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Allbirds shoes look very very cheap. I stopped into their NYC store downtown twice. Each time I noticed a ton of glue that had seeped onto the wool when they gl

Allbirds shoes look very very cheap. I stopped into their NYC store downtown twice. Each time I noticed a ton of glue that had seeped onto the wool when they glued the fabric on. I thought the first time it was a one-off issue. The pattern continues. Allbirds really needs to step up their quality. If you look at the product quality of Merrel, Danner, US Made Red Wing Shoes, it's night and day! I would never buy an Allbird.

OnlineGladiator 7y ago
You're comparing work boots to what are effectively wool slippers with rubber soles - of course there's a difference in quality because they're not even the same market segment. I agree with you they're overpriced, but not for the reasons you stated.
- magashna 7y ago
  Maybe they should aim for a different market segment then. Common Projects, a plain but very well made luxury sneaker seems to be doing well. I'd imagine fighting for scraps against Amazon/Walmart isn't going to go well.
  - peruvian 7y ago
    Their market is well off techies/tech adjacent people that don't care about fashion and just want to be comfy (Allbirds are the butt of jokes in any men's style community). They can't price their shoes too high because their market would scoff at paying more than $~150 for shoes. This market also won't care about where the material is sourced from or who makes it. Allbirds made a cheap product people can easily copy, so they did. Shrug.
    - dzhiurgis 7y ago
      My biggest problem with them is they wear out in less than a year. Extremely unreliable... That said, if you love merino - check out Icebreaker...
closetohome 7y ago
I thought this topic was especially ironic because Allbirds are essentially a knockoff of Nike Flyknits.
- thundergolfer 7y ago
  Aren’t most Flyknits not wool? What aspect did they knock-off? The shoes appear very different in aesthetic and construction.
tootie 7y ago
I had a pair of Allbirds and they were super comfy and breathable but the soles were dangerously bad. Walking around in slushy weather they were like ice skates causing me to slip and fall more than once. I know they're not winter boots but even a pair of regular sneakers were 100x better.

OnlineGladiator 7y ago

You're comparing work boots to what are effectively wool slippers with rubber soles - of course there's a difference in quality because they're not even the same market segment. I agree with you they're overpriced, but not for the reasons you stated.

magashna 7y ago
Maybe they should aim for a different market segment then. Common Projects, a plain but very well made luxury sneaker seems to be doing well. I'd imagine fighting for scraps against Amazon/Walmart isn't going to go well.
- peruvian 7y ago
  Their market is well off techies/tech adjacent people that don't care about fashion and just want to be comfy (Allbirds are the butt of jokes in any men's style community). They can't price their shoes too high because their market would scoff at paying more than $~150 for shoes. This market also won't care about where the material is sourced from or who makes it. Allbirds made a cheap product people can easily copy, so they did. Shrug.
  - dzhiurgis 7y ago
    My biggest problem with them is they wear out in less than a year. Extremely unreliable... That said, if you love merino - check out Icebreaker...

closetohome 7y ago

I thought this topic was especially ironic because Allbirds are essentially a knockoff of Nike Flyknits.

thundergolfer 7y ago
Aren’t most Flyknits not wool? What aspect did they knock-off? The shoes appear very different in aesthetic and construction.

tootie 7y ago

I had a pair of Allbirds and they were super comfy and breathable but the soles were dangerously bad. Walking around in slushy weather they were like ice skates causing me to slip and fall more than once. I know they're not winter boots but even a pair of regular sneakers were 100x better.