Everything As Promised--A Great Way To Buy Shoes!
Written: Jun 14 '03 (Updated Mar 07 '04)
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“Free Shipping. Over 200 Brands”
I was looking for a specific shoe—a Clark’s of England shoe my sister had purchased at Nordstroms. Hoping to find the same shoe cheaper online, I started a search. I found out the Clark’s are not discounted, so price wasn’t going to be a factor in the buying process. What I was looking for was a site with real-time inventory, fast and free delivery, a great return process, a Better Business OnLine Reliability Program Participant (see more about this below), and the little extras like communication that make the sale feel good.
I purchased the same shoe, in two different colors, from two different online vendors. For the tale of the Blue Shoes go to http://www.epinions.com/content_103009193604. This review has a much more successful conclusion—I’ll call this the Black Shoe Express.
THE BUY
This site was chosen because it matched all of the specs I mentioned earlier. I found the shoes we were looking for- Clark’s Kelly in 8.5 medium with a simple search. I had them in my cart, registered (to get a 10% discount), checked-out, and got a confirmation e-mail in 5 minutes. This was truly a simple process. In the end, because of registering, the black shoes were $62.95, while the blue from the other site were $70.
Now that mom has been registered, shopping is easy—she just logs in, clicks, confirms, and her new shoes will be on the way. Her order history and tracking are available at any time.
WHAT I LOVE ABOUT THE SITE
You can search by SIZE! Now those of you who do not wear a special size may not understand my joy in discovering this, but I wear a Women’s size 10-Wide. You have no idea how hard it is to find shoes in that size! Normally I fall in love with shoe after shoe only to find they do not come near my size. With Search By Size, there’s no disappointment at all—only the shoes in my size are shown. Some clothing sites are adding this feature as well—I say MORE, MORE, MORE!
By registering, my mom received a 10% discount and she sent me a discount as well—the “friends” discount is based on the friend’s total purchase price: $10 on orders of $50 or more; $20 on orders of $100 or more; $50 on orders of $250 or more. If your friend purchases, you, as the referrer, are sent the same offer.
SEARCHING THE SITE
You can do a wide search by color, size, style, men’s, women’s, children’s, or you can button it down to just your size, just one color, and just one style. You can also browse by style or brand.
PRIVACY
“We will not sell, rent or loan identifiable personal information to any third party. The only information we may share is non-personal, summary or aggregate customer data with partners or third parties.” from the site
MORE THAN JUST SHOES
They sell accessories, luggage, handbags, bridal, and boots. A weird combination, but I guess it’s great for crossover buying. At least you can buy cowboy boots to go with your wedding dress in one place!
ENOUGH SHOES FOR AN ARMY--OR A DRILL TEAM!
Brand names like: Birkenstock, Bass, Aerosoles, Hush Puppies, K-Swiss, New Balance, Skechers, Reebok…so many I won’t list them all here. In total, they have over 600 types of boots, 600 styles of sandal, over 100 styles of wedding shoes, 400 types of children’s shoes, and over 1000 styles of work shoes. In addition, they offer special discounts for groups—you know, cheerleaders, drill team, etc.—large groups who need identical shoes.
SHOE SIZING DONE RIGHT!
They offer assistance in measuring your feet! There is a printable (Adobe Acrobat file format – PDF—you’ll need the free Adobe Acrobat Reader available from http://www.adobe.com to view and print them) shoe sizing chart to help you pick the right size and width with additional information on how to fit the shoe. Perfect for parents whose children are growing so fast they can hardly keep them in shoes! Even if you do not want to print in out, it gives measurements for the sizes.
PAYMENT
They accept Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Discover, or Money Order. They will also accept orders by phone if you’re uncomfortable ordering online.
Gift certificates are available (E-mailed only). They can only be redeemed at the Shoebuy.com site towards products. They’re not redeemable for cash and are not transferable--you have one year from the date of purchase to use them. If you lose it they can replace it—a nice touch as most retailers don’t provide this service.
SHIPPING & HANDLING
Free shipping with UPS Standard Ground Service within 10 business days within the US. They do offer premium 2nd Day Air or Next Day Air for an additional fee. You’ll need to contact them for the price. We used the free shipping and they arrived in just a few days (including the weekend). Shipping is not allowed to PO Boxes or Military APO/FPO addresses.
Handling can take up to 1-5 business days. If you’re ordering more than one brand of shoe in one order, they will likely arrive at different times.
TRACKING
A tracking number was e-mailed with instructions that the shipment might not show up on the UPS website for 24hours—that was correct in this case, but from then on we could track it all the way from it’s destination to a tiny ocean town in Washington. Because they use UPS they only deliver on Monday-Friday (in my mom’s case, they only deliver one day a week because she so far away from any town).
30-DAY MONEY BACK GUARANTEE
If you’re not happy with your purchase, you can return or exchange your item(s). First, you’ll need to call them at their 800 number and you’ll be directed to an online form that you’ll need to fill out (by phone you’ll be given information for the form as well as the opportunity to schedule when pick-up will take place). They send UPS to pick up your item (with your form & mailing information attached) and when they receive your return you’re credited the cost minus $6 for shipping them back to them (unless the return was because of an error on their part). $6 is a great price for shipping—I thought this was a great policy and very convenient, but we didn’t need to use it. I plan ahead for returns!
BBB Online Reliability Participant through 08/31/2003—Why does that matter? The BBB Online Program has strict regulations for business conduct. This company has provided comprehensive information to the BBB and has signed a contract stating they will work with customers to resolve disputes.
FINAL THOUGHTS
This was the error-free, trouble-free, shopping experience. Communication and tracking were delivered in a timely manner and the shoes arrived in pristine condition. My mom was happy with the experience—so much so that next time she just might order them herself instead of watching over my shoulder as I do it for her. We ordered the two shoes (blue & black) the same day and the black pair arrived within the week—the blue pair evidently went on vacation—it didn’t arrive for almost a month.
Side-by-side this store is my pick! As I write the review, I’ve checked out the site to see if anything has changed…of course, they now have the blue. Maybe I will use that coupon my mom sent me after all!
My Other Shoe Shopping Experiences
English Comfort Online Store - Specializing in Clark's of England Shoes http://www.epinions.com/content_103009193604
First to the Finish Athletic Shoe Store http://www.epinions.com/content_96501337732
Zappos.com http://www.epinions.com/content_104413236868 (Free shipping both ways!)
UPDATE 3/6/04: Return shipping is now FREE! I've become addicted to chekcing prices and with the coupons available and by buying through www.fatwallet.com and another discount just for registering for Shoebuy.com, the prices for shoes cannot be beat. I'm no longer a Zappos.com customer (I check there before buying though) and have become a Shoebuy.com fan. I've purchased 8 pairs of shoes and return 5--all at no charge to me. It's a great way to buy shoes!
Recommended:
Yes
What product did you purchase or try to purchase? Clark's Of England Shoes
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About the Author
Member: Mom
Location: USA
Reviews written: 253
Trusted by: 189 members
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