Finding Cheap Shoes Online

I've been in a bit of a dilemma recently.  I'm tired of torturing my feet with cheap, poorly made, uncomfortable shoes.  It seems like every pair I've bought in the past year or so has either fallen apart or had me practically screaming "get it off, get it off!" within an hour of wear. 

As someone who is on my feet a lot—at work, and just walking constantly from place to place in the city, I've usually just settled on athletic shoes.  For me, in the trade off between looks and comfort, comfort will always win out.  But since I've been updating my fashion look lately, I've been faced with need to buying new shoes that actually look stylish and feminine.

I've tried on a ton of shoes in the past few months, and found some that fit extremely well, looked great, and felt like I could walk all day in them.  But I just couldn't quite bring myself to part with upwards of $100 for a single pair of shoes.

I'm sure you've been there, too.  It takes a lot of the fun out of dressing up and looking great if you dread the part where you actually have to put on those gorgeous shoes and walk in them.
It seems that there actually is a solution to this dilemma of needing to find comfortable and attractive shoes at prices that don't seem unmanageable.  There are a number of sites that sell cheap shoes online.  And by cheap shoes, I don't mean low quality knock-offs.  These are designer brands, good quality shoes, for 50% off or more.  Some of the online bargains are pretty unbelievable, and make me balk at the thought that I ever even considered caving in and paying retail for these shoes at the stores.

There are a number of great sites offering huge discounts on brand name shoes. 

One of the biggest names in the business if zappos.com.  They have a huge selection, and just about every style you could hope to find.  Also, their interface is very easy to use, and lets you keep narrowing your search down, by size, style, color, and other options until you find exactly what you're looking for. Not all of zappo.com's shoes are sale items, though, so you may find yourself browsing through their website and looking at some pretty high price tags. 

6pm.com may not have as big of a selection as zappos.com, but they are a dedicated on-sale site.  Everything there is discounted, and some things for up to 90% off.  If you're looking to find that pair of $150 designer boots for under $20, then 6pm.com is the place to go.
Shoes.com also has a wide selection.  You can check out their sale pages, and you can find some pretty amazing deals there.  Many of their shoes, however, are reasonably-priced non-designer shoes.

Overstock.com is another great option.  Their $2.95 shipping on the entire order is pretty hard to beat.  You can find a decent selection and some good deals in the clearance section.

Another online store that you may not have considered is Ebay.com.  Ebay has a great selection of shoes, both new and worn.  Some people may be a bit wary of buying shoes from ebay, because unlike with a well-known store, it's difficult to be confident that you are getting what is advertised.  However, there are a lot of very reputable sellers and stores on ebay.  If you check the ratings and read reviews, you can spot someone who appears disreputable.

Just knowing your size is not enough, as some brands run small or large.  Know your foot measurements, if you need wide shoes or narrow shoes.  Also, check the return policy, and look for reviews of the returns.  It's often possible to find comments about the customer service and return policy.  No matter how comfortable the manufacturer—or reviewers—claim a pair of shoes to be, you can never know how they will fit you until you try them on.  So never assume that you won't need to worry about returns.

Since a lot of these sites sell brand name and designer shoes at hugely discounted prices, you can always try on and decide on the type of shoes at a retailer, and then order them online. This way, you can know exactly what they are getting, and will have little doubts about the comfort and fit of the shoes.

When it comes to costs, many of these bargains are simply amazing.  I know there have been quite a few that I've been tempted to grab up even though I probably wouldn't have worn the shoes very often.  But as with buying anything online, you do have to keep in mind the costs of shipping.  Some sellers charge a flat rate for your entire order, while some may charge per pair of shoes.  These charges can add up quickly.  Also, check the return policy to see if return shipping is at your own expense.