To think that Clarks/ starite shoes are rip off

[ReallyTired]

The shoes cost a bomb and my son's shoes fell apart after four months. Yet I feel guilt tripped into not buying fitted shoes, (even though half the assistants have no clue about fitting shoes)

Am I really going to do untold damage to my son's feet getting him school shoes from sports direct?

www.sportsdirect.com/propeller-bart-back-to-school-junior-shoes-093009

Ds tells me that these shoes are more comfortable than the clarks shoes. At £6.50 I am in profit if these shoes last a month and I buy four pairs.

niceguy2 - adults feet don't generally grow though do they? I had my feet measured as a child/teenager but since then I have been pretty much the same size give or take half a size. You can't say the same for children's feet. If your child has had a growth spurt (or even if they haven't), having feet measured saves an awful lot of time and effort choosing shoes.

The 'people in Africa' thing is always a bit lame - they don't have an awful lot of things but that doesn't stop us making sure that we buy the best fit in any clothing or the best fit for our lifestyle and home with other goods like cars, computers or TVs. We don't and shouldn't work to the lowest common denominator. And besides, how do you know poorly fitting shoes don't have an impact? How would you like to walk around in a pair of shoes a size too big or too small? I am betting you wouldn't do it.

If you have children whose feet are pretty standard, who don't have particularly wide or particularly narrow feet then you are lucky, go get the shoes from anywhere. If your child's feet aren't 'average' though, I can tell you from experience, you have to try on an awful lot of shoes to get ones that actually fit if width fittings aren't available. Trying to find footie boots for DS2 when they don't come in width fittings is a PITA. He is already having to wear men's boots even though I have to pay VAT on them and they instantly add a tenner just because you buy the adult boots. He is 9. His actual shoe size for normal fitted shoes is 5.5H - just within the children's range. Because he can't get width fittings in football boots (not ones that he likes anyway ) he is having to wear 7 and looks like a clown.

Lots of adults have painful feet and foot problems because they wore ill fitting shoes when they were children.

Foot problems Sorry it's CBBC but it was one of the first things that came up and I don't have time to hunt for other articles. Some info there though.

It is perfectly simple to make sure shoes fit well without paying out a fortune for Clarks shoes which are often badly fitted anyway.

Someone up thread said she was told by Clarks to buy a size big - well they are hardly going to be well fitted shoes then are they!

We went down the 'supermarket shoes' road a couple of years ago, and ended up buying dd 6 pairs and ds 3 pairs.

Last year we went to clarks outlet and both pairs of shoes are fine, in fact when I take them next week, if they're feet haven't grown (by some miracle) I think they would last another year.

My ds is particularly hard on shoes, playing lots of football and using feet as brakes when on his bike/scooter.

Urgh, their not they're

I bought my son Geoxx school shoes & am buying him a pair of Bobux for none school wear. Bobux are a great alternative to Clarks, similar price & great quality. The leather is softer & they are recommended for kids with mobility issues like my ds who isn't 100% steady on his feet.

www.bobux.co.uk/boys

www.bobux.co.uk/boys

raisah how rigid are the geoxx please? My son is so used to barefoot shoes now hes started moaning about any other pairs!

Just spent £145 on new shoes for my 3 children at Clarks. They were fitted by someone who didnt know what they were doing and each pair had to be changed by the second trained fittter so had to wait ages until they were free. Am I the only mother who would like to know the price of school shoes without sending an untrained fitter who doesnt have access to the till pricer to go and find out the cost for each pair tried? I hate going blindly to the till without knowing what the bill is, I hate to ask as well. Why cant they put the price on the box? Clarks say that the price changes so they cant do that, which begs the question why is the price changing so often? Does it go up before back to school? Nor is it possible to have staff who know the price as there are too many shoes -they have got it sussed when it comes to excuses! They say the prices are on display but tey are always from £25 but they are never the shoes that get brought out to try on my childrens feet. I am sacking Clarks after today sick sick sick of being ripped off without warning. Am I the only one who wants to know what The bill is. The Children always look worried when I ask how much the shoes cost - really poor customer service it is not like buying an Adult pair of shoes where they have the ones you select on the shelf they never have in the childrens dept and deliberately dont price the shoes to ensure maximum profit!

They haven't a clue. One assistant insisted the shoes she was attempting to cram onto ds2's feet were the correct size; "but I can't get the right one on because he's scrunching his foot". When I picked them up one was a size 5 1/2 and the other was size 2...

CLarks have gone downhill , when dd2- got her first pair so hoes the kept falling off despite being measured for in shop. took them back and more mature assistant said .they were a size too big and a style that shouldn't be sold to newly walking babies. I have only bought shoes from their since then for school and ignore the staffs advice. never had a problem since.

Last year bought supermarket shoes and replaced them 4 times. Please note have 3 sons (DD is in topshop now) so this was pricey. Just been to startrite and spent £135. have fingers crossed for quality!

I worked in Clarks when I was a teenager. During the holidays when I worked during the week with the full time staff I was always very aware of customers avoiding me and going to one of the older staff. Some customers were also incredibly rude to me, thinking because I was young I didn't know what I was doing. I cared a lot about the job and doing it right.

I love Clarks shoes - they are all I wear (aside from Kickers) and they last well. At least my job means if I have children I'll be able to go to an outlet and fit them myself.

I have been lucky with DS, his feet tend to go up a size each year so as long as we buy shoes with growing room they last 12 mnths. Startrite fit his foot best and so far cannot grumble. He plays football daily at school either on hard playing surface or muddy playing field.
DH is a stickler for clean shoes and cleans and polishes them daily so maybe this is the secret to their longevity.

Im buying. Vivo barefoot neo leather when they arrive in October with www.happylittlesoles.co.uk.

I cant find geox anywhere to try as DS is very sensitive.

It's a false economy buying cheap school shoes unless you have no choice. I've been down that road and ending up buying several pairs and costing more in the long term. Clarks are ok but I prefer Startrite they really last and fit well. Unfortunately Clarks dominate the school shoe market and there is little choice for most people unless you are lucky enough to have a good independent kids shoe store near by.

We've never had a problem with them, dd's feet don't grow that quickly, and her shoes always last her for the whole year. They'd probably last another year if they still fit her.

I have sometimes wondered about the whole question of fitted shoes. DH is from a country where they don't bother to measure, and he has perfectly good feet, so he has always been a bit about Clarks. Maybe he is right. On the other hand, lots of the older people in his country seem to me to have mobility problems from a relatively early age, so maybe there is an impact - that's purely anecdotal though, I don't have any firm evidence.

I always buy Clarks shoes for myself because I find them so much more comfortable than the cheaper shoes you can find on the high street - I tried for years with different brands but they always hurt my feet. I usually get Clarks for dd as well, but tried to get some sandals for her this year and they said that they didn't have any that were right for her feet. Bought a cheap pair in tesco instead, and although they looked nice, they weren't good quality and dd found it hard to walk far - she is now determined never to wear tesco shoes ever again!

This year will be the first that we've not had Clarks, largely because ds said every pair put on his feet hurt him or were too tight. He's ended up with a pair of plain black leather Reebok trainers, which look more like school shoes than some of the ones he tried on in Clarks, and he says they are so comfy. Time will tell how long they last though...

I've never had a problem with Clarks. Been buying kids shoes from them for about 8 years now and they seem to last and fit well. I buy boots from them for myself too and they last well. Maybe it depends on the branch you go to?

Can anyone tell me will a 9 year old girl be laughed at if she wears these trainers? www.clarks.co.uk/p/20355984 My dd picked them so I bought them, but i'm now wondering if they look a bit babyish and she will be laughed at by cooler girls in her class who she has to share with when she goes on a school residential soon. Don't know who she will be sharing with yet. Dd is quite shy. The trainers have a band of purple glitter on them. Still have the receipt and they are unworn so could exchange them. Thanks

No they look fine danica.

I love clarks. I only wear clarks. And my dd school shoes from there will last a whole year.

I've not had a problem with clarks - ds's shoes took a battering this winter/spring, particularly as balance bike brakes, and barely a scuff on them.

Also buying sandals the assistant alerted me to same pair but different colour in the sale totally unprompted. saved me £16.

I have rarely had a bad pair of shoes from Clarks and on the odd occasion there has been a problem, they have been great at sorting it out. School shoes have lasted the whole school year for both ds' and that is with ds1 playing football at playtime and lunchtime virtually every day. Ds1 has very thin feet and ankles so we have to be careful on styles of shoes he have, the staff in our local store are very helpful.

They are very expensive, we got stung this year with a jack nano pair. £38. To be fair his pair from clarks last year lasted the whole year! Plus he's a H fitting.

Clarks prices are nothing compared to the independant shoe shop we get non school shoes from. Luckily at birthdays and Christmas so gifts from grandparents.