my gf buys several sizes at once and ships back the rejects. with some online shoe stores the return shipping is free.

I have very large feet and I am a total shoe hoe, so I have bought many types of shoes online. Whether it is sneakers, heels, boots, sandals, I have bought them all.

There are better stores and sometimes that return shipping I consider part of the cost.

buy several sizes to see which one fits

My wife does this with dresses when shopping online, its a massive pain in the ass.

I googled if the Brand's shoes ran true to size and hoped for the best. It worked out.

But I do try to buy in person or have the option to return in person to avoid the situation you are in, when possible, but sometimes that is not an option.

I'm with you: I'll buy shoes online but I don't wanna shop for shoes online.

Check the actual measurements for the shoes not the sizes

I did once while abroad. None of the shoe stores had the style I wanted in wide, so I went on Amazon and found a pair which reviewers tended to say fit well. Particularly that the listed size matched their expectations when they tried the actual shoe on. Ordered the size I thought would fit me and it did in fact fit me perfectly. It lasted about a year until it started leaking at the glued seam, which to be fair, wasn't too disappointing for a 48-Euro no-name pair.

Granted, that was for men's hiking shoes, can't really speak for finding good high heels online. Other than for that one-off occasion, I've only shopped for shoes and clothes in-person.