So last Friday I figured I’d finally get those ECCO SOHO shoes everyone keeps yapping about. My old loafers were basically falling apart, right? Needed new ones, stat.
First Stop: Department Store Blues
Went straight to the mall, figured easy peasy. Wandered into that big department store, you know the one. Found the ECCO section. Saw the SOHOs sitting pretty. Felt good, looked sleek. Grabbed the box, flipped it over to check the price. Nearly choked. $250? Seriously? Thought maybe it was mismarked. Asked the guy working there. He gave me this tired look, “Nope, that’s standard for new stock.” Put them back real fast. Too rich for my blood just walking in.
Scrolling Hell
Got home, fired up the laptop. This was gonna be my mission now. Searched “ECCO SOHO shoes price” like mad. My findings:
- Official ECCO Website: Big surprise, same $250 price tag. Didn’t budge an inch.
- Big Online Retailers: Still hovering around $220-$240. Felt like a slight discount until you realize they tack on shipping unless you spend a ton. Annoying.
- Random Discount Sites: Found a few places claiming to sell them way cheaper. Yeah right. One had them for $99. Smelled fishy instantly. Reviews were trash talking them hard – fakes and awful service.
- Clearance Sections: Now here’s where things got interesting. Started digging into the ‘Sale’ or ‘Last Chance’ corners on some trusted sites. Boom!
- Found an older color of ECCO SOHO on Nordstrom Rack’s site for $159. That’s more like it!
- Checked DSW after seeing an ad pop up on my phone. They had a few random sizes left under their clearance section. Saw a pair listed at $129. Score!… except, of course, not my size. Typical.
- Auction Site Madness: Jumped over to eBay. Holy mixed bag, Batman. Prices were all over the place. Saw some claimed ‘new’ pairs starting bids around $80, but shipping bumped it back up. Lots of used ones looking pretty worn out going for $40-60. Risky. Ended up clicking “watch” on an auction for a lightly used pair starting at $50. Forgot about it later.
Zappos: Listed at $230. Free shipping though? Silver lining maybe.
Took me hours clicking around, checking sizes in stock in various outlets, comparing final costs with shipping. My butt was numb. The final price range I dug up? Basically:
- Brand New – Retail: $220-$250. Ouch.
- Brand New – Sale/Clearance: $129-$159 (if you get lucky with size/color).
- Used – Depends: $40-$80 ish.
Wanted them new without waiting weeks, but wasn’t dropping $250. Found a pair I liked on Zappos ($230, free ship and returns easy) but hesitated pulling the trigger. Then remembered the Nordstrom Rack find. Checked again. Still had my size in that $159 color, a kinda dark brown. Not my absolute first pick, but hey, saves me $70 bucks. Done. Hit buy.
Got ’em Tuesday. Tried them on immediately. Comfy? Yeah, super comfy walk out the box. Worth $250? Nah, not for me. Worth $159 with free shipping? Yeah, I’ll take that. Bottom line: Don’t pay retail if you can wait or hunt a bit. The price difference is insane. Patience pays off, literally.
