Would you rather pay for crazy socks or shipping?
On Tuesdays and Thursdays, I post a picture and just a few words.
Recently, we were shopping online in an effort to procure some winter boots for Lisey. Finding decent quality women's boots that are actually warm is a Sisyphean task, it seems.
(Practical boots for boys and men abound. But heaven forbid someone manufacture warm, waterproof, durable, tall boots for girls and women.)
Eventually, we ended up at REI.com, where we found a nice pair of boots and they were on clearance, which made it even better.
Unfortunately, the clearance price put us about $5 below the $50 free shipping threshold.
So, since I was going to have to fork over the $5 anyway, I browsed through the clearance section to find something as close to the $5 mark as possible and came up with these, um, colorful socks, which bumped me right up into free shipping territory.
Hey, I'd rather pay for a pair of socks than pay for shipping. 😉
I don't normally buy patterned anything for myself, but I figure they were basically free, and no one really sees my socks all that much anyway.
(Except when I blog about them, I guess. Hmmm.)
I would much rather pay for crazy socks than shipping. Even if the socks didn't work out they would make a great donation item. My son's school is always collecting clothes for another school district and they say socks, underwear, and belts are the most needed items.
Oh, I hadn't thought of it that way! Fortunately, I have actually ended up liking these socks pretty well, so it all worked out.
They are very cute socks!
Much rather pay for the socks, but my granddaughter wears crazy and mismatched socks all the time and those are pretty tame by her standards.
I've shopped online for socks on purpose because I enjoy the warm and colorful, woolly kind! I just can't find the boots in my narrow size. = (
Those are some nice wool socks
I love your socks :-). Is Lisey at the age now where her feet aren't growing much anymore? I have a hard time justifying the cost of snow boots for my young boys since they'll likely only wear them for a season. We live in Central NC so we only get 1 or 2 snow events a year (I do have a pair for myself, though!)
Fortunately, anything Lisey outgrows gets handed down to her two younger sisters, so it's not very painful to buy stuff for her!
I do this all the time! I have a bottle of waterproof spray and one package of hand warmers from this exact situation! On a side note, check out http://www.SierraTradingPost.com the next time you need winter gear (I am in no way affiliated with the site!). It is a closeout site, and I have had really good luck there the past few years when shopping for boots. I live in Michigan, so warm apparel is critical!
Yep, we tried there too and didn't come up with anything great for her. Boo!
Definitely socks! Shipping is one of those expenses I just don't like paying. Plus, patterned socks are cool.
Simple Cheap Dad goes to work with crazy pink and yellow plkadot socks and such every day. Most of mine are pretty tame in comparison.
Bogs boots are great tall boots that actually keep a kid dry and warm! I'll never buy another boot again!
I will always bump my online order up to get free shipping. I would rather have a product than pay for jacked up shipping cost. Sellers get a break on shipping that they do not pass along to us so I know they are not losing money paying for shipping. The extra merchandise is something my family can use or I gift it.
I used to do this a lot with Amazon, until we broke down and got a Prime membership. I think the membership saves us money in the end, because I'm not adding things from my wish list to bring the order to $25.
I like how people have different spending attitudes. I won't get Amazon Prime because then I think it'll be too easy for me to buy "just one thing" all the time. So instead, I spread out purchases like my cats' flea treatment (cheapest place I've found) because it gets free shipping all on its own!
I love your new socks (and I love that you bought them for yourself).
You are a girl after my own heart. I would have done the same thing. I also add items to a cart to be able to receive a discount, if I can return items, locally or with free return shipping, should they not work out.
Oh Kristen, your post totally assisted my "lightbulb moment!"
I have been searching for warm, waterproof boots for myself ( on clearance, of course) and was coming up short. I totally forgot to look on the REI site ( duh, I LOVE REI) so I just went there and bought a lovely pair of boots ( the last available size was MY size!) and they are on their way to me- free shipping, of course!
Thank you!!
Perfect! So glad they had your size. We had a tough time finding some in Lisey's size. We kept coming across a pair of boots that would work, and then they only had really small or really large sizes.
Such is the life of a clearance shopper (and clearance is about the only place to find boots this time of year!)
I love your socks. But almost all my socks are striped or otherwise patterned.
Crazy striped socks are my favorite kind!
I had to laugh, because those would be "everyday" socks for me. Definitely not crazy. I love them! And, I definitely agree with you about the add-ons to get to free shipping.
Almost the same thing happened to me Christmas shopping at Amazon. My son wanted a magnetic dart board. It fell below the free shipping by .01! I ended up buying a book instead of paying for the shipping.
If I had your new socks I would be walking around sock-footed so everyone could see them! They are great looking.
I love the socks! Okay, stupid question: if girls' snow boots are so hard to find, why not just buy her boys' snow boots? There is no structural difference in the feet of boys and girls, maybe just get some fairly neutral ones and add some hot pink shoelaces or something?
Well, her feet are a little too long for boys' boots, and men's boots don't come in sizes narrow/small enough for her feet. She has long, narrow feet, so she just swims in men's boots, sadly!
I have this problem all the day, especially on Amazon. I can never find an item to buy that costs around $5. The socks my sons likes end up being around $12/pair etc. Cooking utensils are around the same price.
I love fun socks! Wearing scrubs at work as an RN means that there are only a few ways to distinguish ourselves fashion-wise. So you see a lot of wacky socks. Me? I like a thick and cushy sock since I'm on my feet for 13-hour stretches, so my thing is to wear pretty necklaces.
Excellent choice! I would have done the same thing. Plus, every time you wear them it will remind you that you didn't waste any money.
I would have done the same thing but I would have chosen something in a solid color ( I know you were looking in CLEARANCE and your choices were limited though) I avoid fancy footwear. I prefer clothing that draws attention to my face not away from it.
I agree with you, I never want to pay shpping costs and your socks are so cute! 🙂
I love the socks! Could you show us a picture of the boots sometime? I am wearing sparkly pink socks right now (on clearance of course), and my daughter always wears mis-matched. I guess that's the "thing" right now! 🙂
I love crazy socks. Given a chance and the cash I could go crazy over crazy socks especially handmade ones on etsy.
I looooooove colorful socks! I buy mine in the kids' aisles because they are so much funnier than women's socks... not to mention: they are cheaper! At least it is the case in France. I saved 3€ on a total of 4 pairs of socks just last Saturday because I bought them in the kids' section rather than women's. So I was being both frugal and listening to my inner child 🙂 Have a look at the boys' aisle next time, see if they have socks your size (boys' socks are less crazy/colorful than girls') and compare prices 😉
Love the socks! I'm pretty conservative (read "boring") in my clothing, but I love to wear crazy socks with my dress boots when no one else can see them. It reminds me that I do have a fun side - even if it doesn't have to be the first thing people notice about me!
Of course I'd buy something that I, or someone else, could use rather than pay shipping. I'm surprised this is even a question. It's like getting samples in the mail. You may not use that brand of toothpaste or feminine products but you certainly can donate them to someone who does.
I didn't mean it really as a question-question...more rhetorical/silly. 😉
Oh. Good - I'm always up for silly. Although apparently not in socks. I have boring white athletic socks and boring black work socks. Very dull but makes housework and laundry easier.
On the other hand, I do find it easy to pick out, say, Sonia's wildly colored socks when I'm sorting laundry for them to fold. I have more of a problem distinguishing Joshua's black socks from Mr. FG's black socks.
Ha! I recently did almost the identical thing! I needed a new pair or two of Smartwool socks - they're the only kind that seem to work for me, but I ended up with 5 pairs so I could get the free shipping. It's OK... they were all less than half the usual price and now I'm set on socks for a while. Of course, they are odd colors - guess that's why they were on sale. So I now have a drawer full of aqua and tangerine colored socks... and I also have warm feet!
I'd definitely rather get a something and not pay shipping. Around Christmastime, I got my daughter a scarf in an order of flats for that very reason. It turned out the scarf was pretty cute - I should have gotten ME one. (:
6pm.com and backcountry.com are great stores for winter items. I agree with someone who said BOGS for boots! We are in -40 degree windchill here this week in northern New York and these boots are perfect! Stylish, warm, waterproof and not bulky. Every year we buy a new pair for my daughter as her feet grow so quickly it seems, and she wears them year round when needed, snow or rain. Never, ever will purchase her another style winter boot. I also have a pair, mine have lasted a couple years. You can find these everywhere, one year Amazon had these on special and I got a super deal. L.L Bean sells BOGS now (and they know cold weather) but there isn't much of a discount. I just do a lot of searching until the right price appears. These are beautiful as a hand me downs.
My teacher husband and I just did the same thing. We could pay $4.95 in shipping or buy a $1 book and get free shipping. We opted for the $1 "Curious George Book" so we could pay no shipping. Great frugal reminder - and yes, I agree with so many others. Crazy and cute socks! 🙂
So, now I'm wondering what boots you bought 😉
All 3 of my kids have the delightful habit of going up a size right around January. I've gotten stuck in past years buying too much of the smaller size. Now I plan for the mid-season size shift and buy them two sizes of winter gear.
And now, I'm waiting for the day when they stop doing this and I end up with boots they will outgrow and never wear, lol.
way cool socks, .... always go for "free" shipping
Oh my gosh there is something sexist going on in the world of shoes! There seems to be tons of men's shoes and boots that are sturdy, long-lasting, practical and warm, but when it comes to women's shoes and boots they are all so flimsy, unpadded and impractical and painful! Or, if you do find a pair of warm and comfy boots they look hideous like they would be worn only by oilfield workers. Argh!
I did manage to find a pair of warm, practical and nice-looking black boots for winter but the zipper broke after only 2 months! So I brought them back to the store and they wouldn't refund me the full cost of the boots because they had been on sale when I bought them, so I only got a partial refund. :'(
And might I add that the same applies to summer shoes! Nice shoes you can wear with a skirt that aren't super painful? Good luck!
Ok, rant over.