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I find your research on the Pleaser brand interesting. I own many pairs of older Pleaser boots and I'm starting to wonder if the newer ones may be different. May just buy a new pair to find out.

There was a company selling Pleaser shoes on the auction site at ridiculously low prices. I know because I bought about 4 pairs off them. All but 1 pair have been re-sold (a pair Mrs Freddy 'owns' but has only ever worn once - to my recollection). They were typically £20-£29 for shoes and boots respectively. Company might have been called SkyHigh or something similar. These were even cheaper than American imports. At the time Pleaser boots advertised with a 5 inch heel, didn't have a 5 inch heel, but a little over 4½ inches. Same with the 6 inch heels, something a little over 5½ inches. The pair retained by Mrs Freddy are some patent ankle boots with 5½ inch heels. Very attractive, but not really going out shoes, which is why I sold my pair on. The seller was very busy. There was at least two versions of the company, one starting after the other folded. I suspect they didn't pay VAT or taxes on any profits, disappearing when it came time to 'settle up'. I've experienced the same "unfair" competition myself, where someone sold the same product as my (then) company. They didn't pay any import duty/VAT, nor company tax on profits. Consequently they could sell the product for the same money it cost me to get them in the building. Fortunately for me, I had significantly better cash-flow so I was never out of stock, where he was nearly always 'waiting for new stock'. Pleaser now do a range of shoes I think are a lot more stylish, though I suspect harder to walk in. The older style (420's) had the heel tip closer to the toe than the current styles. The further away from the toe the heel tip is, the harder I find it to land my heel and then rotate my ankle. With the heel tip landing position slightly forward of the heel, the landing/rotation is noticeably easier. Taken to it's ultimate position, I have found "heel-less" shoes to be very easy to walk in The 420 vs the new 20: I hope to own a version of the 20's at some stage, but given the position of the heel, I know I won't be able to walk in them.