To buy good condition shoes for 2YO DS from ebay? Long explanation!

[youngbutnotdumb]

ARGH sorry this is a bit of a daft thread but am bloody angry!

Well basically I took DS to get his feet measured last week and he has gone up a size since his last pair fair enough! But as u all know Clarks are absolutely extortionate, well in my opinion. We are not exactly flush with cash so thought I'd get him a pair of Doodles as they are around £15 and is around £30 for shoes/trainers. So got home oand bought hima pair from ebay which were on sale in clarks for £20 but I got them for £2.50! They are in excellent condition and have only been worn a few times am very pleased with them but DP and a friend have said that I shouldnt buy used shoes as its disgusting and just stingy on my part and theyll prob be uncomfy as hey have been worn!

Am soo annoyed with them both am trying to save some money and making small cutbacks I dont see the problem with buying from ebay or am I basically bloody neglecting my child?

[misdee]

well....

i dont agree with second hand shoes, i'm afraid.

i know about saving money etc, but even when things are tight, i try and ensure the girls have fitted shoes. fortunatly i managed to get dd3 latst shoes for £10 in the clarks sale.

some people dont mind second hand shoes, but its one area dh and i wont skimp on.

though i did fit dd2 last pair of shoes by myself as only had £15 and clarks were just too high. so wento so a small shoe shop and found several pairs in my price range. only one pair fitted well. i even got my mum to double check they were ok. they have lasted two terms and look really worn out now and are just about fit for the bin, wheras dd1 clarks shoes look good still after 3 terms of wear, and could be worn more but she has outgrown them.

[nametaken]

YANBU - they will be fine. Tell your DP to buy the kids shoes himself if he's not happy with the way you do business

[Minkychunky]

I have bought o ebbay but brand new.

Best to get clarks to do all the measuring and then as Misdee suggests go it alone and find shoes from another retailer when times are a bit hard.
Clarks have a sale on right now, if you go to a retail outlet like I did last week they are then discounted a further 50%

I almost bought dd 2 pretty pairs, one trainers and a pair of Mary-Janes for £14 as they were in the clearance but then decided she should not have more shoes than me

What size is your ds?

[Minkychunky]

I have bought o ebbay but brand new.

Best to get clarks to do all the measuring and then as Misdee suggests go it alone and find shoes from another retailer when times are a bit hard.
Clarks have a sale on right now, if you go to a retail outlet like I did last week they are then discounted a further 50%

I almost bought dd 2 pretty pairs, one trainers and a pair of Mary-Janes for £14 as they were in the clearance but then decided she should not have more shoes than me

What size is your ds?

[Twelvelegs]

Second hand shoes will have been shaped to another child's foot plus that child/family could be carrying parasites or fungal infections that you have allowed around your child's feet.
Everyone has a little money for shoes above other things surely?
Perhaps try a factory outlet where they sell seconds or last year's styles.

[youngbutnotdumb]

The shoes I got are fitted Clarks and as my DS has wide feet I thought that I'd have to get them one way or another apparently theyve only been worn 5-6 times as were bought as a 2nd pair and the pics are fine.
I have tried cheaper shops but am always told that the shoes seem to be tight at the sides of his toes. I thought I was doing well by him too.

[LazyLinePainterJane]

Whilst I think a lot of Clarks shoes can be a bit dodgy quality wise, I really don't think that £30 or so is a lot of money for something that they were every single day and needs to fir properly in order to be comfy. Fair enough, go somewhere else and fit them yourself, you don't have to buy Clarks but if you only ever wore one pair of shoes every day you would want them to be comfortable and fit well, no?

[savoycabbage]

My dd was hardly in her shoes before she grew out of them and I sold them on e-bay. I didn't get much for them but it seemed ridiculous to throw them away as they were in such good condition.

She is a C fitting so there seemed very little point at all in giving them to a charity shop.

[SSSandy2]

second hand clothes from ebay ok but second hand shoes I would be wary of. If as you say they have only been worn once or twice, they have probably not yet taken on the form of the other dc's foot but I don't think I would do it tbh

[youngbutnotdumb]

Oh dear am feeling guilty now! I tried the sale but couldnt see any his size he is a 7F now but was a 7G so hopefully his feet will slim a bit and it'll be easier.

[misdee]

dd2 feet are wide as well. dd3 fee3t are narrow. so its a right bugger getting shoes to fit them. even in clarks they try on several styles each time to see what fits best (dd2 cant wear t-bars, dd3 cant wear opentopped shoes for instance), and its a long old process with all three of them.

[SSSandy2]

you didn't do anything wrong but generally I think it's best to be careful with shoes. Anything else like jackets, clothes etc is fine second hand IYAM

[misdee]

tell your dp you need £30 for shoes for his ds then

[youngbutnotdumb]

Hmm get family allowance on 29th so will get DS new pair of Clarks shoes and resign Ebay shoes to nursery bag!!!

[cheesesarnie]

i agree with misdee tell him to pay up instead of moaning.

[Minkychunky]

YBND

Shall I look next week for you in the outlet?

I think they are about £7 a pair definately no more than a tenner. I only got for DD so wasn't looking at the acres of boys stuff

[Flibbertyjibbet]

I've done this sometimes. A lot of people just buy childrens shoes from next etc which are not fitted at all and only one width to fit everyone!
I've had some off ebay that you couldn't even tell had been worn. I've got 2dcs with very fast growing feet - ds2 went into a 5.5 in January and has just been measured as 7.5.

That would be about 6 weeks per pair!!

I think ds1 is just building up to a growth spurt. Sometimes I get new from Clarks, sometimes the money just isn't there when they grow out of them so often. So for me sometimes the choice is hmmm ebay good as new for a couple of quid in the right size and fitting, or hmmm asda cheap shoes only one width and no idea if they fit.
Because I am not a trained shoe fitter and would not presume to do it myself.
I also would rather them have nearly new from ebay than have to pass down ds1s very well worn shoes to ds2, which some people think IS acceptable.

Have you ever seen the miniscule selection of boys shoes that is in any clarks sale? Its very rare I can get anything for my two in the sale yet there will be a million styles in all sizes reduced for girls.

I have to say that the people saying 'no' are speaking about dds. My boys are 25m (7.5) and 3.5yo (9.5). I don't know any girls whose feet grow as fast as my boys do so you can't quite understand the financing of little boys shoes like I do

And then do what I do and don't mention to anyone that you buy kids shoes from ebay!

[youngbutnotdumb]

DP is normally good with money but I've just returned to work(havent been paid yet), tax credits mucking us about and his wage is just enough to cover bills! Dear God talk about the credit crunch eh?

TYVM Minkychunky but I need to try shoes on him as some pairs just dont fit properly at all. Thanks for the offer though must have a look and see if I can find an outlet in the highlands never thought of it before.

[misdee]

FJ, dd2 had fast growing feet and has finally began to slow down ta 5years old. i was buying her new shoes every 6-8 weeks at one point.

good old doodles for the summer. plus the sale items as well.

but being a G fitting, she did get offered boys shoes from the sales assistants all the time as girls sizes dont often come in G's.

[SSSandy2]

my dd has big feet if that's any consolation to you. I wear size 4 and her feet are nearly as big as mine (she's 7). I wonder where it is going to end but I think I'd rather not know!

[Alambil]

I had to buy DS's sandals from ebay this time. I had NO money - it was ebay or barefoot.

I got some clarks sandals, BNIB for £6 so I'm well impressed.

Got some trainers too for £3!

[youngbutnotdumb]

Thank you Flibberty youv'e made me feel a bit better now

The boys selection in Clarks is rubbish, sale or no sale you have a choice of maybe 4/5 pairs!
Next time I wont mention where I got them but I thought I was doing well and would tell DP about my bargain LOL! Im just one of these annoying people who announces bargains rather than pretend were expenbsive.

[Flibbertyjibbet]

at competitive bigfootedness

All the clarks outlets i know (and I knew them ALL in the northwest!!) have closed - clarks are manufacturing in China/Thailand now and don't ship the 2nds home to sell in outlets. Last years good stock is the same as the sales, bugger all choice for boys.

We used to go to the outlet in Kendal a couple of times a year, and there was a big shoe warehouse that did clarks slight seconds near me. Both now gone.

So will stick to ebay occasionally and clarks the rest of the time.

[youngbutnotdumb]

I know lets have a race and see who has the biggest feet by the time they start school
Bugger it lets do our shoe sizes see who wins PSML! Im an 8

I wouldnt buy from ebay alot just when am really skint! And would only buy hardly used/new pairs not bloody toeless trainers with broken lights . As you say Flibberty better than badly fitted(or not fitted) asda, tesco or cheaper shoes.

[kslatts]

I buy some of my dd's clothes second hand, but wouldn't buy second hand shoes.