Frequently Asked Questions

[1.0] SELL + TRADE CRITERIA

We accept:
  • All sizes particularly plus sized clothing
  • In-season local climate
  • Popular today on trend last 12 months
  • Popular yesterday 1970s – 2000s
We do NOT accept:
  • Not in-season
  • Not on-trend
  • Stock levels chat with a SWOP team member at your local store
  • Fake designer
We accept:
  • Freshly washed and folded
  • Good - excellent condition
  • Odour free
  • One bag or box per quote (typically up to 40 items)
We do NOT accept:
  • Stained perspiration and makeup marks, food and oil stains
  • Damaged holes, pilling, missing buttons, broken zips
  • Odoured cigarette smoke, perfume, pet dander, mothball scent
We accept:
  • All and any genders
  • Tops
  • Bottoms
  • Dresses
  • Footwear
  • Accessories
We do NOT accept:
  • Underwear
  • Bridal and formal wear
  • Corporate wear
  • Activewear

We accept designer, vintage and handmade including but not limited to:
Acne Studios, Adidas, All Is A Gentle Spring, Ann Demeulemeester, Arnsdorf, Baggu, Baserange, Burberry, Carhartt, Comme des Garcons, Cop Copine, Diesel, Dion Lee, Dries Van Noten, Eckhaus Latta, Eytys, Fendi, Frisson Knits, Ganni, Gucci, Issey Miyake, Jacquemus, Jillian Boustred, Kiko Kostadinov, Lee Mathews, Levi’s, Mandarina Duck, Marni, Matteau, Marithé François Girbaud, Maroske Peech, Maryam Nassir Zadeh, Michiko Koshino, Miss Sixty, Miu Miu, Nike, Paloma Wool, P.A.M., Permanent Vacation, Prada, Ramp Tramp Tramp Stamp, Save the Queen, Supreme, Stan Ray, Stone Island, SÜK, Toteme, Veja, Vivienne Westwood

We do NOT accept fast-fashion/low-quality brands including but not limited to:
Anko, ASOS, Bardot, Boohoo, Cotton On, Dissh, Fashion Nova, Forever New, H&M, Girl Express, Glassons, Lowes, Millers, Monki, Now, Pretty Little Thing, River Island, Rockmans, Shein, Sportsgirl, Sussan, Suzanne Grae, Target, Uniqlo, Valley Girl, Zara

We have a good understanding what will sell well and be popular with our local community. Here’s a few places to get some selling inspiration:

SWOP Instagram: Follow to see our favourite looks daily.

Your local SWOP store: Pop in and ask what the bestsellers are.

[1.1] BEFORE YOU COME IN

We accept:
  • One bag/box per quote. This is typically up to 40 items
  • Max size: 50x50cm
  • Max weight: 8-10kg. This ensures your SWOP bag/box can be carried safely by you and our staff.
We recommend:
  • Presentation counts!
  • Wipe down shoes and accessories so they look their best
  • Fold items neatly
  • Remove hangers and shoe boxes

Buying counter hours are between 10am and 4pm at all of our stores. While we encourage you to get a quote and make a booking to bring your items in to sell or trade, we do accept walk-ins. Please note that our store hours are not the same as our Buying Counter hours.

Our buyers need to assess your items in person to see if they meet our criteria. You can choose to book an in-store appointment or send your items in via our courier company Sendle.

[2.0] BUYING COUNTER

You may have to wait from 1-4 hours to have your items assessed. The buyer in-store will give you an estimate at time of drop-off. You may like to browse the store, go out for lunch, or run some errands … just be back by the end of the day.

IMPORTANT: You must return same day. Any items not collected will be donated to charity.

Step 1
Visit our website to use our quotation and booking tool, to see if your items are suitable to sell or trade with SWOP, as well as get an estimated return on the value of your items.

Step 2
Book a time to come in-store and drop your items off or send them in.

Step 3
Prepare your items to bring or send in.

Step 4
Bring your items in and our buyers will assess them (allow up to 4 hours).

Step 5
We’ll offer 50% store credit or 30% cash back on selected items.

Step 6
Take the cash/credit or reject the offer and keep your items. Or we can donate them on your behalf to our social enterprise.

If you choose cash, you will be paid in cash on the day you bring your items in. For cash payments over $500 you may be paid via bank transfer.

If you choose SWOP credit, we will set up a customer account for you and you will be able to spend your credit in any SWOP store.

Please don’t take it personally if SWOP doesn’t make an offer on your items! We have strict criteria and our buyers can provide feedback if you wish. They can also let you know if any items are worth bringing back at a later date if it happens to be a seasonal issue or related to our stock levels. 

We have strict criteria and our buying team will provide you with feedback about any items that didn't meet the criteria. This could be due to being out of season, needing a stain removed or a button mended. They will also let you know if any items are worth bringing back at a later date.

For items that aren't quite fit for us to resell at SWOP, you have plenty of options:

Sell: Try selling your items online using Depop, Vestiaire Collective, Ebay, Facebook marketplace, or at a local market.

Repurpose: Gift to a friend, upcycle, cut into cleaning cloths.

Donate: We can donate the un-sold clothes to charity on your behalf. In Brisbane, you can choose for us to donate them to our beloved social enterprise Local Opy.

In most cases, yes! However, we buy according to condition, style, season and store stock levels so there may be cases when certain items are out of season or overstocked in store.

[3.0] HOW TO USE OUR QUOTATION AND BOOKING TOOL

Check your items
If you have some items to exchange for cash or store credit, you can check them with our online tool to confirm that they are brands that SWOP accepts to resell. You will receive an immediate estimate of the cash or store credit value of your items.

You can do this by searching for brands, selecting the category (jacket, jeans, dress etc) and selecting the condition (fair, great, excellent etc).

Schedule a visit
Skip the queue by booking a time to bring in your items to your local SWOP at your convenience.

Or send your items to us
You also have the option to post your items to us via our courier partner Sendle.

Quality control
Our buying team will assess your items in person to ensure they meet our criteria.

Accept or reject our offer
  • We’ll make you a formal offer of cash or store credit.
  • You’ll receive either 50% store credit or 30% cash back on the items we select to resell.
  • If you accept our offer, you'll receive your cash or store credit on-the-spot. If you reject our offer, you take your items home with you.

We created our quotation and booking tool to make the SWOP process more convenient and transparent for our community.

Knowing the approximate resale value of your items before you come in, along with the option to book an appointment makes the experience simple from start to finish.

It also allows people who don’t live close to our stores the opportunity to join the sustainable fashion movement by offering the option to send your items to sell or trade remotely.

Once you’ve estimated the value of your items, you can choose to send them in, rather than dropping them off in store.

You’ll be asked to create or log into your Sendle account, where you can confirm the courier pick up time. 

An email will be sent to you with the shipping address information. 

On this page, you can also choose how you want us to handle any items we can’t purchase from you.

You can still drop by any of our SWOP stores between 10am - 4pm with your items that you wish to sell. However we do recommend booking an appointment before you bring your items in to avoid long wait times.

We’ve made every effort to ensure our price estimates are as accurate as possible. Your cash or credit offer may be increased or decreased once our buying team assess your items in person based on criteria such as:
- Season
- Style
- Condition

If you can’t find the brand you’re looking for in the search function, check the box that says ‘Can’t find my brand'. Our quotation tool won’t be able to value the item, but you are more than welcome to bring it along to a store or send it in for our buying team to assess.

Fair: Obvious signs of wear but potential for resale.

Good: Well loved but still has life left.

Very Good: Minor signs of wear, but still in good enough condition to gift to a friend.

Great: Worn multiple times, no obvious signs of wear.

Excellent: Like new condition, worn once or twice.

Mint: Brand new with tags.

No you don’t. It is a tool for our customers to check our resale criteria and potential resale prices before coming in.

If you just want to make a booking without receiving a quote that’s okay! You can just enter one or two items and make a booking at your convenience.

Leave a note in the comments letting us know approximately how many items we should expect in store; please note that our maximum is 1 bag/box or 40 items.

[4.1] SWOP CREDIT

It can be used at any SWOP store.

Please email your local swop store to use your store credit online.

SWOP credit is valid for 3 years from date of issue.

If your SWOP credit is about to expire, you can extend it. However, you must notify us before it expires. You can request an extension by emailing the store that issued you the credit (see store details).

[4.2] SHOPPING + GIFT CARDS

Holds: Yes, we can hold items for you until closing time of that day.

ZipPay: Yes, ZipPay is available (buy now, pay later).

AfterPay: Yes, AfterPay is available in store (buy now, pay later)

Layby: No, we don’t offer layby.

Please choose your items carefully. We are not required to provide a refund or replacement if you change your mind.

All items are sold “as is”. Please keep in mind that the expected level of quality and performance might be lower for secondhand goods, depending on factors such as age and wear. We take all care to ensure we re-sell quality items.

If the item you purchase has a major problem, please ensure you contact us within a reasonable time to rectify issue. Please ensure you have proof of purchase.

For more details, refer to our Terms of Service & Refund Policy.

Gift cards are available for purchase in-store or online.

In-store Gift Cards: Do not expire and are valid for use in-store only.

Online Gift Cards: Do not expire and are valid for use in-store and online.

[4.3] SHIPPING POLICY

Our standard shipping starts at $8.50 to addresses in Australia and New Zealand.

Orders $200 and over receive free shipping within Australia.

International shipping fees are calculated at checkout based on location.

Please choose your items carefully. We are not required to provide a refund or replacement if you change your mind.

All items are sold “as is”. Please keep in mind that the expected level of quality and performance might be lower for secondhand goods, depending on factors such as age and wear. We take all care to ensure we re-sell quality items.

If the item you purchase has a major problem, please ensure you contact us within a reasonable time to rectify issue. Please ensure you have proof of purchase.

For more details, refer to our Terms of Service & Refund Policy.

 

 

When your order has shipped, you will receive an email notification from us which will include a tracking number you can use to check its status. Please allow 48 hours for the tracking information to become available.

If you haven’t received your order within 10 days of receiving your shipping confirmation email, please contact us at info@swop.net.au with your name and order number, and we will look into it for you.

[4.4] ACCESSIBILITY

SWOP West End: the store is on street level.

SWOP Darlinghurst: the store is on street level.

SWOP Collingwood: the store is on street level.

See our Contact page for more accessibility information.

[4.5] PHILANTHROPY

For clothes that didn’t meet our SWOP criteria (we couldn’t buy them from you), we offer to donate the items to our nominated charity on your behalf.

Some of our nominated charities that we’ve supported: Pay A Sack Forward, Red Cross, Can Too Foundation, Addison Road Community Centre, Milk Crate Theatre, Twenty10, Asylum Seeker Resource Centre, Salvos.

In Brisbane, you can choose for us to donate items to Local Opy – our very own op shop that donates 100% profits to charity.