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Categories - Copywriting - Shopping - Free Online Business Help - Telecommunications Services Articles: Fashion - Shopping Tips and Tricks for Shoes By Shelley Costello Following a recent advertising campaign I asked a number of women what information they would find most useful about womens shoes. After collating the feedback received the majority asked: HOW TO FIND THE RIGHT SIZE AND WIDTH Know your shoe size and always choose a pair in your true size. The size you usually wear. Most online shoe stores offer half sizes. Unless the store is in Great Britain or Australia, most online shoe stores list their shoes in US sizes. Check your country shoe size. For instance I live in England and my size is UK 7. In US this would be a size 9.5 and European size 40. Not all online shoe stores offer narrow or wide width shoes. If you require a narrow or wide width shoe try to choose stores that provide these. It would be disappointing to go shoe shopping and find a pair of shoes you love only to discover the store only offers standard widths. HOW TO FIND DISCOUNT OR INEXPENSIVE DESIGNER SHOES The beauty of online shoe shopping is that the majority of the top stores offer up to and more than 100 designer branded shoes. It is unrealistic to expect to get yourself a pair of Gucci shoes and only pay $30 for them. However, there are shoe stores that offer such designer names at far lower prices than you would expect to pay at a boutique or mall store. There are sites that have unique partnerships with designer houses and only offer end of season or discounted items. Be very wary of doing random searches for designer shoes online. The increase in fake or replica items is on the increase. You might end up paying a little more than some of these sites offer. However, shopping with a reputable store will ensure you get what you are paying for and not some fake or replica item that will only be very poor quality. Sadly sites offering fake goods are only after your money and not to give you any customer satisfaction in terms of service or quality product. ASSURANCE OF RETURNS / SHIPPING POLICY There a few top stores that offer free shipping [usually within the US or their own country] and free returns. Stores usually only charge for worldwide delivery. Always check the return policy before actually paying for your shoes. Reputable online stores offer excellent customer service and make great effort to ensure their customers are happy. They give you fast delivery and a free or inexpensive return service. HOW TO CHOOSE FASHIONABLE SHOES THAT ARE COMFORTABLE Almost all top internet shoe stores offer designer and branded shoes which means they are well made and have comfort elements taken into account. There will always be reports out there that high heels will ruin your feet. A poor quality pair of any shoe including high heels certainly will but you can be fashionable without sacrificing the comfort and health of your feet. Current fashion spreads across an enormous selection of styles, which means you don't have to have towering high heels to be fashionable. Wedge heels are very fashionable at the moment. Due to the fact that you have a wedge heel rather than a spike or narrow high heel they are very easy to walk in. You won't feel like you have the height they actually are. Wedge heels give you all the benefits of high heels such as lengthening and slimming the look of your legs and lifting the posture of your bottom. They also come in closed toes, sandals and lots of different colors and textures with ankle ties or straps. High heels will always be fashionable and wedge heels are a great way to get the heel without the wobble if you struggle to walk in heels. Sabrina or kitten heels are quite in vogue. The heel is only up to a couple of inches in height. You do still get the heel benefits but are extremely comfortable and easy to walk in. Flat sandals or flip-flops will always be comfortable if they are well made. If you don't fancy being completely flat you can get wedge flip-flops or small-heeled sandals. A shopping tip to remember with sandals is to choose something that flatters your feet. If you have long toes or feet, choose a flip-flop that has some detail at the center of the thong. This draws the eye away from your toes and creates width rather than length. Sandals that have a strap or band across the foot to reveal your toes will draw attention to your toes. Trying sandals that have a thong style will reveal more of your foot. Shopping tips show that an ankle tied sandal which will draw attention to your legs as well as your feet. Loafers or slip on flat shoes are always comfortable. Shoe shopping trends show that Indian style satin slippers are extremely fashionable at the moment you can choose a few pairs in a variety of styles and maintain the flat heel. A good shopping tip is to choose one with a genuine leather hard sole. The quality is better and they won't fall to pieces after short while either. Mules and pumps are becoming more popular and designers are creating collections of colors and styles in these ranges. REASONABLE PRICES WITHOUT SEARCHING ALL DAY TO COMPARE PRICES Top online shoe stores are extremely competitive. Behind the scenes each store will compete for certain key words that their visitors search for. For instance if you are looking for a flip flop and go to your search engine and type in 'women’s flip flops' you will see pages of listings to choose from. Each company's listing has competed against the next to get higher up on the search engine page. Their listings then entice you to click on their listing. Just because you click on the top listing doesn't mean you are getting the best store for women’s flip-flops. It just means that particular listing has competed better for that particular word and got to the top. Unless you have purchased shoes online and know of a few reputable stores, its best to check out a guide or read up on what to look for. Prices vary enormously online. The top online stores remain at the top because they offer their customers low prices and quality products. These stores will regularly offer sales and maintain low prices. Again, don't expect to buy a pair of Gucci shoes for $30. You can expect to get shoes far cheaper than in the stores at the mall and a greater choice of quality designers and shoes in general. A good shopping tip is to shop around the top online shoe stores. All have regular sales and heavily discounted lines. HOW TO RECOGNISE POOR QUALITY Due to the fact that online shoe stores only offer branded items, you can be assured of the quality. A good shopping tip is to look at the shoe images on the sites you are shopping at. They should be clear and a description and larger photo available for you to view. Don't waste your shopping time buying shoes from sites that offer little or no choice in terms of both styles and sizes. The store doesn't have to be the largest out there but any store should offer you a good selection to choose from. The quality of the site itself is also a good indication on what you can expect in terms of service and value for your money. If you find it impossible to locate the policy, terms of use or contact us page try and avoid. It’s important to have clear policies. A shopping tip to remember is the more customer service benefits you see the better your overall shopping experience will be with them. IMPORTANT TIPS Shopping tips are important if you want to do this in a breeze. Try to decide what you want before starting out and remember some of the things outlined above. Payment is an extremely important factor and you should never give your credit card or personal details if you are not on a secure site or subscribing to something. An accurate way and most important of the shopping tips is to check that the payment page is secure is to look at your browser. It takes a second. What is important is the little letter s. This means you are on a secure page to provide your payment details. If you note these shopping tips your online shoe shopping experience will be a good one. About the author - Shelley Costello is webmaster/author of the Women’s Shoes Guru site, which provides a complete guide and benefits to women’s shoes. Shelley works from her home in England with her partner and two young children.
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