HELP ordering skates online and relying on tracing for size

[sleepyhead]

Hi,
You may recall I was puzzling over buying skates for my 5 y/o beginner a couple of months ago. I ended up with 2nd hand Riedell silver stars mostly because they were the smallest I could lay my hands on in Oz.
DD has continued to love skating, and seems to be progressing really well in spite of the skates being at least 2 sizes too big (even now you can comfortably get 2+ fingers behind her heel).
She hasn't had any blisters or anything nasty - although her feet are stiff afterward and she finds it hard to point her toes after skating - but then she only skates for an hour or so once pw. (I know more would be better but we have other things on so maybe next year).
I've decided that I should be taking better care of her feet, and give her a chance to skate in something that fits. My only real option is to buy online. I'll be going with Rainbo because a few different people (including some of you) have recommended them.
I'm very nervous because I'll really need to leave the sizing and even brand recommendation in their hands (nope there's no store in this state that carries anything remotely close to DD's size to even try on).
Any final hints, tips, or warnings about buying skates this way?
If she gets something that fits well for 6 months I'll be very happy.

[katz in boots]

It can be hard in Oz, if there isn't a good pro-shop at your rink. Without knowing where you are, my recommendation, based on my experience, is to talk to Margaret at ISk8 Canterbury, the Oz distributor for Jackson skates. I've had positive experiences buying through them, even though I live in another state.

Jacksons are reasonably priced and come in a good range of models, particularly for beginners. They also come a bit wider (which also suits Oz because we get wide feet from running around barefoot a lot :lol:) If your child needs custom fit or slight adjustment, they can order that too.

[´*~·Meje·~*`]

Yes, I agree. The postage and time is going to be much more manageable if you end up needing to ship back and forth few times.

[kayskate]

I have ordered Reidells online for myself. I am an adult. I bought 220s from a tracing and measurements my husband made of my feet. These boots were for roller skating, which generally allows more give than ice. The fitter at the co matched it to the best sz. I did not have an probs. Those were great skates for my purpose. Your coach can probably help you w tracings and measurements if you decided to buy this way.

Kay