That’s very disappointing. Judging from your description, even my lowly Johnston & Murphy shoes (which are brown and tan laced saddle shoe brogue derbies) are better quality than your Alden’s (which are three to four times the price of the Johnston & Murphys).

 

I still am having excellent quality with Alden and have had no such experience. I am sorry you are seeing this. I hope it is not a premonition of the future.

 

Never expect QC from Alden.

 

Again, I most strongly disagree with the opinion expressed above.

 

By "QC" you mean Quality Control, correct?

If so, not only do I disagree but I question how many pairs of Alden shoes that you have seen.

I know that I have held and examined closely over a hundred pairs of Alden shoes, including factory seconds.

Any so called flaws have been extremely minor and only noticeable by being held in one's hand.

 

I never count how many pair of Alden shoes I ever seen, but I do know I own three pairs, and one of them has stitching like this. But I am not mad at all and don't care about these little details that much, so no need to go defensive for Alden here.

View attachment 72517

If you're referring to the fuzzing, get a lighter close enough...but not too close…and the problem will magically disappear.

 

If you're referring to the fuzzing, get a lighter close enough...but not too close…and the problem will magically disappear.

Thanks for the advice. 👍

 

Some images, preferably close up, would clarify this much better than banter.

Several pairs of my Alden's are factory seconds from The Shoe Mart. I have seen nothing close to what Richard Warren has described on any Alden product.

 

It is possible for both sides here to be correct, i.e., many people have had excellent experiences with Alden, while Richard had a terrible experience. Sort of like reading restaurant reviews on Tripadvisor or Yelp - many superb reviews punctuated by the occasional poor ones.

I typically ignore the aberrations, and make decisions based on the preponderance of experience/evidence.

 

Very well said, my friend.

 

I have had more limited experience with Alden, perhaps a dozen pairs over my lifetime (those that have gone away, left due to changing feet, not due to being worn out). I have never had issues with any of them, but I would expect that if a pair were substandard, the vendor or Alden would make it right by exchanging them or, if only tried on but not worn outside and not some odd sized special order, accepting a return. For the sums involved, any vendor (or Alden) who left a customer stuck with substandard shoes ought to become the subject of an awareness effort (and hopefully reverse their course).

 

I have not bought a large number of Aldens, but the ones I have are all of fine workmanship and quality, even on close inspection. I must, however, add that I have not seen or bought a pair of Aldens in the last ten years or so, therefore I have no idea what has been happening with the company in recent years, especially in light of the recent embezzlement of funds.

 

In our politically correct world, I thought I could never use the term again, but I thought it was "Irish pennants."

 

LOL, rhymes with "Irish penance".

On the main subject of discussion, I did a general check of the web to see if there were other complaints about quality control at Alden. Indeed there are, and many concerns date back more than a decade, including some on AAAC, so they are not something very recent.

Perhaps the price one pays for a pair of shoes is the critical factor. The more expensive and storied a pair, the greater the disappointment when even a small flaw is encountered. Things that would not bother me with a pair of thrifted Aldens or AEs, would definitely be of concern if I am buying a brand new pair. This would be the case even if the thrifted pairs are in mint condition, never worn.

Perhaps one should take the approach that imperfections have their own aesthetic appeal -- this is the "character" argument that is often seen. But if we are honest, this argument is less compelling when we have laid out $800 for a pair of shoes as opposed to $20. And the character argument really has force only when that character is acquired through age and wear, and not because of mistakes made during manufacture that are not picked up through quality control.

 

^^ You may be correct, I do not know.

Post Script: I looked it up and you are correct. "Irish Pennants"

 

I have 15 pair of Alden shoes. Most bought online since the store I used to buy from closed. I have returned maybe 4 pair over the years, but have pretty much stopped buying them, except for the saddle shoes I have hankered after, after giving up on getting a pair of shell cap toe bals that were presentable to wear to places where I wear cap toe bals.

The things I mentioned, “defects” or not, exist. To paraphrase Same Spade, maybe some of them aren’t important, but look at the number of them. Well, actually, unlike Bogie, I went ahead and let them “make a sap” of me and kept the shoes. Frankly, as shoes they look better to me than Mary Astor did as an actress. Never understood that casting.

As far as I am concerned, a lot of American “hand made” goods need to have a disclaimer like the ones that used to come with things like Alpaca scarves from Peru: expect slight “variations.” It’s just the way things are. I accept it while noting it, the purpose of my rather mild (I thought) original post. Is “not unalloyed joy” such a bad thing?

I will post photos, but have no interest in arguing about whether there are defects or, if so, whether they are serious defects. Some of them show up well, some don’t, some are important, most probably aren’t. Of most concern to me is the stitching of the upper to the welt in the toe area, which does not show up well at all.

Later: Having difficulty attaching files, will try in separate post.

 

Glue in heel

 

nick in sole

 

stitching near toes

 

spots on saddle

 

Double post

 

The degree to which the soles protrude unduly out for the toe box is hard to capture, but for lagniappe

 

Having read some of the defenses of Alden above, I concede. Instead of expressing my ambivalence about the brand (to paraphrase George Constanta, is that not done here?), I should have just given thanks for the extra no. 8.

 

If that's all you took away from this thread, there's not much that anyone can do to help you. May you find footwear peace.

 

I have experienced a combination of product failure within 1 month of purchase, and lack of ethics on the part of the retailer. Retailer told me to bring the shoes in and he will send it back to Alden; weeks go by of radio silence, until I called up Alden, and they are unaware of any boots coming their way. Retailer was confronted with this information, and only after much reluctance, was refund made.

And a few defects that are more minor compared to the above, but which were noted upon delivery. Threw this in here to show that OP is not alone with this company. At the end of the day they are just a business, and their product probably does not deserve to be put on a pedestal. As long as new customers enter clear-eyed to the reality that they may get a bum pair, all's well. As what was written earlier, we are getting an $800 shoe with minimal QC (and questionable return practices) LOL

 

The single substantial complaint I have against Alden footwear is the time it takes them to refurbish and return shoes/boots sent to them for new soles and heels. I became so disenchanted with their turn around time(s) that I have turned to other vendors for such service, such as B. Nelson.

 

Let me quote myself from another thread:

Once upon a time, there were three boys, who went exploring in the woods. It was rumoured that there was an old wizard who lived in the woods who would sometimes give out unusual gifts. After a long time - well, long to the boys, but to you or me, about as long as the time between Jos A Bank sales - they saw a hut in a clearing. At first, the boys were scared.

Then one boy plucked up courage, and went up to the hut and knocked on the door. An old man with a long beard opened the door. "Hi", said the boy, "my name is Yohei". "Yohei?" said the man. "You might find this useful". He handed the boy a jeweller's loupe. "Hang on to this. In years to come, you will be grateful for the detail it reveals."

Yohei walked back, puzzled but happy. The second boy tried his luck. As before, the old man answered the door. "My name is Edward. Edward Green". "Ah", said the old man. He went back inside and brought out a piglet. "One day, you will find the bristles on this piglet useful - though by then it will be a boar."

Edward walked back, also puzzled but happy.

The third boy then went up to the door and repeated the exercise. The old man opened the door, and before the boy could say a word, the old man handed him a chain saw and shut the door in his face.

The boy walked back, puzzled. As he got back to the other two boys, Edward asked him, "what did the old man tell you, Alden?"

 

I have experienced a combination of product failure within 1 month of purchase, and lack of ethics on the part of the retailer. Retailer told me to bring the shoes in and he will send it back to Alden; weeks go by of radio silence, until I called up Alden, and they are unaware of any boots coming their way. Retailer was confronted with this information, and only after much reluctance, was refund made.

Adversity reveals character. Having shopped at a fair number of "luxury" purveyors (luxury in the sense of high premium to mass market, and therefore a justified expectation of quality and customer service; Alden should be in this bracket), we only get a sense of who really takes care of their customers when the proverbial s--- hits the fan. And there's $1000+ worth of cost to be eaten. Sadly many so-called luxury establishments that are renowned for their customer service do not pass the bar.

Is the service complaint here against Alden or against the retailer where you bought the boots? Outside of the DC/SF company stores, I believe all other Alden dealers are independent businesses, and many sell other brands of shoes.

I agree that any significant defects should be addressed via return or priced as seconds. The spots on the saddle in the OP's images could qualify as major (disclosure: I have the same shoes, and they are some of my favorites). The other defects in both cases all seem quite minor, but returning for a refund (if the shoes are unworn and not marked up otherwise) is certainly within one's rights, as major is a value judgment. My personal take is that once I have worn my shoes a few times, they will have many more dings, so whether they look immaculate coming out of the box is not relevant. My Alden shoes historically have held up well, and felt quite comfortable in the process. They look far better years into wear than anything I bought from Johnston & Murphy or similar in the past.

 

Is the service complaint here against Alden or against the retailer where you bought the boots? Outside of the DC/SF company stores, I believe all other Alden dealers are independent businesses, and many sell other brands of shoes.

The complaint would be largely against the retailer, however one might wonder what is the cause of such reluctance to send the shoes back to the manufacturer? And this from an otherwise good-service store, which I recall gave me extra laces and a free can of Saphir renovateur with the Aldens.

We should keep in mind that Alden does not do business with just any store, so could the fear of losing the Alden relationship if too many defects are sent back be far from the retailer's mind? We all agree of course that the retailer was wrong to treat the customer like a chump, but I doubt Alden (being such an important part of the ecosystem) has nothing to do with this.

 

I always used to laugh when Muhammad Ali would call Joe Frazier and some of his other opponents "Chumps!"

Chump is a versatile word. It's not vulgar yet gets the meaning across is an amusing way.

I still think it's funny.