Dr. Shoe Posted November 12, 2002 Share Posted November 12, 2002 Leather is expensive, and Payless is about being, well, overly affordable. So no, they don't use leather. It would cost too much to ship the leather to the countries where the shoes are actually made, I am thinking. It's true that leather is expensive (more expensive than sheet steel actually) but the vast majority cost of making the shoe is the labour. What makes leather shoes more expensive is the fact that you have to have an expert clicker to cut leather whereas, anyone can cut PU. What makes leather so awkward to cut is the fact that it is an organic material like wood or stone and is full of flaws and blemishes and you have to cut around them. In addition, different areas of the skin have different amounts of stretch and so should be used on different parts of the shoe. In the olden days it could take as long as six years to qualify as a clicker and they were often the highest paid workers in the factory. Plastic by contrast can be pressed out six (or more) at a time by someone with little training. Graduate footwear designer able to advise and assist on modification and shoe making projects. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coolshoes Posted November 13, 2002 Share Posted November 13, 2002 Should have known it--labor cost and skill, not materials drive the price. Explains mass production in China by Payless versus the skills of out of work shoe workers in New England. Go gently through life. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Highluc Posted November 13, 2002 Share Posted November 13, 2002 I'm sure those Chineese could also learn the job and then we could have quality shoes at lower prices (even for our then unemployed shoe makers) Be youself, enjoy any footwear you like and don't care about what others think about it, it's your life, not theirs. Greetings from Laurence Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hoverfly Posted November 13, 2002 Share Posted November 13, 2002 A couple years ago the last of the shoe manufacturing companies in New England that manufactured in the mid high end market finally went down south. In Portsmouth N.H. one out of four shoe repair stores that I know of in 60 mile radius, closed because the owner was retiring, lack of business, and there was no one to replace him. But things are really cheap when you think about it. My GF had a pair of Boots modified that cost a lot to be done. So what would you do? Pay allot to have something fixed, or buy a new pair of shoes? Unless you have a pair of shoes that you really like to keep wearing, personaly I would go shopping for a new pair of shoes. Hello, my name is Hoverfly. I’m a high heel addict…. Weeeeeeeeeee! 👠1998 to 2022! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. Shoe Posted November 14, 2002 Share Posted November 14, 2002 I'm sure those Chineese could also learn the job and then we could have quality shoes at lower prices (even for our then unemployed shoe makers) Actually, the Chinese are turning out shoes of unbelievable quality. I bought a pair of all leather oxford shoes in Stead and Simpson (A rare purchase of mens' shoes). On looking at them I thought that they had come out of Lobb's or Cleverley's- there was absolutely nothing to fault them and they were obviously all leather. All this for less than £30. See if you can guess where they were made? Graduate footwear designer able to advise and assist on modification and shoe making projects. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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