Starbury - Findings On Shoe Quality

Findings On Shoe Quality

On March 23, 2007, Starbury was featured in a segment on the ABC show 20/20 (edition entitled "Enough!"), hosted by John Stossel. The segment dealt with the high price of sneakers and the role of Starbury and Marbury as an alternative. During the show, Marbury stated, "If you take my shoe and you take a $150 shoe, cut it down in half, and it do the same exact thing". Stossel put Marbury's statement to the test and a pair of Starbury Ones were brought to Professor Howard Davis, Shoe Design department professor at Parsons The New School for Design. Davis proceeded to cut apart the Starbury Ones and a pair of "$100 plus Air Jordans" and stated, "They're constructed the same way". Stossel then mentioned that "others in the business" came to the same conclusion. However, Davis never commented on the quality of materials, nor the durability of the Starbury One; only that they were constructed in a similar fashion to Air Jordans.

In May 2007, Bryant Gumbel had an expert disassemble and analyze the shoes. He determined the materials in Starbury shoes were inferior to more expensive shoes, and wouldn't last as long, but that the shoes were still a better price value.

Consumer Reports has tested the quality of the Starbury One and Starbury II. The Starbury One "earned decent marks in our earlier tests", according to Consumer Reports. As for the Starbury II, six of nine "men's summer basketball league" players hired by Consumer Reports to test the shoe stated "they would not buy the Starbury II for basketball--they said it provided less comfort, stability, or impact absorption than their favorite shoe". Consumer Reports concluded "our measurements showed that its heel cushioning is very good, its forefoot cushioning is good, and that it's very breathable and fairly flexible" and "The Starbury II would be a fine casual, everyday shoe"