Review on New Balance 928V3 Walking White by Joel Norfork

First of all I would like to state that I have not bought any 928V3s but have ordered many pairs of original 928V1s from ebay in the past. So now the New Balance 928 is in the THIRD version, and each subsequent version is worse than the previous one. one before. I have worn several pairs of the original 928 (V1) and they have been great shoes. They then discontinued it and introduced V2, which many complained about because it was narrower than V1, without any notice or warning. People who ordered their normal New Balance size have complained on eBay and the New Balance website, and there have been a significant number of returns. New Balance has never advised or commented on this issue, although several online retailers have begun making independent and outspoken comments about narrower sizes and socks on their websites. I had to order some new pairs of 928s off ebay but found the V1 to be discontinued in favor of the V2. When reading numerous customer reviews on ebay, I noticed the problem of the narrowness, so I did not order as I have a wide foot and the narrower size did not fit me. There have also been some complaints from eBay customers that the sizes were either too big or too small. This was another deterrent for me. I was struggling to find leftover stock of V1 as only V2 was now available. I was able to find an authorized New Balance retailer in New Jersey - I live in California and luckily they had 10 pairs of V1s remaining in my size in black, brown and gray suede. I bought all 10 pairs. I should also point out that the detailing on the V2's upper wasn't as good as the V1, and the V2 wasn't made in America, which is something New Balance was initially proud and famous for. V1 was made in America. We now have V3 and comments from eBay customers indicate that this new version has solved the overly tight problem many had with V2. Okay but now the inner heel and ankle padding on the back is much thicker and more flexible and some ebay customers are already complaining that the thicker padding on the back of the shoe is coming loose after a short period of wear. Most people wear New Balance shoes because they are one of the few companies that continues to produce a wide range of sizes and widths, from small to extra large and narrow to extra wide. The quality of the 928's construction, as well as uniformity in size and width, diminished with each successive version. From "Made in America" to "Made Everywhere," the quality of the 928 declined in price while its customers sold at even higher prices. When you have trouble finding shoes, which many do, count on New Balance for quality and sizing consistency. Unfortunately, New Balance is no longer the New Balance that made its name in the past. I've also noticed more comments from ebay customers about the 928V2 and 928V3 wearing out faster than the original version. I see that there are now two current versions of the New Balance 998. The cheaper 998 is marked "Made Elsewhere" and the significantly more expensive version is "Made in America". I wish they would do the same for the 928. Keep the quality high and I would pay a much higher price. I'm hard to beat and it's worth my time - and comfort - to pay more for better quality.