New Shoes and Finding Deals

I've needed new shoes for a while now but like any substantive purchase, I have to research items and track prices for a while before I'll buy anything. I'm not always tracking prices of particular items, rather, I get a general idea of what good deals are on items then go from there. This means when a deal comes up you have to be able to spring on it. For example, suppose you know you need a new digital camera. For something as large a purchase as a digital camera I'd suggest doing some research into different cameras then tracking prices for at least 3 months (and sometimes up to 8 months or so). Spending so much time (not actual time researching the products and prices, just letting time pass) has a couple purposes. First, it gives you enough time to find a really good deal. Second, it gives you time to think about if you really need the item or not; this reduces impulse buying. Now, when time comes you have to be "impulsive" and buy something right away when you find a great deal but then it's not really impulsive because you've been planning on doing that for months. You just have to be quick because the best deals disappear very quickly.

What does this have to do with shoes? I'm a fan of expensive shoes (expensive is relative, shoes over $40 are pricey to me but expensive is closer to $80) because they tend to be better-made, more comfortable, and more durable than cheap shoes. I also generally don't have a lot of different shoes - just a pair of athletic and a pair of dress shoes - so I like shoes that will last and wear well. Now with the internet, it is easy to find expensive shoes for fairly cheap. This is assuming you can buy shoes without trying them on first (or, you can go to stores and try shoes on then look for the best prices online). With athletic shoes I am very consistently the same size - across brands and styles. There can be some slight variations but for the past 13 or 14 years I've always purchased the same size athletic shoes and they've always fit. Dress shoes are a completely different story; I can wear sizes up to 2.5 sizes smaller than athletic shoes. In any case, I have no problem buying athletic shoes over the internet.

A week or so ago I found a deal on some shoes (thanks to one of the greatest sites ever: SlickDeals). They were 50% off. In addition, there was a coupon code that took an additional 10% or so off. On top of that is the cash back I'll receive from Live.com and from my credit card (1% on all purchases). There are a number of sites that give you cash back for buying from sites through their links. They receive money for the referral and share some of it with you. I first discovered FatWallet.com (they are another great deal-finding site) and have received a decent amount of cash back from them. Live.com recently started offering cash back and has had some nice "cash back sales." For my shoe purchase, I'm receiving 10% back from Live.com. So after the cash back, the shoes will cost roughly 39% of their original price. That mean I got a pair of expensive shoes for about the price of a cheap-ish pair of shoes.

My shoes were delivered on Friday. I opened the box and pulled out the shoes. The first thing Kristi said was, "Wow, those look really big!" So I walked over and hold them up to my current pair of shoes - yep, same size. Yes, I have skis for feet - I wear a U.S. size 12. [To be fair, the other day I was helping fold laundry and pulled out one of Kristi's t-shirts; I wasn't sure if it was hers or Anwyn's at first]. I've always had larger feet; it just means there are fewer pounds per square inch on my feet. I can also stomp out forest fires more efficiently than many other people. :) The other nice thing is that my shoes really are a foot long (maybe slightly longer) and serve as a useful rough measurement of distance. I have the new shoes now but I don't really want to wear them because they look so nice and shiny and new and I don't want to wear them out and get them dirty.