About 5 years ago, I started wearing shoes from a particular brand that were 3 times more expensive than the ones I used to buy before but lasted over 2 years instead of less than 6 months.
I only bought two pairs between then and the beginning of this year when I realized that the second one was falling apart. So, I bought a new pair in January, fully expecting that I’d keep it at least until early 2024, based on the durability of the previous ones. Sadly, I’ve noticed that the sole of the left shoe is already coming loose after only 8 months.
Is repairing them a viable option to keep them for at least another year or should I write them off as a loss and buy a new pair ? If salvaging them is possible, would power glue do the trick ?
Good point, but I’m not sure I still have the papers. I’d never had any problems with that brand, so I didn’t really pay attention to the warranty. Stupid me.
I am astonished. I own two pairs of modestly priced shoes and both are well into their second decade. Admittedly, I don’t do a lot of walking and I wear sandals when it’s hot, but warranty or not, I would take any pair of shoes that failed in less than a couple of years straight back to the shop.
You didn’t say what sort of shoes they were, or what type of sole.
If, however, you decide to repair them yourself (which is, from what you said in the OP, a matter of re-gluing the sole) do NOT use original Gorilla Glue. It expands when it cures, which will only force the two parts of the shoe you glued together further apart. This is not what you want. It’s also extremely difficult to remove and start over (back when I did shoe repair for a living we’d charge extra when confronted with shoes with Gorilla Glue on them).
I used to use super glue, preferably a gel formulation (so you don’t make a mess and can control where it goes) that has a large temperature range. You want to clean/de-grease the two surfaces you intend to glue together. I usually used rubbing alcohol for that. Allow to dry completely. Glue back together a bit at a time. Hold firmly for double the labeled drying time. Allow to sit for 24 hours before using.
I have also seen such repairs done successfully with contact cement of various sorts, but you have to be very careful about positioning/lining up the parts to be glued.
Most of the time a carefully done repair of this sort will last for years, but no guarantees.
If you have a warranty or are near a shoe repair shop you might want to leave this to the professionals. Your choice.
Where did you buy the shoes? If it was at a bricks-and-mortar shoe store, I recommend visiting the store and showing them the shoes in question. (Many stores can look up your purchase record using your credit card.)
I have a pair of Brooks running shoes, one shoe of which has a partially detached sole I plan to attempt repair on with superglue (thanks to Broomstick for her advice).
Alternately, I could wear them with a pair of corduroy pants and be a one-man band (voom-voom flap, voom-voom flap).*
BTW, don’t just assume that the merchant or shoe manufacturer won’t help in the case of eight-month-old shoes with a loose sole (which sounds like a manufacturing defect). First try to contact either the retailer or manufacturer and only if they refuse to help should you pursue a DIY repair.
It wouldn’t occur to me that shoes have warranties - I mean, they can take a beating, kinda hard for the shoe company to mitigate, but I guess you could try if you still have a receipt. Anyway, I often have leather shows repaired, I just take them to a good old fashioned cobbler - do you have such a thing near you?
I bought a pair of shoes from a store that specializes in insoles. The shoes and insoles together were over $175. One of the shoes started falling apart after 3 months, I switched over to another pair of shoes but used the expensive insoles. About a year later my wife asked me about the shoes so I showed them to her. She called the store and asked them about the shoes. They said bring them back so I did. Received a full refund on the shoes and a replacement on the insoles because they had worn around the heel. Still using the insoles today about 3 years later.