New shoes, ridiculously uncomfortable. Sell or keep?

[liveforchocolate]

I bought some new shoes for a party a few weeks ago. I absolutely LOVE them. I still love them, and they look fabulous. I thought they would finally be the holy grail of comfortable heels as they have a platform and block heels. After wearing them for about 2 hours I could actually barely walk. I'm not even quite sure which part was the most uncomfortable. I think the part around the toes as they are patent and quite stiff. I don't think I will ever wear them again.

I don't know whether to keep them for 'shoes to restaurant' occasions just in case, as I do love them, or to sell on Vinted.

Has anyone ever sold shoes on Vinted? I've sold lots of clothes but am worried about selling shoes. Also, I presume I'll only get back a very small fraction of what I paid so is it actually worth it?

I'm so sad as they are so lovely, but it would be even worse if they just gather dust.

Thanks!! That’s what you get when you have a 30+ year long shoe obsession, coupled with studying biomechanics as part of your degree and almost a decade working with biomechanics and custom shoes 😂 I don’t work in that field any more, but I geek out over stuff like this!

@YorkshireWelsh Perhaps you could invent 'the perfect (& comfortable) heeled shoe'? Have you ever thought about it?

@YorkshireWelsh 😁My days of high heels are now behind me - I’m all for a shoe I can comfortably walk in these days. Can still find the odd beautiful pair - but must admit as someone short I do miss the leg lengthening of a high heel!

I agree with the suggestion you design the perfect shoe!

As an aside the most comfortable heels I’ve found seem to be made by Spanish brands for some reason.

Haha I’d love to, but the footwear world is oddly separated into ‘clinical’ (biomechanics etc, ie. Me) and ‘fashion’, with almost no interaction or overlap. Some have tried, most have failed….the successful hybrids however are household(ish) names….fitflop and Masai barefoot technology (MBT); but obviously they were focused more on the practical than the oh-so-amazing feeling and (as @Chitterchatterchoo says) elongating effects of a vertiginous heel, more’s the pity! I wouldn’t even know where to start, if I did design one, in terms of actually testing it and getting it to production!

My advice as a professional ridiculously high heel wearer would be gel pads for cushioning at the toe/ball of your foot area if thats hurting.

To stretch them a bit what i find works, weird but works, is to fill a ziplock food bad with water, position it in the shoe as if it were some sort if watery foot. Secure it in place and stick in the freezer for a couple of nights, should gently stretch it out.

Seems to work for mine x

What a cool specialist subject you have!!! Never knew any of this stuff about shoes before!

@YorkshireWelsh you've totally blown my mind and I suspect you've saved many of us from buying uncomfortable shoes in future! Thank you 💐

Also if they're real leather, try leather stretcher, which can be bought from any shoe menders or Amazon. Life saving stuff!

One of the few perks of being a wheelchair user - wearing impractical shoes!

Life is too short for painful shoes

Love this! I bet you have an enviable shoe collection 😁

@YorkshireWelsh that is one of the most informative posts I have read in a long time!

Update: please keep your fingers crossed for me..

I phone the shop and explained the issue and I told them a cobbler (aka @YorkshireWelsh !) had advised that these are not fit for purpose and explained about the shoe profile! Spoke to a lovely sales assistant who totally agreed with me, and said that their 30 day policy was up yesterday but that he will try to speak to a manager today for me and find out how we can resolve this.

The shop is 1.5 hour drive from me, and I offered to take them back this afternoon or tomorrow any time, or to post them back and to please, please help as they were £££ and I can't ever wear them again.

Please can everyone think positively and hope that I am able to return them.

Sell them

Store assistant just called back. I am 1 day out of the 30 day returns policy, which means they won't just refund them, but they will contact me next week to advise on how to return them for them to investigate as faulty and that it will go down a different route now. He did actually say that if it was him, and I brought them within the 30 days, he would refund for me. So annoying that I didn't even try that. Note to self to always wear shoes within 30 days, and go for a refund if they aren't comfortable!

@YorkshireWelsh I will be copying and pasting your post to try to achieve a refund (or even a credit note would suffice).

Thank you!

Get rid.
You may get more for them on eBay than Vinted though.
Because you will either have to walk taking tiny baby steps as if wearing little stilts, or they will continue to hurt you.
No offence but they are quite dated too, and TBF since lockdown, fortunately footwear has generally become more comfortable and occasional wear heels have been made (almost) redundant, thank goodness !
Ballet flats are big this season. And there will be plenty of gorgeous sandals around which will be far more versatile. Birkenstock have some fab bright big buckle ones in beautiful colours, the comfiest shoes ever !
Always make sure even if the upper is leather, that the lining is too. Otherwise there will still be no give, and they will not mould comfortably to your feet.
Comfort is key with footwear for me these days, but they still need to be stylish too. I’m done with ridiculous crippling ‘taxi’ shoes (although they were fun at the time) !

@DogMa73 Thank you, they were actually for a few weddings I have, so I will definitely be wearing heels.

Actually, the update is that the store are going to send them to quality control, following @YorkshireWelsh 's comments re the profile etc so I am feeling hopeful....

Sell.

Keep us posted @liveforchocolate ! I really hope you get a favourable result!

This has been the most interesting thread in ages!

@YorkshireWelsh a post purely to ask your advice please... I'm looking for sandals for my summer holiday, which I know involves evenings out in cobblestoned towns. I would like a nice sandal, but heels/wedges won't be practical because of the cobbles, and very flat can be uncomfortable if they don't have a cushioned sole. I'm guessing that these will have a hard and inflexible base/platform, and so they will also be uncomfortable? Maybe these fitflops would be a better option. Also I love these but they are out of budget, as are these. Which would you say would be more comfortable?

I think you could be a shoe concierge! (or just my shoe concierge?!) lol.

UPDATE

The store have offered store credit, valid in any of their UK stores. I'm happy with that. I've just posted them back to the store I purchased from as it is 1.5hour drive each way, so petrol would probably be more than postage..! (plus I would have ended up spending money there!!).

Thank you all for all the help, advice and suggestions :)

I had an almost identical pair - same colour too, bought for my daughter's graduation. They absolutely lacerated my feet after an hour. The pain was so bad I had to walk home in bare feet. Still in box never to be worn again. I felt too guilty to re sell them to lacerate someone else's feet 🤔

They were too expensive for me to keep in the box! I'm very happy with a credit note. Actually, the first assistant I spoke to in the store said if I had taken them back within 28 or 30 days, I can't remember what the policy is, then he would have refunded them with no questions, even worn. I will have to remember that for future purchases!