A word about Crocs

Crocs, one of my favorite shoe brands. Not the "clogs"...hate them. But, luckily, Crocs has a vast collection of styles.
Better yet, they are made in such a way that my back, tender as it is, does best in them.
But, I'm not here to tell you how much I enjoy them, but to tell you what I've learned from my latest shopping trip.
While in Maine and driving through the shopping area of Kittery, I spotted a Crocs store. Wow...nothing but Crocs!!! This being an outlet area, the shoes were also all at great sale prices.
Bins and bins of shoes.
While going through the bins and trying on numerous pairs, I chatted with the gal in charge since I was the only shopper there on an awful rainy day. When she asked what size I was looking for I mentioned that I wasn't really sure because it turns out that I've purchased them in two different sizes before. At that point she told me that she herself buys in 3 sizes. Wow...how could that be I wondered.
She told me that the sizes all depends on where exactly the shoes are made. Seems the company has them made in numerous different countries, all of which have varied reasons for the size difference...right down to the weather in that country!!! Who knew!!
I then mentioned that even though the sales were pretty good at the store, I've actually purchased for less at the online Crocs site.
This didn't surprise her
at all and admitted that they often sell for much less. She agreed that this is putting shops out of business and feels that this is the end goal.
Problem with this?? Yes.
As she explained about the sizes and countries, she said that when buying them online, you do not know where they come from...so if there is one country that makes your size consistently right for you, you won't be sure that you'll get one from there. Could be the same size but not fit at all.
After hearing this I had to agree that buying in person where you could try them on was indeed the best way to get the right fit.
After spending far too much time here and finally picking out two new pairs, I was quite impress to see this sales person actually check online for the ones I picked out to see if I could actually purchase them at a lower price from the site. Wow...nice customer service.
I purchased both pairs from her!
Crocs....don't go putting your shops out of business. I, for one, loved being able to try them on.
If you do end up becoming "only" online...please do your customers a favor..."list the country" for where each pair is made, and make sure those are the one's you send in the order.
See...that won't be half as easy as you think.