How to Save Time and Money on Shoe Shopping

The problem with online shopping is that there are hundreds and hundreds of shoe stores online, and I never really know which one to look at. Which is going to have the shoes that I’m looking for? Which one is going to have the best sale? While it’s not as stressful as dealing with crowds, I end up wasting hours on my computer, searching for the perfect pair of shoes.

So I’ve now started looking exclusively at these online fashion clubs that feature stylists that pick out shoes they think you will like. You’ve heard of them: ShoeDazzle, ShoeMint and other random words crammed together with the word shoe.

1) You sign up with your email address or via Facebook (which can be dangerous.)

2) Each site gives you a personalized quiz of different shoes and celebrity fashionistas to choose from to get a better idea of what your style is. You also give your age and shoe size (and in some cases your dress size), which all seem irrelevant when it comes to your style, but that’s just me.

3) The site’s stylist will create a “showroom” for you filled with shoes that fit your style based on your answers from the quiz.

4) You also get emails with new shoes and sale announcements that are tailored to your style.

1) Surprisingly, they are usually pretty good at picking out great shoes for me to choose from. There are rarely any of those dud shoes that you have to sift through at the mall.

2) There is always a sale going on. No matter when I go to the site, they always have at least one cute shoe that I’m desperate to buy. (This is also a downside.)

So how do the different sites compare? They really are all kind of the same, although some of them have better deals at different times. Of course, I belong to all of them, just so I can get the deals. But here’s a general idea of how they all work when it comes to discounts and deals.

JustFab: JustFab has the best “welcome” offer with 50% off your first purchase, which is kind of insane. They also have a standard price of $39.95 for all of their shoes, plus free shipping and free returns and exchanges for all their shoes. JustFab is the best when it comes to deals on shoes, and they are also very flexible when it comes to getting you the exact shoes that you want.

ShoeDazzle: ShoeDazzle has another great “welcome” deal for the quality of their shoes, with 25% off your first purchase, with free shipping included. They also have a section with a daily deal, which is usually a general shoe and not tailored to your style, but the page also includes previous deals that are still going on, so you can do a bit of deal shopping.

ShoeMint: When you first sign up for ShoeMint, you get 20% off your first purchase, not to mention free shipping. If you aren’t satisfied with the shoes, you can send them back for free and pick another pair. Even if you only end up getting one pair of shoes from ShoeMint, it’s worth the 20% off, although they do constantly have sales on some of the cutest shoes I’ve ever seen. (ShoeMint is unfortunately no longer available)