Anyone else notice a decline in NB shoes quality?

Here's something I didn't know about NB shoes. They have a manufactured date inside the shoe where the size is listed. This last par I bought last march 1st, now may 24th. The shoe left the factory on january 2021. So when I bought the shoe, it had been sitting in the box for 2 years 3 months. The shoes are coming apart in 2 months, of not much usage. Wow! So, if your going to buy a new pair, get the most recently made pair, check the MFG date. Like buying chicken, I always check the use by date or freeze and buy the freshest one out of the lot. The older the shoe you buy, the faster it well wear out.

I noticed that starting in the late 1980's. I worked at Dick's Sporting Goods back in the day. We used to say:

New Balance, half the quality for twice the price!

Because they started outsourcing some of their shoes. You have to look at the tag and see if you're getting the American or the Vietnam made.

I purchased a pair of 1080 ($155) on 11/14/23. I wore them strictly inside, in a hospital walking and going up and down steps. The side of the fresh foam part split open in 2 weeks. I went back to the store to return. The manager said she could not take the shoes back because she could not resell them. She said it was her assessment that I must have done something somewhere to cause trauma to the shoe. Not so. Even if that were true, the shoe is clearly defective. A shoe costing $155 should hold up better. Also, since when is a return or exchange allowance based on a managers opinion? She offered me a 10% discount on a new pair. Unacceptable. New balance should exchange shoes that are clearly defective, which was displayed after 2 weeks of wearing. I’ve worn their shoes for years, and never had a problem.

I have about 200 miles on my expensive New Balance leather trainers # MX608AB5 and the rubber soles are already separating from the leather tops. I would NOT recommend New Balance shoes to anyone until New Balance gets better glue to attach their soles. I have bought cheap all plastic off-brand shoes that have held up better than my New Balance ones.

I think NB is cutting corners. In videos from last fall's TRE the reps at NB are stretching the truth when they describe the midsole on the upcoming Rebel V4 and SC Trainer V3 as a "PEBA Blend".

This newer iteration of Fuelcell midsole is reportedly 80% EVA with a token 20% of PEBA tossed in.* How is it fair to describe a majority EVA midsole as a "PEBA blend"? That seems disingenuous and arguably deceptive.

*For a credible source on this information see the multi-terster review for the Rebel v4 at the RTR website, first paragraph.

New Balance shoes have always been terrible and continue to be terrible

NB makes better shoes now than they did 15 years ago. Their problem is that they are still lagging technologically. They only have one shoe model that has a super foam midsole. Saucony has at least 6 models with missiles that are majority PEBA.

Meanwhile, someone somewhere is trying to figure out where they are going to sleep tonight and if they'll have a hot meal any time soon.