Shoe blues

[missroserose]

Barring times when I know for certain that the exact model and size will fit me (i.e. when I've tried it on before and am just looking for a better price), I never order shoes online. My feet are sort of oddly shaped, with wide balls and slender heels, and of course sizing is a nightmare even if you have 'normal' shaped feet. And then there's the question of quality to consider - you can't tell how well-made something is by a picture. So I just don't. It's better that way, saves me money, time, and frustration.

Except that I'm making this awesome dress that I want to wear around Tucson when we go up on the 18th for Brian's birthday. And I want some fun/funky shoes to go with it. The last time we were in Tucson I stopped by their goth/fetish store, but they were closed, so there went that opportunity.

So I start Googling for Demonia, a well-respected brand that specializes in goth shoes, and I find a pair that's just what I'm looking for - a little demure, a little sassy, perfectly fun.

Somehow, I manage to delude myself into thinking that my feet are perfectly normally shaped, and these folks are known for making a quality product so why wouldn't they fit? And I find an Amazon reseller that's running a 15% off discount in addition to being fairly low-priced, so I order from them.

Lo and behold, the shoes don't fit - Demonia seems to think that the average foot is about twice as wide as mine. And when I go to return them, I find out that - surprise! - I get to cover shipping expenses. (Not that I blame them for not covering return shipping. Postage is expensive, and it's not their fault I was stupid and didn't find someplace to try these on first.)

So now I'm out the $10 to ship them back {ETA: actually, I'm out $20 because they don't refund the initial shipping charges either}, and still have no funky shoes to wear with my dress. I guess I'll just wear a pair that I already have - it's not like there's anything wrong with them, they're just not the style I was hoping for. And I'm more than a little miffed at myself for paying $10 to find out that Demonia's size 9 doesn't fit me.

Friends, next time I start going on about how I've found the perfect shoes online, at least make sure I order them from Amazon, hrm? If I'm going to be disappointed, I might as well be disappointed with free return shipping involved.

Man, I miss living in a city.

Comments

[marialuminous.livejournal.com]

What a disappointment! Those are cute shoes.

And I never order shoes online either. My feet are long and narrow, and I walk everywhere, so I am very particular. I think I've only ordered shoes off the internet once, and that was when I bought exact replacements of a shoe I already had and loved.

[roseneko.livejournal.com]

It is disappointing, but honestly I think I'm more annoyed that I didn't do the smart thing and order directly from Amazon (even if it would have cost slightly more). At least then I wouldn't be out the shipping costs.

I did once manage to order a pair of snow sneakers that I ended up loving, but that was from L.L. Bean, and they have very customer-friendly return policies. I'm halfway tempted to order another pair, as I wore the first nearly every winter day for years, except that now I live in a place where I'd need them maybe three days a year. :)

[marialuminous.livejournal.com]

That one pair of shoes that I ordered online was from LL Bean, too. They're boots that I wore nearly every day in the winter for years. It took them about seven years to completely die, but they eventually did.

[bkleber.livejournal.com]

That's a pain. Sorry it didn't work. You should have read the review that someone with a name just like yours, that apparently lives real near you, posted about the exact same problem ;-)

I'm scared of ordering shoes online too. I've had only about a 70% success rate with shoes that I'm familiar with, in the right size and width, fitting right when I try them on at the store. AS a result, when they've got one I want, I'll try *every* pair they have in my sizes, and buy as many as fit right. Last time I got 3 pair of the same shoe, and I'm down to my last pair of them now. (I'm not easy on my shoes.)