jsinger - 10:38 pm on May 11, 2011 (gmt 0)

Wheel was too kind :) Let me add a few thoughts:

1) No one has sold "Shoes" in 50 years, at least in any place with more than 1,000 people.

2) Walmart stopped selling footwear online a few years ago because the returns were ridiculous.

3) Do you know what it costs to ship a pair of mens size 14 work boots?

4) How many hundreds of millions did Zappos lose before they turned their first profit?

5) Are you prepared to match the current industry insanity with free next day air delivery and free returns? And maybe a one year no questions guarantee?

6) Are you aware that some shoes come in more than 30 sizes and several colors?

7) What the heck are you going to do with the 10%-15% of your sales that will be returned, often worn?

I just need to find out how to get a distributor.

While you're buying from a middleman, most of your competitors will be buying from manufacturers directly.

[edited by: jsinger at 10:49 pm (utc) on May 11, 2011]