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Last weekend, I went out looking to buy a pair of new sneakers. It's not always easy for me. I've got unusually wide feet. When I was a kid, I made do by getting shoes that were a half size or so too big for me, and then kind of got used to my little toe being squished in.
It wasn't until my early 20s or so that I discovered New Balance, which offers most, if not all, of their shoes in 4E width. But New Balance isn't carried everywhere. I got my last pair at Nordstroms - great service, but a little pricey. Figured it was worth it, though, especially since I don't buy new shoes that often.
I checked online this time, and found that Nordstroms is, in fact, the nearest store that carries New Balance. There aren't that many places around, it seems. So I went back. Checked out their selection, and found something that seemed to work. Only problem... They had only one pair of shoes in my size, and they weren't even close to what I was looking for.
The salesperson was almost as surprised as I was. He offered to order the shoes I was looking for, but doing so would require that I either pay shipping on top of Nordstroms prices (which actually turned out to be MSRP) or that I wait and go back out to the store (which is a lot more difficult to arrange these days than it seems it should be). I also realized that if I was going to order them, I'd be better off doing so myself. (I was rude/thoughtless enough to mention this to the salesperson, but he just stopped, thought about it, chuckled, and agreed.)
So I went home and looked around and sure enough I found the same shoes in my size at a store that participates in Upromise (a whopping 10% contribution!) for $10 less. Shoebuy.com also offers free shipping (both ways if you have to return it!), free taxes (if there are any, they pay them), and a 110% price gaurantee. So I looked around a bit more and found another site that sells the same shoes even more cheaply. Ordered from shoebuy, pointed out the other site, and got another $10 knocked off the price. (And remember, 10% of the final price goes to Upromise.)
Took a little while to process the order, but they're on the way now. Should arrive on Tuesday, I expect, since I don't think even UPS delivers on Memorial Day.
If they fit, I'll be very happy.
But you know the best part in all this? The one thing that nearly convinced me to go with Nordstroms anyway? The salesman's name was Khalil. Which sounds so much like Kal-El that I did a double take. And then looked at the business card he'd given me to be sure, and found out that his last name is Clark. At least Mom bought something from him. That made me feel better. I didn't like leaving Supersalesman empty-handed.
It wasn't until my early 20s or so that I discovered New Balance, which offers most, if not all, of their shoes in 4E width. But New Balance isn't carried everywhere. I got my last pair at Nordstroms - great service, but a little pricey. Figured it was worth it, though, especially since I don't buy new shoes that often.
I checked online this time, and found that Nordstroms is, in fact, the nearest store that carries New Balance. There aren't that many places around, it seems. So I went back. Checked out their selection, and found something that seemed to work. Only problem... They had only one pair of shoes in my size, and they weren't even close to what I was looking for.
The salesperson was almost as surprised as I was. He offered to order the shoes I was looking for, but doing so would require that I either pay shipping on top of Nordstroms prices (which actually turned out to be MSRP) or that I wait and go back out to the store (which is a lot more difficult to arrange these days than it seems it should be). I also realized that if I was going to order them, I'd be better off doing so myself. (I was rude/thoughtless enough to mention this to the salesperson, but he just stopped, thought about it, chuckled, and agreed.)
So I went home and looked around and sure enough I found the same shoes in my size at a store that participates in Upromise (a whopping 10% contribution!) for $10 less. Shoebuy.com also offers free shipping (both ways if you have to return it!), free taxes (if there are any, they pay them), and a 110% price gaurantee. So I looked around a bit more and found another site that sells the same shoes even more cheaply. Ordered from shoebuy, pointed out the other site, and got another $10 knocked off the price. (And remember, 10% of the final price goes to Upromise.)
Took a little while to process the order, but they're on the way now. Should arrive on Tuesday, I expect, since I don't think even UPS delivers on Memorial Day.
If they fit, I'll be very happy.
But you know the best part in all this? The one thing that nearly convinced me to go with Nordstroms anyway? The salesman's name was Khalil. Which sounds so much like Kal-El that I did a double take. And then looked at the business card he'd given me to be sure, and found out that his last name is Clark. At least Mom bought something from him. That made me feel better. I didn't like leaving Supersalesman empty-handed.
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But... woo! Cheap bread! You rate! *g*