B. Nelson Shoes

This review is for customer service only because so far I’m still waiting for singularly inefficient USPS to locate the priority mail package I sent to Nick at B. Nelson.
My favorite but abused Alden loafers needed a tune up, and as I live in Denver my options were limited. As other posters have mentioned, Alden seems to have become increasingly hostile to restorations, so I chose B. Nelson. Not to mention they were less expensive (but not so much so as to arouse suspicion).
Anyway, Nick and I exchanged several emails regarding the mysterious disappearance of my burgundy calfskin leisure handsewns, and he was always very responsive. This morning he went out of his way to call me at the office to let me know he was on the case. He even said he would contact his local post office to let them know we were looking for a package — even though he was going on vacation tomorrow.
I’ll update when I have the results.

My work/​dress shoes are Aldens. When I bought my first pair of Aldens many years ago, one of the selling points was that Alden offered a restoration service; the shoes came back in like-​new but broken-​in condition. It was sheer genius.
Over time, though, Alden has seemed less welcoming to restorations — prices raised, time to finish the work almost doubled, customer service grew more gruff, some shoes were refused service.
So, I began searching for an alternative in NYC. That’s how I came to be aware of B. Nelson /​VIP shoes.
My experience is different from that I read in a lot of the reviews (and people can get pretty touchy and particular about their shoes, so I take those reviews with a grain of salt…). I was never treated rudely; in fact, I found my interactions perfectly nice. The work was always pretty good, but it varied — from very good to less so. Work was done pretty promptly.
However, one complaint that rings very true: pricing. The pricing in the store is never the same as they say online; no explanation why. And up-​pricing is a problem: you agree to some price, and then you hear later that another $ 20 or $ 30 is required.
It’s really more of a 3.5 than a 3 in my experience.

I brought my Alden shell cordovan shoes to this company for a simple re-​sole. What I got in return was months of headaches and $ 200.00 of my hard-​earned money flushed down the toilet.
After receiving the shoes back and being given a runaround by the proprietor when I complained about the gouged/​scuffed leather and the incompetent workmanship (i.e. the rigid, unusable shoe bed), I then had to forward my shoes to the original manufacturer, Alden Shoes, to have the soles re-​done and the damage repaired, incurring an extra expense of $ 169.00 and two months of wait time.
B. Nelson has to be one of the worst shoe repair shops I’ve ever dealt with. And that’s saying something: the prices they charge are ALWAYS higher than the ones listed on their website, the time they take is ALWAYS longer than stated and your premium shoes are returned damaged, unshined and the services you paid dearly for are ineptly performed.
And then there’s the «customer service».
The owner/​manager enjoys taking the time to chat you up so as to sell you extra and unnecessary services up front, but then makes himself mysteriously unavailable when an outraged customer demands a refund for a bad repair job. When and if you DO get this individual on the phone, he changes his former unctuous tone very fast: he bullies the customer and gives him/​her a line about how «you’re wasting his valuable time» and then indignantly threatens to hang-​up if you don’t «get lost».
Well, this customer won’t «get lost». He’s getting even: I’m reporting this guy to the Better Business Bureau. Based upon the other abysmal reviews here on Unilocal,I’d say it’s long overdue.

I wanted to surprise my boyfriend by getting his Alden Indy boots resolved and I heard great things online about B Nelson. I was a little heisitant because some of their Unilocal reviews were really bad, but I took my chances anyway.
All I can say is that they did superb work. The boots were resolved beautifully in less than a week for cheaper (and more quickly) than Alden was asking. Highly recommended.

I’ve taken two pairs of very expensive shoes to B. Nelson’s (also known as VIP Shoe Restorers). They did a good job of resoling and polishing my shoes to near mint condition but I’m not quite sure they’re worth the money or hassle. It’s certainly one of the most expensive shoe repair places around. My bill was over $ 300.
They also have really bad customer service. The front desk attendant is generally unhelpful and rude and often doesn’t clearly explain things. They also have a tendency to forget to do what you asked them to do and then deny you ever asked them to do it.
In addition, their website is unclear about prices and promotions. The special promotion they run is only for mail-​in orders. They actually charge more to customers who bring shoes to the actual store. This makes little economic sense given B. Nelson covers shipping costs if you mail shoes in. Why wouldn’t New Yorkers just mail shoes in as well?
With that said, I still like their actual resoling work. Next time I need resoling done on my expensive shoes, I’ll look around but will likely still take them back.
My recommendation for customers is to use this place if you have an expensive pair of shoes and are willing to spend $ 150 or move to have nice JR soles put in. Make sure you clearly explain what you want done and ignore the rudeness from the staff. Nick, the owner of this place, is actually very knowledgeable and an expert cobbler. Try to meet with him if he’s around.

Never again!
Over the years I’ve sent a handful of high end ($ 500-​$ 1,000) shoes to these guys and my experiences with them just get worse and worse. Most recently, they completely forgot to put the metal taps I paid for on my shoes. For me, this was the last straw.
Customer service is non-​existent at this place. I had just paid them $ 250 to resole a pair of shoes and then the guy lies straight to my face saying I never asked for the metal taps. I didn’t feel like getting in a shouting match with these guys, but I am taking my business elsewhere and never coming back.

LIARS and UPSELLERS
Brought in my men’s dress shoes for the standard recrafting package which is advertised on their website for $ 90. In the store I was told it would be $ 95. And that if I wanted the GOOD leather sole it’s be and extra 25-​$ 30 or so. What the?! So $ 90 doesn’t get you the good stuff?
Was told that the price difference is bc the 90 is for people who ship their shoes in and 95 is if you bring it in yourself. Something about the $ 5 difference covering the shipping or something. Funny thing is, the shipping is advertised as free online! None of it makes sense.
It’s not about the $ 5. It’s not the number. It’s the fact that they try to game you and are dishonest. Not ok.
There is no way that I’m coming back to this dump. The long haired guy could have been apologetic and understanding about the whole thing. Instead he was argumentative. Said that the website is in the process of being updated, which is not true because I visited the site months before coming in and it said the same thing.

I love BNelson for a number of reasons
1– Staff understands English and the proper terminology for certain shoe modifications. A major plus if you have struggled with communication at other shoe repair spots in NYC
2-​Internet orders. I’ve never stepped into the shop, and simply send my shoes via prepaid shipping label.
3-​They communicate clearly and efficiently via email. I’ve sent pictures and they responded with an accurate quote.
4-​Quick turnaround time
5-​Search any reputable clothing forum and you will find nothing but praise for B.Nelson. Many ship high end ($ 1000+) shoes from all over the US. Example search on Styleforum:

Ill never step foot into another shoe place again!

I live in NYC so B Nelson is local, and has been mentioned here many times before.
I have never had to resole anything before. I rotate my shoes enough that over the years things have worn evenly throughout my lineup and nothing gets overused. Last week I finally decided it was time to resole a pair of Clark’s desert boots. Nothing fancy, but this was my test bed. If this went well then all my Aldens would go there as well.
I walk in and was greeted nicely. The guy, who was clearly very busy, still had time to look over my shoes and ask me what I needed done. I was getting a complete resole at a cost that was more than what my Clark’s originally cost, but that was fine with me as these were broken in and still in very good shape in spite of a cracked and worn sole. He gave me a ticket and said it’ll be a week. Fine, no problem.
Six days later I get a call saying that the stitching is going to require more labor (by hand, rather than a machine) then he originally had thought. I asked him why, six days later, he now noticed this. He explained they were very busy — he just kept repeating it. He also explained that it was going to be $ 30 more. I told him no thank you. At this point the resole would have been $ 60 more than what I even paid for the boots. Flash forward a scant hour, and I caved. The shop is about 20 blocks from work and I didn’t want to walk up, pick them up, and walk somewhere else. So I called back and talked to some one else and said you know what — go for it. The boots were there and what’s $ 30 in the grand scheme of things. He said «I’ll take care of you.» I said thank you and that was that.
So today I call them (this is the day they were supposed to be done as per my ticket). And I got the same guy on the phone who I gave the OK to do the work yesterday. First of all, he couldn’t find my boot. He asked me what the ticket number was (I gave it to him) what the make of the shoe was (I gave it to him). Five minutes on hold and he finally finds it and says that they’re not supposed to be done till NEXT week. That’s two weeks from the initial drop off. I explained to him that no — I have the ticket in front of me and it says today. He responds with that since I said no, and then called back an hour later, that my shoe had been put to the back of the line. I was flabbergasted. After much back and forth I said the hell with it don’t touch em, I’m coming to pick them up for a refund.
I pick them up today, untouched, and asked to speak with the person with whom I dropped them off. I explained to him the entire situation, he apologized, but kept asking «what do you want me to do about it? I’m busy.» Over and over again he kept apologizing for the added cost. I had to explain that I didn’t care about the extra $ 30, what I cared about was my shoe being put in the back of the line after an hours worth of downtime after it sat on a shelf for six days. «I’m too busy», he offered. My first three jobs were in retain customer service and for a small shop being «too busy» is never a problem. You hire more people, you accurately quote times, there are ways around too busy.
I got nothing out of him — I didn’t want anything. I kindly grabbed my shoes and started to walk out. Here is where it get’s interesting. The other gentleman, the one who I OK’d the work to on the phone, was also there. He came over to me with another pair of Clark’s that they had put a leather sole on, and he showed me the price tag: $ 210. He said «the $ 160 you were paying, we’re losing money on it. See what he is paying?» I responded to him with «I don’t think you understand, it’s not the price that I cared about. I would have paid the $ 210 if I thought they would be done in a week. But you didn’t even tell me it was going to be another seven days before I could pick them up on the phone.» He sat there and said nothing. No apology, no nothing.
All in all, these guys might do quality work, but their customer service is horrendous.
I went there with a friend who had her boots resoled (you could stick a finger through the things into the boot itself). And when she got them back the holes in the inner lining were still there. She asked why that was and the same guy who tried to point out the $ 210 price said «you should have told us to replace the lining, too.» Now, she’s also never had shoes resoled and assumed, incorrectly, that that was part of the sole since it was under her feet. Now she’s stuck with a $ 95 bill and a hole in the leather lining.
I am never going back to them with any of my shoes.

I sent in a pair of boots to have the worn down Vibram sole replaced with Dainite. The cost was reasonable when compared to purchasing a new pair of the same boots, so I shipped them to B Nelson (free of charge) and got them back about 2 weeks later.
When I got the shoes back, I was amazed at the quality of the work; however, they used the wrong color for the replacement soles. I called the shop, spoke to Nick and told him what happened. After I explained the situation and showed him my e-​mail, which showed I requested a different color, he made me an offer to correct the work or offer a discount on the next resole job. Seemed like a stand-​up guy to me and overall my experience with Nick/​B Nelson/​VIP was a pleasant one.

Went to this store as I wanted my expensive shoes redyed and resoled. Told owner Nick Valenti I can have work done locally especially dye job for 40 bucks. His store is one of a few that can put on british Dainite soles and asked him to dye light tan shoes navy blue with black around toe area. Sent him several photos. Was told work would take 2 weeks. After 4 weeks shoes not sent and was told they had to redyed them.
Shoes arrived at 6 weeks, black in color and work cost me 290 dollars. I reached out to Mr. Valenti but all I got was lip service and no ability to make it right or refund me. You would think at these prices he might actually care about his screwup. No such concerns. Even though I sent photos and told how edge of leather is blue so clearly blue was possible he denies he made an error and thinks blue and black r identical.
BUYER BEWARE-​This guy is not user friendly, does not care about his customers and clearly does very mediocre work.
All I asked for was a 90 dollar refund out of 290 which was the cost of the dye job. The fact he gave me my 6^th pair of black shoes and these navy blue requested shoes were to match a wedding party tux did not bother him in the least.
Total zero in terms of customer service, not being on time and basically not owning up to his errors. STAY AWAY!

Rating: Zero Stars
Reason: Liars — Disreputable Business
Recommendation: STAY AWAY!
I was referred to the folks at BNelson (VIP Shoe Restorers) after hearing great stories about their work.
I shelled out $ 170 to repair my shoes, which were Brooks Brothers branded shoes with a rubber sole guard and rubber heel that had worn down. Nick’s partner (whose name I do not know) told me that he would fix the shoe and I specifically asked if it would be the same and he said yes he would replace the soles and in addition would reinforce the back.
When I received the shoes I saw that he did reinforce the back, but he DID NOT put on a rubber sole guard. After speaking with the store manager and letting him know that I was told the sole would be replaced as if it was the same, he looked into it.
After confronting them about it, they refused to acknowledge their error and told me I would be charged another $ 40 to add on the sole guard (WHICH THEY SAID BEFORE WAS INCLUDED IN THE $ 170 PRICE).
Effectively they lied to me about the goods and services I paid for and had the gall to ask me for more money for a service that they misrepresented.
This complaint is not about the price, but about the bold faced misrepresentation of their services and then the refusal to make it right. Regardless of their craftsmanship, do not send your business to this disreputable business.

I don’t get the bad reviews on here.
For those of us that actually use B. Nelson to repair shoes that are well in the $ 500+ range, the prices are justifiable.
I personally have to mail my shoes to B. Nelson to install flush metal guards on my Aldens, because no local cobblers can do it. And the job is always perfect.
On top of that, go to any fashion-​related website and you’ll find positive reviews from people that send their high-​end dress shoes (Edward Green, John Jobb, C&J, Alden, G&G, etc.) to B. Nelson and have nothing but good to say.

I was shocked to see the mixed reviews about B Nelson. I’ve had two pairs of men’s dress shoes resoled here and both times the workmanship and service were excellent. Since I no longer live in NYC, I sent my shoes using the supplied postage-​paid envelope. Although I was a little nervous to send my shoes away to a store I’ve never visited, I was reassured by Nick’s quick and helpful replies to my emails. I was also impressed by the metal toe plates that Nick recommended – they do the job of those ugly plastic toe taps but are hardly visible since they sit flush with the leather sole.
I’ve used other cobblers, both in Manhattan and other major cities, and manufacturers’ recrafting services with mixed results. B Nelson’s work is the best I’ve seen so far.

So being the lesbian that I am, I wear Birkenstocks a LOT during the warmer months. The heels on my most precious greek sandal style Birks were worn all the way down to the cork, so naturally I took them to be repaired before it’s sandal season again. Having checked their website, I thought I would be paying $ 15 for the pair to have the heels replaced, but apparently the «pr.» abbreviation actually stands for PER and not PAIR. That seems mighty ambiguous to me. On top of that, they pressured me to get the whole footbed AND sole replaced for $ 60. For that, I could buy a whole new pair of Birkenstocks! Why would I do that?
My shoes WEREN’T ready by the day they said they would be, and they didn’t even bother to call when they were ready. I called THEM, then had to wait an inexplicably long time for my shoes while being suffocated with shoe polish fumes. On top of everything else, the heels just look shitty. Don’t bring your shoes here. Save yourself the trip to Midtown.

First, as of March 29^th, 2011 they are definitely in business. They are on the pricey side — $ 90 for regular men’s soles and heels, $ 110 for Rendenbach. I went for the Rendenbach and laid out another $ 35 for the inset toe guards. They threw in some shoe bags since my order was not ready on time. I was actually more impressed with the $ 75 resole they did on a pair of old Mephistos — they look better than new and at least it’s cheaper than sending them to Mephisto.
.
If you have Cheaneys they have the factory Danite sole, which is nice.
They are connected with the manufacturers and clearly know their business.
In sum, if you can pay the freight, these guys are the pros.

Maybe this place does an OK job on men’s shoes, but if you are a woman, and you have lovely, expensive shoes, DO NOT GO HERE!
I had my favorite pair of CL’s butchered by this shoe repair place, and then had one of the staff actually argue with me that it didn’t look so bad (um, the new heel tips aren’t flush, and when you recovered the heel, you actually TRIMMED the red sole and now it’s jagged and not flush… and the new heel leather is also jagged???)
The good:
1. NOTHING
The bad:
1. POOR workmanship
2. UNPLEASANT staff
With so many other highly regarded shoe repair places in the city, there’s no need to go here… unless you like throwing your money away…

I don’t know what to make of this claim that B Nelson has been shuttered for tax evasion. I find it highly dubious given their prominence and the established nature of their business (they accept credit cards and have a thriving online business practice which are both highly accountable). Regardless, I haven’t been there in a year and a half or so, so I suppose it’s possible. If I were a more thorough person, I’d call.
That’s not really the point though, is it? Whether this review is pre or post-​mortem doesn’t really matter. If they’re still open, I hope to talk you into going. If they’re not, I hope to instill regret over your having never been. And regret you should.
Whether you show up with Kenneth Cole or John Lobb, no shoe is beyond redemption at B Nelson. Their craftsmen are so exceptional I actually smile when they berate me for not coming in sooner. And how could I protest when I know full well that A) I deserve the lecture B) no one else can save my wrecked, shameful footwear.
I’ve had more than five pairs resoled there. One pair twice. Every time I get them back, I swear they’re new. Like someone who picks up a pet from the sitter after a vacation and thinks it’s a replacement for the original that has died, I’m always so impressed I momentarily think they’ve bought me a new pair on the sly.
But to say your shoes come back as good as new is really a disservice to their craft. I’ve had two pairs of shoes whose B Nelson soles have outlived the originals, which is probably why I haven’t been in over a year and a half.

I’d had my trusty Birkenstocks for over a year and the heels were pretty worn down, almost to the cork. So I thought I’d get the heels repaired to put off buying a new pair, as apart from the heels they were in great condition. Well, I don’t know where B Nelson gets their materials from but I don’t think they’re genuine Birkenstock soles. After less than 2 months since they were repaired, the new heels have worn down to almost where the old ones were before after over a year of use. The new heels don’t have ‘birk’ written in the sole pattern (I didn’t realize that until much later when I was checking more closely). I haven’t been back to complain since I can’t be bothered to spend $ 4.50 for a 45 minute subway ride to have a showdown over a $ 20 repair job. I’ll just wear these into the ground and then get a new pair.

I checked twice to make sure I had the right cobbler, what with all the great reviews. The job they did on my heels lasted for all of two wears. What’s worse, one part of it was a pretty simple fix but they wouldn’t do it because they «didn’t have the right brush» for the shoe glue. Other cobblers I’ve been to (not in NYC as I haven’t found my go-​to person yet) have gotten creative. They would’ve applied the glue with a tooth-​pick or something. Not these guys. No ideas outside the box.
By the way, they’re now at 1285 6^th Ave in the basement.