Allen Edmonds - is this acceptible?

[alex1911]

Several months ago, I set my eyes on a pair of Allen Edmonds St. Johns double monks in dark chili color. I really liked everything about that shoe - style, color... everything. There are many double monks out there these days, but these were the ones that I liked the most. That started my love/hate relationship with that shoe in particular, and AE in general. I'm now on my 6th pair of them - that's right - 6th pair, and EVERY single pair had problems, at least according to my expectations from a $400+ pair of shoes. Now I'm starting to wonder - are my expectations unreasonably high? Is this a norm when it comes to hand-made shoes? Should I be expecting at least the same consistency and attention to detail that I can get from $99 shoes from DSW? So I thought I'd ask the community and see what others think. Here are some of the pictures of the St. Johns I've gone through so far:

First pair (in retrospect, this was probably the best pair, so I should have kept it):





Here's my second pair:





Third pair:




Fourth pair:





Fifth pair was actually visually fairly flawless, but it was so small, it felt like it was a full size smaller and narrower.

And now my last (6th) pair I just received a couple of days ago:



After about the 3rd attempt, I was going to just give up and find something similar from another brand. But I just couldn't let go, and still wanted this shoe, so it has now become almost a challenge for me to find a perfect pair of St. Johns, no matter how many times I have to exchange them. So, what do you guys think? Would you accept this quality shoes? Am I being too picky here?

 

[Proleet]

None of these are acceptable for full price at that price level if you ask me....

 

[S.R.M. 1977]

That's strange. Have you tried talking to them? Tell them if it's not too much to check the shoes again before sending them to you.

 

[Billy love]

Are these seconds

 

[alex1911]

That's strange. Have you tried talking to them? Tell them if it's not too much to check the shoes again before sending them to you.

Tried that after pair #2 I think; was told it's not something they can do.

Are these seconds

Nope, all full-priced "firsts". And after having seen these firsts, I shudder to think what their seconds may look like...

 

[Moose22]

Tried that after pair #2 I think; was told it's not something they can do.

This is more evidence of the decline of AE, I think.

I've had problems. Many problems. In fact, I've gotten precisely ONE pair if firsts that didn't have too many issues out the gate, but they literally checked before replacing the previous pair and the second pair I got was of adequate quality. The last pair I bought were Jeffersons and the channel for the stitching on the sole was too shallow. I said "screw it" and am done with AE, even though I have quite a few pair.

Still, when I had problems, they bent over backwards to try and make it right... until the Jeffersons, of course. They either worked to get me the shoes I wanted, offered me ANY other shoe in the inventory when they couldn't make a decent pair of the style I was after, or sent me gift cards for putting up with their crap, so I kept trying. While the customer service was that high I was annoyed, but willing to play the game.

Oddly, I've done well with seconds. Between the gift cards and a ridiculous sale I got a stellar pair of shell McNeals for $200 out of pocket, and my mis-matched Rogues are my favorite shoes. But Buying firsts at AE has become a sucker's game.

Sorry to let you down.

 

[Draconestra]

I personally feel like your second pair was the best one so far. I have black St. John’s that’s I’ve gotten through and eBay seller, and they look like they’re seconds. I got them at a steal and the only thing I saw wrong with them was the stitching near the welt break.

Out of curiosity, why can’t you exchange them at a store where you can look at them before you do the shoe exchanged process?

 

[alex1911]

Out of curiosity, why can’t you exchange them at a store where you can look at them before you do the shoe exchanged process?

The closest AE store is almost an hour away, and when I called them, they didn't stock this model/color/size combination. They said they would be happy to order it for me, but I figured why drive an hour each way when I can order it myself.