General Question

hummingbug3's avatar

Can a shoe repair shop fix these issues?

Asked by hummingbug3 (196points) October 24th, 2013

I’ve never been to one before, and I really don’t want to buy new shoes. I have three pairs of shoes that need some work: a synthetic pair of combat boots, some leather Nine West booties (i don’t know if it is synthetic), and some suede Guess boots with a faux wood bottom.

The combat boots have a completely broken zipper; the zipper came off track and part of the zipper track is now crooked and detached from the shoe. The shoes were only $40 but they are worth a lot to me because I have somewhat big feet and all of the combat boots I have run across are either ugly on me or don’t come in my size. I have yet to find another pair that fit nicely for the same price. Not only that, but these are super broken in and comfortable with the zipper being the only problem.

The nine west shoes have a messed up heel tip and since the leather is covering all parts of the shoe, it’s started to get scuffed and peel off of the heel and bottom of the shoe (areas where there is the most contact).

The suede shoes have a couple of light stains on them. Not super deep or noticeable ones, but stained nonetheless. Also, part of the faux wood has been scuffed off in a small area on the bottom and you can see the base of shoe bottom.

Can these issues be fixed? What should I give up on? Normally I replace shoes, but these are all some of my favorites in my closet and I haven’t really found shoes in the stores that are reasonably priced (under $150) that look better than what I have :( not only that but I haven’t had these that long and I am just rough on shoes I think….

Observing members: 0 Composing members: 0

8 Answers

Pachy's avatar

I completely understand your reluctance to give up on a pair of shoes you really like. A good shop should be able to make most if not all these repairs but be prepared, it’ll be expensive.

CWOTUS's avatar

I’m going to disagree with @Pachyderm_In_The_Room on this topic. If the footwear is damaged “beyond commercial repair” the best shops will refuse to do the work because it makes their repairs cost more than the value of the items when they were new, and few customers will pay for that. So they end up eating the cost and wasting their time. Good shops won’t do that. They won’t waste their time and money in the first place, and they may not even want to serve you if you bring them junk and expect them to perform miracles. They’ll act – rightly – as if you have no idea what you’re even asking, or that you can’t tell good quality from bad, and they won’t want an association with you for that reason. I’ve seen that happen.

Secondly, some goods are so cheap because they are shoddy to begin with (pun not intended), and high-quality repair shops can see that at a glance. They may not waste their time even if you pay them up front, because they consider it a waste of their time and talent even if you are paying.

Some broken goods cannot be fixed unless you are prepared to pay far more than the thing is really worth – assuming you will pay, and the base materials are at least whole enough to attach repair parts to – and even if the repairs are made and paid for, the look and feel may be so different that you’ll wish you hadn’t wasted your time and money in the first place.

glacial's avatar

You will find nothing here but conflicting speculative answers. Call a few cobblers in your area, and ask them.

Pandora's avatar

I took my husbands shoes in once to get a new heel on both of his favorite shoes. They said the cost would be 60 dollars. The shoe only cost 90. So I looked up the brand on-line and found the exact same shoe on sale for 80.
Have you tried looking up the shoe on-line to see if it is still being made? There will be more sizes available on-line than what you may find in the store.
Good luck.

Pachy's avatar

Right on, @glacial. Easy to see how to made it to the Mansion. :-)

janbb's avatar

Nothing to add except to also suggest going to a shoe repair shop or two and asking for their opinion and pricing.

I have two pairs of initially inexpensive Mary Janes that I have kept for about 25 years with new heels and buckles on periodically. I just like them.

hummingbug3's avatar

@Pandora unfortunately the combat boots were an online purchase and I can’t seem to find the exact same ones anymore :( These I actually would be willing to buy again because they were only $50 but it’s not even in my amazon orders list for some reason; the company may be gone now. The other two are from about 3 years back and were both around $145 when purchased. Can’t find them ANYWHERE :(

My main thing is just seeing if some stuff is even possible. I don’t know what shoe repair places do besides replace heel tips. I suppose I’ll have to make a bunch of calls today….....

janbb's avatar

@hummingbug3 If you can, it would be really helpful for you to actually bring the shoes in for them to tell you what they can do and give you an estimate. But you can certainly narrow down the likely suspects first.

Answer this question

Login

or

Join

to answer.

This question is in the General Section. Responses must be helpful and on-topic.

Your answer will be saved while you login or join.

Have a question? Ask Fluther!

What do you know more about?
or
Knowledge Networking @ Fluther