Shoes One Size Fits All? There Is

Shoes One Size Fits All? There is no such thing as one size fits all - at least when it comes to shoes. For those of us blessed with unusual shoes sizes, the search for shoes can be difficult and time consuming. That process is made more difficult by retailers who claim to offer sizes but do not actually have them in stock. I wear a size 2 1/2 -3 children's shoe, which converts to an adult size 4.

I receive plenty of catalogs encouraging me to visit specialty stores that offer shoes in my size. However, when I arrive at these stores, which supposedly specialize in small shoe sizes, there appears to be a very limited quality. Truth in advertising seems to mean little to these shops. In the King of Prussia Mall, there are two stores that specialize in hard-to-find shoe sizes. I am a frequent shopper in both stores; however, I often find that the stores do not provide the services they advertise.

Whenever I find a shoe I like and inquire about the available sizes, I receive the same response: they don't have my size in stock but the shoe can be special ordered for me. Unfortunately, special orders cost more and I am required to pay for the shoes up front, before trying them on or seeing them in person.

Of course, if the shoes don't fit, I have the option to return them and/or order another size, but there is additional cost associated with this, not to mention the time it takes to get the special orders into the store. This situation would be acceptable if both stores acknowledged it in their advertising, but they don't. Both stores use advertising language that emphasizes their vast selection of shoes in a variety of styles for hard-to-find seizes.

The casual shopper might not even be aware of this systematic misleading advertising, but I have returned to these stores many times and have always encountered the same situation, indicating that this is a clear-cut case of false advertising. Another problem with these stores is the fact that the smaller-sized shoes are rarely on sale and in fact tend to cost much more than the standard sizes. Logically, it would seem that a smaller shoe would cost less to manufacture and therefore the price should be lower than normal.

But even if the cost of manufacturing is offset by the need to create only a few pairs of shoes for specialty sizes (which would cost more for manufacturers), this doesn't seem to warrant significantly higher prices. Unfortunately, by not carrying a large selection and pricing the shoes too high, these stores are missing out on a business opportunity. I buy many more pairs of shoes than could be considered average, and when the smaller sizes are designer labels I am willing to pay more for that designer, since.