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August 2024 by Mireille Aylwin
Disappointing experience
I like the concept of exchange but the process is complicated with a lot of waiting.
Limited opening hours
Not much choice, lots of small x-small
Lots of fast fashion clothes
I had to wait an hour to get my item count
To use all your unused credits you obviously have to pay a subscription... it's impossible to just get clothes...
In short, I imagine it's worth it for someone who can go back often but I'm not that type of shopper!
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July 2024 by Alexandra Burns
I love the concept of trading. I’ve been a Shwap club member for years and have found many great pieces! It’s best to go often to find gems, like thrifting it’s natural that some days are less successful! I recommend it to all my friends and any women interested in shopping in an eco-friendly way :)
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July 2024 by val p
Um...not sure I understand the principle.
In fact I understood the principle: It's like people who only want to eat organic, but they don't want the slightly imperfect apple. Vintage/exchange means there may be small imperfections.
If the garment has no hole and no stain visible to the naked eye, but oh magic, with a UV light a mini dot appears in an area like armpit/crotch, bam your garment is refused. This is what means that, as others have mentioned, you end up with the vast majority of fast fashion brands, because people don't wear them much and then exchange them.
Btw, if you refuse a piece of clothing for a mini stain, no need to insert a tag pin, it will damage it for nothing!
So, roughly speaking, here is the business model: make total money from people who have a good conscience by charging them an entry price of $22, offer quality clothing ok, hope that the 30-day credits run out and make cash with fashonistas who like to change their clothes on a daily basis.
Moral of the story, keep your beautiful clothes and try to resell them yourself!
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July 2024 by Aurore Lagonotte
First time I came and unfortunately the last, a lot of potential in this concept but we really need to review things in the customer experience:
- starting with the waiting time, half an hour announced which will be more than an hour in the end.
-Accompanying persons are prohibited from entering, no place provided for them
- out of the 5 items carefully selected in my wardrobe (Made in Europe, worn for a year/2 years maximum) only one was accepted, two were refused for stains invisible to the naked eye and one vintage because the label was not readable.
- $22 entry fee that must be paid each time which was not explained in the presentation speech, I saw it by going to their site during the 3/4 hour wait
- Lots of fast fashion, made in China: Simons, Dynamite, Zara, Banana Republic...
- Inclusivity 0 = only small sizes if you are L and above, you will be disappointed
- an employee on her cell phone most of the time while the cabin racks are full and with an hour of waiting on the other side for verification, a division of labor to be reviewed...
- the shop is full of bags that are impossible to look at, you have to come back and pay $22 for that because the racks are not filled during opening
- Due to their practice, instead of having traffic throughout opening hours, everyone comes at 12 p.m., it's blocked, we sweat in a non-air-conditioned place, we wait for these credits...
As a result of going to the Shwap Shop for me, the sum of the negative points mentioned above made my experience very unpleasant, and in terms of clothing, I saw no advantage (long live Renaissance! and Bon Shopping) they recovered a dress made in Portugal from a French designer bought for $300, I paid $22 to get a Vero Moda Made in China skirt with a purchase value of $70, and I almost took nothing but I got preferred at least found something to get my credit back and never have to come back!
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July 2024 by Marie Barrière Gratton
Perfect experience!!! Member for over 2 years and I recommend it to everyone!!!
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April 2024 by Léa-Lou Marchand-Savard
I love the concept!
There are very beautiful clothes sorted and checked up to date which allows you to try several styles and brands while saving money and avoiding overconsumption. It may happen that you don't find anything you like on one visit and leave with several pieces on another, so don't be discouraged if you don't find anything on your first visit!
I strongly recommend subscribing to keep your credits in the bank for a future visit.
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March 2024 by Stephanie Glowy
My favorite place to shop (or rather swap!) in Montreal
I appreciate the careful inspection they do of the clothes before accepting them and their selection criteria, which allows me to find pretty gems in excellent condition! The staff is ultra friendly, the welcome is always very courteous, in short I always look forward to my next visit! ❤️
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January 2024 by Linda Rochefort
Very happy with my discovery this weekend! I was able to collect 10 credits by exchanging clothes of mine, the price of $22 was worth it. I'll eventually get the membership card to go there more often, but it's really a great idea to avoid spending all the time on things you'll only wear once or twice.
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January 2024 by Ketura Jean Pierre
Very nice experience with this shop. Very organized and respectful. I was able to bring my clothes, and we selected what we wanted to keep. I in turn could take any item that was available inside their shop up to the number of credits I had earned from my batch of clothes.
Great idea for a clothes exchange and very practical.
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January 2024 by Shannon Hutcheson
*editMy 4th visit, I finally had some luck and walked away with some really nice quality items, so that was a nice surprise. After a few visits at both locations I think it can be hit or miss but when it's good, it's really good! I still wish shwap and ligne didn't launch in the middle of the work day and that items didn't disappear in a matter of a minute or two. Because the shwap en ligne is so popular (victim of it's own success!), the site crashed and it can be super challenging to reserve items.Finger's crossed for more successful visits!_________________Really great idea, but the execution is such a downer. I *really* wanted to like this sustainable alternative to fast fashion but unfortunately, the quality just isn't there. The process of dropping off the clothes and having them sort was straight forward which is appreciated and they ended up taking 8 of my items on my first visit.I paid the $18 entry free so I could browse and drop off clothes, but to my disappointment, there were EXTREMELY limited options for people who aren't petite (seriously, very few options in size large or XL, lots at XS, S, and some medium). Also, many of the items in store were outdated Zara items, H&M, Joe Fresh etc. and not all were in prime condition (pilling on sweaters, signs of frequent washing on some items, especially for the active wear). It kind of occupies this weird space of not being vintage/timeless, but not really feeling current or on trend with many of the items(at least during my visits).The items I had traded were new/unworn or lightly used from Scotch and Soda, Anthropologie, banana republic,CK, etc. so, when you trade in higher value items, and everything on the floor is not that, it can be disappointing. Now I have 7 credits (luckily managed to find one item in my size and good condition), and because I couldn't find anything, I had to purchase a membership to hopefully find something on other visits. After my 2nd visit, I'm not very hopeful. I brought a guest who also wasn't able to find anything. Because of this, if you have higher value items, I would go with another alternative.You may think "okay, maybe if I can't find anything in store, I'll find something online". Well, they only do "drops" once a month, and if you miss it, you have to wait for the next one to have access to inventory and there aren't many items. I was told these items go quickly!Finally, when I had arrived to the store last weekend for my 2nd visit, there was no record of my 8 credits (from when I had first registered at the Mile end location), and it took over 30 minutes standing at the register to get it sorted (the women at the register were helpful at getting it sorted, but it was a headache). There were also technical issues accessing my online client space, but luckily the company was really helpful at getting that sorted. Thank you!Small bonus, the home decor items are very cute and thoughtfully chosen but not included with the Shwap club membership (just a discount). I wish the clothing items were as nicely curated as these items.*** edit, I tried the shwapper en ligne function and it was a disappointment. Nearly everything was gone in 2 minutes- so few items available for what must be hundreds of members? I managed to reserve 2 items hoping to recoup some of my remaining credits, but again very little available in L. The shwapper en ligne opens once a month at 10:00, By 10:02- nothing is left and you must settle for items you're not excited about. Why go live in the middle of the work day?I really want this to work, but the model really needs some restructuring.
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December 2023 by Jennifer Mancini
Love the concept and store! Wish they had longer opening hours
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November 2023 by Vanessa Sabourin
Best zero dollar shopping experience...love the staff who are super friendly ❤️
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November 2023 by Audrey bélanger
Best concept ever. I have been a member of Shwap for several years now and I couldn't do without it. Subscribe annually, much simpler and more fun. To try it is to adopt it!
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September 2023 by Valentina Moraga
Honestly, I wouldn't give any stars but I don't have the option to do so.I had the worst experience of my life going to Shwap Club. I was at the mile end store for the first time in January 2023 where I was unable to redeem all my points (we had almost 15 unused credits). My girlfriend and I then paid the entrance fee in advance for a future visit so as not to lose our credits. At no time were we informed that there was a deadline for redeeming our credits.We returned to the St-Henri store around last April to be told that not only had we lost our credits but that we also had to pay again for an entry.Despite our incomprehension and our legitimate argument, we were unable to obtain either our credits or a refund for the entry that had not been used. I would have hoped that the Shwap Club would give us the benefit of the doubt about what we were saying. Instead we lost beautiful, quality clothes and money for nothing!!I never plan to return to the Shwap Club again!!
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September 2023 by Valérie Laprade Leduc
I love this place, always pleasant atmosphere and so great to have an infinite wardrobe for a little over $100/year!!
