The shopaholic hormones attacked me again at the beginning of the month. I will not mention the sins purchases I made. I treated myself to the usual blouse, bag and to those who know me well, a pair of ballet flats. :) I bought again another pair of Toms ballet flats and as much as I want to hide it, it was one of the most expensive pairs I purchased. 

A pair of Toms is expensive, especially here in the Philippines. I also don't purchase them in their regular US price at $ 85?!? My strategy is to wait for the Black Friday Sale, Yearend to New Year Sale. My years of stalking taught me that Toms' most awaited sale happens during holidays in US. When I had a little additional money last February, I grabbed the chance. I bought ballet flats I've been eyeing from their website since last year. In just a few clicks, the shoe became mine! :) Albeit, still virtually of course. 

Toms official online store only ships to US and Canada. This did not serve as a hindrance for me because there's always Johnny Air. Although I have to say that I have a love-hate relationship with this third party cargo forwarder. Love because they take care and deliver my items to my home country all the time. Hate because their shipping fees never fail to surprise me. The  last time I shipped a pair of Toms via Johnny Air, I was only charged around Php 860 for a small box of shoes. This happened last December 2014. I was the happiest. When I attempted to use Johnny Air again, I was expecting the same amount. Much to my surprise, I was charged around Php 1,100 for the same size and weight. What makes March more expensive than December? Or probably, they have increased their fees without me knowing.

Another minor concern I had with Johnny Air is the unknown lead time for delivery. Of the three times I availed the services of Johnny Air, the average waiting time I experienced was 7 working days. This starts from the day when my item arrived in their US office. This is really fast. The last time I used Johnny Air, it took them almost two weeks to deliver my item to their SM Megamall branch. 

While these factors are beyond my control, I just wish that Johnny Air, ASOS and my other favourite online stores would perform like Zalora. I never had any problems with the few purchases I made with this company. The first time I used Zalora, my order arrived after four hours. On my succeeding purchases, everything was delivered the next day. I hope Zalora carries more international brands (please include Toms and return the Anthology shoes). This way, I will be spared from the expensive shipping fees and waiting time.

While I'm still waiting for this to happen and for my money to increase, I can settle window shopping again for more comfortable ballet shoes from Zalora Philippines. And it's not hard for me to choose because I seriously want this cutest bow flats from Keds ;)