This Is Why I Hate Shopping

[chomiji]

So, you know, I needed to buy the Young Lady some shoes for her summer internship. Before I left the house, I made sure that I knew what brands and even styles were likely to have the 10W or 10WW she needed.

We went to five shoe stores - Richey (which specializes in hard-to-fit), Nordstrom's, Ecco, Easy Spirit, and Clarks. No one had a black pump with a 1- to 2-inch heel in her size. Even at stores that had the styles that are made in those sizes, no one had them in the store.

I came home, hit Zappos online, and ordered 1 pair of black pumps and 1 pair of brown trouser-type slip-ons in 10WW. Just that that. Of course I have no guarantee that they will fit perfectly, but I should have just done that Thursday night. With two-day shipping, they would have been here Tuesday evening. (She has a pair of shoes she can wear to orientation on Tuesday, when she shouldn't have to be better than business-casual.)

Comments

[jinxaire.livejournal.com]

I feel your pain! I wear 9 1/2 W and it's tough enough for me to find shoes in styles I like, so I can imagine the difficulty with WW. However, I'm a bit surprised even the specialty stores didn't have her size for such a simple shoe style.

[vom-marlowe.livejournal.com]

The great thing about Zappos is that they have free shipping BOTH ways. If you need to, why not order the young lady one size up if you think that's the way she'll tend? (Or down. Whatever.) Then return the pair that doesn't fit?

I adore Zappos, srsly.

[telophase.livejournal.com]

Exactly. Whenever I order from them, I order at least 2 pairs of whatever shoe it it, try them on, and send the ones that don't fit back.

And, as I found out, if you have a long-enough exchange with customer service, as I did when trying to find out which shoes had rigid soles because of my arthritis, they upgrade you to VIP, which gives you free one-day shipping. :D

[rachel-reicheru.livejournal.com]

I've gotten shoes online, usually they come with a money back guarantee so if they don't fit you can send them back.

[lawless523.livejournal.com]

Ouchie. That is what's great about the internet, although, as you note, correct sizing isn't guaranteed. My husband orders sneakers from New Balance that way, as he has feet that are small and wide -- 3 EEE, if I remember correctly.

I see you went with black. That's a really nice looking pump. The other shoes are nice too.

[rroselavy.livejournal.com]

I love Zappos. And, if they don't fit perfectly, it's free shipping on the returns, I believe!