Last time I bought shoes online: I was working with a trainer at the gym and was talking about how my toes were impinging on my sneakers. He told me to go to Fleet Feet in Syracuse (an hour away), I got videotaped on a treadmill and I got recommended a pair of Brooks.<p>These are in the $80-$100 range but they are great. Driving to Syracuse is a long haul, so since then I buy direct from the Brooks store.<p>Other than that, I buy shoes mostly in person. For instance, Walmart has shoes in the $20 range that last maybe 1/4 as long as the Brooks but are compatible with my feet. They look snazzy and sometimes I buy a few pairs in different colors.<p>Ithaca has a great shoe store called Fontanas, and they have brilliant salespeople who will match you up with something good. I live on a farm so they set me up with the same jodphur boots they sell to students at the Cornell vet school. For dress shoes they set me up with a pair of Eccos that look sharp but are comfortable for walking around New York City all day. Fontanas sells Brooks, some mall stores sell New Balance and Converse too, good for exercise and fashion.
I gave up on New Balance (Trump) and needed something 993-like, a good stability trainer. I did a fair amount of web research. I found something bad before I found ASICs GT-1000 5s which came in my width 4E and size. I bought last year's model on Amazon for $45. They're better than the 993s were. They might be the best shoes I've ever had.
A paper catalogue of a mail order house focusing on gardening equipment. I saw a nice pair of shoes in the "misc" section.<p>I ordered per phone call because I was too lazy to type anything. I will buy again there, because the phone service was very nice and also gave me the strong impression that I just talked with somebody who knows what she is doing.
Kenneth Cole website.<p>They have this great feature to help you ensure the correct size based on othe brands+sizes you already have.<p>That one feature alone helped me gain confidence in a buying decision I otherwise would not have made.
Go to a store and find a pair that fit. Leave the store and then order multiple pairs of those shoes from Amazon. That way I save some money and I do not need to buy shoes as often.