buying shoes in the kingdom

[GirlDrinkDrunk]

i actually began this post as a result of the bleater (sorry couldn't resist) making remarks in another thread about restocking his walking shoes once someone he knows comes to thailand in the near future. i decided it deserved its own thread, as my remarks had run so far off topic as to be irrelevant to the topic at hand.

i have never had even the slightest difficulty buying shoes here, once i discovered that the trick is to read the card inside. It will show how many pairs were stocked in each size and each pair sold is crossed off.

if your size is not there, move on. don't tell the woman you want a 9 and have her go away and come back with an 8 and a 9.5 and have her try to convince you they fit if you can clearly see that the 9s are finished.

this is especially important if you are buying shoes for your kid, as the sales person would willingly cripple your child to make a sale.

i reckon, when buying shoes for yourself, the price premium you may or may not have to pay here for decent shoes, especially walking shoes or shoes you plan on doing significant exercise in, is a fair tradeoff for fit.

if you know what you want, and you know exactly what size you need from experience by all means order out, but i have spent enough money over the years ordering or having people bring me stuff that didn't fit or wasn't exactly what i asked for despite meticulous instructions -- even after mailing a cut out of my feet. the truth is not many people actually know how to print to scale.

3-4-6 thousand baht for a well fitted pair of shoes here for a specialised application isn't that much more expensive than back in the "real" world. once you get over the the conviction that everything here should be cheaper than water life improves.

my last pair of sneaks in canada were 150 bucks down from 250 but they were last years model. that was 5 years ago.

my last pair of outdoor running/training shoes here cost 3500 thb (there was a dayglo 'stylee' version of same for 1000 more).

I dont think 200 bucks for a good pair of running or walking shoes is unreasonable.

I have an 1800 baht pair of suede and leather flip flops (sanuk) going on 3 years now and they are madly comfortable and come with non slip soles. i have seen too many people in fakes of all varieties eat shit on tile floors or wet streets to have decided they were worth every penny. the one time on the beach that they were accidentally worn home by someone pissed, they were returned because they were just too nice.

anyways shoes are one of those things you dont <deleted> around with.

thats what i think. waffle mode off.

[JLCrab]

I go back to USA once a year and buying a pair of shoes or 2 is always on the agenda and I know exactly what I want and in what size. I have never even attempted to buy the kind of shoes I like here in Thailand.

[wayned]

The only "shoes" that I wear in Thailand are the same tennis shoes the kids wear to school, "Breaker" brand. They are very comfortable. I wore them everyday while I was teaching and since I have had a hip replacement. Cost between 300 and 400 baht! Othertimes I wear flip flps with colth supports, 69 baht at Tesco.

[kannot]

No one mentioned if you are a size UK 12 and over???

[chiang mai]

Given that a massively high percentage of shoes are manufactured in China and Vietnam, it's unlcear why I'd want to wait until I returned to the UK to buy the same shoes at a higher price than here in Thailand, but to each his/her own.

[theblether]

It is all down to the size though, and I'm a size 12. I have made a mistake on this trip by not bringing enough suitable day time footwear and it's a problem. Luckily my sister is coming on holiday with her family and she / they will bring over several pairs for me.

I'll leave them all here when I rotate back to Scotland and on future trips I'll make sure I've got too many shoes here rather than not enough.

[Nana Cowboy]

I bought 1 pair of shoes in 11 years in Thailand. they were tennis shoes and lasted 1 wearing. Since then I load up every 2 or 3 years on US trips. I bought 6 quality size 13 flip flops 2 years ago for $10 each. They were on mega blowout sale at factory outlets. I've used 2 or 3 of them so far. Those would have cost 1800 each here IF you could find this quality but dont think you can. Flip flops in Thailand are a low quality joke. Don't buy shoes in this country. Same goes for clothing, computers and digital cams. External hard drives and mobile phones seem to be ok here though--- just double priced. I can't speak for Canada or the UK but I suspect those countries are an enormous ripoff so Thailand seems ok to buy stuff. The USA is the land of dirt cheap quality goods. You guys just dont know anything about unless you're there. ask neversure. lol. It's a feast of cheap hard goods. I never buy anything in Thailand except food. got burned early with garbage quality for ripoff prices. I just wait the 2 or 3 years and load up. Pain to bring back so much crap but it's well worth it. Buy stuff in Thailand like shoes? No thanks but please do knock yourself out should you choose

When I went to the UK back in 1979 it was like going to a 3rd world country. I sewed up my wallet and saved my cash until I got back to the USA. As for Thailand, it's worse of course so sure a UK person would think Thailand is a cheap and great place to buy stuff. No one outside the USA would have any idea what I'm talking about. lol. The US is flooded with goods, stores need to offload this junk at any price many times which means deep discounts. I used to go to the supermarket with a wad of coupons which were given triple value. I'd walk out with a HUGE shopping cart of groceries for $10. You going to find that elsewhere especially Thailand? No. So best is to be only what you really need in this country for US people anyway

[habfan]

As my Grandmother used to say..........." shoes don't stretch and men don't change"

[Issangeorge]

The last time I bought a pair of shoes in Canada, I tried to find a pair made in North America, almost impossible, just about all the shoes were made in China. I finally found a pair of Nikes I liked. They were made in Thailand. I have since bought a pair of Nikes in Thailand, but almost never wear them. Over here I am a confermed flip flop man. Two reasons I hate going back to Canada is having to wear real shoes, and the lack of bum blasters.

Sent from my i-mobile IQ 6 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[GreenSnapper]

I always buy shoes and most other things back home. Even if made in Thailand, they are cheaper there. And i have a much better choice, can rely on quality.

I don't understand why tourists believe they must go on a shopping tour before leaving Bangkok. Either way overpriced, or crappy quality. Or the common trick to sell brand name wares B-quality (some minor defects) for full price.