Viberg
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hello Mr Eye Q
I can maybe help you here as I ordered a pair of 4 Horsemen Viberg boots and they took 3 months to arrive from the date they were ordered.
A lovely pair of boots and I am getting some good use out of them and they never fail to make me smile when I put them on. I brush the roughout portions of the boot once a month to get any excess dirt off them, other than this they are a really low maintenance piece of kit.
A word of warning though, be careful with the sizing. I found out the hard way that Viberg even though they are a Canadian based company have always used UK sizing. I spoke with Brett Viberg about this who confirmed they only use UK sizing ( 1 size down from US sizes ). The story goes that back in the 1930's when Ed Viberg started making boots he took some instruction from an English boot maker and the UK sizing regime stuck and has never been changed since.
I did not have this information when I bought my first pair and actually ended up ordering a pair a 1/2 size too big by mistake, this was after quite a lot of communication advice from the people at 4 Horsemen. I hope the 4 Horsemen people have got this issue sorted now and can give some better advice to potential new customers.
It actually turned out all right for me as I was able to stick in a nice "superfeet" insole and they now fit really well. You should not need to use and insole in a Viberg boot but in this instance it really helped and I am pleased with the boots. I would rather the boots be 1/2 size too big than 1/2 size too small, at least then you can still wear them with an insole / thicker sock etc.
I am a UK 9, EU43, US10. By accident I ordered the 9 1/2, 4 Horsmen boot and wear them with an insole. I have another pair of Vibergs which are a size 9 and they fit perfectly without any insole. I have tried on a similar pair in an 8 1/2 and they are too small. So for me, for future purchases I will go TTS and buy a pair in UK 9.
Please give the sizing some thought as it would be horrid to have to wait 3 months for a pair of boots that won't fit, and then have to wait to get the next size up or down manufactured. I don't think the 4 Horsemen shop carries much ( if any ) stock of these boots so getting it correct first time is important.
Hope this helps and has not confused you too much ???
Thanks ddtrash. I was starting to get worried as the website reads 6-8 week turnaround. Since you said about three months I can twiddle my thumbs for a bit. :-\
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Hold tight, they are worth the wait.
I picked up an expensive habit with these boots, I now have 3 pairs of Vibergs and am considering a 4th pair. Some custom spec'd service boots, still enjoying deciding what materials / colours to pick before ordering.
I must look into the Whites and WESCO options also, they seem to get favourable reviews here on the forum.
Let us know when you receive your boots, I hope my 3 month wait has given you some optimism, they should be ready some time soon.
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Those look great FOXY!
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Wow, I like those a lot! Damn you, FOXY; I was happy with my boot selection until now…
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Serious question, why are Viberg boots almost twice the price of Whites boots? What makes them worth double the money? So far as I see they use the same materials, they are both well crafted, but I have heard the Vibergs are finished "neater". I know when you operate at the price point that both companies do then price can be a moot point, but I am interested in perspectives.
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It's because they're Canadian. Damn metric system.;)
Seriously, though… I have nothing useful to contribute. I'll go away now.
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hype & people are willing to pay the price. if folks protested & didn't purchase the price would either drop or they would make less shoes/boots to meet the new demand.
foxy those boots are the shit. pretty sure i said it last time i saw them, but it is worth saying every time they are posted
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I honestly don't buy that MM, Whites have just as much hype online as Viberg from what I see. I honestly don't understand it, it's like people know that both brands represent a very similar level of quality, craftsmanship, and materials, but just accept that they have to pay twice as much for Viberg.
Look at it this way, Iron Heart and Samurai operate in very similar markets, and have a similar level of popularity amongst the online community of people interested in purchasing Japanese raw denim. If one of these brands over a period of time doubled their price, while the other didn't, would you expect their market share to remain the same?
I am in no way having a dig at Viberg by the way. Their boots and shoes look incredible, and I would absolutely love to own a pair, but I cannot justify paying double the price of Whites to do so. Hence the question I guess.
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One story that I have heard was that Viberg changed their wholesale currency one day/night from CAN$ to US$ without adjusting the the actual amount. This must have happened a year or two ago…
I get the idea that Viberg is operating much stronger in the "foreign" markets (Japan, Asia, Europe) than in North America. In Japan they can be seen as small batch, made-to-order predominantly for specific shops, in a lot of cases in HH. The resulting wholesale price was not low to start with, but the retail price for these shoes are/were probably out of the control of Viberg. I can image that their customers kept telling them that keeping the wholesale down would be stupid.
personally, I think the current price is justified from a European perspective.
I don't live in America surrounded by the Wallmarts or Levi's of this world trying to convince the consumer that good pair of jeans has to cost only $19.95 (or $49.95) and that market share is the end of all things. America has completely twisted conception of pricing with devastating consequences when taken too far.
If I want good quality in high labor cost countries at small batch production (manufacturing) I better be ready to pay for it or watch it being outsourced to wherever.I can not speak for Viberg or White's, but I do understand that White's might not be able to raise their wholesale/retail prices in America since their American customers would not understand/appreciate such a move, justified or not. Viberg might have been in a more comfortable position allowing them to ignore the feeling of their (few) American customers.
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Thanks Foxy, that actually makes a lot of sense. I guess it's just a matter of where the respective brands see the core of their custom developing. So if the majority of Vibergs custom is overseas, then it makes the pricing easier to apply, and even somewhat justified. I now feel a little sorry for the North American consumers of Viberg products though, it seems that they have been kind of forgotten about with their (relatively) new found popularity in the East
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Another thing to consider is the size of operations.
I get the feeling that White's might be the bigger company with higher turnover.Viberg might be smaller with higher overhead cost. They have relocated their workshop lately which can be costly. Maybe they are getting ready to expand and increase volume. They certainly have positioned themselves nicely for that.
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While I appreciate all that, and it is understandable, they are still selling a very similar product for double the price. I guess the consumer has to make a decision, and fortunately it appears to be paying off for Viberg. In a specialised market, it is easier to justify price increase, as your consumer is likely to be somewhat less "price conscious".
However, in any industry, increasing price to fund expansion is an extremely dangerous strategy surely? You risk alienating your consumer base, and leaving yourself with the cost of expansion, and no customers to help pay you out of it. In manufacturing having a healthy order book is key to expanding the business, and from the moves we have seen from Viberg their order book must be pretty strong.
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But in this case they aren't selling just a working boot. It is a luxury product which mainly transports an image!…of course they have to be functional but owners want to show what they have.
Luxury products will be kept bare to increase the demand.They don't have to compare (cost-benefit ratio) with working boots!
