Ben’s Shoes

They have a good selection of Converse Chuck Taylors here, but that’s probably about it.
The problem with Ben’s shoes is that it doesn’t know what it is exactly sitting on. There is an old school 70−80s vibe about this store, and if they improved their stock and image, they could gain more customers.
The store reminds me of the old sneakers stores in New York, where you would have all the shoes out in the window and street, along with the boombox playing hip hop with the blown out speakers. If you recreated this image in Chicago, I’m sure there are some stupid hipsters out there, that would flock to this store.
I will be keeping my eye on this property… because you never know.

I purchased a pair of totes duck boots from Ben on December 7^th. On December 21^st I noticed that my still new boots had a hole in them and were taking on water. There was a crack on the right boot right on the seam that runs along the side. So when I return to the store with my reciept Ben tells me that he can not give me a refund or even a full credit claiming that «it looks like I stepped on something that made the hole», even tho it was right on the seam. Then he proceeded to launch into this story about how he got a flat on his first car and blah blah blah. It was insulting. He did offer to give me $ 15 of another pair of shitty boots that he sold for $ 80. I left, never to return. If he had stood behind his product, I would have become a regular customer, but since he did not value my business, I will never set foot in there again. Maybe the twentysomethings that come in to buy his Chuck Taylors will keep him in business, but not if he handles every customer complaint like he did mine.

Ben’s shoes is a funny little place, and well honestly so is Ben. The store really doesn’t look like all that much from the outside. It kind of looks like a store that you’d expect to sell Rocawear and Apple Bottom Jeans, but hey you can’t hold that against old Ben. They got a lot of Chucks and a whole lot of GBX. I saw a lot of GBX styles that I didnt even know existed which is pretty cool. Besides that though, there isn’t much else to choose from. I’d say the selection of only chucks and GBX is the only thing Ben’s has going against it. Def good prices for a shoe store in the city and Ben is always just a little too helpful. And thats why I’ll be back there next time I’m in the market for new hi-​tops.

Chucks, other Converse, and lots of GBX. You can get your shoe fix here really cheap and he has the right supply.
Does not accept credit, in fact a sign looms on a wall «Credit makes enemies, lets be friends», but that is how he justifies the lower prices. One of the few establishments I will go out of my way to find an ATM before I stop in as opposed to avoiding the place altogether.

Ben is a very socially awkward person who does his best to keep people happy. He does not have a huge selection in his little store, but when Chucks started to be mass produced overseas, his ability to horde came in handy for me when I wanted the old school converse.
His prices are cheaper, but he does not have a huge selection. It is a great place if you know what you need and want to be out of there in ten minutes.
Come to think of it, I’m not sure what else Ben has besides chucks and similar shoes, as that is all I have ever bought there.
Ben is nice, go say hi to Ben.

Ben used to have «pre-​Nike» chucks that only cost 20 bucks a pair.
He’s all out of those now.
I still think his selection of guys shoes is decent. Good basics and I don’t think they are particularly expensive.
Ben and his shoes remind me of what Milwaukee Ave was before condos and hip boutiques took hold. Discount was the name of the game.

I actually don’t know how many stars to give Ben’s.. . i’ve only shopped there once, but it was an experience I’ll never forget. I went to buy a new pair of Chucks, as my old pair was begging for mercy. I used to pass by every day and knew they had a good selection at a cheaper price than most other places. So in I went, and within minutes had my shiny new Chucks on my feet (seeing my toes pop out the front of my old ones, Ben (?) suggested that I wear the new ones home). And then things got weird. As I was readying to pay, I was informed that a) Chucks are not returnable (and only Chucks, everything else is) and b) the store is.. . cash.. . only? So, needless to say, I left with new shoes on my feet, fairly confident that they.. . had recently fallen off the back of a truck somewhere on the way to Foot Locker. But hey, they were cheap!