Good Work out shoes??

Tantamount to theft?

When I got fitted for my shoes - It was a free service. Advertised as free.

And yes, I then bought my shoes online. Didn't feel like a thief.

I've since revisited the store to buy other things, have suggested the store to friends because of their great service and have mentioned them countless times on social media.

You might be missing the bigger picture IMO. Or maybe I am :laugh:

Edit: I also straight up told the sales person what I was doing (buying online) and they were totally cool with it.

Try several pairs on at a shoe store -- see what you like -- then buy on amazon!

DO NOT LET THE SHOE STORE MAKE YOU FEEL WIERD!!! I sometimes do buy them there, but I'm not going to pay $20, $30 or $50 bucks more THERE if I can get the exact same thing cheaper!!

I love my Brooke shoes ... they are excellent for running but also for cardio! I don't wear anything else anymore and I use to be an avid Nike and Saucony person.

Good luck!!!

Why shouldn't they make you feel weird? You are taking advantage of them. The prices are higher because their costs are higher.

And if you take advantage of a fitting and then leave and buy the same shoe online you should feel positively ashamed of yourself. It's a crummy move, and cap previously said.

If you take advantage of the fitting service, and they find you the perfect shoe, the right thing to do is to at least buy that first pair there. Even if it's at a premium over the online price. That's how you are paying for the service you received, as well as the actual shoe. Thereafter, by all means buy online.

If you don't think there is any value in the service, or the ability to try the shoe on, then by all means stay the heck out of the store. But unless they genuinely fail to find you the appropriate shoe, don't use the service and then not pay for it.

Having been an employee for many years in those specialty shoe stores I politely disagree. In my experience most of these shoppers will buy anyway even though they planned on getting a better deal on the internet or where ever. I found a lot of times the people that didn't buy shoes from me that day actually came back after trying to find shoes on their own. Also a really good and knowledgeable salesperson is happy to help you anyway. We'd rather you got the correct shoe for your feet whether you bought it from us or not. At least that's my opinion. The best thing to do is go in early in the morning and during the week, not on the weekends when the stores are the busiest though. :happy:

To continue the theme of polite disagreement - you, as a salesperson, are getting paid whether the customer pays or not.

The business owner, however, has to staff and fund the shop for everyone that comes in requesting service. Now it's a fact of life that you will not be able to find a perfect shoe for every customer, so there will always be some loss of productivity when you fit a customer but cannot find the shoe they need. That's a cost of doing business. But when someone comes in with the express intent of availing themselves of your superior service, but then buying elsewhere at a lower price, that is tantamount to theft.

Ha! I love a good debate! True you can't always find the perfect shoe for every single customer, absolutely agreed.

A lot of these stores rely on "word of mouth", so for whatever reason they didn't buy they're probably still going to refer friends or family at some point in the future. A business owner with employees who are superior in their knowledge and customer service skills does not worry about these issues, it is still an opportunity for a sale. As I said earlier, most of these shoppers are turned into customers, or they send their friends and family in or both.

Try several pairs on at a shoe store -- see what you like -- then buy on amazon!

DO NOT LET THE SHOE STORE MAKE YOU FEEL WIERD!!! I sometimes do buy them there, but I'm not going to pay $20, $30 or $50 bucks more THERE if I can get the exact same thing cheaper!!

I love my Brooke shoes ... they are excellent for running but also for cardio! I don't wear anything else anymore and I use to be an avid Nike and Saucony person.

Good luck!!!

Why shouldn't they make you feel weird? You are taking advantage of them. The prices are higher because their costs are higher.

And if you take advantage of a fitting and then leave and buy the same shoe online you should feel positively ashamed of yourself. It's a crummy move, and cap previously said.

If you take advantage of the fitting service, and they find you the perfect shoe, the right thing to do is to at least buy that first pair there. Even if it's at a premium over the online price. That's how you are paying for the service you received, as well as the actual shoe. Thereafter, by all means buy online.

If you don't think there is any value in the service, or the ability to try the shoe on, then by all means stay the heck out of the store. But unless they genuinely fail to find you the appropriate shoe, don't use the service and then not pay for it.

Having been an employee for many years in those specialty shoe stores I politely disagree. In my experience most of these shoppers will buy anyway even though they planned on getting a better deal on the internet or where ever. I found a lot of times the people that didn't buy shoes from me that day actually came back after trying to find shoes on their own. Also a really good and knowledgeable salesperson is happy to help you anyway. We'd rather you got the correct shoe for your feet whether you bought it from us or not. At least that's my opinion. The best thing to do is go in early in the morning and during the week, not on the weekends when the stores are the busiest though. :happy:

To continue the theme of polite disagreement - you, as a salesperson, are getting paid whether the customer pays or not.

The business owner, however, has to staff and fund the shop for everyone that comes in requesting service. Now it's a fact of life that you will not be able to find a perfect shoe for every customer, so there will always be some loss of productivity when you fit a customer but cannot find the shoe they need. That's a cost of doing business. But when someone comes in with the express intent of availing themselves of your superior service, but then buying elsewhere at a lower price, that is tantamount to theft.

Are *you* the owner of a shoe store? Is this the reason for the apparent agenda and getting so upset at this practice?

Try several pairs on at a shoe store -- see what you like -- then buy on amazon!

DO NOT LET THE SHOE STORE MAKE YOU FEEL WIERD!!! I sometimes do buy them there, but I'm not going to pay $20, $30 or $50 bucks more THERE if I can get the exact same thing cheaper!!

I love my Brooke shoes ... they are excellent for running but also for cardio! I don't wear anything else anymore and I use to be an avid Nike and Saucony person.

Good luck!!!

Why shouldn't they make you feel weird? You are taking advantage of them. The prices are higher because their costs are higher.

And if you take advantage of a fitting and then leave and buy the same shoe online you should feel positively ashamed of yourself. It's a crummy move, and cap previously said.

If you take advantage of the fitting service, and they find you the perfect shoe, the right thing to do is to at least buy that first pair there. Even if it's at a premium over the online price. That's how you are paying for the service you received, as well as the actual shoe. Thereafter, by all means buy online.

If you don't think there is any value in the service, or the ability to try the shoe on, then by all means stay the heck out of the store. But unless they genuinely fail to find you the appropriate shoe, don't use the service and then not pay for it.

Having been an employee for many years in those specialty shoe stores I politely disagree. In my experience most of these shoppers will buy anyway even though they planned on getting a better deal on the internet or where ever. I found a lot of times the people that didn't buy shoes from me that day actually came back after trying to find shoes on their own. Also a really good and knowledgeable salesperson is happy to help you anyway. We'd rather you got the correct shoe for your feet whether you bought it from us or not. At least that's my opinion. The best thing to do is go in early in the morning and during the week, not on the weekends when the stores are the busiest though. :happy:

To continue the theme of polite disagreement - you, as a salesperson, are getting paid whether the customer pays or not.

The business owner, however, has to staff and fund the shop for everyone that comes in requesting service. Now it's a fact of life that you will not be able to find a perfect shoe for every customer, so there will always be some loss of productivity when you fit a customer but cannot find the shoe they need. That's a cost of doing business. But when someone comes in with the express intent of availing themselves of your superior service, but then buying elsewhere at a lower price, that is tantamount to theft.

Ha! I love a good debate! True you can't always find the perfect shoe for every single customer, absolutely agreed.

A lot of these stores rely on "word of mouth", so for whatever reason they didn't buy they're probably still going to refer friends or family at some point in the future. A business owner with employees who are superior in their knowledge and customer service skills does not worry about these issues, it is still an opportunity for a sale. As I said earlier, most of these shoppers are turned into customers, or they send their friends and family in or both.

Unfortunately in the case of this thread it seems the customers that don't pay are suggesting that more people come in and avail themselves of the service without paying. If someones wants to claim that their 'word of mouth' is somehow funding the service they received, they could at least send in paying customers.

I guess I just put myself in the owner's position. I'd be pretty peeved by people using my service but then taking their business to competitors like Amazon that have lower overheads and can offer a lower price. Personalized service is where these small businesses differentiate themselves in the market. 'Showrooming' is like having your cake and eating it.

Not to say I've never been guilty of it, I have to confess. Though when I do it I'm generally just checking the physical appearance of a product in a big box store with little to no service anyway. Still bad, but a lower contribution to variable costs.

I won't have a sales person give me 30 minutes of personal attention, fitting shoes and doing gait analysis or sizing bikes and taking a test ride, etc... and then not buy in that store. There is value in those services, and I'm paying for it through the price increase over low-service businesses. I'm also paying for that store to still be there the next time I want shoe sizing, or a giat analysis, or a bike fit, or whatever.

Just wanted to say I completely agree wtih the principle of buying the shoes at the store where you got the proper fitting. Not only for the sake of supporting this fading business (anyone else remember when all shoe stores did proper fittings?) but because you're more likely to have much better followup service if needed.

A couple of years ago I bought a pair of New Balance cross trainers at one of these high end shoe stores. For some reason, I started getting horrid blisters on my pinky toes so I called them to see what we could do. They viewed it as their fault due to a bad fitting and agreed to redo my fitting and exchange for a new pair of shoes. I'd wager that most, if not all, online shoe stores are pretty fussy about returns and exchanges. I know Amazon won't accept shoes if they've been worn. So then you're stuck with crappy fitting shoes because you wanted to cheap out. Not worth it in the long run IMHO

Since you're not running, getting running shoes seems to be a waste of time and money. Sure, running shoes will fit like a glove and are comfortable, but they're overkill if your cardio is an elliptical. If you're cardio is higher impact, you will benefit from a running shoe. If you think you might try running (like a couch to 5K) because it's fragging awesome, get yourself a good pair of running shoes. If not, any comfortable shoe will do—trainers, cross trainers, walkers, basketball, etc. if it isn’t a “running” shoe it’s marketing b.s.

One thing about running shoes--they change the models all the time, like yearly. I tried the buying the first pair at the shoe store and then online. From one year’s model to the next, they changed shoe so much I had to return it and go back to the local shoe store. They'll watch you walk, they'll watch you run, and they’ll be able to give you suggestions. Make sure they have a good return policy, 30-day minimum. Even the most comfortable shoe in the store can cause issues down the road.

As far as the online vs. store debate—keep in mind folks, prices change. A $30 cheaper price online for something you buy every six months might be worth it in the short term. Don’t be surprised when those online prices rise after the local running stores go out of business! Is $5 a month worth it to build rapport with a local shoe store? That’s up to the individual to answer. To me personally it is.