Trust me--shoelaces provide a substantially better fit, support, and closure, despite being somewhat harder to use. Shoelaces are also replaceable in case of wear. Also, shoelaces are a standard and one might not be able to find the right shoe with a Velcro closure.
If all shoes were built with those things in mind (like say, boots are), then I might buy that. However in most shoes none of those things seem to be given strong consideration.
