Goodbye Circuit City, Hello Shockingly Expensive Shoes
On Saturday we went to the local Circuit City, out of curiosity. As you probably know, all U.S. stores are being closed, and are in the middle of a massive liquidation sale. So, I wanted to check it out, and maybe get a bargain or two.
And a more depressing sight, I haven’t surveyed in a long time…
Half the TVs had been wrenched from their displays, leaving nothing but a jumble of wires sticking out of the wall. And the floors were filthy; apparently they see no reason to continue with the cleaning? I guess I can understand that, but it’s disconcerting nonetheless.
Also, some of the employees were wearing regular street clothes, instead of the standard red polo shirt. I can hear ‘em now: “What are they going to do, fire me?”
The whole thing was kind of sad. I didn’t like Circuit City much, because they advertised things and NEVER had them in stock. And their staff seemed to possess a talent for bugging the crap out of me when I wanted to be left alone, and hiding when I needed help.
But I didn’t want the place to go under. I hate to see anyone lose their job, and competition always keeps the prices down. This is good for nobody… except people who own Best Buy stock, I guess.
One specific item I wanted to search for, was The Ultimate Collection by The Who. The band is underrepresented in the Surf Report sound library, and I wanted to take steps to correct the problem.
So, I located the appropriate section of the CD aisle (which looked like a crime scene), and started flipping through the discs. In front of the Who header card was something by Oasis, Conway Twitty, The Shining on DVD, a cell phone car charger (out of the packaging), and what might have been a single Swedish meatball.
“Let’s just go,” I said, following a large sigh. And it’ll probably be our final-ever visit to a Circuit City store. A real shame.
Our next stop was a lot less depressing, and you can read about it here.
Then I needed to buy a new pair of tennis (tenna) shoes, because my current pair goes wanka wanka when I walk. So we went to the mall.
There we visited at least four stores, and were getting nowhere. I know it might be shocking to some of you, but I’m very particular about certain things. And the only shoes that met my approval was a pair of New Balance, priced at $75. Hilarious.
So, we wandered around aimlessly (going wanka wanka the whole time), and I almost bought another less-appealing pair of New Balance at Sears, for $60. Toney finally said, “Just get the ones you want! This is making me crazy.”
And that’s the most I’ve ever paid for shoes, by a large margin. I don’t think I’ve ever plunked down more than fifty bucks, and usually it’s around thirty-five or forty.
What’s the most expensive pair of shoes you’ve ever owned? I have a feeling I’m on the “cheap bastard” side of things. Please use the comments to confirm or deny.
And before I call it a day here (this is a quickie), I’d like to know why stores now only leave one shoe inside the boxes on display? Do people walk out with them? Is that really a common problem? Wouldn’t it be kind of difficult to shoplift shoes?! Incredible.
All I know is, it irritates me to have to track down an employee, and stand around waiting for him or her to retrieve my other shoe from the walk-in vault, or whatever. (Waiting for the other shoe to drop.) I was bitching up a storm about it on Saturday, and Toney was rolling her eyes in exasperation.
She seems to think it’s no big deal, but it is. Oh, it’s real big.
So, there you go. I got a late start with this one, and need to stop here.
Have a great day, boys and girls.
Filed under: Daily
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First!!!
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$75 is highway robbery for shoes.
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I don’t like to spend a lot on shoes, either. I have to save it all for my drugs.
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Top 10
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with some sneakers going for over $120, there might just be vaild reason for only putting 1/2 of the pair on the floor!
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Try having wide feet and finding something that will fit. Of course, I have not bought shoes in an actual show store in years. I buy my boots at Kmart. The last time I was in a shoe store, the clerk chased me around with a pair of socks in his hand. He said I needed them to go with my boots. I told him I actually owned several pairs of socks, and did not need him to try and sell me some socks. As I recall, those brand name tennis shoes always cost a lot. I recall wearing those tennis shoes from Sears back in the day – The Winner (was that the name?) They cost 12 bucks – and I recall the parental units bitching about that.
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Top Ten!! Happy Monday!!
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BTW – your further evidence is gone… unless maybe I’m missing the point
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The further evidence musta been bad bad bad. It’s been removed due to terms of use? Now, I’ll wonder all day!
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Good Afternoon Surf Reporters………
I don’t own a pair of tenna shoes, probably for the last 20 years. Seriously.
1 pair of black dress (work), 1 pair of brown dress(work), a pair of topsiders and a pair of moccasins.
I think the last pair of tennis shoes I owned woulda been back in college and I graduated in 1989, so go figure…
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You would be shocked at what people can shoplift-there is no limit, apparently. 15 years in retail management leaves you with a lot of stories….and a lot of court dates-nothing surprises me anymore.
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I buy shoes according to color. Much like a woman does, I guess. I have a pair of brown shoes made by Born, a pair of black dress shoes, a pair of brown dress shoes, one pair of NB tenna shoes, and a pair of Justin boots.
I used to pay well over $100 a pair for tenna shoes. I no longer do that. When I bought my latest pair of Born shoes the sales girl told me that she’d throw in a free pair of “house shoes” if I also bought some cleaner and water proofing crap. I did it. First pair of house shos I’ve ever owned. I use them now and then. I usually go from shoes to shower to bed. I don’t believe in naked feet.
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I’m definitely a cheap bastard when it comes to shoes. If I can’t get it at Payless for $30 or less, I don’t want it. I’m one of the few women I know who doesn’t get excited about shoes (it’s all about purses, and lip gloss!)
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I think the further evidence link had an video showing a supposed UFO during the Obama speech.
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$100 is about my limit for shoes in general, but about $50 for anything athletic.
Our Circuit City here is about the same since “liquidation”, You can find some good deals in the music section, but don’t expect anything to be sorted. I found some good Zeppelin in the B’s. And since liquidation, the CC here (which was essentially new) has developed a rather foul smell of BO.
Also, the liquidation event is kind of a scam, because they mark everything UP to regular price, then discount it 10%. The true liquidation won’t happen for a month or more (when everything is picked over). The sheep fall for it, though.
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I pretty much only wear flip flops. The most I ever paid for a pair was $17 and it still makes me cringe thinking about it. Especially since one of them vanished under my bed, rendering the pair useless as I still have both feet.
I do, however, own a pair of Brooks running shoes that I’ve always loved, fit perfectly the first time and never gave me a blister, not once. But, I just pulled them out of the shoe pile last week when we had our florida cold spell (50°! can you imagine! You could see your own breath!) and lo and behold – wanka wanka. All of a sudden, out of nowhere. Those were about $115, the most i’ve ever paid for shoes. Why now? They’re still in really great shape.
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Be glad your secrets don’t play sports that require special shoes. I just put down $75 for court shoes for my daughter’s volleyball team. Plus she plays basketball and soccer and they all require their own shoes! Luckily the other one does martial arts and she goes barefoot for that!
Of course none of these shoes can be worn to school or out with friends (so uncool) – they want Converse or Vans for those occasions.
Sheesh!
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I got a great buy at Famous Footwear last week…two pairs of size 14 on Clearance…Nikes at $30 and Saucony’s at $25. The Boss O’ Me said to get them both and so, I did.
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I have a major shoe fetish. I love them and they love me. I own 60+ pairs, mostly heels (as I work in an office). Because of the sheer volume of my collection I refuse to spend more than $40 a pop. Places like Shoe Carnival and sales at Famous Barr love me! I own 1 pair of tenna shoes and have had them for years, they are NB but I have no idea what I paid for them.
Wally and I have a deal. For every penny I spend on shoes, he gets to spend that amount on fishing stuff. It is a great way for us both to get the things we want without arguing about it!
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I don’t pay a lot for shoes.
I’m a clearance kind of gal, buying nice quality shoes at cheap prices.
I spend a lot more on underwear than I do shoes.
In our house, Mr.Man is the shoe person. He has a lot more shoes than me. He is more concerned with matchy-matchy crap than me.
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The most I have spent for footwear was when I bought a pair of all-leather, high-calf boots. I think they were $250.00 originally, but on sale were $140.00. They turned out to be a tremendous bargain, however, considering that I wear them to work at least three times a week. They have a decent heel on them, though, so if it’s too icy, I leave them behind in favor of more practical (read: safe) shoes.
Our staff (high school teachers) Christmas party is held every year at the Troeg’s Brewery. It’s only three miles from my door in Harrisburg, PA. If you’re ever in the area, I recommend a tour. They are are quite generous with their samples.
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I spend a lot of $ on shoes, but I don’t have very many pairs – I have a $100 pair of Dansko clogs that I wear almost every day. I believe in buying quality shoes that last for years, instead of getting cheapies. It’s much cheaper in the long run.
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Tammie I went to school with your hubby and he was always kind of a dressy boy then. Guess he still is?
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I generally don’t pay over $40 for tenna shoes. I like to shop at the local “Academy Sports+Outdoors”. They used to be named “Academy Surplus”. They carry a lot of New Balance shoes; probably last year’s model or something, because I always find something reasonable. But then, I’m not REAL picky about tenna shoes.
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I have many pairs of shoes but not as many as I did when my husband was in power of the Philippines. Money was never an object . My personal favorites were Jimmy Choo, Manolo, Gucci & Ferragamo. Carrie Bradshaw has nothing on me as I have spent 100′s of thousands of $ on shoes. As first lady of the Philippines I have never owned a pair of flip flops!
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Shoes. Where to start. I have many.
They are nearly all the same color. Black w/ stacked heels. Heel height ranges from flip flip to 3.5 inches. Four inches is Too much.
I bought a pair of brown shoes last year, but had a hard time figuring out what to wear them with. I have an awesome pair of motocycle boots I only get to wear 2-3 times a year cause I have to wear sox and (Brandy knows) that doesn’t happen in FL too often. Mostly open toed sandals~~and I paint my toenails like a hussy.
I work out in Nike FREE ($85) and do not wear sox with them. I am on my third pair in 4 years –but I work out 5-6 times a week. They do have interchangeable inserts that I throw in the wash.
I have a pair of sandals that go “wank, wank” kind of like a loose board in the flooring and I just want to somehow drive a nail in there and make it stop. I think it is temperature related.
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The most I ever spent was about $150 for a pair of Doc Martens (casual shoes, not the shit-kicker boots). I just retired them this fall after almost 15 years of regular use, so I can’t complain about the cost.
For “athletic shoes” I usually pay $60 to $100, but keep in mind that shoes generally cost more up here in Canada, and my size ranges from 13 to 15 depending on manufacturer, so I usually have to take what I can find. Cheap NB or Rebook generally only last 6 months, but a good pair of Vans or Airwalks will last a couple of years, so I usually go for the better shoes.
Currently I’m sporting a pair of Sorel hiking shoes which just barely make the grade here at the office, but only cost $35 and are comfortable as the Docs.
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My mother always said to good shoes and a good mattress.
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I’d say it’s shocking that someone is shocked by $75 for some shoes… I don’t think I’ve ever paid that little. Granted, I have ginormous feet and require specific widths, etc… but I’d say $75 is a very reasonable price.
My Nike Air+iPod shoes that link to my iPod nano were in the $150 range… most of my dress shoes are in the $100 – $300 range… my tux shoes were up there too. New Balance makes a quality shoe in the $75 – $125 range. It’s about all I’ll wear in terms of tenna shoes.
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shinywilly… I’m of the school of thought that nobody is ever too poor to afford good toilet paper
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kristen,
I’ll second that.
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Jeff,
I too went into Circuit City and witnessed the carnage. Funny thing…..bought two televisions across the street at Target…..the same two televisions would have cost me over two hundred dollars more at the Circuit City “liquidation sale” No wonder they are going out of business. As for shoes….I’m with you, I think that sixty dollars is the most I’ve ever spent on tennis shoes for myself……not so for my Secret however
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I don’t wear tennis shoes – or even own a pair. In the summer, I wear one of two pairs of Naot sandals ($130 per pair) and in the winter, I wear Land’s End Mocs that I can’t remember how much I paid for them…I’ve had them for years. I can justify the price of shoes because my feet won’t grow anymore. And, I’ll wear them for years and years.
I have one pair of sandals that I wore for years and always had loads of compliments on them – I got them at Kmart for $7.
When it comes to the rest of the family, I’ve had good luck at Kohl’s (dress shoes/tennis shoes for the Evil Twin) and Target (for the kids).
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I horde shoes, and much to my hubby’s dismay, I spend WAY to much on them. I have a pair of boots that were… lets just say in the hundreds… and I have worn them twice. They just aren’t as comfortable as they were in the store. I would say I own about 70 pairs of shoes and only 2 of them are athletic shoes which I only wear at the gym.
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YIKES! I need a shoe support group! I have WAY too many shoes, but justify them because of my job (you know, the one I just got laid off from?). Not one single pair cost me less than $100. Most int eh$250 range. Shoes, sunglasses and bags. That’s what I spend my money on. Clothes? Meh. H&M and Nordstom rack mostly, but shoes……uuuuuuuuuuuu……….shoes…..sorry. I love ‘em. So does my mom and sister. I think it’s genetic. I had a buy a new suitcase in Italy to bring home the 7 pair I bought there. (I’m ashamed)
I remember my mom taking a new pair of shoes and scraping on the concrete driveway so if my dad accused her of buying a new pair, she could show him how “worn” the bottoms were. Yeah, he hipped to that pretty quick!
Happy Monday, Surfers!
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Knucklehead- Your mom is a genius. I can’t believe I never thought of that!
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OK, I do have a weakness for western boots. Six pairs at last count, three of which are Lucchesi. Incredibly comfortable but expensive. Hey, I need the extra height…they make me about 6’10″. Add the hat and I bump up to 7′.
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I love shoes. Go to 6pm.com when you get a few hours to browse. It’s zappo’s clearance site.
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I LOVE shoes. And my limit is $200 for shoes, $400 for boots.
I haven’t hit that yet, but Imake up for it in volume.
Right now I stand at approx 100 pairs of shoes.
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Linda I don’t know if I should thank you or I hate you.
I just bought a pair of Pliner boots on sale on that website.
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With sneakers there doesn’t seem to be any correlation between price and quality. None seem to last near as long as they should.
I have learned over the years that for non-athletic shoes the more you pay the longer they will last. I had a pair of Rockports that lasted over 5 years. I now have a pair of Cat shoes that will probably outlive me (I’m in my forties). I bought both pairs on sale and they still cost well over $100 Canadian.
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Tadpolegal, You sure you are not related to Amelda Marcos or possibly Carrie Bradshaw? Nothing sexier than a long leg in a pair of Jimmie Choo’s or Gucci’s ! Ahhhhhh!
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I have wide, problem feet, which means I’m always spending too much on shoes. I don’t own a lot of them for that reason, but Zappos still has me by the proverbial balls.
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I thought they were called “tenny shoes.”
my bad.
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As a runner, we call them running shoes, and I have gone thru a pair in 3 months, and thats @$89 a copy (they are only good for about 300-400 miles). Other shoes are mostly work boots and comfy merrills. Also have a pair of cycling shoes that cost about $80. but they last a lot longer.
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Due to a Dr. ordered weight loss, I’ve recently had to buy myself a new pair of tennys. At Kohls I got a pair of New balance MR1123 for $40. I would never pay over $50. I use to get mine at a Nike outlet really cheap, but it closed a couple years ago. This is my first pair of non-nike.
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Are you sure it’s your shoes going “wanka wanka” and not a couple of Brits passing comment?
I have a nice pair of Church’s that cost me ~$750 but that was about 15 years ago. They’re still in great shape. Sometimes you get what you pay for.
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My footwear of choice is steel toed boots. They are right around $160. Work covers most of it, so I can’t complain. I think I still have a pair of sneakers around…
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15 pairs of shoes. 6 of which are Vans. One with SKulls and guitars.
Sometimes it’s good to be a ninja.
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You will NOT find a “deal” at ANY liquidation sale, unless the item is trashed, missing major pieces or otherwise unsaleable.
There is no Circuit City, they sold off to a liquidator, got their buck and as part of the deal they let the liquidator use their name and logo for the liquidation sale. I am not sure everyone understands that. Once again Circuit City stores in liquidation are no longer owned by Circuit City but a liquidation company/s. Some say as many as 12 liquidators have their paws on the former CC.The minute the liquidators take power; they will automaticaly raise all the prices usually to full MSRP and tack on a phony discount. At that time C.C. has no control over Inventory and/or its employees ( that is why no red shirts) nor the pricing policy. Warranties are licensed to another third-party, thus tied only indirectly to Circuit City and not affected by its current position. Also, they are not refundable. Forget buying the extended warranties, unless they are qctual manufacturer warranties, you’ll play hell getting service from all the rest!
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I haven’t played tennis since the 1970s, therefore no tennis shoes. I have one pair each of work boots, dress shoes, Vans, Docs and ski boots. My GF is a saint in that respect: her shoes are few and practical. For xmas , her mom scored her a couple of pairs of the discontinued sneakers that she likes.
PS – I though Tenishu was a Buddhist monk, a student of the great Nikoban. But maybe there’s more than one. (Obscure National Lampoon reference; zero hits from google!)
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$300 for a pair of Allen Edmonds dress shoes. Expensive, but I will own them forever. You get what you pay for.
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I’ll easily pay $175 for a pair of good boots. My Rocky Boots were a steal at $120, and my custom Justin setup cost well over $300 for specialty fitted boots, which are the most comfortable shoes I own, and make me look like I’m almost 7 feet tall. As for tenna shoes, I’ve got a pair of new balances that I haven’t worn since summer, and a pair of new balances that get worn every day at the gym. Guess I need a rotation.
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I have a “thing” for shoes too. I work in the fashion industry so I need to dress nice and I do have a weakness for pretty shoes and big, clunky motorcycle boots. My favourites are black Harley Davidson motorcycle boots and a red patten leather pair of Fluvogs. I only have about 30-40 pair of heels, flats, boots and etc. in total but I got rid of about that many the last time I moved. The most I’ve paid in about $250. No, I couldn’t afford it really but I was in love.
My Dad owned a sporting goods shop when I was growing up, I remember him bringing home a pair of new running shoes for me called NIKE or something, it was 1979 and nobody had ever heard of them and I didn’t want to wear them. They were good shoes though. It was a rude awakening the first time I had to pay retail for a proper pair of running shoes. My last pair of name brand sports shoes were on sale for $100.
Gah, it’s an affliction.
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I’ve paid $140 a pair for some wingtips that I got from a place in Boston. At the time it was an emergency as the shoes that I wore there were old and suffered a catastrophic failure in the rain. These were literally the only shoes I could find on short notice.
They are hands down the best shoes I have ever worn. They fit incredibly well and are still in great shape after something like 9 years of almost daily wear.
The problem is that the store is no longer in business and they were the “house brand” so I have no idea who produced them and can’t replace them. I know they were made in England.
If anyone knows who used to make shoes for Barrie Ltd please let me know. You’ll be my new best friend.
My jump boots were in the $150 range I believe. I got those to wear when it’s snowy. I put a good shine on them and most people don’t notice that I’m wearing army boots. And my ankles and feet stay nice and dry.
I think I paid close to $80 for my newest pair of NB. They come in extra wides and I needed them for school.
The most I’ve paid for footwear is around $200. They’re my Apollo Bio Fins. I have a couple of pairs, one open heel (for cold water) and one full foot (bright orange for warm water). Best fins ever. Super fast and they take no effort. The downside is they don’t work super well in a strong current.
Oh, and I don’t think that was really Mrs. Marcos commenting on her shoes. I think she would know that her name is spelled Imelda.
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I can comment on both stories here.
I too went to the Circuit City Liquidation sale and boy was I surprised. I went the start of the sale and when I hit the parking lot, 5 people left the store with their hand empty. I wondered if their “sale” was a fraud, and just like CC has always been, it was a huge fraud. Outside of the big ticket items, nothing good was on sale. After a 5 minute loop, I left knowing that CC was always inferior.
Now with shoes. Don’t ever be cheap on shoes. I am an active guy and there is nothing worse than a bad pair of shoes. NB is a great brand and I have gone with them quite a bit. With good shoes, your whole body will feel a lot better.
There is my 2c.
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We went shoe shopping for my oldest on Sunday. Her feet are a little irregular so we visited 6 stores at the mall until we found a pair at sears. I paid $60 for a pair of tennis shoes for a 10 yr old. Her feet are already a size 9.5 in womens. A couple of more years we will have to be ordering from a catalog to fit her monster feet.
I use to buy Nike for myself before all the kids. I would regularly pay $150 for tennis shoes. I also had to have a pair of Doc Marten boots that I spent $175 on then promply hated them because they were the most uncomfortable pair of shoes I have ever owned.
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I used to have the Doc Martin shitkickers, and I think they ran around $175. I will shell out for running shoes ($100-$150) but my dress shoes usually run between $40 and $90.
I am not a brand snob. I just like to have a dress pair in every important color as well as a pair of dress sandals in every important color. My husband says I am a shoe collector, but in all, I probably only have 10-15 pairs, which is nothing for most women!
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Just bought 3 pairs of shoes from Linda’s reccomendation- I am having them shipped to work so I can use Knuckleheads mom’s strategy to get them home. I love you guys!
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I buy only NB because they have many models that are made in the USA and those are the only ones I buy. They are great shoes and often beat the overinflated prices of peopel like Nike. Check out their website. They always have great specials and they usally ship for free. At least mine were always shipped free.
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I think the most expensive footwear I have bought would be Matterhorn combat boots. Around $275.
I wear a size 15 wide so finding shoes, while easier now than it was in the late 80s early 90s, is still a cast iron bitch.
As far as athletic shoes I try to buy quality that will last. Nike’s fall apart far too easily so I stay away from them. Reebok tend to wear like iron. I had a pair of black cross trainers that were still solid even when my girlfriend threw them away. Granted they smelled like a Bombay slum and were indescribably filthy but they were still solid. Probably got nearly 10 years out of them.
Right now the only athletic shoes I have are a pair of all black chucks. I generally wear Hi-Tec magnums in the summer and Matterhorns in the winter.
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I have big feet for a woman – size 10-11W, depending on the style, so when I find a pair that fits, cost is basically no concern. I spent $100 on a pair of SAS leather sandals (style similar to Birkenstocks), and wore them for 4 summers – much better than cheapie sandals for my feet and back.
My favorite pair of shoes now is Soft Spots “Olga”. They’re about $70.00, and I bought them in brown and black. I love them! Just enough heel, only about 1-1/2″, and they make my feet look small! That in itself is worth every penny!
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Nice New Balance. Have you ordered some wrinkle proof Dockers and a cell phone belt clip yet?
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I have the same problem you do with finding
shoes. I am also VERY particular about my tennis shoes.
They HAVE to be white ( if there is a line of navy I will wear them), they can not and I mean CAN NOT have any mesh on them whatsoever, and I like a nice arch in the soles.
I do not like to pay more than $40.00 for them either,
so needless to say what I find a pair I like I buy as many as I can afford and put them away until I need them.
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Flip flops: $50
Uggs (ugglies!): $180
Running Shoes: $60
Casual Tennis Shoes (not intended for ACTUAL physical activity): $101.47 …ouch
Jazz Shoes: $80
Pointe Shoes: $120 (with ribbons, toe pads, etc.)
Tap Shoes: $75
i’ve spent WAY too much money on shoes.
recently i’ve refused to spend more than $40 on anything. and i quit dancing so that’s not an issue anymore.
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Hi I’m debbie Larson and I’m Allen larsons wife. We own a towing repo service in joliet Illinois. We only buy the best shoes that money can buy. We are white, rich and high class people. We would never get payless, walmart, or cheap shoes. Me and al are to good for that.
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