My lovely wife and I were down to North Conway New Hampshire doing some shopping. There are a lot of stores. Many people come from out of state just to shop there. New Hampshire’s lack of a sales tax helps a lot too.
There are a number of outlets that cater to the outdoor recreation crowd. I was looking for a couple of items that used to be pretty common but nobody in town had any. The L. L Bean outlet was a major disappointment. It’s probably about 98% clothing store now. Forget about buying most camping gear. We once bought a tent there but I didn’t see any this time.
Much as I like to support brick and mortar stores they have to have what I’m looking for. When we got home I went on-line and quickly ordered what I wanted. That’s fine for some things, but some items are best when bought off the shelf.
I’m a big guy and getting anything that fits is a trial. One shoe store manager explained that the suppliers won’t even ship the larger sizes to stores. They save those for on-line shopping. Clothing and shoe sizes only get you into the ball park -maybe.
What I end up doing is ordering my best guess, wait for the item to come in, then half the time ship it back. It’s a waste of time and energy all around.
-Sixbears
I feel your pain. When I was 15 my parents mail ordered my shoes from King Size Company in Massachusetts. Size 15. They're slightly easier to find now, but very slightly.
ReplyDeleteOrdered a button up brightly colored shirt from a Chinese seller, 5X.....it surprisingly fit well . $24.
I've had 6X fix well from some companies and comically small from others. Go figure.
Delete