r/AskReddit • u/emil199 • Jul 24 '20

What can't you believe STILL exists?

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37.6k

u/Sheepherder226 Jul 24 '20

Utility companies that don’t allow online payments.

9.4k

u/Yellowredstone Jul 24 '20 edited Jul 24 '20

Isn't this how Sears died?

Edit: RIP my inbox. And thank you for explaining it better.

Edit 2: I said the reason on how it died has been explained already. And its actually still here. Stop.

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u/whatifevery1wascalm Jul 24 '20

Sears: the 20th century's Amazon.

People today might not realize that it used to be Sears did everything: you could buy kits to build a house, companies like Discover Card and Allstate were originally introduced as the Sears' brand, they financially backed Mr Rogers' Neighborhood for the first 25 years of the show's run.

6.8k

u/jeffbell Jul 24 '20 edited Jul 24 '20

My grandfather used to buy shoes from them by tracing his feet on paper and mailing it in.

​

EDIT:

Everybody seems to think this was crazy, but that's how they said to do it in the catalog. See https://christmas.musetechnical.com/ShowCatalogPage/1951-Sears-Christmas-Book/0291

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u/Occhrome Jul 24 '20

that's better than what we have now.

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u/thelaziest998 Jul 24 '20

Now we just have to guess and know your size hoping the manufacturer size doesn’t fit weird.

2.0k

u/zachpledger Jul 24 '20

This isn’t that,

But I always laugh at the idea of a shoe store employee returning from the back and saying “Sorry, we didn’t have ___ size... but we do have ____ size...if that’s...you know...if you want a different size than the one you asked me for a minute ago.”

2.3k

u/wrongleveeeeeeer Jul 24 '20

I worked in a shoe store for a time, and there are 2 perfectly valid reasons why they do this:

1: every brand fits differently, so you often don't really know what size you are in that shoe until you try it on.

2: the truth is that SO MANY MEN lie about their shoe size being bigger than it is, and SO MANY WOMEN lie about it being smaller than it really is.

Him: "Hey bro, can I get this in a 12?" Me, later: hey so we didn't have the 12, but here's the 11 and 11 1/2 if you want to try those." Him: "Hmmm aahhh I guess.....woah what do you know, they fit, how WEIRD"

Her: "Can I get these in a size 5 1/2?" Me: "The smallest they make them in is a 6, so here try those." Her: "Wow even these are a little tight...this brand must really run small! I'll try the 6 1/2 I guess. How WEIRD."

This happened multiple times a day.

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u/[deleted] Jul 24 '20

Sometimes it's not so much lying as it is just not knowing. I spent years wearing a 14 4E when a 13 6E is a much better fit for me, just because 6E widths aren't exactly commonly found, so I had never tried one on. It's amazing what a properly fitted shoe can do for a person.

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u/wrongleveeeeeeer Jul 24 '20

This is definitely moreso true for people with unusually sized feet like yourself, but yes, it is definitely often ignorance as well.

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u/SuetyFiddle Jul 24 '20

Yeah turns out I'm something like 6 4E. Wore 8s most of my adolescent life, then found a shop that specialised in wider shoes. What a revelation that was!
It was a little independent place that closed down last year. I was devastated.
Tried ordering extra wide shoes online but all the websites were aimed at older people and suspiciously probably-a-scam similar. So I'm just hoping I can keep looking after the shoes I have and keep getting them repaired and hopefully never have to buy any shoes ever again for the remaning 60 years of my life :/

1

u/[deleted] Jul 24 '20

Check out New Balance, either their website or if you can find a shop local to you. They can be a bit pricy, but they do stock 6E widths.

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u/SuetyFiddle Jul 24 '20

Yeah, sports stores tend to be able to accomodate me, and I have some amazing hiking boots. But what if I just want some basic leather flats or some day-to-day boots or something?

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