I agree with Louis below, Allen Edmonds does not make shoes that are aimed to be 2nds. The seconds were all meant to be 1st quality shoes with the same quality materials, but due to some error or blemish during construction, quality control flagged them to not be sold at full price and marks them as 2nds.
Being a pull-up leather that scratch can probably be worked a little bit by hand and mostly disappear. After a couple of polishes or cream treatments that will become a non-issue. Congratulations on a really great find! Love those boots!
Allen Edmonds factory seconds definitely do not use different, lesser quality leather. Everything is the same but just did not pass final QC to the standards set forth on the checklist that the final reviewer has to sign off on. That’s it. Otherwise, same boot, same great materials! Enjoy!
Drove an hour and half up to San Francisco to buy one. Great fit, Looks awesome. Walked around the store for about 5 minutes; no issues. Got home and walked around and the right shoe sounded like it was sucking in air when I lifted my ball of my foot off the ground. Called the store and said he knew exactly what the sound was. Sole may not have been glued properly. They'll be sending me a fed ex label to return and I'll will be receiving a new one. Great customer service but disappointing the boots had issues.
The 2nds program is great but if not in a hurry the biannual sales, presidents sale, rediscovering America sale, and Black Friday are the best time to buy for 1st. The biannual sales being the biggest discount 1st at 2nd price on most offerings.
I love them both. Higgins is better for jeans with the speed laces and the Dalton is more appropriate for business attire. But they're both exceptional boots
Factory seconds are NOT built as seconds with poor quality materials. That is absolutely absurd! Allen Edmonds is making very high quality boots and shoes, but in doing so there are times when a machine gets out of sink and damages some part or element of the finished product. They will finish the shoe and then sell as a second. There might have been some defect that is virtually invisible to the untrained eye, but their efforts to sell only the best shoes - they will sell that product as a second. To think they bring subpar materials and sneak the manufacture to only sell as a second is impossible. Stupid!
That one shoe with the huge scratch looks like crap. That huge scratch, that's going to always be noticed by just about everyone and which distracts from the overall look of your shoe, isn't worth a $200 discount.
