The Secret to Getting Designer Shoes Cheap

You guys all know I make a small profit on the shoes I sell online.  That's the business I'm in.  And as expensive as many of these shoes seem, most of my prices reflect a 70% discount, even after I've incorporated eBay fees and a small profit into the price.

I mentioned before in this post that there are a few very easy things you can do to get shoes at a steep discount.  Today I'm going to give you a real life example of how I got $900 shoes for $240.  I won't tell you which shoes, but let's just say it's a shoe that's been among my eBay items, either past or present.

I visit my secret supplier just about every other weekend.  Once there, I scout the shoe section for shoes in desirable - but most importantly - well known designer brands.  The place I visit generally has ongoing discounts as well as regular-price items (which are already discounted off the original retail price, but still not discounted enough).  Brands I look for include Louboutin (always on the lookout for red soles!), Blahnik, Choo, Gucci, Prada, Zanotti, and to a lesser extent Kate Spade, Tory Burch, and other contemporary non-premium designers.  Once in a while, an Alaia will catch my attention and I'll consider getting one (I have two in my stores right now), but as premium as Alaia shoes are most people who shop on eBay don't recognize the brand.

A few weeks back  I spotted one very desirable shoe in a good size still at regular price.  The shoe was $400, marked down from $900.  Still too expensive for me to resell, since I'd have to sell them for close to $500 - less than 50% off - to make a profit on eBay.  However, it was a shoe that I knew wouldn't last long, so I had to be willing to take a risk if I was going to let it go.  I also know that my secret supplier regularly gets good, discounted shoes in this brand, and that if I set this one free another one would come along shortly.  Finally, I also knew that, with the 4th of July coming up, a sale had to be just around the corner.

So I waited.  Bided my time, if you will.  Finally, about a week into my wait I received a coupon in my inbox for my secret supplier. 40% off for two days only.   I also received an invitation to participate in their 4th of July sale - 30% off your entire purchase.  Sadly I couldn't combine the two offers, but the emails did give me an idea for the time frame for purchasing my shoe.  At that point, I knew it was time to act BEFORE the hordes descended onto my secret supplier for the 30% off sale and discovered my previous shoes.  The day BEFORE the sales and the coupon period were about to start, I called the store and asked to speak to a Sales Associate I work with often.  I told her I wanted to come down that night and buy the shoe and could she please set it aside for me.  She agreed, of course, but let me know she could only hold it until the end of the day.

Now, since I frequent my secret supplier so often, I knew what would happen to my shoes once the store closed.  They would stay in a "hold" drawer behind the cash register overnight, and be put back on the racks first thing in the morning.  So at 11:01 - one minute after the store opened - on the day my coupon became valid I called the store again and asked if my shoes were still there.  They were, of course, otherwise I wouldn't be telling you this story.  I asked whether I could but them over the phone and use my coupon.  And of course, I could.  The fate of the shoes?  They came home with me, and lived happily ever after, for $240.

The End