This article is part of a series on footwear care and maintenance and deals specifically with professional repairs and recrafting. For specific information on shoe maintenance and cleaning, click any of the following links:
- How To Polish Leather Shoes In 15 Minutes
- Proper Shoe Storage
- Shoe Repairs & Their Approximate Costs
- How To Care For Suede Shoes
- Cleaning & Polishing White Shoes
Repairing Shoes Or Buy New Ones?
If there’s a question we get a lot, it’s something along the lines of, “My current dress shoes are in rough shape. Is it worth it to repair them, or should I buy new ones?”
If you like your shoes, you should at least explore repairing them as an option. If you aren’t crazy about them -perhaps you’ve outgrown the style or they were never that comfortable in the first place- then you should go ahead and buy something new.
With that said, we have gone on and on about how buying high-quality shoes makes for a superior long-term investment. Shoes with Goodyear welt construction in particular are relatively easy to repair, and the beauty is that the cost of doing so is often a fraction of that of a new pair of shoes of similar quality.
A good rule of thumb is that if your shoes retail(ed) at $150 or more, you should explore repairing them as an option before getting rid of them.
Typical Repairs & Average Costs
There’s a lot that a competent cobbler can accomplish. The most common repairs for men’s shoes are listed below. Pricing is an average that you’ll find in the United States. Some repair shops may be more or less expensive, some may cut you a deal based on how many pairs you bring in at one time, and that sort of thing.
Most services below should include a full polish and clean-up of the upper. This is standard practice for cobblers.
- New heels: $30
- New soles: $35-$40
- New soles & heels: $60-$75
- Add Vibram rubber soles: $30-$45
- Heel & toe taps (not recessed): $10-$15
- Indented toe taps: $25
- New leather insoles: $25-$35
- New leather heel liners: ~$30
- Leather cleaning & reconditioning: ~$20
- Stretch width and / or vamp: $20
- Waterproofing/Scotchgard: $5
Truly excellent cobblers are a bit like magicians and can make seemingly fatal issues go away elegantly. If your dog chewed the back of your oxfords or your driving loafers toes have been beaten up by the concrete, it’s worth at least asking your local cobbler if anything can be done to save your shoes.
How Long Should Shoe Repairs Take?
On average, it’s good to budget about a week for shoe repairs, not including weekends and holidays. You may want to add a few days to this if you’re dropping off four or five pairs of shoes to be worked on at once, especially if the shop is more of a mom-and-pop operation.
Certain jobs like non-indented taps and polishing can typically be done while you wait as they don’t require major surgery to complete.
Find A Good Cobbler & Listen To Their Advice
First, a bit of vocabulary.
A cobbler is a person who repairs and recrafts shoes. A cordwainer is someone who makes shoes.
With that out of the way, a cobbler is to your shoes what a tailor is to your suits. A good one has a ton of experience with shoes and will give you an honest assessment of your needs based on how your shoes look. Use referrals from friends and Yelp or Google reviews as a way to vet cobblers.
For example, lots of folks assume they’re going to need full reworks of their shoes when, in fact, they only need new heels and a polish. If your cobbler is trying to sell you on a wide range of services, ask why (s)he thinks certain work needs to be done. If they can’t give you a good answer, find a different cobbler.
Be sure you talk to your cobbler about any issues you’ve had with the shoes you’re bringing in to be worked on. On a case-by-case basis, many cobblers are able to customize the fit of a shoe in the same way that a tailor can tweak your jacket
Brand-Specific Recrafting: Is It Worth it?
Certain companies like Allen Edmonds offer in-house repair and recrafting services for shoes that carry their brand name. Is this worth it, or just a marketing gimmick?
We firmly believe that if a company offers in-house repair services, you should turn to them first before going to an outside cobbler whenever time and budget allows. Why?
There are many reasons, but a few that come to mind quickly are as follows:
Original materials will be used: These companies tend to stock extra parts specifically for future repairs. This is particularly valuable if you liked the look of an outsole’s color or some other hyper-specific aesthetic aspect of the shoe.
Staff knows the product more intimately: If a company has been making your model shoes for twenty years, then that means they have twenty years of experience repairing that shoe specifically. This knowledge goes a long way in terms of shortening turnaround time and maximizing quality of work.
Improved tracking of your repair: Retail footwear companies tend to have more robust inventory tracking systems in place, and this applies to their repair programs. It’s a lot easier to get a status update on your job when it’s been scanned into a computer system at each step of the process as opposed to having a guy rummage through a massive pile of seemingly disorganized shoes.
Easier recourse if something goes awry: Nobody’s perfect, and mistakes happen. If your expectations were somehow mismanaged, your shoes lost or irreparably damaged while in the company’s hands, or something else went wrong, you have an entire customer service department to help you out. If your shoes are still being made brand new, it’s likely that you’d simply receive a new pair of shoes for your trouble.
Can Sneakers & Casual Shoes Be Repaired?
Athletic shoes and sneakers can be repaired by good craftspeople. Because these shoes tend to use more glue and less stitching when they’re manufactured, they’re more difficult to repair and are thus more expensive. Talk to your cobbler directly about the work you’d like done and get a custom quote.
Conclusion: The Joy Of Repaired Shoes
Let’s be clear about something: there is obviously joy in buying new shoes. Heaven knows that we’re massive fans of having a robust footwear collection, and the only way to do that is through acquisition.
Still, nothing will bring a smile to your face quite like getting a compliment on your “new” shoes when you know that they’re actually ten years old and you only spent thirty bucks to get them shined and re-heeled. It’s like you’re in on a juicy secret that no one else is privy to.
We hope you found this article helpful and informative. For more on proper shoe care you can visit one of the pages below:
- How To Polish Leather Shoes In 15 Minutes
- Proper Shoe Storage
- Shoe Repairs & Their Approximate Costs
- How To Care For Suede Shoes
- Cleaning & Polishing White Shoes
You can also learn more about men’s footwear in general by going to our shoe home page.
Whilst I have read and in the main take good care of my Loke & Son’s Black & Brown Brogues, is the a correct way these shoes should be laced?
Hi Les,
There are correct ways to lace your shoes but we have yet to write guides on it. However, if you do a quick Google, there are a few guides out there that you can use.
Best,
CP
I like how you mentioned that a lot of the time during shoe repair you can have it tweaked to fit your foot better. People with damaged or old shoes that don’t fit should try and get them repaired and fitted before buying new ones. Thanks for explaining how shoe repair works and what else you can do with it.
Thanks, David. Glad to hear that this was a valuable guide.
Best,
CP
I got five pairs of sneakers that need soles and heels.Can you please help me ,and where are you located?
Hi Earnestine,
We don’t repair shoes but we write about them! I suggest that you check your local cobbler!
All the best,
CP
normally, sneakers are completely resoled. However, that depends on how the sneaker was originally made. I have done many high end shoes, and sometimes have to come up with a completely different solution to make the new resole match the style of the upper . I’ve been a cobbler for 28 years.
That’s interesting! I presume that it depends on the sneaker, though?
can you replace welting on golf shoes?
It depends on their construction but if they’re Goodyear welted then yes, you should be able to do so!
I didnt see margom sole sneaker. how much it will cost to change if i want to put margom sole
Hey Subash,
Resoling a shoe with a margom sole is likely to be very expensive, and that’s if you find anyone who will do it at all. This is because the margom sole in the specific size for your shoe is necessary, if not also with the same exact design. It is unlikely that any shop will have it in stock and it may not even be possible to order just one sole from the manufacturer.
Rafael
Yes, can a cobbler shorten heels on women’s shoes if the heels are too high?? Thanks, Sharon A
Hey Sharon,
Unfortunately, most of our expertise surrounds men’s shoes. However, I’d assume it’s possible to replace the heel with a shorter one, though this may depend on the rest of the shoe. Also, I’d imagine that if it’s doable, the heel size may only be reduced by a small amount.
Rafael
I wore my first issued combat boots for 30 some-odd years after I got out of the Army. The last time I had them resolved, the cobbler pushed them across the counter, saying, “No charge. These should be good for another 10,000 miles”. Eventually, they got a hole in the uppers so I no longer wear them, All the same, I just cannot bring myself to throw them away.
Hey Lee,
I’d love to see what 30-year-old boots look like, especially if they’ve served you for so long!
Rafael