Grant Stone - Official Affiliate Thread

[Erikdayo]

Basic non-shell Alden is $650-700+ these days. To say that Grant Stone isn't worth it anymore is a bit misleading. It is true that you can get Allen Emonds on sale for less than Grant Stone and that some Truman models are around the same price. Red Wings are $50 cheaper where as maybe 3 years back they were around the same price. My experience with GS qc is better than all of those brands. Well that along with the fact that Truman and Red Wing boots just look very different if you're more interested in a Grant Stone/Alden/AE Higgins Mill sort of style. But everyone has different preferences, different experiences, different standards, etc.

I agree that prices probably shouldn't be this high compared to average wages, but it is the world we are living in currently.

 

[707Matt]

The only thing that ever got me about GS is the QC. It would be a non issue if their focus wasn't telling folks how perfect things made in China can be. I see some wonky welt stitching on my left Forest Kudu Cap toes. Several QC issues with each pair of Field Boots I got. When I asked about these issues, the reply was, "they are boots, look at AE QC." The only thing about that is I did not purchase from AE. However, the other brands do not say they are trying to change the world's perspective on China made goods and boast about the tight QC. Don't get me wrong, I love my boots. I just wish they didn't make those claims. I am not convinced. Short of the black CXL, which took several emails to convince them they were not A grade, these are all my boots.

 

[7_rocket]

It's even worse when you live outside of the USA. $395 USD is currently $533 CAD. Before shipping so you're looking at close to $600. It is what it is!

 

[XxLogo]

It's even worse when you live outside of the USA. $395 USD is currently $533 CAD. Before shipping so you're looking at close to $600. It is what it is!

Grant Stone offers free shipping to Canada now over $350 I believe

 

[Limboroom]

The only thing that ever got me about GS is the QC. It would be a non issue if their focus wasn't telling folks how perfect things made in China can be. I see some wonky welt stitching on my left Forest Kudu Cap toes. Several QC issues with each pair of Field Boots I got. When I asked about these issues, the reply was, "they are boots, look at AE QC." The only thing about that is I did not purchase from AE. However, the other brands do not say they are trying to change the world's perspective on China made goods and boast about the tight QC. Don't get me wrong, I love my boots. I just wish they didn't make those claims. I am not convinced. Short of the black CXL, which took several emails to convince them they were not A grade, these are all my boots.

Matt, respectfully, you are attributing a lot of words and ideas to GS that I personally have never seen them mention or imply.

Where is “perfect” stated in any literature of any hand crafted shoe company, let alone GS? If you are/were expecting perfection, well, that is probably most of the issue. It‘s an untenable position. Goal? Sure. Expectation? No.

Has (and will) GS make mistakes? No doubt. Some of your pictures are not good. That said, IMO, some are not horrible either.

Is the price going up…kinda ******? Yup. Will it cut into their sales? Probably. But that is life.

The China thing is way overblown, and TBH, IMO, downplayed by GS. It’s not that the factory is in China. The point is that these people have been making GYW boots/shoes for a long, long time and are pretty good and most importantly…like family to Wyatt. IMO, they are not pushing China as much as they are actually just pushing a long time in house core competency with a team that GS mgt has a very high level of trust with.

I think the main point about GS for me, remains the same. The value proposition. And, sorry, but yes - GS should always be compared to the market and their peers, like AE. Comparing to a theoretical perfection is kind of useless. It doesn’t exist, at least not at this price point.

Does that make it any easier when you got what you perceive as a lemon? Maybe not.

However, a full and true comparison may mean that your odds of getting a better boot, for the same price, from somewhere else are lower than with GS. IMO, that was and still is the case.

 

[Moeck14]

Matt, respectfully, you are attributing a lot of words and ideas to GS that I personally have never seen them mention or imply.

Where is “perfect” stated in any literature of any hand crafted shoe company, let alone GS? If you are/were expecting perfection, well, that is probably most of the issue. It‘s an untenable position. Goal? Sure. Expectation? No.

Has (and will) GS make mistakes? No doubt. Some of your pictures are not good. That said, IMO, some are not horrible either.

Is the price going up…kinda ******? Yup. Will it cut into their sales? Probably. But that is life.

The China thing is way overblown, and TBH, IMO, downplayed by GS. It’s not that the factory is in China. The point is that these people have been making GYW boots/shoes for a long, long time and are pretty good and most importantly…like family to Wyatt. IMO, they are not pushing China as much as they are actually just pushing a long time in house core competency with a team that GS mgt has a very high level of trust with.

I think the main point about GS for me, remains the same. The value proposition. And, sorry, but yes - GS should always be compared to the market and their peers, like AE. Comparing to a theoretical perfection is kind of useless. It doesn’t exist, at least not at this price point.

Does that make it any easier when you got what you perceive as a lemon? Maybe not.

However, a full and true comparison may mean that your odds of getting a better boot, for the same price, from somewhere else are lower than with GS. IMO, that was and still is the case.

Yeah looking at boots with a microscope is always going to be a disappointment with hand made goods. The quality and correctly stated value for GS isn't comparable with 99% of the mfgs out there.

Most the pictures shared are very minor things which cant be noticed on foot.

 

[Moeck14]

Basic non-shell Alden is $650-700+ these days. To say that Grant Stone isn't worth it anymore is a bit misleading. It is true that you can get Allen Emonds on sale for less than Grant Stone and that some Truman models are around the same price. Red Wings are $50 cheaper where as maybe 3 years back they were around the same price. My experience with GS qc is better than all of those brands. Well that along with the fact that Truman and Red Wing boots just look very different if you're more interested in a Grant Stone/Alden/AE Higgins Mill sort of style. But everyone has different preferences, different experiences, different standards, etc.

I agree that prices probably shouldn't be this high compared to average wages, but it is the world we are living in currently.

Alden just announced their yearly increase of I think it was $35-70 depending on model, so the gap will become even larger

 

[707Matt]

What 'Made in China' Means to Grant Stone

Our customers often ask about the production of our footwear, primarily wondering why we chose to make our collection in China. Historically, Goodyear-welt footwear is more commonly made in Western countries but our story is quite unique and we are happy to share how it all began in Xiamen...

www.grantstoneshoes.com

 

[707Matt]

Yeah looking at boots with a microscope is always going to be a disappointment with hand made goods. The quality and correctly stated value for GS isn't comparable with 99% of the mfgs out there.

Most the pictures shared are very minor things which cant be noticed on foot.

I didn't notice the welt stitching on the forest kudu until on foot. I did not notice the stuff on my Saddle tan field boots until on foot. I did not notice the back of the earth field boots for the first 2 months. The folded welt on the black CXL stood out immediately. None of which were labeled as b grade. This is just my experience.

 

[ProfilaBinding]

USD 15 increase across most of the range of boots from Grant Stone. The price is now USD 395 up from USD 380.

I knew this would happen. Governments falsely believing they can print their way out of all the problems. This is the result. Still, GS prices are far better than most of the competition. I don't even think I will be able to justify buying Alden at first quality soon. I will just shop for deals or factory seconds. At least with GS and some other brands, they are within the $250-400 range.

 

[basu13]

Badalassi veg tan patina.

 

[basu13]

I knew this would happen. Governments falsely believing they can print their way out of all the problems. This is the result. Still, GS prices are far better than most of the competition. I don't even think I will be able to justify buying Alden at first quality soon. I will just shop for deals or factory seconds. At least with GS and some other brands, they are within the $250-400 range.

I've moved my GS purchases almost entirely to the B grade section. Picked up 5-6 B grades over the years and they have been rather good to me. Don't think I'll be picking up full price anymore unless something extremely compelling cones up. At least in my reckoning, full price GS boots have kind of moved out of the superb value proposition bracket that GS was known for.

 

[707Matt]

I'm wearing them right now, so I do love my boots. No need to look at them through a microscope to see the big miss stitch. It is where my eye focuses every time I look down. It has been pointed out when I tried to pump up GS Boots. There is a large hole/gap where the vamp and tongue come together. I must be wrong about the whole point of a gusseted tongue also. I dont see the point in attatching the tongue so far up the side if there is a hole at the bottom of the tongue. I was eventually given b grade pricing, but I did not intend to buy B grade GS boots for my first pair. It is what I ended up being stuck with and was told all is ok because the price was adjusted to B grade pricing. Oh, I'm just suppose to not notice or care because they are boots? Don't look at them too much or I will be disappointed? How is any of this my fault?

 

[Erikdayo]

I'm wearing them right now, so I do love my boots. No need to look at them through a microscope to see the big miss stitch. It is where my eye focuses every time I look down. It has been pointed out when I tried to pump up GS Boots. There is a large hole/gap where the vamp and tongue come together. I must be wrong about the whole point of a gusseted tongue also. I dont see the point in attatching the tongue so far up the side if there is a hole at the bottom of the tongue. I was eventually given b grade pricing, but I did not intend to buy B grade GS boots for my first pair. It is what I ended up being stuck with and was told all is ok because the price was adjusted to B grade pricing. Oh, I'm just suppose to not notice or care because they are boots? Don't look at them too much or I will be disappointed? How is any of this my fault?

Did you try many other brands before Grant Stone? I think it is certainly fair to feel let down because we all have our own evolving standards and experiences. it's just that most of us have had very good experiences with Grant Stone.

Personally, I would not have kept the Badalassi pair. Whether it truly affects the structural integrity or not I feel the exposed welt stitches are unacceptable. The other pairs all look good to me even if not 'perfect'. The single hole on the side doesn't bother me very much, but it does remind me of my first pair of Alden Indy boots. The quarters seemed to have been sewn on wrong, removed, and resewn. There were either 2 or 4 holes on the vamp because of that. These were also not sold as factory seconds.

Interestingly, my first pair of Grant Stone was also my worst pair. It was a pair of crimson CXL cap toe boots, and a few of the quarter panels looks pretty gnarly out of the box. I wore them anyway because I thought well maybe it'll just blend in over time, but after a few days I decided they weren't for me. I was able to work out a deal with customer service and got the tan calfskin cap toe boots instead. It was a safer pick because aesthetically bad breaks on calfskin are much less common.

Ever since then I haven't had much to complain about. I would admit that I would love if the breaks were tighter on the vamps of my two current CXL pairs. Particularly on the left boots. That sort of thing bugs me a lot for a day or two. Then I just have to live with it or move onto something else. It will always be safer for my preferences to go with calfskin or other leathers that aren't as prone to looser breaks like cowhide can sometimes have, but I have trouble finding anyone making exactly what I am looking for. Especially at the price range I look at.

I notice these sorts of flaws on a lot of my clothing as well. My newest jacket has some really janky looking chest pockets. IMO they should have been redone, factory seconds, or just scrapped altogether. It's silly given that the jacket goes for $600-700 new. I happened to get it on sale for half price since it is last year's version, but even then the flaws seem crazy for the price. Beyond that there were loose threads in at least 4 spots. My other jacket from this same brand had broken stitches in two spots brand new. Also crazy given it is a $425 jacket. I handsewed along the seams where the stitches where bad, and all is well.. But for the price it's very questionable. This brand is 0-2 for me, haha. Lucky for them the jackets fit me well. Most brands jackets seem too short or two wide for my preferences depending on the size.

 

[lfzhao5]

Just want to point out about Truman.

A. Their horserump price jumped from 440 to 500 plus

B. They got rid of channel insole to move to gemming like every other factory, to saves cost

C. Moved away from known brand soles to in house soles, save cost

D. Use laser cutter vs clicking , increase efficiency, but clicking is subpar

E. Prices are stable because they have been cutting cost all these years to increase output to meet demand.

Don't think I'll ever get another pair of Truman's, just want to point out why they can afford to keep prices the same, when they are changing their manufacturing parts.

I don't know if they still use thick leather heel counter anymore, wouldnt be suprise if it was a fiberboard now. Most of their customers don't care, they care about "made in murica"