Shopping Tip: Shoes

by: Helena Gray

There is a great way to get high-quality shoes at steep discounts.  I realized that this technique was potentially valuable when I went shoe shopping with my brother.  He needs some very high quality shoes for his 2 year mission to Australia.  He found a couple of pairs that he really liked, but the prices were pretty high--$115 + tax for the shoes and $130 + tax for the boots that he wanted.  We ended up getting identical shoes for $79 and $83 respectively (saving him a total of over $83).  So, here is how you do it:

Note:  In order for this technique to work, you need about two weeks of lead time, so don’t expect to be able to get shoes for this weekend!  Also, the higher the original shoe price is, the more worth it this technique is.

Step 1:  Go shoe shopping at your favorite shoe store.

Step 2:  Decide on the shoes you want and carefully note the following:

• Brand
• Style type (pump, sandal, sneaker, boot, etc.)
• Manufacturer’s style name
• Size that fits you best
• Price

Step 3:  Leave the store (don’t worry; you will see your shoes again soon!)

Step 4:  Search online by typing the brand and style name into your search engine

Step 5:  Purchase the shoes from a reputable company for a deep discount.

Step 6:  Enjoy saving money!  Most online shoe stores do not have tax or shipping and even offer guarantees and free return shipping.

Additional hints:  Occasionally you will search for a shoe that does not seem to be discounted anywhere.  If you are willing to wait a little while, almost every shoe goes on sale.  In my brother’s case, the $115 shoes were consistently $100 or more everywhere we looked, but he checked again after 2 days and found his shoes for only $79.

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