Cost to make a pair of Goodyear-welted shoes

I'm seeing a lot of Goodyear-welted shoes and boots reaching $350-400 for mid-level brands like AE, Red Wing, Wolverine, etc., and I'm wondering how much is fair pricing and how much is exploiting a trendy market with few suppliers. Does anybody know what it costs to make a pair of Goodyear-welted shoes in a developed economy like the United States? All these producers sell direct to consumer, so I'm not looking to add middleman mark-up. I just want to know what it costs to manufacturer the shoe (material + labor), more or less. Once I know that, I can calculate a fair price. I'm willing to pay double the cost of goods sold, but I'm not willing to pay 3-4X. Thanks for any guesses.

I can't answer your question directly, but my American made Red Wing 953 everyday common boots retail around 200 so that pretty much answers the part about charging what the market will bear for a trendy pair of boots. The 953s are obviously profitable at that price point and I seriously doubt the more trendy styles cost twice that or more to produce.
I don't have a problem with companies pricing at what they can get for what amounts to luxury items. If I don't want to pay the asking price, I don't make the purchase.

Everything you own has 3 or 4 or more times mark up. Do you think it cost $100 to produce a single TV or $10 for a pair of Levis? The mark up for RW even at appropriate labor rates is more than 4xs. (This is based on nothing other than a hunch, but there is no way a single pair of boots costs them $50 to make).

3fingers said:

If I don't want to pay the asking price, I don't make the purchase.

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I agree. That's what I asked what it costs to make a pair of shoes. I am figuring out whether I want to pay the asking price.

Bfd70 said:

Everything you own has 3 or 4 or more times mark up. Do you think it cost $100 to produce a single TV or $10 for a pair of Levis?

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I don't buy Levi's. My wrangler cowboy cut jeans cost $28, but they were made in Mexico.

An awful lot of variables go into answering such a question. Thorogood sells some such boots for less than $200. Are all such welted boots made or created equal? Like anything, I doubt it, but then there are brand markups, skill level markups, durability level markups. Can a Thorogood or Red Wing boot be rebuilt 5 or 6 times? Not from what I understand. A Nick's, White's, Wesco, Viberg, etc can be rebuilt several times. How customizeable are some brands compared to others? A small shop vs. a larger shop plays a role in overhead. Union vs non-Union. Warranty levels and reliability. The level of craftsmanship, quality and level of materials, and actual handmade man-hours involved in the premium brands is very likely higher than the mid-level and lower-level brands. The many various variables might not add value to some consumers and make their hefty price tags worth it, but they all certainly play a role nonetheless.

There are startups in India making these type boots for less than $200. So, so many factors play into this discussion. So, while the Indian made boots might be on the low end, they might be making the same profit percentage as say a Viberg because of adjustments for cost of living, cost of materials, cost of labor, etc.

I think you really have to set up a tier system for yourself. Put each maker in a class and then evaluate prices. Are Vibergs at $1000 worth almost double what a Nick's boot costs at $500? Personally, I don't think so because they're in the same class of maker. Do I feel Vibergs are worth more than say a Redwing? That's where it gets difficult. They aren't the same class of maker. Then it gets down to how much you value each variable in the process.

There are milled razors (Above the Tie, as one example) that are a few hundred dollars. They perform the same task as a $30 pot metal razor. We can reduce this down to utility, but then we'd be missing the point of cost analysis.

here are a couple good articles on welts. Start at pg.65 with the Backpacker article. Notice the Littleway Welt. That's how some of the greatest Italian hiking boots ever made were built.

https://books.google.com/books?id=8...ZmoHoBA#v=thumbnail&q=littleway stitch&f=true

http://dieworkwear.com/post/127005965439/goodyear-versus-handwelting

I found the answer, and it's the 38%. Yes, 38%. Exactly. Well, close enough. And I know this because Allen Edmonds is part of a publicly traded company, Caleres, which owns several footwear brands. According to their 2017 annual report, gross profit company-wide last year was 38%. I feel a little better about paying $300-400 for a pair of shoes knowing they're only making 38% gross (more or less depending on the particular brand). I'm probably not getting ripped off at that price.

I don't think the companies profit equates to the cost of making the boots, I would suspect it is lower than that.
If one of the brands they own is less profitable and and that brings down the overall profit for the year that does not reflect the cost of making a certain model boot.
A large manufacturer making boots in the same country as a smaller one should be able to sell their product cheaper due to the economies of scale as manufacturing costs drop the more you can make and sell but whether they actually do is another question.
Unfortunately most things we like here are overpriced and I like you sometimes baulk at the prices we have to pay and feel like i am paying too much.
I hope you like the boots.

I was thinking of my Thursday boots: at $200.00 a very good example of the comments above.

I was just going to recommend Thursday boots. They even say they only charge about 100% mark-up versus 3-4X for other brands.

Joel Shapiro said:

I feel a little better about paying $300-400 for a pair of shoes knowing they're only making 38% gross (more or less depending on the particular brand). I'm probably not getting ripped off at that price.

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I wonder if your employer thinks that you're overpaid and they're getting ripped off?

Doctor Damage said:

I wonder if your employer thinks that you're overpaid and they're getting ripped off?

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What employer doesn't feel that?

Joel Shapiro said:

I'm seeing a lot of Goodyear-welted shoes and boots reaching $350-400 for mid-level brands like AE, Red Wing, Wolverine, etc., and I'm wondering how much is fair pricing and how much is exploiting a trendy market with few suppliers. Does anybody know what it costs to make a pair of Goodyear-welted shoes in a developed economy like the United States? All these producers sell direct to consumer, so I'm not looking to add middleman mark-up. I just want to know what it costs to manufacturer the shoe (material + labor), more or less. Once I know that, I can calculate a fair price. I'm willing to pay double the cost of goods sold, but I'm not willing to pay 3-4X. Thanks for any guesses.

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you are assuming that all goodyear is done to the same level of perfection. In fact, the quality of the goodyear welting varies quite a bit. Factor in materials used (the difference in low cot leather & the good stuff), and the prices will vary greatly, regardless of the cost of the "brand". Edward Green sells a $1600 Goodyear shoe. John Lobb is in the same ballpark or higher. Santoni's Goodyear models are around the $1000 to $1200 mark. All are excellent and well beyond what you get from an Alden or something like that.