| Millions of people with mismatched feet would love to | | | | possible combination of sizes for mismatched feet |
| have a shoe store in which they can buy mismatched | | | | would multiply the combinations to be maintained by |
| shoes in their sizes. However, that is not practical | | | | more than ten times. Even the largest online stores |
| with the traditional brick and mortar store unless the | | | | cannot possibly deal with such a massive required |
| shoe store is willing to sell a single shoe from two | | | | inventory of shoes. |
| different pairs. In the United States, Nordstrom | | | | What is impossible for the brick and mortar and online |
| department stores offer such an option, but it is | | | | stores is possible by distributing an inventory of |
| limited to customers with feet at least two sizes | | | | mismatched shoes through the millions of people who |
| different from each other. | | | | wear them. People who buy two pairs of shoes at a |
| Consider the magnitude of the problem of stocking | | | | time due to mismatched feet end up with pairs of |
| mismatched shoes. Almost any shoe store carries at | | | | complementary mismatched shoes that are never |
| least ten brands of shoes from the more than one | | | | worn. Some people throw them away, while some |
| thousand. It is not uncommon for shoe | | | | people put them away in their closets because they |
| manufacturers to have 100 or more styles each for | | | | cannot stand to throw out perfectly good shoes. |
| men and women, and most of those styles come in | | | | What if a person who needs a particular combination |
| at least two colors. Let us assume that the typical | | | | of sizes of shoes were able to find others who have |
| shoe store carries only an average of 10 styles for | | | | his sizes stored in their closets as a result of wearing |
| men and 10 styles for women for each brand, with | | | | complementary sizes? A system for just that |
| every size from size 7 to 13 (13 different sizes) and | | | | purpose is already in place and is free to anyone to |
| each style in two different colors. That typical store | | | | use. |
| would have 2600 different combinations of brand, | | | | allows users to post mismatched pairs and single |
| style, color, and size for men and the same number | | | | shoes to swap with or sell to other site users. Unlike |
| of combinations for women without even considering | | | | traditional programs that try to pair up people with |
| different widths or children’s shoes. | | | | complementary shoe sizes, users of are not at the |
| In truth, most large shoe stores carry far more than | | | | mercy of the buying habits of their partners. Instead, |
| ten brands of shoes, and more than an average of | | | | they can find shoes in their sizes posted by many |
| ten styles per brand, so large shoe stores already | | | | different people with a variety of shoe needs and |
| have tens of thousands of combinations of brand, | | | | preferences. |
| style, color, and size to keep up with. Stocking every | | | | |