How to Snag Frye Boots for a Steal

You guys remember when I was obsessing over getting myself a pair of Frye boots? My old faithful winter boots had kicked the bucket and I really wanted a replacement pair that were made out of REAL leather, were classically stylish and would keep my feet warm and dry all winter long.

For years, I really wanted a pair of actual Frye boots (and not the knock off Frye look-a-likes that Target was selling for a while), but the price kept scaring me away. I know the whole ‘get what you pay for’ thing, but paying over $300 for a pair of shoes was just NOT in my budget.

Well, long story short… I got my boots. I actually am now the proud owner of TWO pairs of Frye boots and I was able to get such awesome deals that I wanted to share a couple tips with you!

frye boots

Tip #1: Figure out EXACTLY what you want.
Go to a store that has a nice selection of Fryes, pretend you’re rich and TRY THEM ALL ON! That’s right; those $500 boots that make you pee a little because they’re so darn pretty? Put them on your feet and prance around.

I did my trying on at Nordstrom Rack and a super snazzy boot store I visited while I was in Austin. By trying on a bunch of styles, you can figure out exactly what you like. Are booties your thing, or do you prefer the taller boots? If you usually wear a couple different shoe sizes depending on the brand, try a few sizes on and figure out which one fits you perfectly. Take your time and figure it out. But DO NOT make the rookie mistake of falling in love with a pair and buying them!

Tip #2: Do your research.
Now that you know what you want, figure out how much they typically cost. For example, let’s say you love the taller harness-style boots, like the Jenna Belted Harness Fryes. On the Frye website they cost $498. However, the very similar Frye Belted Harness 12R are on Zappos for $278. You can also find deals on flash sale websites like 6pm, HauteLook and many more. Just narrow down what you are looking for FIRST so you can jump on it if you see it.

When looking at the Harness boots, $278 was certainly better than $498… but still more than I was willing to spend. So I hit my favorite online store of all: eBay!

There are a million ways you can search on eBay, but if you want to get the super deals you’re going to have to put in a little work. See, I can easily type in “Frye Jenna Belted Harness boot 8” to pull up any of the boots that are listed. However, if the person listing the boots is knowledgeable enough to know exactly what the style is called… well; they probably know what they are worth too.

Instead, be creative. Search for “Frye boots”, “Fry boots”, “Frye boot” and more. Once you have some results, narrow it down by shoe size to see what is available. I also like to choose “pre-owned” instead of “new” because if they’ve been worn before they will most likely be cheaper and broken in already! Look at all the pictures, even if they are really crappy pictures. This is why you learned what you liked… so you can recognize it even in a blurry picture.

Remember, you’re still doing your research. So click “watch” on a few pairs that you like and just follow along and see what they end up selling for. This will help you get an idea of what you’ll probably pay for a similar pair.

I like to do the search a couple different ways: first I’ll sort by price to see which ones are marked super low to start. Then, I’ll sort by Time Ending Soonest to see if any are reasonably priced with no bids. Don’t get fooled by low bidding prices though. Many times boots will start out with a $25 bid and then in the last hour of the auction it gets fierce with bids and goes right back up to the typical sales price.

Tip #3: Be patient… but when the moment is right JUMP ON IT!
So, you followed my first two tips and you’ve been stalking your dream boots for a couple weeks now. You’ve watched online and see that typically the ones you want get bid up to around $130 – $150 every single time. You even set up a little automated search on eBay so that it emails you when new boots with your specifications are listed. You go, girl (or boy)!

You’re in the sweet spot. You know what you want. You know how much it typically costs. So now you’re crouched like a TIGER ready to unleash your FURY!

Check out the boots listed in the “Buy it Now” section. These are the ones that you don’t have to bid on and you already know how much they will go for. For example, we now know that the harness boots I liked would be about $500 new or go for $150 – $200 in an eBay auction. So, when I saw a pair of “Boots Frye” listed with a starting bid of $63 and a “Buy it Now” price of $89… I stopped and stared.

Frye ebay pic 1

There were only a couple pictures and a style wasn’t named… but I would recognize that harness anywhere… Now, the starting bid of $63 seemed awfully tempting. I mean, if I waited until the last few minutes of the auction and put in my bids I could have walked away with the boots for a steal. However, remember that last tip where I watched and waited and learned how much the boots typically go for? Well, now is the time to use that information! So, if $63 seems too good to be true, than it probably is. But $89 was also a FANTASTIC price and if I hit “buy it now” they were MINE. No waiting, watching and bidding against anyone else.

See… now that you have all the information you need to JUMP ON IT! Hit “buy it now” pay the bill and wait with baited breath for your mail to arrive!

Of course, you don’t have to only do the “Buy it Now” option. You can absolutely choose to bid on a pair of boots that you like. Just keep in mind that other people are probably watching and waiting to bid too. Have a number in mind for your maximum bid and don’t let the adrenaline of bidding against other people push that out of your head! You can absolutely get a steal if you’re on top of things and know when to walk away.

These tips are EXACTLY how I ended up with my two pairs of Frye boots. The first pair I bought are the Wyatt Disc Short boots, which sell for $350 new and around $150 on eBay. I got them as a “buy it now” option for $99.

Frye Wyatt Disc Boots

My second pair – which I have literally worn every single day since they arrived – are the Jenna Belted Harness Frye boots. They sell for $498 on the Frye website, around $150 – 200 on eBay and I got them as a “buy it now” option for $89 plus shipping.

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It can be done, I promise!

Tell me, have you gotten any steals off eBay? Do you have any tips to add to my three for getting a super deal?

 

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7 thoughts on “How to Snag Frye Boots for a Steal”

  1. Great advice and what great deals you got! I got my Carmen shorties the same way. I adore them. My best deal though was a pair of (only worn once) lucinda OTK boots I snagged at Goodwill for $50. OMG are they a gorgeous pair of boots! I LOVE Frye!

  2. I love this idea! I’ve been desperately looking for a pair of Frye boots that were recently discontinued and just found them on eBay for about 65% less than the retail price!! But my question is – have you ever had an issue with people selling knock-offs? The price just seems too good to be true – $429 retail and these are $145! I’ve read in the past about people passing off knock-off handbags on sites like eBay and was just a little concerned…

    1. I feel like if it’s too good to be true, it probably is. However, look on ebay to see what the boots usually go for and that should give you an idea if they are just discounted due to wear/out of season/etc. Without knowing which ones you’re looking at $145 seems reasonable for an ebay sale of Fryes. =)

      1. Thank you, your positive assessment pushed me over the edge of decision making. I BOUGHT THEM!!!! SO EXCITED!!! 🙂

  3. I love your desire to help others with tips. I too, acquired my Frye boots in a similar fashion. After the first pair, I was in love. I also don’t mind getting gently used. If the person rates well, they usually are honest. Not only on ebay, but I frequent tradesy, mercari, swap and online Goodwill of all places. Some Goodwills have auctions on ebay but some have their own so look into that as well! Happy Hunting! Cheers to the bootie season of Spring!

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