I just did a bunch of wardrobe shopping on ebay -- I wear a particular brand/style of shorts and they are discontinued, so went on a bit of an ebay spree to stock up. I found the sellers all over the map. Some were doing auctions, charging a low starting bid and low shipping (the USPS has priority mail flat rate boxes and envelopes so shipping for a pair of shorts shouldn't be more than that rate (about $5, IIRC). Others were doing a buy it now, either with free shipping or a separate shipping charge. Ebay switched to charging final value fees on the total purchase price including shipping, about a year ago. Sellers had a fit, but ebay was finding too many people who were selling something worth $10 for $.99 then charging $9 shipping in order to avoid paying fees. Now you pay the same rate on shipping as the item, so it doesn't matter whether you fold shipping into your price and call it "free shipping" or whether you charge separately. And as a buyer, I just look at the total cost to see if it's in line with what other sellers are charging. Even for my weird obscure shorts brand, there were probably 20 listings total at any given time and 2-3 in my size, and if I waited a day or two, there would be more choices, so I was able to wait til I found the item at a price I thought was fair. I did like buy it now because I could get the item right then, but I didn't mind the auction either -- I would put a snipe bid in at a 3rd party site like auctionstealer and then forget about it til the auction ended. Often I ended up paying less for the auction ones -- I just had to wait a few days longer. If I found a pair I liked but the price was too high, I emailed the sellers and asked if they would take less (they have the option of putting a Best Offer option on their items and if they did, I would make an offer, if not, I would email them using the contact form). I would show them my auction history and what they typical price was I would pay including shipping and often, they would lower the price to be competitive. If not, I just moved on to a different item -- the beauty of ebay is that something just like the thing you just missed out on will come around again soon. That's not much encouragement for you as a seller though, LOL! I used to sell on ebay and don't anymore because, like you, I've noticed that the prices have gone down and fees/shipping have gone up so much that it isn't worth it to me anymore. But I know a lot of folks who are still making a good living at it, so the numbers must obviously still work out for people! Good luck with your sales!

On a long-time travel forum, where I've made many friends and met them in person, we had a famous 14-page thread about stylish, yet comfortable walking shoes! As a person who averages 8 miles per day when I'm in Paris, I know what has proven to work for me. Caveat -- when in Paris, where I have many friends, I tend to wear nicer shoes than when I'm in more casual locations. You only get one pair of feet, so I spend a bit more on shoes with comfortable arch supports. I've never found inserts to help much. I like leather insoles, or the Skechers Yoga Mat. Here at home in the US, and in London or UK Countryside, I like Skechers with Yoga Mat insoles. Usually, you can get these under $70.00. These are my current go-to Fall slip-ons in grey: http://www.belk.com/p/skechers-relaxed-fit-traffic-slip-on-dress-casual-loafer/290006649109.html?dwvar_290006649109_color=025255484238#q=Skechers&lang=default&start=23 For long walks with my dog on trails and sidewalks in my neighborhood, I wear these slip-on sneakers: http://www.belk.com/p/skechers-go-walk-sneaker/390004754152.html?dwvar_390004754152_color=007286627297#q=Skechers&lang=default&start=29 For wet walks on trails for miles and miles, I wear these here and wore them in the Cotswolds this summer: https://www.rei.com/product/128516/ahnu-montara-iii-event-low-hiking-shoes-womens For Paris (and nicer occasions here at home) -- I wore these L'Amour des Pieds in June in 98 degree heat on city sidewalks. I averaged 8 miles a day, but walked up to 12 miles one day. I didn't wear socks/hose/tights of any kind. These look good with black tights in cooler weather, or black leggings. 'Bane' Wedge (mine are black leather): https://shop.nordstrom.com/s/lamour-des-pieds-bane-wedge-women/4066786?origin=topnav&cm_sp=Top%20Navigation--Women--Comfort&offset=2&top=72&brand=9460 For nicer dining out with my friends, I wore these red sandals. They look good with flare-leg retro jeans, skinny leg jeans, slim ankle length pants, long skirts or dresses. https://shop.nordstrom.com/s/lamour-des-pieds-brenn-ankle-strap-sandal-women/4059232?origin=topnav&cm_sp=Top%20Navigation--Women--Comfort&offset=2&top=72&brand=9460 I don't know if they're still available, but in cold weather, I wear my Dansko 'Lola' ankle boots, or one of my three pair of Aquatalia ankle boots. Similar to this pair (I have black, taupe; and I also have a dark grey "moto" boot). I have worn both the black and the taupe in Paris for lots of walking. https://shop.nordstrom.com/s/aquatalia-franca-weatherproof-bootie-women/4794483?contextualcategoryid=2374961&origin=keywordsearch&keyword=aquatalia

When I was going to the gym I found that for certain things I was doing I liked my shoes tight like running but other things such as some of the classes where you moved side to side there was less swelling and pain if the shoes were looser I think I would pass on these one size plastic things. I also wonder how long they last before they broke or the connection started opening by itself.

arkansasgirl; I think that you have run into a corporate mouthpiece who is not listening to customer's complaints and is shedding the problem by claiming that the customer misused the product. That person may not know much about their manufacturing process other than what their management has fed them. You have the opposite experience with the product, and you have a direct user comparison of the newer version to the older one. In short, the newer version came apart with everyday use whereas the older ones did not. It is true that you hubby gives his shoes high use, but those should fail by wearing out, not by falling apart. By the way, I had a similar failure in a winter boot. Those were very comfortable and warm, but the sole parted company with the uppers after one month of use. There was very little wear. It was a simple case of de-bonding. My belief was the the over-mold process employed was poorly understood by the manufacturer. Also, the joint design was poor. That failure could have put my foot in serious jeopardy of frost bite if I had been caught away from shelter when the sole came loose. Admittedly, it was a cheap mail order offering, but that is not an excuse for this kind of failure. There are a number of factors that must be met to successfully bond two materials. Ignore these is to invite failure. It is sad when a great appearing product fails due to a misapplication of materials and processes. Until that is corrected, that product is doomed.