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False economy (merged threads)

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  • culpepper
    culpepper Posts: 4,076 Forumite
    cheap swimming costumes.
    They last 5 minutes and are not meant for swimming!
    I bought my 3 cossies from a sports shop 20 years ago and they are still usable.
    My kids used to go to swimming club and theirs rarely lasted more than 6 months the club advised swimmers to buy costumes with low elastane as that was what caused the problem.Some of the ladies costumes are too low cut and act like a scoop so really useless for anything other than posing.
  • Glad
    Glad Posts: 18,858
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    this is a link to the McArthur Glen shopping site, I regularly visit one of their outlet villages and can get amazing bargains on Clarks shoes
    I am a Senior Forum Ambassador and I support the Forum Team on the Wales, Small Biz MoneySaving, In My Home (includes DIY) MoneySaving, and Old style MoneySaving boards. Please note that Ambassadors are not moderators. Any posts you spot in breach of the Forum Rules should be reported via the report button, or by emailing forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com.All views are my own and not the official line of MoneySavingExpert.
  • Becles
    Becles Posts: 13,163
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    Buy what you need, not a larger quantity because it's cheaper per unit.

    My ex had a habit of instead of buying say 10 metres of cable needed for a job, he'd buy a whole drum as it worked out cheaper per metre. The rest of the drum sat in the garage/loft for years till I'm finally having a clear out and getting rid of it as I've got no use for it.
    Here I go again on my own....
  • Lucie_2
    Lucie_2 Posts: 1,482
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    glad wrote:
    this is a link to the McArthur Glen shopping site, I regularly visit one of their outlet villages and can get amazing bargains on Clarks shoes

    Anyone living in the North West needs to pay a visit to Tommy Ball's in Blackburn for Clarks shoes. They have 100's of pairs & all super cheap. My sister has bought my niece several pairs of Clarks school shoes in there & the most expensive pair was about £12. The cheapest was £2.99! It's a bit hit & miss as to what they've got in stock, but you can always find a bargain.
  • Megasaver, I read an article in the 'Tightwad Gazette' where a chiropodist was interviewed and said that second hand shoes did no harm to children's feet, and that it was an old wive's tale that they mould to the wrong shape etc. I'd still be wary though - I've no problems with wearing second hand stuff as long as it can be thoroughly washed or dry cleaned - so for me, second hand shoes are out.

    My mum's a podiatrist and she says shoes DO mould to the shape of your foot. The problem with children is that the bones/cartilage of their feet are very soft and flexible and can be easily mis-shapen by ill-fitting footwear. I think basically they squash into whatever shape you force them into and as it doesn't hurt them in the same way as it does a foot that's stopped growing, it's difficult to tell until some visible damage has been done.

    Also, you should NEVER buy second-hand shoes as they are choc-full of nasty bacteria. Yeuch! :eek:


    However, I wouldn't depend on shopping at Clarkes to guarantee a good fit as the staff themselves can be very hit and miss regarding how well they do their job (having experienced both ends of the spectrum). I read somewhere (or was it on Watchdog years ago?) that with a strip of paper 1cm longer than your child's foot (or something like that) and some really basic information about what to look for, it's very easy and a lot cheaper to fit shoes accurately yourself. Places like Clarks and Start-Rite depend on our ignorance to make their money! In saying that, £5 sale shoes are hard to beat! :D
    If I hadn't seen such riches, I could live with being poor...
  • Quackers
    Quackers Posts: 10,157 Forumite
    My mum's a podiatrist and she says shoes DO mould to the shape of your foot. The problem with children is that the bones/cartilage of their feet are very soft and flexible and can be easily mis-shapen by ill-fitting footwear. I think basically they squash into whatever shape you force them into and as it doesn't hurt them in the same way as it does a foot that's stopped growing, it's difficult to tell until some visible damage has been done.

    Also, you should NEVER buy second-hand shoes as they are choc-full of nasty bacteria. Yeuch! :eek:


    However, I wouldn't depend on shopping at Clarkes to guarantee a good fit as the staff themselves can be very hit and miss regarding how well they do their job (having experienced both ends of the spectrum). I read somewhere (or was it on Watchdog years ago?) that with a strip of paper 1cm longer than your child's foot (or something like that) and some really basic information about what to look for, it's very easy and a lot cheaper to fit shoes accurately yourself. Places like Clarks and Start-Rite depend on our ignorance to make their money! In saying that, £5 sale shoes are hard to beat! :D

    Your Mum is sooooooo right O_N_B - Squishing feet into too small shoes or someone elses shoes and especially too big shoes is not good news.

    You're also right about Clarks staff - they are not all perfect but if you are concerned ask for a second opinion - some of us are nice and good at our job too :D I wouldn't say we rely on peoples ignorance - there are 9 things we are trained to check when fitting childrens shoes - 4 have to be verbally confirmed to parents. Most of us explain as we are fitting so its really easy to pick up on what to look for when buying shoes.

    Oh, and as a Clarks employee I obviously know when the sales start - I always post them on Quick, Grab it a couple of days before - maybe I should be posting in here for you lot too :D
    Sometimes it's important to work for that pot of gold...But other times it's essential to take time off and to make sure that your most important decision in the day simply consists of choosing which color to slide down on the rainbow...
  • tiff
    tiff Posts: 6,608
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    My mum's a podiatrist and she says shoes DO mould to the shape of your foot. The problem with children is that the bones/cartilage of their feet are very soft and flexible and can be easily mis-shapen by ill-fitting footwear. I think basically they squash into whatever shape you force them into and as it doesn't hurt them in the same way as it does a foot that's stopped growing, it's difficult to tell until some visible damage has been done.

    Also, you should NEVER buy second-hand shoes as they are choc-full of nasty bacteria. Yeuch! :eek:


    However, I wouldn't depend on shopping at Clarkes to guarantee a good fit as the staff themselves can be very hit and miss regarding how well they do their job (having experienced both ends of the spectrum). I read somewhere (or was it on Watchdog years ago?) that with a strip of paper 1cm longer than your child's foot (or something like that) and some really basic information about what to look for, it's very easy and a lot cheaper to fit shoes accurately yourself. Places like Clarks and Start-Rite depend on our ignorance to make their money! In saying that, £5 sale shoes are hard to beat! :D

    The good thing about Clarks though, if they were wrong when they fitted the shoes they will take them back and exchange them. You cant go wrong, I have tried fitting my own kids shoes and its not as easy as it seems.
    “A budget is telling your money where to go instead of wondering where it went.” - Dave Ramsey
  • Quackers wrote:
    You're also right about Clarks staff - they are not all perfect but if you are concerned ask for a second opinion - some of us are nice and good at our job too :D I wouldn't say we rely on peoples ignorance - there are 9 things we are trained to check when fitting childrens shoes - 4 have to be verbally confirmed to parents. Most of us explain as we are fitting so its really easy to pick up on what to look for when buying shoes.

    Och sorry, in no way did I mean to come across as disparaging. I've had fab experiences in Clarkes but have also been sold shoes that didn't fit - like in all professions some are better at it than others, people have off days, etc. I just meant that buying shoes there is not a 100% guarantee of a quality experience or product. I think a lot people shop there (or at similar establishments) because we don't trust our own judgement enough and are to a small extent conditioned that it's not something we could sometimes make a reasonable stab at ourselves. In terms of moneysaving - sometimes we just have to buy shoes outwith sale times (and bargain outlets!) when paying £35 for Clarkes 'peace of mind' isn't the only option or the most sensible one economically.

    However, last time I was there I bought a pair of winter boots and a pair of trainers for £15 and the very lovely (very thorough) assistant threw in some insoles for free. :D

    I wish though that they would sell shoes in season... when kids feet change so quickly, how can they advocate selling summer sandals in February? (Though I know it's not just Clarkes). :confused:
    If I hadn't seen such riches, I could live with being poor...
  • mrsmab59
    mrsmab59 Posts: 166 Forumite
    tiff wrote:
    The good thing about Clarks though, if they were wrong when they fitted the shoes they will take them back and exchange them. You cant go wrong, I have tried fitting my own kids shoes and its not as easy as it seems.
    Another thing Clarks will do is special orders for feet that are outside normal width fittings. One of my sons had long narrow feet for years and Clarks staff would recommend a couple of styles for him and order them in specially for him. We never found any other companies that would do that apart from the 'one-off' shops that charged silly prices for their hand made shoes.
    Use words that are soft and sweet in case you have to eat them.
  • Xbigman
    Xbigman Posts: 3,884
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    Shoes.
    In the TA donkeys years ago we all soaked new army boots in the bath whilst wearing them to get the boots to mould to our feet quickly. So shoes definately do mould.

    Toilet roll.
    I work in a warehouse and used to order pick tissues a lot. They come in much bigger packs than in the stores (12 four packs to a larger pack) and you will be amazed how much some of these packs weigh. Value stuff is very light whereas Andrex is the heaviest. Worked out by weight the stores own brands are nearly always best value.

    Tea
    The supermarkets value tea bags are abysmal. Floorsweeping's my dad called it.

    Value pies.
    The ones in the tin with puff pastry. Value ones are all pastry with a bit of mince. The smaller fray bentos ones are nearly the same price and much better value.

    Regards



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