u/satan__clause

My boots (Dan Post Pershing Round Toe) from JCP arrived yesterday, and they're a bit loose, so they'll be even looser once they break in (assuming Ostrich stretches a bit). They're beautiful boots so I absolutely want to keep them, but also want them to fit as well as possible for as long as possible.

I'm on the cusp between shoe sizes so I want to try out a 1/2 size smaller, but I'm not sure I want to go through the hassle of exchanging them and risking that the smaller size might be too tight. I don't know JCPs exact return policy but I don't know that they'd like re-exchanging for the same original pair.

Does anyone know if all Dan Post exotics tend to be consistent with sizing? I'm thinking if so, it might be better to try and find a local store that has a pair of round toe Dan Posts in the smaller size and trying those on before I go through the exchange process.

My other option (which I'll be trying after work today) is going to JCP in person and seeing if they can ship the smaller pair to store so I can try them on and if they fit better than the first pair, exchanging for those.

Option three would be to order the 1/2 size smaller to ship to my house, and then returning the pair that doesn't fit (but I would want to check with JCP first to make sure I can get the more expensive price refunded, so likely not the best option).

Any thoughts or suggestions on what I should do??