Archive — March 3, 2007
Originally published on The Luxe Mix, February 2007. Recovered from the Internet Archive (Wayback Machine).
Keeping an Open MindI had sworn off Zappos.com years ago. I was brunching, well more like ravenously porking out, at Cafe De La Presse in San Francisco this weekend, when “Grunchkin”, “Friend” (yes that’s really her nickname) and I started discussing our search for the perfect shoes. I started raving on about Piperlime.com which I frequent these days and then Friend said she mostly shops at Zappos.com so I started going off about how much I despised the zappos site. I thought to myself later that night that it had actually been awhile since I tried visiting zappos. Many years back I had bought a pair of shoes from there and was so miserably disappointed with the product and ordering experience I never went back. The site itself is disdainful to look at — that hasn’t changed much… but what has changed is that the zappozians have totally clued into a Shoe Alcoholics behavior and have taken some serious steps forward in improving the online shopping experience. Free Shipping (both ways) + 365 Day Return Policy + Inventory Alerts!!! + Customer ReviewsI fell out of my chair when I saw this. I have wished for years that online stores would show us how many of an item were in stock. I have fallen into mild depression after finding my perfect shoe to check back the next day to find them sold out. Sometimes a girls got to sit on her buying decision. But this was a brilliant move for zappos. Women are competitive beasts. If we knew there was only 1 left of that shoe, it’s ours. When I saw zappos actually offers us this functionality I could actually overlook the ugly pages and poor photo quality. Free shipping both ways. Enough said. No more excuses for not buying shoes online. I bought 2 pairs of boots today. Compare the two and send one back. I feel like I am suddenly a new person. 365 Day Return Policy. What I love about this is that I can buy a shoe and let it sit there for as long as I want, wait for shopper’s high to wear off and send them back after I realize I’ll won’t wear tham more than a few times. The customer reviews were totally helpful. I passed on a few boots that sounded like they might not be compatible with me after hearing what others had to say. You can tell most of these customers are savvy shoe shoppers as well which is helpful. The ratings are also a good way to quickly assess how comfortable the boots are and what size you should order as sizes tend to vary across designers.I must add this disclaimer — they clearly have work left to do in improving their Search, product photo quality, and their navigation is challenging at times. Thanks Friend!Thanks to Friend for opening my eyes and heart back up to Zappos. Here’s the boots I ended up getting. RSVP Rijeca Cognac Nappa Boots I’ve been searching for some tan boots all winter. It seems this was the best I could find. I’m hoping they have a better color in person. Will keep you posted. Frye Sunny Short Vintage BootI missed ordering another pair of Frye boots in time on Shop Bop last week. I’m still not over it. I’m hoping these ease the pain a little. Technorati Tags: shoe shopping, zappos