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

Price 
Location 
Submitted by  
Description
$ 15
Feb 2008
Scottsdale, AZ
pumps
Reattaching a broken off heel  more... close row

Description of service

The cost is for reattaching a broken off heel to one of a pair of pumps. The shop is a full service cobbler so it offers a variety of services from polishing to leather repair to sole replacement and even fully custom shoes. Minimum cost for work is $5, and prices go up from there based on how hard it is to do the work. They also sell shoe care items like laces, polish, and shoe trees.


Review of Service

I broke a heel walking to work and had to switch to the tennis shoes I always bring just in case I have time to workout after work. Over lunch I called around to see who I could take the shoe to to get it fixed. It was a nice shoe. Still is now that it got fixed.

Anyway, I found a place and they were close so I walked over on my lunch break and dropped off the pair. The cobbler guy wanted the second shoe to make sure the heels were even once he was done fixing them. It wasn't a quick fix as I'd hoped, because he had a bit of a back log of work to do before he got to my heel, but it only took three days to get the shoes back, so I had them for the weekend if I needed them (I didn't, but you never can tell with these things!).

The quality of the work was excellent. They look like the heel never broke, and they were polished really good too, so they actually look better than they did before the accident. I'm happy!


Tips

I don't know why more people don't get their shoes fixed when their heels break or the soles wear out or the seams come unstitched. Shoes, good shoes at least, are still pretty expensive, and designer shoes even more so. Shoe repair is comparatively cheap compared to new shoes, even when you get a full resole on men's leather soled dress shoes ($70 for the resole, $250+ for a good replacement shoe). And the uppers are usually the last thing to go, and even when they do, they don't go all at once and a good cobbler can figure out how to replace the worn sections of shoe and refurbish the bits that are worn but not worn out.

The only exception I'd have to say is for running shoes. You might be able to resole them a few times, but the uppers just aren't that durable, and the cushioning in the midsole breaks down far too fast. For their price, they just aren't that great of a type of shoe, and you have to replace them twice a year. Ick. But it's one of those things you just have to have for running or just for comfy lazy shoes.


$ 20
Jun 2007
Lincoln, Nebraska
high heels
Great repairs, but a bit pricey  more... close row
$ 13
Apr 2007
Tampa, FL
2" heels
Reusing better than buying new  more... close row
$ 20
Feb 2007
San Diego, CA
High heels
Heel repaired on really expensive shoe  more... close row
$ 100
Mar 2007
Tempe, AZ
dress shoe
Cobbler transformed dress shoes into dance shoes  more... close row
$ 75
Dec 2007
Little Rock, AR
snakeskin pumps
Snakeskin pumps had sentimental value  more... close row
$ 52
Apr 2008
San Diego, CA
Leather dress shoes
Check for insurance on expensive shoes  more... close row
$ 35
Sep 2007
Salt Lake City, UT
Stileto
Red stiletto heel repaired while eating dinner  more... close row
$ 60
May 2008
Houston, Texas
Walking Boot
Price and tip because of such a good job  more... close row
$ 30
Apr 2008
San Fransico, California
Merona Aretha Dress Pumps in Brown
High hair repairs by experienced cobblers  more... close row
$ 20
Jul 2007
Big Rapids, Michigan
Women's high heeled sandal
Shoe straps widened  more... close row
$ 15
Nov 2007
New York, NY
Suede pumps
Heel restoration and repair  more... close row
$ 33
Mar 2008
Poughkeepsie, NY
high heels
Replaced heel on favorite pair of shoes  more... close row