Greetings on so-called “Cyber Monday” which follows “Black Friday,” “Small Business Saturday,” and whatever Sunday was.

So are you like me and getting bombarded with all sorts of “sales of the year” promotions from boot retailers? Are you in the market for a new pair of boots for yourself or a loved-one for Christmas? Do you have trouble sorting out reality from marketing hype, and sometimes (oops, like me again) have trouble with sales resistance?

Here are some tips on on-line boot buying from a boot-shopping pro…

…or, in other words, how to focus and get the best deal. These “tips” are based on my own experience, which may not be the same as yours. BTW, these tips are mostly applicable to the U.S. and Canada.

First and foremost — some retailers are offering 25%, 30%, or more “% off” sales. The problem here is, what is the markdown “off of?” Some reputable retailers have a very bad habit of marking up the retail price so that when you apply the “% off” discount, the cost results in what their regular retail price would be anyway.

For example, two weeks ago Sheplers was offering 15% off of a pair of Lucchese Classics, then 10 days ago they offered 20% off, then on Black Friday and today, Cyber Monday, they offered 25% off. The problem was, the retail price kept changing. Here is the math:

November 15: retail price $839.98. 15% off: $713.98, so-called “savings” of $126

November 20: retail price: $898.98 20% off: $719.18, so-called “savings” of $240

November 27: retail price: $999.98 25$ off: $719.99, so-called “savings” of $300

By adjusting the retail price, their percent off “sales” work out closely. Today’s “deal” is actually worse than the pricing when not being promoted through the so-called “Black Friday” or “Cyber Monday” pricing schemes.

Several other boot retailers do the same thing. Lesson: there really are not the “savings” that these %-off sales imply.

So let’s say for purposes of blogging that you have your heart set on a particular new pair of boots from a particular manufacturer and you have funds set aside for a little extravagance.

Using a search engine, enter the boot name and model number and do some sleuthing. Remember, though, the major retailers pay Google (and other search engines) to have their results come up high in the results. Don’t rely on internet searching only.

Use those emails you get to visit the websites of retailers you trust and have experience with. Price those boots there.

Then visit the websites of other boot retailers that you know, or are on my links page on my website. Price the boots there.

Also, while pricing boots, check on shipping costs, if any. Most on-line retailers include shipping with orders over $100. Some do not — for example, another reason why I don’t buy boots from Stompers Boots any more is that they charge a rather high flat rate for shipping. They didn’t used to charge for shipping back when Mike and Ken owned the store, but the new guy has a new shipping policy.

When you add the cost of shipping, if any, to the “sale price” of boots, the ultimate cost to you may be more than others that do not charge for shipping.

Another thing to check for is availability. Just because they’re offering a sale does not mean that the vendor has the product in stock. Check to ensure “in stock” status, or if not in stock, what happens? Is the order delayed (backorder) or does the vendor arrange the manufacturer to drop-ship from its warehouse? (Working Person Store does that as a matter of business practice.)

A fourth thing to check for is that dreaded sales tax. Contrary to popular belief, not all on-line purchases avoid collection of sales tax by the vendor. Some states and some companies now require collection of sales tax for where you live, even if the company does not have a physical presence in your state. Amazon is one such retailer — Amazon collects sales tax for every jurisdiction in the United States. (And is one reason why I rarely, if ever, shop Amazon any more.)

Other boot retailers collect sales tax only in states where they have a physical presence. Boot Barn collects tax in California, Sheplers collects tax for Kansas and Oklahoma, etc. Check the sales tax policy or begin to submit an order and have the website determine costs, and use the final price to make your determining decision.

In summary — there are deals to be found, but they are not as terrific as on-line vendors want you to believe. If you put some work into price comparison shopping, you can save $30 to $60 on a new pair of boots. Not bad, but not as incredible as some vendors promote.

Life is short: buy and wear boots!