Moral dilema- do I need to keep these shoes

amother

Thu, Oct 19 2023, 1:27 pm

I ordered a pair of suede black shoes from a frum shoe store. I live oot so all my shoes aren't local.
I tried on the shoes and they are tight. When I bent down to take them off, I noticed a smudge on the toe. Without thinking, I licked my finger and rubbed it off.
I just realized now that if I return them, my licked spot (which is totally gone now, it was fuzz) will still be somewhere in the fabric. It looks brand new but I licked the spot. Do I have to keep them?

Amarante

Thu, Oct 19 2023, 1:35 pm

Not sure what your moral dilemma is.

The suede finish still has nap and looks 100% perfect.

Are you saying that because it had some of your saliva on it for a moment, that it is somehow contaminated? If so, I don't agree because in the course of being manufactured, distributed and tried on by people, it has become exposed to all kinds of stuff. No one expects their shoes to be clean enough to eat off - even with "new"

amother

Thu, Oct 19 2023, 1:36 pm

Amarante wrote:

Yes , I mean because of the saliva

Amarante

Thu, Oct 19 2023, 1:39 pm

amother OP wrote:

Yes , I mean because of the saliva

As I wrote, I would have no compunctions about returning them because I personally would have no expectation that a shoe that I. bought was 100% sterile anyway.

So long as it looked new and not as if someone had worn it around Very Happy

My thinking is that as soon as I step out the door, it would have worse than a dab of saliva. Even IF you had a disease that could be passed through saliva, the pathogen would be "dead" by the time you returned it. It is probably dead at this point LOL

amother

Cobalt

Thu, Oct 19 2023, 1:42 pm

Totally fine op.

I thought originally you were asking because it left a mark.

Absolutely ok.

happy chick

Thu, Oct 19 2023, 1:53 pm

Absolutely ok to return. I'm more grossed out thinking who might have tried on shoes before I buy them, than what happened on the outside of the shoe.

amother

Wandflower

Thu, Oct 19 2023, 1:54 pm

When I buy shoes, I always assume than unknown people may have tried them on, possibly sock-less, with unwashed feet or with athlete's foot.
Your rubbed off stain is fine, unless you happen to have some really contagious disease at the moment. Any average public doorhandle probably has far more germs, snot and spit on it.

zaq

Thu, Oct 19 2023, 6:59 pm

The odds of another customer licking the shoe at precisely the spot where your saliva rests, are only slightly higher than the odds of your winning the 500 shmillion dollar lottery if you never bought a ticket. Her dog may be a different story.

NechaMom

Thu, Oct 19 2023, 7:30 pm

By the time it hits the next customer all your germs will be gone. If it looks perfect then you don’t need to worry.
Side note, I can’t stand when people use saliva in place of water. Mothers washing kids faces...