Born Shoes / Born Footwear
reviews and complaints

I bought a pair of Born IWA sandals. The height and the stability seemed perfect for my needs. I bought them in May and by early August, one had stretched out so much that they weren’t safe to wear.

I wore them less than 10x from late May through early August—mainly doing short errands—never more than 4hrs at a time.

Might have been good quality leather and craftsmanship but not worth the cost.

Beware that if you purchase a pair of shoes/boots from Born under their "No return/No exchange policy", you will not be able to return them even if the sizing is off. Unlike most manufacturers that at least exchange their product is there's a discrepancy in the size, Born will not. Last pair of shoes I'll ever buy from Born again. Too many other reputable companies who stand behind their product will earn my business from here on out.

I own about 40 pair of Born shoes/sandals. I put on a pair of slides this morning for work, and as I was walking the soles literally fell off in pieces on one of the shoes, then on the other one as well. The rubber is unglued, split into pieces, and crumbling. The rubber is literally disintegrating into pieces. I have never seen anything like this before. I would like to know why this happened.

I have had a pair of Born Harrison chukka boots for less than 3 months. The stitching that holds the pieces of leather together that form the foot has failed and now the sections of leather are separating.

Also, the heel has a pattern on it that LOOKS as if it is a layered heel construction with a different texture in each layer, but it's not. It's a solid rubber sole with a textured sticker on the outside. That sticker is peeling off and makes the entire boot look cheap and worn.

Finally, the laces are already in need of replacement, which would be insignificant if the shoes were not falling apart as well.

These shoes were a gift I received on December 25. Today is March 3rd. That's only 67 days. I've used them only for normal walking on sidewalks in Manhattan. No hiking, running, or rough use of any kind. Even a cheap pair of shoes should last longer than this.

Ordered shoes November 9th, and returned them a week after I received them. UPS tracking shows shoes received by Born on November 28th. Emailed to ask about the status of refund and was told that the returns department was way behind, and I could expect a refund in 12-15 business days. Totally unacceptable! Never would've bought the shoes in the first place if I'd known that a return would be this difficult.

Placed order 11/14/2022. Ordered my true size Product arrived and size was marked correctly, but I couldn't even fit half of my foot in them.

Returned them the same day as delivered. That was 3 weeks ago. Only response I receive is "Due to current high volume, we will process your return/exchange 5-10 business days after it is received at our warehouse. You will receive an email from us to confirm the receipt and processing of your return. Please allow 3-5 business days for the refund credit to appear on your credit card/bank account".

My account doesn't even show that they were returned!

Feeling ripped off.

Born M/W B3093 F7 size 11 1/2 / 45.5

Black

Slip on loafers. One of the most comfortable shoes I have ever owned.

These ones are breaking apart, right across the soles. They haven’t been worn enough to even show wear on the heels.

These are very expensive shoes would hope that the company will stand behind their brand.

I’m a senior and received these as a gift from my spouse who has passed.

I understand that companies receive products that are defective, but if they use them they need to stand behind them!

I ordered a handbag, "the boynton $73.94" sale price, i was sent the branton $43.94 sale price (switch and bait). I spoke with someone in the office about the mix up (the manager stephanie was not there), no real apology, and sent me a label to send the cheaper bag back, which i did.

I needed the bag for an event, so i purchased the "supposedly right bag again, so that i could get it sooner, and they would reimburse me when they received the bag that i returned.

Do you know that these idiots sent me the wrong cheaper bag again!

i am done with this company and i want my money

I paid a pretty penny for a very nice pair of Born Sandal Wedges. Within 3 years of occasional wear the stitching and piping around the shoe have come completely undone. Basically disentigrated. I contacted Born customer support and their answer was "unfortunately as our product is made overseas we cannot repair your product". They have lost a customer and I will be telling by story to anyone wishing to purchase a Born product.

They are a dressy maryjane shoe. I don’t wear them often,maybe 10 times total, because the heel is high and I’m on my feet all day. I pulled them out to wear for a meeting tomorrow and the heel piece was missing. Upon a closer look I see the BORN seal is falling off the bottom. Then I see inside of this spot inside the shoe is a bunch of cracked up plastic. I picked up the other one and it’s doing the same thing. I both them a couple of years ago at DSW.

Is there a way to replace 5th bottom half of the shoes?

I have owned several BORN products and BOC. This Born pair was around $100…I paid that much because of the craftsmanship of the top stitching on the shoe. What are my opotions?

A friend bought them for myself as I walk alot. The shoes are great & comfortable, but the left shoe has started to unravel on the side.

I am extremely disappointed in your not standing behind the quality of these shoes. As I said, I have worn this brand of shoes for many years, never thought that I would experience this type of poor workmanship.

I will be sharing my experience as widely as possible.

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From: "CustomerCare, Bornshoes"
Sent: Friday December 17 2021 9:20:48AM
Subject: RE: [EXTERNAL] Premature wear of shoes
Hello,
I do apologize, we do not offer repairs service as our brand is made overseas. We do have a 1 year defect guarantee on any purchases made through our website, but this appears to be over that as well. You might check with a local cobbler to see if they are able to assist with repairs.
Thank You,
Bornshoes.com
Customer Care
[protected]

Sent: Tuesday, December 14, 2021 2:42 PM
To: CustomerCare, Bornshoes
Subject: [EXTERNAL] Premature wear of shoes

I bought a pair of Born shoes 6/16/20 at bornshoes.com. I have worn born shoes almost exclusively for years.
These shoes are coming apart (unstitched). As you can see from the attached pictures, the soles have little wear, the shoes are only worn to work (sitting at a desk).
I am requesting refund or replacement. I am extremely disappointed, I had come to expect better quality from your products.

All beautiful on top, all disintegrated on the soles and under the stitching. These shoes are all upwards of 70$, leather, and appear to be crafted well. They are extremely comfortable which is why I bought so many for my diabetic feet. However, looks can be deceiving.

Purchased: 3 shoes and 2 sandals
Date of incident: [protected]
From: Various Stores - no invoices available
Description: Crushed, chipped, and missing parts of the sides and soles occurring after normal use, like after walking to the mailbox? This is dangerous.
Desirable Resolution: $70 x 5 = $350 paid to me.

Your side bar says: "Remember! The more details you provide, the easier it will be for a company to resolve your issue"
I say: this isn't my issue! The company should state on the product "SOLE WILL DISINTERGRATE IN LESS THAN ONE YEAR"!

Lovely Green Sandals. The upper straps look great but the soles have literally disintegrated. So disappointed in man made materials.
I hope that Born will move away from soles of man made material or find a better product
for their lovely Sandals.
I may have worn these two seasons and not often because of color coordination.
Love Born designs but will carefully evaluate soles of any future purchases.

The boots are from last year dillard sale in corpus christi Texas i wore them maybe 3 times took them out for the 1st time this year and they were all crumbling apart at the bottom where the ankle goes...they said they were leather but I don't think they are. I have another pair.of born that have lasted 12 years and still look brand new...I know items don't last forever but just a few wears and they look like they came from a thrift store. The company should take some pride in their product for the price they charge

It took so long to get a label and return my boots, which run big and have no ankle support. I finally got the return label after 3 phone requests, and sent them back.
The boots were way too big. I literally wore them for less than an hour in my home before deciding they were just too uncomfortable. I sent them back February 3rd, and today, March 9th the customer service lady Sue, told me the shoes look like they were worn and they are sending them back to me. This is just NOT TRUE. I barely wore them, they are brand new. So after all this time, I cannot exchange for a pair of shoes that fit me, I will NEVER buy online from this shady company again. What an utter waste of time and money. Disappointing doesn't cover how I feel and I intend to post my reviews far and wide. I feel cheated ad scammed out of a lot of money and the customer service was rude and unhelpful. Again, these shes were worn in my house for less than an hour before I put them back in the box as un wearable, Tammy Blanco

I have several pairs of Born shoes. 4 of these have just fallen apart, the soles came right off! While wearing these I had to walk out of work with no shoes on to go on my lunch hour to get more shoes! How embarrassing! I am really afraid to wear my other Born after 4 pair the soles come off, I bought all of these at Macy's. I pay a lot for these shoes! Shoes are my addiction! I have over 200 pair. Have never worn a pair of shoes out. I take care of my shoes

I sent them back with their label well I was being charge 6.96and I will take a couple of weeks to get there. My reorder I have size larger the whole top of the boot was warped both boots. their customer service department is not very helpful and I paid two day shipping and I got them on Thursday the day after Christmas I ordered them the previous Friday. I have taken pictures and if they don't cut me some slack on the money I've spent on returns and shipping I'm gonna get hold of my lawyer.
FYI I could've bought them at Macy's cheaper $88.
Being that they make these boots in China Vietnam and one other foreign country I expect some irregularities but for the price my hole it be Jesus!

Two pair of Born shoes (mules and loafers) split on the side, no damage to sole. (Note: I replied to another complaint as the same happening to me.) I contacted Born, their response was to contact the store where purchased. Born shoes cost too much for this to be happening and I will not purchase another. When the mules split I though the condition was abnormal or maybe I just didn't wear enough so I just threw them out. Then when the pair I wore more frequent than the last (rarely wear the same pair of shoes twice in a 2 week period, more like once monthly) split I knew quality was the issue. I still have one remaining pair of Born, I will buy no more.

I love Born shoes and boots and have several pair. However, my favorite boots which I've had several years, the sole of the left boot is perfect. No sign of wear, cracks or splits. But the right boot has several splits completely across and now is totally unwearable as part of it is broken loose. It's like the material used on the left boot is much higher quality than the right