Comment by pmoriarty | Hacker News Reader

Comment by pmoriarty | Hacker News Reader

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"I myself swore I'd never buy clothes and shoes online, but have started doing this too. Its so much easier and cheaper."

The main reason I don't buy shoes online is because it's so difficult to find a good fit.

In a store I can easily and quickly try on a whole bunch of shoes, and if none of them fit or I don't like them, all I do is just walk out of the store.

With online shoe purchases, I have to not only wait for delivery but then if they don't fit I have to send them back. Also, I've heard of Amazon closing people's accounts when they made too many returns, so even though Amazon has a great return policy, I am wary of trying on and returning too many shoes. I'd just rather shop in a brick and mortar store when none of this is an issue.

As for Payless, I love them. I could find much cheaper shoes there than anywhere else in my area, and I had no complaints about the quality of the shoes I bought. Their closure means I'll have to pay more for shoes, which is something I can ill afford to do.

Not to shill, but with Amazon Wardrobe, they explicitly expect you to send some of the products back. The other differences are that you are not billed until you decide what to keep and (to me, the biggest innovation), they use a box that is perforated with peel-and-stick strips for you to use to mail back and also include a pre-printed return label.

That last one is huge for me because the local UPS store got wise to Amazon returns and now charges $1.50 for the first printout, but only if you email them, which neatly captures everyone who needs to print a return label, but doesn't have a printer of their own.

I recently lost a lot of weight and so I wasn't sure what size I was for a lot of items. So I just ordered a couple different sizes and sent back the ones that didn't fit. Such a better experience than trying to find multiple sizes of the same thing in a store, then going to the dressing room where everything is counted because I'm assumed to be a criminal.

Biggest down side is that they use their very lowest priority and slowest shipping for it. But for me, clothes are rarely urgent.

If you are buying mens clothing, the sizes are actually the relevant measurements in inches, so getting the right size is not that hard (you may only need to order two sizes).

But I completely agree with you about retail treating me like a criminal: nobody has counted things going into the dressing room yet, but it is getting more and more difficult to be allowed to leave the stores without purchase anymore.

A small (but not trivial) amount of people actually find buying shoes online much easier than in store, precisely because of issues finding a fit. My shoe size is 16; I'm lucky if a physical store has a single item that matches my size.

Sometimes I'll buy my first pair of a certain shoe at a brick and mortar store, and then buy the exact same size of the same exact model on Amazon for awhile.

There are several in-person alternatives. DSW is larger and cleaner than Payless, and also tends to have better brands. They also do a great job with coupons and sales. Kohl’s, the coupon/sale master, also sells shoes. And Nordstrom Rack has a good selection as well.

Then there are outlet malls—many brands to choose from.

Personally I have felt for a while that DSW was a much better option than Payless.

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