I spent 3 hours reading Amazon reviews for shoes just trying to find ONE fucking pair that didn't have "falls apart in 3-6 months" as the most common review...

The state of everything is just absurd.

[–] mipadaitu@lemmy.world 16 points 1 month ago (2 children)

We've always had to pay for quality, buying crap on Amazon is always going to be a tossup. There's plenty of stores out there where you can buy good stuff, you just have to be willing to pay more than slave wages for it.

It's tough out there, but there's plenty of quality stuff if you look in the right place.

[–] Buddahriffic@lemmy.world 4 points 1 month ago

Yeah, the only shoes I've ever had falling apart (or more accurately, worn until there were holes in one of them) were worn for years before that happened.

I've also never spent under $100 on shoes.

And I don't think it's smart to buy shoes you haven't tried on. There's variation in foot shapes, some shoes just aren't designed for your foot and need to be "broken in". I thought all shoes needed to be broken in until one time I got lucky and the second pair I tried fit perfectly right away. Ever since then, I'll keep trying shoes until I find ones that don't need to be broken in.

One exception was when I forgot about that when my cousin saw a sale on good sandals and had him pick me up a pair. Was reminded the first time I wore them. I spent a day at an amusement park and my feet were killing me by the end of it. Figured it was because I hadn't been standing much leading up to that. But then, a few years later I wore the same sandals (now broken in) in a similar situation and my feet didn't feel nearly as bad.

So try on shoes until you feel ones that feel good right away and your feet will thank you. Spend money up front for quality and your wallet will thank you when those shoes last longer than that amount of cheap ones do.

Also take care of them. If they are tie up shoes, untie them to remove them. If they are difficult to get the heel in, get a shoe horn. If you're often walking through puddles and/or mud, wear boots. Always wear socks unless your footwear can breathe well.

I've never put shoes through the washer, not sure how that would affect the longevity, though it likely depends on the materials.

Good shoes will last longer than the laces, too, so just replace the laces when they get worn down. A new lace colour can also refresh the look.

[–] JamesBoeing737MAX@sopuli.xyz 0 points 1 month ago

Like new xiaomi phones right? At least the new Pocos are decent.

[–] Ultraviolet@lemmy.world 10 points 1 month ago

Part of that is just selection bias. Very few people would post Amazon reviews for their shoes unprompted. But if something unexpected happens, like if they have a defective pair, they're quite a bit more likely to go back and write something.

[–] Grumpy@sh.itjust.works 5 points 1 month ago

Shoes have too much of a usage difference to go off of Amazon reviews. You don't know their lifestyle. For anyone that runs a marathon or similar exercise to have shoes that last over 3 months would be a miracle. Any typical big brands like adidas, Nike, etc lasts me many years if I only wear them lightly, like if I take the car. But if I exercise outside in them, they're not gonna last half a year. It's just usage dependent.

Occasionally you might get a bad batch and glue comes off or stitching rips. That's inevitable bad luck. Though you can just get gorilla glue and glue it back yourself.

Dress shoes is a different ball game. Get stitched build/welted, not glued on. That's usually a safe choice though expensive. These can be repaired and resoled, so you could wear them for 10+ yrs. Though getting bored of them might be an issue.

Light weight shoes are also obviously going to not last. Like hey dude shoes. They're literally a single sheet of cloth. Easy to wash, but not going to last.

Also stop trying to buy shoes from Amazon. Go wear shit and try them on.

[–] AstralPath@lemmy.ca 4 points 1 month ago

It should go without saying that if the brand you're considering is called "Lahuekty" or "Mpanobeb" or something stupid like that you're taking a huge risk. Amazon's 'brands' are a joke.

[–] Xanis@lemmy.world 3 points 1 month ago

Sooooo depends on what you're using them for. Very few shoes will hold up to retail work, for instance. So 3-6 months for one reviewer without context could be 2 years for you.