If you are someone who has a lot of money and does not care where the bulk of this money is spent on, then this article is not for you. You could purchase any pair of shoes that you want in the first place, so why bother if you are picking the right one?
For other people like me, however, purchasing a pair of shoes is such a rarity that it becomes important to make sure that the pair of shoes bought is of high quality. It will not be replaced by another pair for a couple more years, anyway, so it just makes sense to get the best for you out there.
First of all, quality should always be your top priority. I suppose you've already set a budget for this purchase so you might as well purchase the best one out there that your money can buy. Purchasing a cheap pair of shoes just because it's cheap is not good, because the quality may get compromised in the process. Purchase only from those stores that you trust though it is not wrong to look for others once in a while.
Another tip that I also constantly get is to purchase your shoes in the afternoon. The idea here is that your feet are already tired in the afternoon after walking a lot, which might stress your feet out and cause them to expand. This is a good time to purchase a pair of shoes because you now see the largest size that your feet can ever get.
A corollary of this is that you should purchase a shoe that has the right size for you. Do not compromise size for style If it doesn't fit you then better luck next time. Try wearing on some socks, too, just so you get the perfect fit.
Finally, one tip that I also constantly get is to try to walk for a while before deciding to get those shoes. The material may look good and it may look fit with your feet, but until you try walking with it for a couple of minutes, you really cannot tell.
