Odd Shoe Finder

Are your feet uneven in size? Are you an amputee?

If you do have un-even feet or are an amputee then you’ll be familiar with the problem of buying shoes. Nobody* sells shoes in mismatched sizes (or single shoes), so you end up either wearing ill-fitting shoes or having to buy two ‘pairs’ (or a pair when you only want one shoe).

Buying two pairs is expensive and wasteful.

What are you supposed to do with the other pair?

Thankfully there is an ingenious and yet very simple solution when you think about it.

What if you could somehow get two people off opposite sized feet to connect and swap shoes?

Welcome to the world of odd shoe exchanges!

Here are some odd shoe exchanges you should know about

[text_block style=”style_1.png” align=”left”]The National Odd Shoe Exchange (NOSE) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that is a source of footwear for those requiring single shoes or pairs of differing sizes. Although not current;ly operating online, people can donate their left-over shoes by sending them to their warehouse in Arizona. N.O.S.E keeps a database of thousands and uses that to distribute appropriate shoes to those in need.

Odd Shoe Finder is an online marketplace that allows people to buy and sell (or give away) their shoes online. It’s been operating since 2007 and works a bit like eBay, except that they don’t charge any fees. It has a database of hundreds of shoes to choose from. Members interact directly with others to exchange shoes.

Shoewap is a relatively new UK-based shoe exchange where you can sign up looking for a shoe buddy (or is that a solemate?). Like Odd Shoe Finder it allows it users to browse for shoes in different sizes and buy if they see something they like.

There are a number of Facebook pages and groups that also cater for the same market. Although many of them are very small, here are two of the better ones:

The CHASA Shoe Exchange  is an outreach project of the Children’s Hemiplegia and Stroke Association (CHASA). It’s a closed group on Facebook with over 700 members.

Swap Shoes with Amputees is an Australian based Facebook fan page with thousands of single shoes available to be shipped worldwide.[/text_block]

Are there any retailers that sell odd-sized shoes?

[text_block style=”style_1.png” align=”left”]While there are a number of custom shoe makers who will produce uneven shoes, they tend to be very expensive.

The only retailer we’ve found – and by far the most famous – is the US Department Store Nordstrom.

Here’s some information on how the program works (courtesy of Odd Shoe Finder).

 

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