The ladies shoe stretcher is a worth while investment, because the day will come when you need to stretch some shoes. Taking them to a shoe repair place is fine, but of course you will be charged for the service. I think I paid AUD$10 or something for this one. It is only a single stretcher, but can be used for both left and right shoe.
I purchased it from one of those home shopping catalogs.
One of my clients complained that her shoes were too tight. I showed her my shoe stretcher, and she ended up leaving them with me to stretch. I am also altering her bridesmaid dress.
This particular model also has a plastic knob that can be inserted at the side and it stretches the big toe area.