Men foot higher bill for shoe repairs

Men's shoes are often 'thrashed'. Photo / Martin Sykes

Men pay more to get their shoes repaired than women and shoe repairers are divided on the reasons for the price disparity.

A survey of several shoe repairers in Auckland selected at random showed the price of placing "cover soles" on a pair of women's shoes started at about $35 a pair, depending on how much work was involved and the materials required.

The same service for men's shoe starts at about $40 a pair.

Dr Shoe in the city centre charges about $46 for repairing women's shoes.

"Realistically a male sole starts at $40 for the pair and with the heel you're looking at about $65 to $70 ... but it does depend, there may be extra things going on in the shoe," a man who answered the phone said.

"Women get a great deal and the men do pay a little bit more but that's worldwide."

The man said he had no idea why women paid less, as he believed women's shoes required more work.

Asked why he thought there was a price difference between the sexes, he said: "I guess predominantly male shoe repairers would look after women, it's just how it is, I guess."

But David Yeates, co-owner of Expert Shoe and Bag Repairs on Karangahape Rd, where it costs about $65 for a new sole and heel on women's shoes and about $85 for men's shoes, said men's shoes often needed more work.

"They don't necessarily look after their shoes like the girls do. Girls have lots of shoes so they tend to alternate them more whereas guys, they tend to get a pair and then thrash them ... there's usually a lot more work that needs to be done on them.

"Some of the shoes we see guys bringing in are unbelievable. They wear them out so badly."

Gemmell's Footwear cobbler Fred Townsend said men's shoes usually cost more to repair because they were larger than women's and required more materials or work.