These Shoes Were Made for Walking...At A Budget Price!

For my birthday, back in August, a friend gave me $24 cash. I’d been griping that I was short on black shoes, and she wanted me to buy some….mostly, I presume, to stop me from griping!

I spent $15 of the $24 on a set of mirror-surfaced candle sticks I saw at an antique mall. I used the remaining $8 to buy three sets of shoes.

Used shoes.

I’m pretty sure that the much-touted female obsession with expensive shoes is largely a cultural myth. Certainly, we are told constantly, in movies, books and shoe ads, that women will lie, cheat and steal in pursuit of the latest six-inch designer stilettos, but I don’t know anyone who actually fits this profile. But even without such extremes, you can spend a whale of a lot of money on shoes…..if you buy them new.

I’ve got a cranky knee, so I pass on the high heels. But even with flats, you can easily shell out $50 or more on any shoe other than old-fashioned sneakers.(Canvas topped, rubber-soled sneakers, not megabuck “athletic” shoes, which IMHO have become one of the greatest rip-offs around, right up there with bottled water.) Just finding enough good flats to go with brown pants, black pants and jeans can blow your budget fast.

So I buy used shoes. I keep an eye open for “mint” condition shoes in classic styles that I can get for $2 to $4 a pair. (These are actually harder to find than heels, open-toed shoes and sandals.) Here’s a pix of the three pair I bought with my “birthday” money.

All name brands--Easy Spirit, Pappgallo's and Partners. I got one pair at a charity resale store, and two pairs at an estate sale. Total price? $8.00.  I estimate these shoes would have cost me well over $100 if I'd bought them new.

Paying a tenth of the price for gently used shoes will really help your bottom line. Where do you find them? 

Consignment and resale stores: This is a fairly pricey source—you’ll get shoes for 30-50% of the cost new, which is a little high in my book—but certainly worth checking. 

Yard sales: An excellent source in terms of price. Check sales in an area where the people will wear your kind of shoes; you’re not going to find many designer pumps in rural areas, or trendy super-high heels in retirement communities. To save time, simply ask the seller if they have anything in your size; it makes no sense wandering around looking for size10 shoes when the lady (or gentleman) of the house wears a size 8. 

Church sales and charity stores: Probably your best bet. Churches and charity organizations will often have a larger selection, but quality can vary. Goodwill, for example, usually has plainer, less fashionable shoes, but great prices. My favorite clothing and shoe store is a place that sells used items to raise money for needy mothers and kids. They have a sale about once every two months and from the quality of the items available, a lot of well-off people donate.

By the way, if you’re leary of sticking your feet in shoes someone else has worn, sit the shoes out in the sun for a day or wipe them out with alcohol. (And remember, new shoes bought in a store may have been tried on by a dozen different shoppers.)

Finally, never buy anything just because it’s cheap. If you wouldn’t be tempted to buy a pair of shoes at full price, pass on them. Buying things just because they're cheap is a sure way to end up with a house full of stuff you don’t like and won’t use. 

Got any good stories about where you found great shoes at a low, low price? Tell us about it in a comment!