Have I been burned?

[Matsumoto]

Hi All,

First of all, I apologise if this isn't the correct place to be posting this, as this purchase is completely unrelated to TFL. That being said, I think it may be of interest to some here, and I don't know where else I'd find people as knowledgeable about matters like this.

I just received a pair of 2nd hand Rolling Dub Trio Sower's I bought on eBay. I'm not impressed with the condition as there's significant cracks on the right hand boot, which I don't feel was adequately described in the listing.

I have a couple of questions:

How much will this affect the longevity of the boot?

While I understand the crack will never go away, will conditioner do much here?

Would you accept the boots in this condition?

On closer inspection, I see there is a picture of the cracking in the boot on the listing (shown in the third picture). Maybe it's my fault for not looking really closely at the picture or asking about it, but I feel a flaw like this should be very clearly stated in the description. I don't want to buy and sell goods where the expectation is the buyer needs to be on guard to avoid a raw deal. In any case I think I should be covered by eBay's money back guarantee.

I've included some screenshots of the description too, to show the condition I expected them to be in (worn but not damaged!).

 

[Tom71]

Well, yes, from the listing and the pictures I would have been surprised too. I guess that for the sales picture, the boots have been freshly conditioned to gloss over the cracks.

That said, the blemishes appear to be superficial only, like the topcoat cracking and flaking away to some extent. That could have been caused by storage in a dry enviroment (perhaps exposed to sunlight).
You can fold the leather at the cracks to see if there is some structural effect (i.e. a tear in the leather itself).

Overall very attractive boots, and regular conditioning and maybe some lightly colored polish, applied directly at the cracks will do the trick visually.
Personally, I´d decide my next move based on what I paid.

 

[Matsumoto]

Well, yes, from the listing and the pictures I would have been surprised too. I guess that for the sales picture, the boots have been freshly conditioned to gloss over the cracks.

That said, the blemishes appear to be superficial only, like the topcoat cracking and flaking away to some extent. That could have been caused by storage in a dry enviroment (perhaps exposed to sunlight).
You can fold the leather at the cracks to see if there is some structural effect (i.e. a tear in the leather itself).

Overall very attractive boots, and regular conditioning and maybe some lightly colored polish, applied directly at the cracks will do the trick visually.
Personally, I´d decide my next move based on what I paid.

Thank you very much for the reply. How much would you have been willing to pay for these? I paid just over $500, for which I expected some wear but nothing close to this. Ebay should side with me if I dispute the transaction, which is a nice option to have.

 

[raf]

I'm curious about some of the surface of the boots appears black and some appears Dk Brown. Is this considered normal?

Of great importance is how well do the boots fit you? If there is any problem which is unlikely to be fully resolved by some wearing-in, then returning the boots is probably best.

What I see in the pix appears to be surface finish cracking/peeling off. These cracks (if I'm correct) will not go away and are likely to increase over time. It may be possible to disguise the existing cracks using appropriate dye, then applying some decent boot oil. I'm wondering if the underlying leather has dried out and the surface cracks are merely a symptom of this.

 

[Matsumoto]

I'm curious about some of the surface of the boots appears black and some appears Dk Brown. Is this considered normal?

Of great importance is how well do the boots fit you? If there is any problem which is unlikely to be fully resolved by some wearing-in, then returning the boots is probably best.

What I see in the pix appears to be surface finish cracking/peeling off. These cracks (if I'm correct) will not go away and are likely to increase over time. It may be possible to disguise the existing cracks using appropriate dye, then applying some decent boot oil. I'm wondering if the underlying leather has dried out and the surface cracks are merely a symptom of this.

It almost looks like they've either been soaked in something which caused them to crack, or left in the sun in that specific spot.

Unfortunately, besides the cracks they're great boots.
I like the way they fit and they're a cool style, but for the price I paid I can't accept cracks like this. Back they go.