How Much Do Leather Boots REALLY Cost?

How much do quality leather boots cost? Well, that kind of depends on how you define that.

Obviously you can find leather boots in stores all over the place as well as online; you don't need us to tell you about those.

But is mere purchase price REALLY how much leather boots cost? We'd like to suggest that the sticker price itself is not the only "cost" involved in leather boots.

In fact, it might be the case that purchasing boots of low price but also of lesser quality might cost you more in the long run than buying a quality pair of boots does.

Leather Work Boots And False Economy

There's a certain amount of false economy involved in buying leather work boots at a lower purchase price.

False economy is a situation in which a person buys a particular good because they believe it saves them money. However, due to factors related to the good in question but not necessarily to the purchase price, the consumer actually doesn't save any money or in fact may even lose money by purchasing the supposedly cheaper item.

Here's an example.

A lot of people buy hybrid cars because they want better gas mileage. Makes sense, right? A Prius or what have you can get 50 mpg or better, meaning fewer trips to the pump.

But there's a catch.

The hybrid drivetrain adds several thousand dollars to the purchase price of the car. You pay more in sticker and certainly in loan interest. Also, depending on how long you own it, you may have to replace the battery pack, which typically costs several thousand dollars to have done.

The false economy is that the hybrid vehicle ends up costing the buyer more over their period of ownership due to the higher purchase price and battery pack replacement, eradicating the savings in fuel costs. That's a false economy.

The false economy of work boots?

Say you find a pair of work boots for $100. They're cheaper, to be sure, than a pair of handmade $500 work boots. However, what anyone knows is that they'll wear out faster.

Let's say, just for the sake of argument, that you have to buy three pairs every year. That's $300 per year in boots, which - when it comes to cheap work boots - isn't unheard of at all and in fact has sent many of our customers into our doors for a fitting.

However, let's assume you spent $500 on a pair of handmade leather work boots and had to have them resoled every two years.

Over ten years, that's $3,000 in inexpensive work boots. However, buying one pair of quality work boots plus five resolings - at, say, $150 each - adds up to $1,250 over that same period. Even if you're replacing the $100 pair of boots half as often, you're still paying more for the cheap boots as you are for quality.

But that's just the cost of the boots themselves. Are there any ancillary costs that you might not consider?

The Hidden Costs Of Work Boots

There are a couple of other aspects of buying work boots that people don't necessarily factor into their purchase decisions.

First you have the ancillary work boot accessories that almost everybody has to spend on at certain points such as insoles. A lot of people have to buy a pair of Dr. Scholl's or other inserts to even be comfortable in their boots, which typically have to be periodically replaced. People break laces every so often as well; those impose an additional cost as well if you're going through laces.

Granted, neither of these things are terrifically expensive, but if you're having to buy new ones, that is an additional cost.

Let's say you spent $100 per year on insoles and laces, which isn't inconceivable at all. If you were already spending $300 per year on wearing boots out, that brings your annual cost to $400; you've almost already spent what you'd need to in order to buy a pair of handmade work boots.

Then you have the "cost" that can't be measured, namely comfort and support.

Another reason why our customers as well as those of other high-end work boot brands insist the expenditure is worth it is not only the craftsmanship, but also the support and comfort of a quality work boot.

Is it worth something to you for your feet to hurt less at the end of the day? Your ankles? Your knees and lower back?

How much is it worth to you to not feel as tired and haggard at the end of a hard day's work? Or maybe for your feet to not hurt halfway through your day?

That's another reason why cheaper work boots end up sending a lot of people to us and to other high-end work boot makers.

Just as you want to invest in a good mattress so you can get a good night's sleep - after all, you're going to sleep for a third of your life; you should sleep well if you can - you want to invest in a pair of boots that feels really good if you're going to be on your feet all day.

So how much do leather boots cost? They might cost a lot more than you'd think...or they might cost less.