second hand shoes and boots

j.e.j.

I tend to buy second hand clothing, like skirts and jumpers, as I wouldn't be able to afford to pay for brand new and I also quite like the green/environmental aspect of it, - making use of stuff someone else doesn't want or need anymore.

But usually I don't buy second-hand shoes or boots. I reasoned that with clothes you can wash them before you wear them, but not shoes.. I was just wondering what others' thoughts on this are? I struggle to afford new boots and shoes. I can occasionally pick up something in the sales but I think my shoe size is one of the really common sizes so there's often not much left by the time I get there!

Would you consider buying shoes or boots second hand (say, from EBay or somewhere)?

mummybearx

TBH, I've bought shoes from ebay that have been worn and not given it a second thought Is that daft of me?

Normally I buy things that have been worn once or twice, so they still look really good. You could just use a disinfectant spray if you are worried about germs or anything, although I've never done anything like that x

valk_scot

I've picked up the odd pair of shoes in charity shops. Of course there you can look at the condition...a pair of strappy dressy shoes with little or no wear on the soles is probably okay for general hygiene purposes I would have thought, a pair of well worn boots less so.

One thing to watch out for is wear patterns though. Shoes tend to mould into the shape of the wearers feet a bit, especially heavy or leather shoes, and this can make them less comfortable to wear. So once again, it pays to have a good look at them and try them on.

In fact thinking about it that's a couple of good reasons not to buy off Ebay...you can't see the condition properly and you can't try them on. So no to Ebay shoes for me. On the other hand I'd be perfectly happy to buy them from a charity shop if they fitted and were in good condition.

lostinrates

To my shame i am about to take a bag of shoes including two almost unworn pairs, and a few lightly worn pairs. Even in shoe shops on sale rails people have tried at least one of them on....something i had not considered before this post.

j.e.j.

Thanks for your replies. Not being a car-driver I walk everywhere (!) so the cheaper, poorer quality makes of new shoes would probably be false economy. Some of those ballet-pump things would barely last me a week :rotfl: But new shoes, especially boots, are so-oo expensive.

It just got me thinking, as I buy things from EBay and I often see people bidding against each other for someone else's worn shoes. As you say it probably depends on the condition. Perhaps I'm just being a bit too squeamish.

I do look thru the charity shops, where you can have a better look at the condition of the shoes, but I haven't managed to find a good pair yet in my size.

Bronnie

No, personally I absolutely would not, unless they were obviously unworn or an open-toe style and lightly worn.

I had a very slight fungal infection of one of my big toe nails last year, which fortunately was quickly picked up and treated by my chiropodist. However, these infections are extremely difficult to eradicate once they've got ahold, can easily take up to a year to treat and even then treatment is not always successful. This causes the nail to become extremely unsightly and personally I would not take the chance that I was buying a second hand shoe that might be infected.

NHS Direct recommends considering disposing of worn footwear if you have this condition and judging by some of the toenails you see on display in summer sandals, there are many people who have the infection without realising/treating.

The spores are likely to contaminate a shoe worn for longer periods, when it gets warm and moist, so I wouldn't be too worried about trying on new shoes in a shoe shop.


BTW, constantly wearing nail varnish on the toe-nails (which is something I used to do) contributes to the problem too, as it seals the nail surface and helps create the dark environment on the nail bed that is ideal for the fungus to thrive.

ALIBOBSY

Hmm have had shoes from relatives-my mum is really fussy with shoes and often buys them and wears them acouple of times only to decide they are "not right" so she will offer them to me as we are the same shoe size. She is also a bit OCD so I have had old trainers off her that she supposedly had used for a couple of years that are like new lol.

I can see at a push charity shop/jumble stuff that you can see the quality of. But ebay I can't see-perhaps for designer shoes that don't get worn that often anyway?

I also have saved kids shoes (if they aren't too worn) to pass to the next child down the line (we have 4 lol, and do the same with clothes). Brill for things like school pumps that they seem to grow out of so fast and only get used 2 times a week.

DS was quite hard on shoes so apart from pumps and wellies most of his went straight in the bin. But the girls seem to be better (and DD1 is always asking for shoes as pressies from relations so often has stuff to pass down.

Ali x

spike7451

Bronnie wrote: »

No, personally I absolutely would not, unless they were obviously unworn or an open-toe style and lightly worn.

I had a very slight fungal infection of one of my big toe nails last year, which fortunately was quickly picked up and treated by my chiropodist. However, these infections are extremely difficult to eradicate once they've got ahold, can easily take up to a year to treat and even then treatment is not always successful. This causes the nail to become extremely unsightly and personally I would not take the chance that I was buying a second hand shoe that might be infected.

NHS Direct recommends considering disposing of worn footwear if you have this condition and judging by some of the toenails you see on display in summer sandals, there are many people who have the infection without realising/treating.

The spores are likely to contaminate a shoe worn for longer periods, when it gets warm and moist, so I would be too worried about trying on new shoes in a shoe shop.

I'm with Bronnie on this,I've no problem with buying clothes from Oxfam ect but not shoes..Something we was warned about in basic RAF training,not to wear other peoples footwear as you could get athaletes foot ect.

McKneff

Personally I would never buy a pair of seconhand shoes for children.

The first wearer has moulded the shoes to their own feet so the next wearer ends up with feet that are having to fit into the first mould.

And also as pointed out before, the hygiene aspect of it.

I have bought a pair of Strappy sandals my self from a car boot sale but they were I was told only worn once.

gailey_2

I have brought shoes at craboot most worn once or never worn.
as like you say the cheapy ballet pumps from primark last me a month if that as walk everywhere.

my mum and aunt always giviing me shoes gardly worn.

Have brought new without tags off ebay.

Kids I have 3
passed shoes down if good condition.

but have brought 2nd hand kids shoes from nearly new sales if in good condition as they in them so little time, freinds also give as baby/kids shoes clarks £30 a pair.

I give them good clean. you can wash canves ones in machine.
mine wear socks or tights.

just got baby measured but even cruising shoes 25quid which will last maybe 2mo9nths until hes walking!
so going to look on ebay then when hes walking get him brand new pair.

LameWolf

I've bought shoes from charity shops before, but only if they look "nearly new" iyswim. I do give them a wipe round inside with Dettox before I wear them, and I try them on, too. I don't think I'd buy from eBay because you can't try them on - although, as a wheelchair user, I suppose fit isn't as vital for me as for someone who will be doing a lot of walking.:D

I definitely wouldn't buy shoes that show a lot of wear on the soles; as others have said, they'll have "moulded" themselves to the original owner's feet.