Another way to save money on shoes through repairs

MINOT, N.D. (KMOT) – Some not-so-good news for American consumers, as the Fed announced this week that interest rates are likely to go up once again, higher than policymakers had expected.

As prices increase, people may be looking for new ways to stretch their dollars. One potential way to save money is on your shoes.

Sophia Huus comes to Bray’s Saddlery and Western Wear for comfortable shoes for when she’s riding horses.

”I guess I buy one pair and wear them to death,” said Huus.

Huus said her main issues tend to be the leather. Once it wears out, the shoes are gone.

Store owner Greg Nikitenko said the quality of the leather also determines how long those boots last.

”There’s maintenance there that you have to care for it to sort of last a long time. If you do that, you can get a long 10-20 years out of a good pair of leather shoes,” said Nikitenko.

Huus said she’s never gotten a repair before and she’s not sure whether it would be more reasonable but is open to the idea.

”If they could do that and repair that, that would definitely save me the pain of having to break in a new pair,” said Huus.

Joanne Nikitenko said inflation marked up prices on new boots as high as 25%.

”Repairing is definitely worth the investment. You’re going to get probably another year or two out of your boots repairing them,” said Joanne.

Greg said the price depends on which part of the shoe breaks. For example, a sole and heel repair on western boots could cost $100. Sometimes a little gluing and stitching cost $10-30.

”You bring something in, it’s going to cost $40 to fix and you’ve had them for two years and to buy new ones are $40, well, it’s probably just better off going with and getting a newer pair,” said Greg.

One of the reasons people don’t give up damaged shoes is due to how well it fits their feet.

Greg said getting supplies and parts take significantly less time than waiting for custom-made shoes.

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