Richards Stride Rite Located in Selden, New York

How difficult do you think it would be trying to find my son some shoes. My son was blessed with extra wide feet. He got this trait from my husband. Hy husband wears an 114E (extra wide) in New Balance brand. Of course my son would follow in his footsteps, literally. I tried shopping at other stores for my son but none of the shoes would ever fit. Finally a friend of mine recommended that I go to see Richard at Richards Stride Rite in Selden, NY. This store is about a half an hour drive from my house but I gave it a shot.

I went extremely early on a Saturday morning an the store was empty. I was able to have the owner Richard help us himself. He took one look at my son's feet and said, "Oh, the problem is that he has an extra wide foot." He said let me guess, your husband wears an 114E. How did he know that!!! I just met the guy. He must really know his shoe business. With that being said I knew my son's feet were going to be in good hands from now on. No more struggling to find him a good pair of shoes. When Richard measured my son's foot he was right it was extra wide. OK, no problem. He went to the back and pulled out all New Balance brand extra wide sneakers. Just like my husband. Why didn't I figure this out sooner. We tried on the first pair of sneakers and they fit like a charm. Since it was the summer I also had him bring out some sandals to try on. By the time I left the store I had purchased two pairs of sneakers and two pair of sandals. When I went to checkout though, ouch! New Balance were so expensive. For one pair of sneakers it cost me $42. Holy Moly! But if that is what it cost for my son's feet then I had no problem paying it.

What is great about this store is that they offer a program. It is called the Shoe Club. You buy 12 pairs of shoes of average price and get the 13th pair free. You are responsible for holding the card though so don't lose it. They don't have it in the computer or anything like that. I am on my 11th pair now so I am one away from getting my free pair for my son. I also know that they run specials. For example, this weekend they are having a buy one pair get the other one free. My son isn't ready for new ones yet so I will pass on this sale right now. Their sales help are extremely helpful and friendly. They remember you when you come in. It is a family run business which I think it is great.

Another great thing about this store is that they will send you a reminder postcard. This reminds you that it is time for your child to get remeasured for shoes. Every few months your child's foot will grow just a little. You want to make sure their shoes fit comfortable because they are too young to tell you themselves. I did notice that they don't offer a huge selection of colors and styles for New Balance wide widths. I ended up having to buy white sneakers in the middle of the winter because that is the only color they had. I went back once and was able to buy grey ones but they look dirty all of the time. After doing some Internet research I found a website called http://www.nbwebexpress.com. I was able to find my son extra wide width sneakers in darker colors for almost half the price. The only thing is that you have to know your child's foot size. This website also sells adult sneakers too.

I still would highly recommend Richards Stride Rite in Selden NY. They are located at 243 Middle Country Road. Have fun shopping!