Pay Less?

I’m so sorry for not being able to post regularly. I’ve been super duper busy this week, going in and out of the hospital for my labs. I’ve been advised to take a week’s rest as I lost 7 pounds! And all along I thought I had gained a few pounds. That explains why my jeans keep falling.

So about 2 or 3 weeks ago, my best friend and I went to the opening of Payless Shang. (If you’re not familiar, Payless is like the Forever21 or SM of shoes in the States). She’s so crazy about Payless shoes. I had mixed feelings though. I’ve already checked out the shoes in Mega and I almost bought a pair several times but ended up not buying because there was no stock left or there was a problem with the shoe, etc.

At Shang, I couldn’t resist and bought:

Payless Shoes

I badly need flats as my scolio, etc. can’t handle heels anymore. It’s very hard for me to buy shoes, y’all know that so I grabbed these three immediately. The prices range from 795-995 pesos. And because of that, I got a canvass tote as a freebie:

Payless I Heart Shoes Canvass Tote Bag (Free for every Php2500 purchase)

My friend and I bought 4 pairs of shoes together and I asked the manager if we can have another bag because my friend really wants one. Well, they didn’t budge. It’s just a canvass bag and it’s the store’s opening for Pete’s sake! We were there at 10:30 a.m.! We bought more shoes than the other customers! If Kris Aquino were to ask for an extra bag, I’m pretty sure they’ll give it to her in a heartbeat. Seriously, if I were the manager/marketing manager, I’d give another one of these totes. It’s great for marketing and you gain loyal customers and these loyal customers will spread the word. 10 new buying customers or one canvass tote is a no-brainer. And do you know what else they told us? Buy more shoes! Geez! We already had a hard time carrying our loot and they want us to buy more shoes?? Do they even buy 6 or 8 shoes in one go (alone, commuting and will be doing some more shopping)? My friend was pretty disappointed that day.

Enough about that and on to the shoes. The shoes are pretty as you can see. The quality is no different from the shoes manufactured here. Perhaps our shoes are even better. These were made in China and Vietnam, I think. But, and here’s something that you should know if you’re planning to buy these kinds of shoes at Payless – they hurt like hell! Yes, they’re flats but they sure did a number on my feet. I’ve been wearing these shoes for about 2 weeks now and they still hurt. I still have band aid on my feet. Even with gel protection, the shoes still hurt as the lining is pretty rough. The worst pair is the brown one. It hurt my feet all over. At least the flats only hurt the back of my feet, down the ankles. The brown one made my feet feel all caged up in thorns. Good thing I only wore it on my way to work and on the way home. I wore my slippers in the office.

The price is good, the looks are good but the performance gets a failing grade. My shoes are now quite tolerable but I still put band aids on. I tried wearing the zebra striped one without band aids and it rubbed the back of my feet pretty bad. So I guess I’ll be wearing band aids longer. The blue one is better now, though. Will I buy there again? I am 80% sure that I won’t. But, I’m still a girl and I like pretty things so that’s the other 20% that might give in. I still recommend our local brands for affordable, comfy shoes. Yes, Payless shoes are affordable but what comes with the price is not worth it. If you take into consideration all these factors, are you really paying less? I’d rather buy shoes from our local brands as they have the same prices anyway, but with better quality.

Been to Payless lately? What’s your shoe story?