The things people
actually ask.

The Chicago metro. Courier pickup is the only way in at launch — we'd rather do one thing properly in one city than half of it everywhere. If you're outside Chicago, join the list on the homepage and we'll tell you when we open your area.

Sneakers, for now. Re•Store is built as a general restoration platform and other categories are coming, but the Chicago pilot is footwear only so we can do one thing properly.

You can start an order on this site. The app makes the six-angle capture noticeably better because it checks each photo before accepting it, but it isn't required.

We collect. You pick a window and we come to you in the Chicago metro. Dropping off at a partner shop is planned but isn't live yet, and we're not taking mail-in at launch.

No. Pickup and delivery is a separate line on your order, quoted before you accept anything — so you always see the full number before you commit to it.

Bidding closes within 24 hours. After that the turnaround is set by the bid you accepted — a deep clean is quick, a full restoration is not. You'll see the estimate before you approve.

We do. You take six photos and you're done — no forms, no self-assessment. Every pair is scored on four attributes: soles, creasing, colour, and whether it's holding together. A Re•Store operator confirms the score before any pro sees it, and you see the grade and the breakdown before you decide anything.

Sole wear, creasing, discoloration, and material integrity. Each is scored against reference photographs and weighted — sole wear and material integrity count most — and the letter grade (A–D) is arithmetic on those four.

No. Shops bid on your photos, not on a number we hand them. The grade exists so you understand what you're paying for and so a shop can see what it's taking on.

Tell us. Every score points at a specific photograph, so there's something concrete to argue about rather than a vague impression. A grade you disagree with is a signal our reference photos are ambiguous, and that's our problem to fix, not yours.

When you accept a bid — not when you request a grade, and not when we collect the pair. The payment is then held rather than passed straight to the shop.

After your pair is delivered back and you've approved it. That's the whole point of holding it.

They can request a re-quote, but they have to show you evidence photos of what they found. You have 24 hours to approve the new price or decline it — decline and the pair comes back to you free. A shop cannot quietly raise the price or start the extra work while you're deciding.

Before you accept a bid, yes, freely — nothing has been charged. After acceptance, contact us; what's possible depends on whether the work has started.

Two things. Every pair is photographed from six angles at intake and again before it goes back, so there's a documented condition record at both ends. And every handoff is sealed in a numbered tamper-evident bag, photographed with the serial visible — at your door, at the shop, on the way back, and on delivery. If a seal is broken, we know exactly which leg to look at.

Independent restoration shops we've vetted and verified. You see which shop won the bid. We're not pretending to be a faceless factory.

They're used to grade your pair, to show shops the work, and to document its condition. See the privacy policy for the full detail.