pair of loafers from Bass for $59 at many discount stores and the last time I had a pair repaired the cost was $50.

I have some Allen Edmonds shoes and they provide renewal services that make old shoes like new. I'm not sure what that costs these days but the shoes are wonderful and worth the $275 and up cost.

Many shoes sold today have proprietary molded rubbery soles that are glued
on and are essentially unrepairable.

[cmg]

i used the word "cobbler" in describing a shoe repair place that was in my neighborhood. the response was "a what". so yea, another trade that is disappearing. until shoes get expensive even from developing nations.

[alancw3]

i used the word "cobbler" in describing a shoe repair place that was in my neighborhood. the response was "a what". so yea, another trade that is disappearing. until shoes get expensive even from developing nations.

funny i used the word cobbler at a social gathering once and everyone laughed and said i must really be old. yeah i am 64. and yes the "cobbler" in my neughborhood also closed when he retired. his sons all went to college and wanted nothing to do with the business. he couldn't even find someone interested in learning his trade as an apprentise. go figure.

[flydhest]

mmmm, peach cobbler.

[Fishbike]

Yeah, shoe repair is a dying trade. I have always subscribed to the philospohy of buying quality shoes, taking care of them and investing in quality repairs. Keeps my feet and ego happy. But in our disposable, buy-cheap-stuff-from abroad economic climate, most folks just toss shoes when worn a little. We also often tend to prefer quantity over quality, so our need to buy more stuff hurts the cobblers as well. But, heck I have many more bikes than I need so who am I to judge?

[onsight512]

A few years ago I worked as a cobbler of sorts; rock climbing shoes. The shop belongs to a friend of mine and I'd help him out here and there. Fun, but very dirty work.

I have a pair of Birkenstock sandals that I've had resoled probably four times in the last 15 years.

[Nelson99]

I too bemoan the loss of cobblers. But I wonder about the source of their demise. Almost all the cobblers I have known were really whacky. The older, the whackier they were. I think it was the glue. The modern day (recently past day?) version of the mad hatter. :bike:

[tannhauser]

This rant is from 1985.

It was about then that I approached a cobbler (curmudgeonly wooden-toothed East Ender) for a part time job. His response then - "There's no future! It's dying!"

[slowgoing]

still plenty of them in LA. I would think the more business and industry around, the more likely they are to survive.

However I have also used a hiking boot repair place on the web to replace the vibram soles on a pair of Asolos.

[Keith A]

still plenty of them in LA. I would think the more business and industry around, the more likely they are to survive.

However I have also used a hiking boot repair place on the web to replace the vibram soles on a pair of Asolos.Got a link for the boot repair?

[JasonF]

Send your shoes to B. Nelson in NYC, they do top-notch work

http://www.bnelsonshoes.com/

[monkeybanana86]

I had a repair shop cut my Brooks for me :)

[DRZRM]

B Nelson in NYC does great work, his re-crafts comes back with shoe trees and bags, shoes look like new. I'll paste a link to a boot repair guy in Colorado when I'm near a computer.

[happycampyer]

B. Nelson and VIP are the same place. Nick really knows his shoes. Even the high-end shoe companies in the city (Lobb, Weston, etc.) use them for local repairs as an alternative to sending shoes back to the factory.

[robin3mj]

You can send Chaco sandals back to be resoled. Same with some Clark's I think and many types of Vibram based shoes.

[pcxmbfj]

Got a quote from local repair to repair my old Clarks Wallabees at $50 plus.

Clarks authorized repair service charges $60 for renewal.

Found the same shoe, different color on the bay new for $42 after tax and shipping.

Something's wrong with these economics.

[zmudshark]

I just went to an REI garage sale. I got over 10 pairs of boot/shoes/sandles.

Vasque, Keen, Marmot, Salomon, Chaco, etc. My outlay was under $100, with taxes. Average cost ~ $7/pr. Cheaper than laces, in most cases.

Yes, things is way messed up. :confused:

[Nelson99]

That's a lot of shoes.

[wc1934]

cobblers, tailors, etc - a dying breed.
We do live in a throw away society - I had some electric hedge clippers that stopped working - I brought them to the black & decker store to be repaired - guy behind the counter told me to throw them out - would cost more to just to have him LOOK at them than it would be to purchase new ones.

[zmudshark]

That's a lot of shoes.

Yes, lasts me a couple of years. I hike every morning, go riding and walk multiple times a day with the pooch. I go through a lot of shoes in a year. When I can buy a nice pair of shoes for $7, I just buy them. If I don't like them later, I donate them to Goodwill, or give to one of my sons. I even gave a nice pair to a former forum member who is local. It all works out.

As Dr John put it, 'If I don't do it, somebody else will'.

You need a pair of 45's?

[rugbysecondrow]

Many shoes sold today have proprietary molded rubbery soles that are glued
on and are essentially unrepairable.

This. Shoes are designed to be throw aways.

[zmudshark]

A couple pairs I bought were returned for the sole separating. Tubular cement took care of that ;)

[1happygirl]

My Dad's Allen Edmonds (?) still made in US and at any time send them back with $200 or something and they will totally refurb the shoes. Cheaper to buy new says mi papa.

I had to do a report for school and my history teach/coach didn't know what a shoe last was.

sad.

[slowgoing]

Got a link for the boot repair?

http://www.rmresole.com/Asolo-Hiking-Boot-Resole-Before-and-After.html

[bart998]

I recently took a pair of old school Vittoria shoes to the local cobbler to have new heel and toe guards nailed on. He was really excited when he saw how they were made.

[soulspinner]

Took my daughters Irish dance hardshoes to a local shoe repair shop. A real old Italian guy said 10 bucks and I said O.K. Went to pick them up and he said 7 dollars with tax. They are perfect again. Talked with him awhile. He said nobody wants to work with their hands anymore. His hands look like they been through heel and back. :banana:

[AngryScientist]

didnt read all of the responses, but i live in a pretty small town here in north jersey, very old town, very italian town. two shoe repair places here.

[Germany_chris]

We have on both of my local malls..

[jlwdm]

Excellent shoe repair at Messina's in Grapevine. Only problem is they are so busy it takes about 10 days to get done.

Tailors seem to be flourishing also. The one I use takes a week to get a pair of pants hemmed.

Jeff

[oldpotatoe]

Remember when you used to be able to take a pair of shoes to the cobbler, get them fixed? re-stitched, re-soled ...

I went to take my shoes in for re-soling yesterday and found the shoe repair place, gone.

In fact there is now only one shoe repair place in this city of over 200,000 people. One.

People now treat shoes as throw aways, pay $5, wear them until they break then throw them away. Sort of mirrors a lot of what we see in other walks doesn't it.

You can't even get a pair of shoes repaired now-a-days.:mad:

Boulder has 3 shoe repair places...Perry's, been around for a long time, does superior work.

Some Carbon frames, wheelsouttaboxes, most components, are not only not repairable, but are DESIGNED that way.

[tiretrax]

My cobbler is a youngish guy. He's fast and good, but he laughs at me when I bring in non-leather soled shoes since those are deemed to be disposable.

It saddens me that so many things are designed to be consumed and disposed, especially expensive items like computers.

[GuyGadois]

Here, here! I haven't been able to find a good alchemist in years either.

[EricEstlund]

In the Eugene/ Springfield area there are probably 5 shoe repair places I can think of. We have at least two custom shoe makers. The combined total of the two towns is around 210,000. At least a few folks doing things like watch repair, and a few handfuls of people working on the esoteric and once dying process of bicycle fabrication.

I try to buy shoes that I can repair, and then buck up when the time comes. I see a guy named Jim a couple of times a year between my shoes and my wifes. My work boots are on their 4th sole. He's very reasonable, and does solid work at every day wearing prices.

Part of it lies with the buyer- if you can buy the shoes for $40 and the soles for $50, I'd argue there is value in buying the soles and not throwing away another upper (assuming it's still in good shape.

[zmudshark]

Here, here! I haven't been able to find a good alchemist in years either.


Not even in SLO?

[PaMtbRider]

I live in a small town, about 2000 people, and fortunately one of them is a cobbler. I just had my motorcycle boots resoled for the third time. I guess I need to stop dragging my feet when I start and stop.:beer:

[Nelson99]

Yes, lasts me a couple of years. I hike every morning, go riding and walk multiple times a day with the pooch. I go through a lot of shoes in a year. When I can buy a nice pair of shoes for $7, I just buy them. If I don't like them later, I donate them to Goodwill, or give to one of my sons. I even gave a nice pair to a former forum member who is local. It all works out.

As Dr John put it, 'If I don't do it, somebody else will'.

You need a pair of 45's?

Thanks, but I've got my own shoe fetish, and I'd have to chop off my toes.

But I might hit you up for a pair for my son. I think he will be a 45 this season ;)
:beer:

[Ti Designs]

cobblers, tailors, etc - a dying breed.
We do live in a throw away society - I had some electric hedge clippers that stopped working - I brought them to the black & decker store to be repaired - guy behind the counter told me to throw them out - would cost more to just to have him LOOK at them than it would be to purchase new ones.

It has a lot to do with how we value product and services, and how quality and reputation are attached to that value. The three pages of responses to this thread seem to be to the tune of "they still exist, I know of one", but I would be good money that the next one that opens also closes within a year. The expectation is that shoe repair guys don't charge very much. Their work is no easier than lawyers, but think of how much you would pay per hour for someone to work on your shoes. The truth is it probably takes longer (repair time includes the time to check in the product, write up the repair, store the product, find the product from storage, repair the product, calculate the repair cost, store the product again, deliver the product and take payment) and what you're willing to pay doesn't float their expenses.

Consumer electronics has become a world of throw-away garbage with protection plans to be purchased. About a decade ago I bought the CD changer that sits in my shop. They offered a two year protection plan for about $20 that they said would pay to have the unit fixed if anything went wrong. Who do thay pay $20 to open up a CD player??? The answer is that they know the time to failure of this piece of junk and they know the cost of replacement. Quality products have been replaced by profit margine calculations.