[Squeaky]

Hi guys,

I received these supes today, purchased on the French eBay (can you believe it?? ). The listing showed poor pics but I could see they were bordeaux. Lurky thought they were the same as his ABC Mart exclusives, shown below:




Anyway, I received this:


They came in a white box which suggests they are b-grades. I immediately noticed the spots on the insides. They are worse than they seem to be on the pic.




The right shoe also has a mark on the leather.

I bought a UK10 which was also on the box and the label attached to the shoe (notice the B). But the shoes are in fact a UK9.5. A different box is possible but a different label??? So I can't even wear them.





The article number is in fact the same as the ABC Mart exclusives but according to Shellpros they are produced on 01/10 and mine are from 02/11.

What the hell have I bought???

[vox]

Mine are also made later than Lurky's. They've just made a new batch at a later date. What you are showing seems to be what made them B-grades but they should have given you the right size at least!

[Squeaky]

Don't forget the right price. I paid €60 for these + €12 shipping. No way I'm paying that for a pair of B-grade SS2's.

The fucking French

[GeeBee]

The ongoing saga of you and the French! Maybe they switched the label when they saw who they were going to?!
What are you going to do with them anyway Robert? Would you like me to take them off your hands?
Seriously, if they don't fit and you can't wear them I'll buy them from you. Let me know!

[Marco82]

The production date doesn't say everything, the same shoe (same art. no.) can be produced in different years. My ABC Marts are from 01/12.

The red spots on the insides could be a very poor B stamp, they don't seem to have a hole in the tongue though. And as far as I know all B grades should have this, at least all B grades I have have holes in the tongues.

I would say that they are B grades, the build quality seems to be good from what I can see in the pics. I would say almost to be good to be fakes, but I'm not 100% sure on that.

[vox]

Agreed! Though I paid a lot more for my regular pair... @ Rob

[GeeBee]

Whoa! Just seen the price you paid. A bit steep for b-grades, eh.
Putting the ART number into google that model definitely has been faked . . .

[Squeaky]

I guess if they were fake they would not have been in an all white box and have the B on the label. No hole in the tongues though.

The quality seems okey. One of the heel tabs is poorly cut though. But that's all.

@Geebs: I'll probably have to return them but if not I will let you know.

[GeeBee]

Cool. Thanks man.

[Vortec]

What does B-grade mean?

[streak]

I hate the French...


Carry on.

[Squeaky]

Amen!

@Vortec. B-grades have visible defects so they don't pass QC. Sometimes these shoes are still being sold as the so called B-grades. They come in an all white box, have a B on the label and often have a hole in the tongue.

[Lurkzilla]

Could be a b-grade due to the fact they have the wrong size tongue label, how do they fit?

[kt0626]

LOL @ Rob. What is it with you and the Frenchies mate? I do love their ladies though....

[Squeaky]

Here a pic of the mark on the right shoe:



Here's what I think has happend. The factory guy spilled some glue on the right stripe so he needed to clean it. He found a bottle of paint stripper or whatever and started rubbing. Most of the glue came off but not just the glue. The stripe turned white and the factory guy rubbed off some of the red paint next to the stripe. To make things worse he rubbed the leather with his fingers, making his fingers red and leaving red spots inside both shoes. And so it happened