the Cost of Cobblers and Shoe Repair for Casual Men's Shoes

The cost was for the resoling of a pair of rubber-soled dress shoes with the original manufacturer's soles. Fitting a new set of manufacturer's insoles and a new set of laces were included in the price. The company is a professional resoling place and only does resoling of boots and shoes, and though it's local, service was conducted by mail. Price varies depending on the complexity of the job, and the price of the replacement soles. Cork-soled sandal "rebuilds" were $65, and mountaineering boot resoles went as high as $90.

My comfy rubber-soled shoes were getting on in years and the outer layer of sole had been worn down to point where the rubber bladder system at the core of the sole had started to show through in places. After doing some checking, I noticed that although I could replace the shoes for about $200, I could have them resoled for about $50. The uppers were still in great shape so I elected to have the shoes resoled.

The service was rather uncomplicated. I sent them a request on their website for shipping materials, they sent me a pre-paid bag for shipping the shoes in (two day shipping, even though I could have dropped them off at their headquarters, I might add), spent a week or so with my shoes and shipped them back, again by two day mail.

The results looked great, brand new in fact. If it weren't for the slight crease in the upper where the forefoot bends, I wouldn't have recognized them as my old shoes.

There was a problem however. The shoes fit rather tight when I put them on. Like they'd gone down a half-size while they were away. I called the company to voice my complaint, and they said that it was likely the new insole not being as compressed as the one that was replaced, and asked that I give them a week's worth of wear before I made any decisions about it. I did, and though it was a touch uncomfortable for the first half-hour or so, after that the shoes loosened up and have been fine ever since.

If a company does only resoles, and have been in business a long time, even sending the shoes in by mail shouldn't be a worry. An independent cobbler will not likely be priced any better, but you're almost certain to get more personal service.