Buying shoes online

[Kelli]

I have had many issues with my feet (leading to knee injuries) and I finally have found a pair of shoes that I love.  From here on out that is what I will be buying.  So, is there an online site that might be cheaper than the stores?  They are Brooks shoes (the actual Brooks website is not cheaper).

Just wondering, I am the queen of frugal and always trying to save a buck!

[Dale]

St. George Running Center http://stgeorgerunningcenter.com/ will give you a 15% discount for being a blogger.
Running Warehouse http://www.runningwarehouse.com/ has free 2-day shipping as can be pretty inexpensive.
Holabirdsports.com http://www.holabirdsports.com/cgi-bin/refinement?type=65&selection=product&id=2&engine=AdWords!1618&keyword=running+shoes&gclid=CP6MuPXx0o0CFQdfYQod9AIYcg has some really good deals but they're usually transient and they charge for shipping.  Otherwise, they're comparable.

[Mark Olson]

Just wondering, I am the queen of frugal and always trying to save a buck!

I've got a great racket going for shoes.  Eastbay (www.eastbay.com) has a sale 2x per year (I believe Christmas season and Father's day) where they sell gift certificates for 20% off.  I'll buy one and then use it during a 30% off sale (usually a couple or three times per year), often to buy shoes already marked down to clearance prices!  Let's say a $100 shoe (last year's model) is marked down to $50.  Taking 30% off that makes the price $35.  But I pay that $35 with the gift certificate, so I am really getting the shoes for $28.  Not only that, I click to Eastbay using a link on a website I have for the Skyline HS track team, so the team gets 8% of the $35!!  (www.runskyline.com--although the eastbay ad is broken right now and not showing up.)

[James Winzenz]

This past year, I have been buying most of my shoes online from Road Runner Sports, but that is also due to my having a VIP2 membership which I have to pay for yearly.  I automatically get 10% off and free shipping, and usually can find a coupon for additional savings.  However, since we now get 15% off at the St. George Running Center, I fully intend on supporting them this coming year and cancelling my VIP2 membership, even if the shoes are a couple bucks more.  If they don't have a shoe in, they can special order it for you.  I would just recommend trying on the shoe at a local running store before you buy it online.

[Benn Griffin]

I am sure shoe stores hate me, but I am cheap and a poor grad school student that pays way too much in income taxes to the man. So what do I do? I go to Dicks or Sports Footwear or whatever and I try on every shoe known to man and write down which size and model fit me best and then I order them from Amazon.com. My favorite shoe of all time is the Asics 2110s, which were discontinued like 3 yrs ago. I still can buy them on amazon for $49 bucks where the "new and improved" 2130s that are in the store run for $95 or something like that. I can get 2 PAIRS FOR THE PRICE OF 1 via amazon I send all my friends to either there or eastbay.com. Definitely the best bargains around.

[James Winzenz]

Although I don't get my shoes from Amazon (usually), I don't do anything differently than you - since I usually buy my shoes online, I always go to the local running stores to try them on first.  In fact, I think the only time in recent memory where I did not actually try the shoe on was when I got my new pair of Saucony Fastwitch 3's (racing flats).  In that case, I was confident enough on the correct size based on my experience with the other Saucony's I wear.

[Benn Griffin]

FYI Eastbay.com is having a 25th anniversary sale... just bought my Asics 2120s, originally 94.99 listed price, on sale for 59.99 a piece; so I grabbed 2 pairs, PLUS theres an instant scratch off ticket thing they do and I won 20% an order of 75$ or more. So saved another 24 bucks there. So with expedited shipping and all that jazz I got 2 pairs for 112 bucks!!! That's the same price I would have had to pay for ONE pair of those shoes normally !!! so cool! Check it out!

http://www.eastbay.com

[Kelli]

THANK YOU!!!!  I am working on the shoes right now and appreciate all of your help and input.  I WILL be getting a better deal this way.

[Benn Griffin]

Shoes should ship relatively fast that way. I am expecting mine today.

[Sasha Pachev]

There is only one right place to buy shoes for a blogger - St. George Running Center! If you see a better price somewhere else, or if you do not see the exact shoe you need, give Steve a call at (435-628-7766. Even if you end up going somewhere else, we'd like to know exactly why.

Shopping at the St. George Running Center supports the blog.

[Benn Griffin]

Oh yeah it would make sense for you Utahers to buy from Running Blog Store I am just saying from personal experience that the best deals in the Northeast aren't in our running stores since we have so few runner specific stores here and the ones that do sell stuff are way overpriced.

The only reason I go to eastbay is because I usually only pay at most 60% of the price offered in a normal store, and on top of that I always buy "last year's model" which is sent back usually from actual running stores to warehouses like Eastbay every spring since the shoe industry only thinks 1 year shelf life for shoes is acceptable.

That's why I shop at Eastbay Love me my Asics 2110s and 2120s!