Tips From Sneaker Heads On Scoring The Hottest Shoes And Keeping Them Fresh
Experts at Sneaker Con offered strategies for identifying counterfeit shoes, gave advice on how to choose investment sneakers and said what they would be willing to pay for the right kicks .
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Sneaker Con, a gathering of shoe fanatics founded in 2009, brought 500 vendors and over 19,000 people to the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York late last year. The heart and soul of the event is the trading pit, an area in the back of the 840,000-square-foot center where a crowd of mostly teenage boys was talking and holding up their sneakers, looking for buyers. The experience was overwhelming, confusing and educational.
But first, some quick tips:
1) Store your sneakers in a dark space, because light can cause yellowing, which devalues your shoes.
2) Become friends with people who work at sneaker shops.
3) Always check details like font and stitching when verifying real versus fake sneakers.
4) Ask your elders for their old clothes and sneakers. Chances are they will eventually come back in style.
5) Wash your insoles for, well, obvious reasons.
Heres what the sneaker experts had to say for themselves.
Tips For Buying Shoes That Are Good To Your Feet
Buying the right shoes is an investment in foot health. But how do you find ones that fit properly and provide adequate support?
Start with your own feet, and look at what’s already in your closet. Stand barefoot on a piece of paper or cardboard, and trace the shape of each foot. Now take your shoes, one by one, and place them on top of the drawing. If you’re like most people, your “comfortable” shoes will closely match the outline of your own feet.
Identify the shoes that cause pain. If you’re a woman, most of these will be shoes with narrow toes or high heels. Check to see if the toe of the shoe is narrower or shorter than your own toes.
When you’re ready to replace some of that uncomfortable footwear, these tips can help:
Store Flats Sandals And Slip
Shoe organizers that hang over the closet door can be lifesavers particularly for lightweight, casual shoes since you can bunch an entire pair into one slot.
But if you have a sliding closet door, or just dont have the space for the standard 24-pocket organizer, Lowenheim recommends a slim vertical organizer that ties over the closet rod, like this Target find .
You can fit a pair of shoes in each slot, and there are 10 slots. You can get two and those should see you through your day-to-day shoes, she says. If youre considering more than 20 pairs of shoes each day, you have too many shoes.
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Shoescom: Best Store For Specialty Shoes
- Great variety of shoes, especially if you need specialty pairs
- Frequent discount codes and coupons
- Great website with loads of search options
Shoes.com has a large inventory of shoes, free exchanges and helpful customer service. In addition to a large selection of everyday footwear for women and men, there are many specialty footwear options, covering narrow and wide shoes, and even things like dance shoes for kids.
The search browser is useful to find a specific shoe, or you can find a category type, like boots, oxfords or slip-ons if you want more browsing options. You can also filter for such specialty features as orthotic-friendly, vegan, moisture wicking, insulated and diabetic-friendly. You can refine your search further under specifying categories like canvas, clogs, flats, size, color, price range and brand. The product photography on each page is clear and bright, and there are further options for changing size and style. Scroll a little further down, and you get a good range of customer reviews and comment on the fit of the shoes. The site is really good.Shoes.com offers free shipping, and there’s no minimum value needed to qualify. If you decide you dont like the shoes, you can return them within 60 days for a complete refund, and shipping on returns is free. However, there is a fee of $6.95 for ‘restocking’. Items that are labeled as final sales, however, dont qualify for returns. There’s also a rewards club called Shoefans, which is worth enrolling in.
Can You Return Shoes You Have Worn
While there is often little specific guidance on each shoe store about returning worn shoes, we find the customer reviews section for each site offers more insight on this. Generally speaking, we would advise you to return shoes in the same condition they arrived in, if you expect either a full refund or an exchange for a different style or size. If the shoe doesn’t fit, or you don’t like the style when you first get it, there is no real reason why you’d wear it for a couple of weeks before returning it. Shoe stores will often quite reasonably refuse to refund customers if they return shoes that have been worn, damaged, or otherwise altered because this cuts down on people using returns policies like a rental service. You can’t buy a pair of shoes for a party, for example, then send them back.
If it’s clear that the shoe has a defect and this only becomes apparent after a few weeks of wear, we note that retailers are far more sympathetic to full refunds and exchanges. However, because you’re not strictly protected by federal or state law when it comes to refunds, you are relying on the customer service department to give you what you need. This is why we like sites such as Zappos, who have excellent return policies, and are known for being good with customers.
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Asos: Best For Shoe Inspiration
- A great range of brands, some of which are lesser known
- Good prices, and lots of discounts available
- Great returns method and policy
ASOS is a UK brand that is rapidly growing in the US. And with good reason – the site has a large range of shoes, and other clothing, and it’s incredibly easy to buy from. While the selection isn’t as wide as the likes of Zappos, you’ll find a number of brands here that aren’t as common across the rest of the shoe stores we’ve listed here, so if you’re looking for something a little different you’ll likely find it here. It’s great to just poke around on the site looking for new shoes and clothes, so we’ve listed it as our top pick for inspiration.
Product pages are laid out a little differently to many other shoe retailers, but you’ll recognize all the elements, including a gallery of pictures of the shoe itself, and an option to change the size and style too. There are no user reviews on site, but there are help guides to assist you with finding the right size and fit.
Air Jordan 1 Retro High 85 Neutral Grey
The most anticipated Air Jordan 1 of 2021 was, indisputably, the Air Jordan 1 Retro High 85 Neutral Grey. The drop marked the first time the original colorway has been released since its 1985 debut.
The Air Jordan Retro High 85 is a faithful replica of the shoe that was released 35 years prior. Compared to a conventional Retro High OG, the 85 model is sleeker, taller and crafted from superior materials such as high-quality leather and suede.
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Dsw: Best Dedicated Online Shoe Store
- A large range of shoes and boots, with no other clothes on site
- Excellent clearance section for cheaper prices
- The JLO collection is great to browse
DSW carries many of the biggest brand names, including Nike, Steve Madden and UGG, so it is a good place to shop if youre looking for designer shoes, boots, athletic shoes or sandals. There’s a JLO collection on there too, which has its own zone on the website, and the range is fabulous to look at. While it may not be to everyone’s taste, there’s no doubting the prestige of it. In terms of range, DSW is one of the best.
The product pages are good, but not perfect. You see good, clear product images, and we appreciate the fact that you don’t have to click through a gallery to see your shoes from all the different angles. Sizes and shoe variants are listed in the right-hand side of the page, along with an overall user score. We’d like to see more feedback from customers included here, and more buying advice, but overall the display is good.
How Much Can You Make Reselling Shoes
The short answer? Millions.
JV is a guy making six figures a year reselling shoes. He got his start flipping sneakers as a side gig while working retail. After 4 months in, he was clearing over $10,000 per month.
Hell teach you how to do the same thing he does, clear the big bucks, in his online course. If you add the code NICHEMONEY, you can get an extra 10% off.
Reselling shoes isnt a rare phenomenon. A quick look at Amazon and eBay will reveal you a secondhand pair of sneakers up for grabs for every brand new pair. The process of shoe selling is all too common that there are people who made reselling shoes a profitable full-time job.
However, there are only a handful of people who have built an empire as shoe resellers. Arguably the most successful sneaker reseller is Benjamin Kapelushnik. Also known as Benjamin Kickz and owner of the sneaker marketplace Sneaker Don, he started in the business at 13 in 2013 and made it big two years after.
He rose to fame as the shoe supplier to DJ Khaled who referred him to his friends in the music and entertainment industry. He made his first million in 2016 and had been reselling rare and expensive shoes and sneakers to high-ticket clients since then.
Sneaker collecting is a thing and for individuals who can get a good deal on rare or hard to find sneakers like a limited release commemorative pair of Nike Air Jordan 2 Just Don, the Nike SB Dunk, or others, it can be ridiculously profitable to be reselling sneakers.
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Choosing Sneakers For Exercise
Zapposcom User Reviews And Ratings
Zappos.com offers the following on all orders:365-day returns | Free returns | Free shipping | 10-day price guarantees| VIP Rewards scheme | 24-hour customer service
- Has an A+ rating, and accreditation, via the Better Business Bureau
- Scores 4 out of 5 via Consumer Affairs
We looked at more than 200 user reviews of Zappos, both via customer review sites, and of products purchased via the site itself. Many applaud the excellent customer service and returns policy offered by Zappos, although some note that it does take the company a little longer than some rivals to refund you the money. The average refund time is ten days, and in some instances it has taken longer. For most with issues, the customer service team appear to be friendly, professional, and generous.
The largest complaint about Zappos appears to be that some people have accidentally received shoes with imperfections, incorrect sizes and combinations , and – on rare occasions – shoes that appear to already have been worn. In most cases these were resolved, but one or two customers were unhappy that they were offered store credit instead of cash refunds. Overall, however, the customer experience from Zappos is very positive, especially when it comes to selection of shoes and customer experience.
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Take Into Account The Entire Foot
Now, dont think the width of the foot is limited to the toe span. It can also take into account the entire foot, including the heel. Wide-width shoes are designed to address all these areas. A note of caution when shopping for wider fits: Some brands are known to cut corners by simply adding a wider upper to a medium-width outsole. If this is the case, feet may spill over the sides of the sole, causing discomfort. Its best to seek the advice of a trained sales associate who can often identify these brands.
Sort Shoes Into Categories
Before you start implementing any new shoe storage solutions or schemes, organize your shoes into groups. First, divide your shoes into two categories:
The ones you wear less frequently should be stored, as Aron puts it, up high and far away.
Now its time to categorize the remaining everyday shoes even further. Similar styles should stick together. Shoes you wear to work should be in one group. Shoes youd wear out to dinner might be in another group, and shoes suited for doing a lot of walking could be in a third group.
Think of the activity youd wear each pair of shoes for, so that when its time for you to head out for that event, you know exactly where to look.
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Ivy Park X Adidas Halls Of Ivy: Where To Buy Beyoncs New Collection
DSW never lets us down.
The footwear favorites collaborated with celebrities including Jennifer Lopez and Chrishell Stause and now, its teamed up with country music and style star Jessie James Decker.
Available today, the Should Have Known Better singers limited-time sneaker collection includes kicks from top brands like New Balance, Reebok, Converse and more.
From fashion, fitness and fun, DSW is a one-stop shop for me and my family for everything we need from our favorite brands and most sought-after sneaker trends, the star, 33, shared in a press release.
Below, learn more about our five favorite styles from Deckers curated assortment.
Famous Footwear User Reviews And Ratings
Famous Footwear offers the following on all orders:60-day returns and exchanges | Pay for shipping and returns | Free returns in store | Member Club | Day time customer service
- Has an A+ rating via the Better Business Bureau
- Scores 3.4 out of 5 via Consumer Affairs
We researched around 100 reviews of Famous Footwear, and found them to be quite mixed. The positive reviews focused on the quality of the products that arrived, and the fact that they had been bought for so cheap. There’s an assumption with outlet-style online stores that they’re going to be sending substandard goods, but this isn’t the case and people are delighted.
Complaints tend to center on errors with being charged for cancelled orders, and for problems with shipping. The response from Famous Footwear is inconsistent, if users are to be believed. Some like how efficiently the company resolves shipping issues, whereas others found them very unhelpful.
Overall, there were no real red flags from the negative reviews, as you’ll see a lot of complaints that revolve around shipping for every online shoe retailer.
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Additional Criteria For Hiking Shoes
Support
Hiking shoes require a specific level of support, especially around the ankle. There are different styles of hiking shoes, from low- to mid- to high-cut depending on whether you want ankle support. Our experts advised us to note the level of support a hiking shoe provides, so we took into consideration the following questions: Does the shoe provide stability and support? What level of ankle support does it provide?
Traction
The grip a hiking shoe offers is important, especially when youre climbing up a gravelly trail. When evaluating hiking shoes, we noted whether the sole provides adequate traction and gripping ability.
