Confessions of a Shoe Whore

Calling myself a shoe whore may be too kind. I might just be sick.

Here’s why:

I have a slight obsession with a particular pair of black leather boots by Donald Pliner. I bought them about 2 years ago retail and paid $225. At the time I was horrified to be spending so much.

But money be damned, I loved them. I wore them all the time. I had to buy another pair as a “back up” because, you know, I might ruin them should I get stuck in snow storm (where I live in the very snowy San Francisco) or a rainstorm (as I drive to work everyday in my car from one enclosed garage to another…)

Then, about a year ago, I saw them in fabric at the popular Norstrom’s Annual Sale. Woohoo. My size. But there was only one. Not one pair. One boot. The sample on the rack. The sales person couldn’t find the match. She took my number. Said she would look for it and call me.

A day passed. No call.

Another day passed. No call.

Finally I called her. She wasn’t working that day. OHMYGOD! What if someone else already found the match and sold it to another customer??

But sales person #2 found me the match and I drove there as fast as I could before they closed for the night. They were both waiting for me. One beautiful pair of boots and the sales person. Yes, thank you for holding them for me, here’s my credit card, goodnight.

I thought my obsession was fully fed. Until last weekend I was poking around ebay looking for who knows what. I searched Donald Pliner. I found my boots. A brand new pair, my size, never worn. Opening bid $25.00.

I starting watching the auction. Hello sickness?

It was ending at 5:15 tonight. I made a appointment in Outlook to remind me at 5:00 that I should watch the auction, “just in case.”

“Just in case” happened — right about the time I thought someone was going to get “my” boots for $59.00 plus $12.00 shipping. So after a few rounds of very fast, last minute bidding, I was finally the highest bidder with just 4 seconds to spare. $75 bucks, plus shipping, those boot were mine!

I don’t even need them. The economy is crumbling around me. Layoffs are rising. Yet I just spent $87 bucks on a pair of back up boots for the pair of back up boots already in my closet.

There’s a marketing message here somewhere. The power of brands? Clearly. The excitement of bidding on an ebay auction? Without a doubt. The way that ebay connected someone who has an obsession (me) to someone across the country (the seller) who wanted to offload what they thought was a bad purchase? I’d call that some form of social media in action.

Whatever the message, I am now am the proud (?) owner of a new my fourth pair of Donald Pliner boots. Um. Let’s just keep that between us.