To be shocked that you can buy a pair if shoes for £4

[Bemyclementine]

In primark? I saw someone post on a Facebook group, lots of people raving about them. A couple if people questioning ut.

I kniw good shoes can be expensive, and I know the saying (not exactly...)that a poor man pays £10 for boots that last 6 months, a rich man pays £50 and they last 10 years.

But still, they must be crap, they can't be comfortable or good fir your feet, not to mention the conditions if the people making them?

I know there's a cost if living crisis, I am struggling very much myself. I'm lucky that in years gone by I bought decent shoes that I can still wear.

I’ve had them before, they was fine and comfortable it’s just they don’t last long especially if it rains

Can you post a link or a picture of the shoes?

If you've only got a tenner in your bank account and you need shoes, you're going to buy the £4 ones whether they're 'crap' or not.

I'd rather people had £4 shoes than no shoes, which is the choice faced by many people. I'm glad you've got good shoes that have lasted you well, but that's not the case for everyone.

Was going to say what @10HailMarys said- couldn't agree more!

I dread to think of the conditions of the people working in the factories if they can afford to make shoes for £4!

I bought £4 ballet flats from Primark and 99p flip flops and no shit, they were comfier than ballet flats I'd paid £50 for.

Confortablness is last of the issue when it comes to ahoes for less than a fiver...

It's good that there's a cheap option available for people who really need it. I had primark pump type shoes in the past that were really cheap and yes they are awful but it's better than not having shoes at all. Nowadays, I tend to use ebay and similar places to find good quality items at a good price.

My impression is that the people who do this either can't afford more or they wear different pairs of shoes everyday. I hate the idea of wearing different pairs of shoes everyday; I want to wear the same bag (I carry a convertible backpack that can be worn crossbody or as a shoulder bag), wear the same shoes everyday (with exceptions for stuff like boots and sandals), wear the same makeup everyday (I do my makeup exactly the same everyday), wear the same coat everyday (obviously not in summer; and I do have a lighter coat and a formal coat ), I would like to wear the same dress everyday but thats not really workable. My DH says that all my dresses all look the same.

So I would not spend £4 on a pair of shoes because it just wouldn't work for something I would wear daily..

I should add, most people commenting were buying a pair in every colour to go with their multiple brightly printed dresses.

Yes I absolutely do realise I'm lucky to have not been so hard up in the past. It's equally shocking that they're available for 4 quid, and that people can't afford more.

The working conditions of the staff producing a £4 pair of shoes cannot be good. The environmental impact must be awful as well.

if someone posts on here saying they buy a £4 Tesco broiler chicken they're told they should be buying free range corn fed £15 chicken.

I bought some trainers from primark for £8 as I'd gone away and not taken the right kind of clothes so needed an emergency outfit. They did the job but not that comfy (tight) and a few weeks later are falling apart. Now bought some Adidas ones. Also have converse that have lasted me years

When we were growing up in the 80s we were pretty hard up as a family. My mum has commented in recent years how she wished Primark had been around then.

£4 shoes might not be a good long term investment but £4 is always going to be easier to find than £40 for a lot of people. I hate Primark shaming.

I think there is a middle class privilege in condemning cheap clothes/food. People who buy these things buy them as it’s all they can afford, not because they are careless or selfish. If you want people to buy better things then try raising the amount of money people get to live on.

I'd much rather have one pair of good quality shoes than lots of cheaper pairs to choose from. That one pair of shoes will generally look better anyway and if you choose well in the first place, can match most outfits. It's just typical fast fashion, made cheap, used for one season and then dumped. Those with the means to, should be making more conscious choices. I'd also hate the clutter from having lots of cheap shoes instead of just the few I actually need.

The primark ballet flats are fine for a couple of months then fall apart but they get you through summer.

As Terry Pritchett said:

“The Sam Vimes "Boots" Theory of Economic Injustice runs thus:
At the time of Men at Arms, Samuel Vimes earned thirty-eight dollars a month as a Captain of the Watch, plus allowances. A really good pair of leather boots, the sort that would last years and years, cost fifty dollars. This was beyond his pocket and the most he could hope for was an affordable pair of boots costing ten dollars, which might with luck last a year or so before he would need to resort to makeshift cardboard insoles so as to prolong the moment of shelling out another ten dollars.
Therefore over a period of ten years, he might have paid out a hundred dollars on boots, twice as much as the man who could afford fifty dollars up front ten years before. And he would still have wet feet.
Without any special rancour, Vimes stretched this theory to explain why Sybil Ramkin lived twice as comfortably as he did by spending about half as much every month.”

You can buy a chicken for a pound.

Me too. I have primark trainers and they are super comfy. Also they actually do well generally on their supply line welfare often better than much more expensive brands. Low prices doesn’t equal low wages.

onthefencesitter where is your convertible backpack that can be worn crossbody or as a shoulder bag from please?

I'm a huge primark fan.
For context on the type of person who shops there, I'll mention that I am solely reliant on UC at the moment & a single mother.
I also have 2 sons (1 teenager & 11 month old)
For the kids it's great because they grow so bloody quick most doesn't last long anyway no matter where you buy it or how much it costs.
For me, I barely have enough money to eat myself some weeks so it's either primark or charity shops.
Of course, I have thought about the working conditions of the people making the garmets, it's not something I don't have a conscious battle mentally with at times but needs must for my situation.

They're very basic shoes made of cheap materials and clearly not made to last or particularly comfortable.

Their flip flops are awful - they rub and fall apart which is pretty shoddy considering how simple they are to make.

That said I'd happily buy a pair if I liked the look of them but I'd have low expectations and wouldn't wear them if I had to walk long distances

But this annoys me...if Sam had saved part of his salary every month, he'd have that 50 dollars.

Sure he'd have had wet feet for say...5 years, but then he'd have bought the shoes that last 10 years...then the snowball effect kicks in, if he keeps saving ....not only will be always have the money for new decent boots, he'll also have money for other things.

Also expensive isn’t necessarily better quality. I have a favourite primark skirt I have worn for about 10 years.

The problem with cheap clothes is that most of them aren't bought by people who are hard up.

Since Primark, Boohoo etc, a lot of people with a larger budget are going Wahoo, pocket money clothes, and buying bagfuls of cheap throwaway clothes.

I don't know what the solution is really. Pay decent wages for decent jobs, then clothes will be more expensive but more people (including the people who make clothes) will be able to afford them.

It’s actually not good for you to wear the same shoes everyday according to podiatrists.