Cracking on boot — issue or no?

[Jonanah]

Very weird to see cracking like that. It's through the topcoat and into the actual grain. Wonder if they got heated, frozen, or exposed to chemicals or something as mentioned. Maybe if they were frozen solid and then flexed?? It would be hard to do that kind of damage even intentionally.

As the second owner you're kind of screwed. Wesco owes you nothing.

Nothing like that happened under my care before the cracks appeared — I guess I can’t speak for the previous owner @DweezilMac but he sent them to me in quite excellent condition.

The grain on the panel that cracked was very bumpy and mismatched from the rest of the boot from the start, which leads me to suspect that this was a combination of broken grain, plus the effects of the logo stamp and perhaps tension as @Canuck Panda mentioned. You can see the condition of the boots when I received them here—note the panel with strange graining:

Do you reckon we’d have better luck if he reached out to Wesco instead as the original owner?

 

[Jonanah]

It’s an $800 pair of boots — this kind of issue this early on just feels completely unacceptable. Shouldn’t need cement glue after 4 months of wear. Cracks appeared earlier than that but it took me a while to realize something was wrong. Wesco lists a 90 day warranty on their site but I would hope that they’d accommodate something like this

 

[Bennarion]

Hi folks, I am seeking advice about this pair of Standard and Strange x Wesco Axe Breakers. There’s some cracking in the leather on one side, from normal use. It’s on the side that was grainy and mismatched when I received the pair. The other side is smooth and has no cracking. There is also a small fissure at the base of the cap toe.

Should any of this be cause for concern? Is there anything I can do to mitigate the cracking issue? I am wondering if applying more conditioner would help, though I’m wary of over-conditioning. However, I work outside and often wear these boots, so it isn’t too much of a concern as I also need them to be as water resistant as possible.

Thanks!

View attachment 680864 View attachment 680865 View attachment 680866

I believe this is not acceptable and there is no justification for this level of footwear

 

[cbez]

Almost certainly yeah. If the seller is willing to help out. As the second owner you'd basically be praying that they (Wesco) do you a favor and help out in some way. You're not their customer.

After seeing the pre-cracked pics I'd say very rare bad batch of leather. The logo is probably a combo of the logo pressing it in, then your ankle bone bending it the opposite way. The superficial vertical top coat cracks also seem odd.

 

[rogueclimber]

Do you reckon we’d have better luck if he reached out to Wesco instead as the original owner?

I'd say no:

Limited Warranty
This warranty is made to the original purchaser of each item of new boots from West Coast Shoe Company.
West Coast Shoe Company warrants that boots sold are merchantable and free of defects in workmanship and materials at the time of shipment from the company's factory.
West Coast Shoe Company will repair, or at its option, replace, any boots which under normal use fail to conform to this warranty.
West Coast Shoe Company will repair or replace boot or boots without charge for materials or service, provided that the defective boot or boots are returned to the company's factory, postage paid, within 90 days from the date of delivery of the boots to the original purchaser.
West Coast Shoe Company shall not be liable for any damages or loss beyond replacement, repair, or refund of the purchase price.
West Coast Shoe Company’s liability shall be limited exclusively to repairing or replacing the boots under the conditions as aforesaid, and in no event will the company be liable for consequential damages, including but not limited to economic losses or injuries sustained while wearing West Coast Shoe Company boots.

 

[Jonanah]

Wesco lists a 90 day warranty on their site but I would hope that they’d accommodate something like this

I'm aware of the warranty; see above.

Do you reckon we’d have better luck if he reached out to Wesco instead as the original owner?

I'd say no:

As you just shared, it clearly states, "This warranty is made to the original purchaser of each item of new boots from West Coast Shoe Company." So why do you say that wouldn't help? I'm confused

 

[rogueclimber]

So why do you say that wouldn't help? I'm confused

A) You are not the original purchaser

B) It is not within 90 days of purchase

I am not impressed with Wesco's warranty

 

[Jonanah]

A) You are not the original purchaser

B) It is not within 90 days of purchase

I am not impressed with Wesco's warranty

Definitely agree with you there, I’m disappointed that they don’t really stand behind their products.

I’m hoping someone in the chain of production, from either Wesco or Standard and Strange, will be willing/able to do something. I’m in touch with the original purchaser who has supplied me with proof of purchase. If we have to re-establish him as the owner I don’t see why that couldn’t be done.

 

[Jon Crow]

Definitely agree with you there, I’m disappointed that they don’t really stand behind their products.

I’m hoping someone in the chain of production, from either Wesco or Standard and Strange, will be willing/able to do something. I’m in touch with the original purchaser who has supplied me with proof of purchase. If we have to re-establish him as the owner I don’t see why that couldn’t be done.

If it was Leica for example, they replace parts etc years later

 

[navetsea]

car seat expert can magically seal this type of damage and make the leather car seat function normally being seated for hours, so I think leather cement product can fix this for sure, but the problem is coloring the repaired area to look seamless to the surrounding. you have to color it brown first and then black over it, but IF the leather as a whole is problematic, then new scars might pop up next to the repaired areas, perhaps after fixing then the leather need some conditioning perhaps the fibres have petrified and losing its ability to bend and flex without cracking

 

[AeroFan_07]

Just try calling them directly. Not email.
Reach out, share photos, ask, be respectful.

It may be they will help you...

 

[Biff42]

No offense, but if I were the original owner and sold them to you in good condition 4 months ago, I wouldn't help you with this unless I failed to disclose something. The cracks could be from something you did unintentionally, are you placing them near high heat sources to dry them, for example?

You tagged the guy in the post, but what do you expect him to do?

 

[Will Zach]

No offense, but if I were the original owner and sold them to you in good condition 4 months ago, I wouldn't help you with this unless I failed to disclose something. The cracks could be from something you did unintentionally, are you placing them near high heat sources to dry them, for example?

You tagged the guy in the post, but what do you expect him to do?

Why not? TFL members help each other.

 

[Jonanah]

No offense, but if I were the original owner and sold them to you in good condition 4 months ago, I wouldn't help you with this unless I failed to disclose something. The cracks could be from something you did unintentionally, are you placing them near high heat sources to dry them, for example?

You tagged the guy in the post, but what do you expect him to do?

Perhaps you missed this important detail:

Cracks appeared earlier than that but it took me a while to realize something was wrong.

The cracks appeared not long after I received the boots. They have presented on the one panel that looked dramatically different from the rest upon arrival, and right where the logo was stamped. As you can see in the photos I posted, the other boot is in absolutely perfect condition. I feel like it should be pretty easy to put these pieces together and figure out that what is going on here is not the result of user error. But if you really must know and are asking in good faith, allow me to disabuse you of the notion that these boots received any improper care, such as drying them near a high heat source.

As @Will Zach aptly and expediently pointed out above, why would a fellow member with whom I did fair business not try to help me out of a difficult and potentially costly situation? I just don't understand this kind of attitude and find it to be profoundly unhelpful. Thank you to everyone else who has offered genuinely helpful advice, and to the member who sold me the boots who is also doing his best to get the issue resolved.

 

[Biff42]

Why not? TFL members help each other.

Will, If you're willing to assist then that's great. I don't think there should be an expectation that a seller will step in 4 months after the fact to sort out a warranty issue. Plus the original seller is in Switzerland.

We'll have to respectfully agree to disagree on this one.

 

[Jonanah]

Will, If you're willing to assist then that's great. I don't think there should be an expectation that a seller will step in 4 months after the fact to sort out a warranty issue. Plus the original seller is in Switzerland.

We'll have to respectfully agree to disagree on this one.

I ended up moving apartments and traveling extensively shortly after purchasing the boots, which mostly sat in the box they came in. With so much going on and barely being home in the past several months, I was not able to attend to this matter immediately as there were higher priority issues to deal with.

You are working with a tiny sliver of the full details of the situation and a whole lot of assumptions. I'm not sure why you are advocating for people not to help me--I hope I am not mistaken when I say I believe that goes against the spirit of the community here.

 

[Will Zach]

Will, If you're willing to assist then that's great. I don't think there should be an expectation that a seller will step in 4 months after the fact to sort out a warranty issue. Plus the original seller is in Switzerland.

We'll have to respectfully agree to disagree on this one.

Respectfully, I sure as hell won't buy anything from you.

 

[Biff42]

I ended up moving apartments and traveling extensively shortly after purchasing the boots, which mostly sat in the box they came in. With so much going on and barely being home in the past several months, I was not able to attend to this matter immediately as there were higher priority issues to deal with.

You are working with a tiny sliver of the full details of the situation and a whole lot of assumptions. I'm not sure why you are advocating for people not to help me--I hope I am not mistaken when I say I believe that goes against the spirit of the community here.

I'm just saying, it's asking too much. I prefer to sell on eBay to avoid these situations and have specific return windows. My views don't align with yours, so what? I can share my view and you can move on.

You don't have to be so butt-hurt about it all.