If you were hit by recession and want to save money you should forget about paying full price for shoes. Honestly, I don’t think there is ever a need to pay extraordinary amount of money for shoes, because you can easily buy sale or discount shoes online for 70% less.

Before I was a professional shopper I used to buy shoes on eBay, because it saved me quite a bit of money. However, now that I know better, I avoid eBay at all costs when shopping for shoes, because:

1.    You never know if you are buying real stuff or knock-offs. Even if the seller has positive feedback, it doesn’t mean that he or she is not selling fake stuff. Many people have no clue how to determine whether the shoes are real or fake, so they leave positive feedback without realizing that they have been scammed.
2.    Many eBay sellers don’t accept returns and those who do, don’t refund your shipping fees. Besides, you have to mail the shoes back to them, which is not cheap either. So if something doesn’t fit, you are going to lose money no matter what.

With thousands of online retailers offering cheap shoes, there is really no need to take the risk and hope for the best when shopping on eBay.

Many online retailers offer free shipping and even free returns, so you can shop risk-free. Besides, reputable shoes stores are not going to sell you fake shoes, so you will definitely not have to worry about the authenticity of what you are buying.

The best time to find discount shoes online is in the end of the season. You can buy winter boots really cheap in February or even in January after Christmas. I wanted to buy a pair of Uggs before Christmas, which was $200. I am glad I didn’t pull the trigger, because right after the New Year the price dropped to $150 and a week later to $130. I saved $70 by waiting only a few weeks.

It might be not as fun to buy sandals in the end of summer, but money-wise it is certainly worth it. Unfortunately many people don’t think about new pair of sandals in the end of the summer, so they end up paying $50 for something that could have been bought for $10.