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

The service included the repair of a broken seam about 3/4" long. Other services include resoling ($30 to $100 depending on materials used), polishing ($3), and a variety of repairs (minimum $5 for the work, and it goes up by complexity). The cobbler also sold shoe maintenance stuff like shoe polish, polishing tools, laces, shoe trees, etc. at reasonable prices.

I burst a seam in my most comfortable pair of dress shoes. It was right at the ball of my foot and a bit above where the seam met the sole. Because the shoes were rather expensive for me to buy, I decided to see if I could get them repaired instead of just chucking them and getting a new pair, like I would with my running shoes.

I'd remembered seeing a place on the way to work, so I stopped in there one morning (no, I didn't call around, I figured it'd be a minor repair, so it'd be cheap and easy to get done, and, fortunately, I was right). Since the repair was a relatively minor one the cobbler was able to do it in about 5-10 minutes while I waited, and charged me the minimum for the work done and I was on my way.

Later that day, though, the seam broke open again. I was pissed. Then I looked a bit closer. The stitching I'd just had put in was perfect, the seam had just worked its way loose even more, so I went back at lunchtime. The cobbler took a look at the shoe he'd just repaired that morning, laughed, and said he'd restitch the whole seam just to make sure it was done right. When I tried to pay for the second part of the work, he wouldn't take my money, so I grabbed a few wooden shoe trees (very well-priced) I'd been meaning to pick up for a while.

A clean, well-stocked shop, and a can-do attitude are amazingly helpful. And though the shop should be well-stocked, the shop owner shouldn't be pushy about selling accessories, but rather point you to the stuff you ask for.

And if at all possible, find someone who can talk knowledgeably and enthusiastically about the subject of shoes and shoe repair.