Little-known way to pay nothing for clothes, toys and furniture – and you can save hundreds
DITCH shopping for swapping – it will help declutter and save cash.
As the cost of living bites, the age-old practice of bartering is back, but it now has social media such as Facebook and WhatsApp at the heart of it.
Thousands of people around the country are exchanging everything from clothes to plant cuttings, instruments to tech, and replacing unwanted items with something much more useful to them.
Harriet Cooke tells how to get in on the action . . .
Clothes
HAVE you got unworn outfits taking up wardrobe space?
Take a bundle to one of the clothes swapping events up and down the country – or even organise your own.
Many events are free, but others charge from £6 to £10 for entry.
They are often so popular that tickets sell out in advance.
All have different rules, but typically you can bring between five and ten items, which must be clean and in good condition, and then take the same number home.
Find events by searching “clothes swap” on the Eventbrite website, or browse Facebook events near you.
Sun Money’s consumer champion Laura Purkess was delighted with her haul of new outfits, including a designer shirt that she picked up at the free Hackney Clothes Swap in East London this month.
She said: “I took an old skirt from New Look, which I bought for £5.99, a pair of Aerie leggings, £6 in the sale, and a Burton polo shirt worth about £11.
“I was given three raffle tickets – one for each item as they were worth under £50.
“For anything worth more than £50, swappers get two raffle tickets. I chose two pairs of trousers and a Ralph Lauren shirt, which would have cost around £100 new.
“I bagged at least £130 worth of clothes.”
Furniture and gadgets
YOU can swap almost anything, from antique furniture to modern tech, on sites such as Swapz.co.uk.
They work like dating sites, matching up users with various things to barter. One Swapz.co.uk member is currently looking to exchange a Microsoft Surface Pro 3 tablet for an iPad Air, an iPhone 12, or an iPhone 13 Pro.
Another wants to swap a £1,000 acoustic guitar for an electric guitar of similar value. If you are interested, you will need to sign in and click on “make a proposal” so the other person knows what you are offering in return. If your proposal is accepted, you both enter your addresses and post the items to each other.
The site recommends that you check the other user’s rating first and only communicate via the platform to reduce the risk of scams.
Books
MANY towns and villages have spots where you can pick up and drop off old books. You’ll often find them in train stations.
Online, Bookswap.co.uk lists thousands of books, including newly published and rare ones. First, you just need to list the ones you are prepared to swap.
If another user requests your title, you post it off using a prepaid label.
You’ll be sent instructions on how to get this.
Then you’re rewarded with credits that you can spend on other books.
When “buying” books with your credits, you have to pay a delivery fee of £2.99, plus a swapping fee of £1 and ten per cent of the value of each book.
Kids stuff
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IT’S great for kids to try out hobbies, learn to play an instrument or have a go at a new sport, but it can be costly for parents to buy all the kit.
Claire Moffat, 50, from Southampton, founded swapping site Kidd3r.com after being asked to shell out £90 on new Irish dancing shoes for her ten-year-old daughter Naomi, so she could take part in a competition the following week.
She says: “Kids love to try out new activities, but the parents still have to get hold of the right kit, even if it turns out to be a short-lived interest.
“Swapping is the ideal solution to let them have a go without big expense.”
Try and organise a swap event with other parents you chat to at the school gates or in WhatsApp groups.
Mum-of-three Beccy Mitchell hosted a toy swap party at her home in Sevenoaks, Kent, and it was so successful she wants to run more.
The 44-year-old, who runs a business selling living green walls at Brandedbiophilia.co.uk, plans to host more gatherings to exchange items that her children Amelia, 15, Lucas, 11, and Riley, five, have outgrown.
She says: “I held a coffee morning at home and invited the parents of my children’s friends to bring some games, puzzles and toys to swap.
“It was fun and everyone went home with something new.”
Plants
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FILL your home and garden with free greenery through plant swapping with like-minded locals.
Find a group near you on Facebook or start your own and encourage others to join by posting about it on the Nextdoor website and chatting to your neighbours.
As well as sharing seeds and cuttings, it’s a chance to meet other gardeners and pick up helpful tips.
Betsy Francis-Mearns, a 24-year-old publicity executive from Bath, and her partner Will, 25, a construction worker, now have 60 house plants thanks to a Facebook swapping group.
Betsy said: “Some neighbours have been incredibly generous. One lady gave us eight cuttings of different species in exchange for one small spider plant.
“I picked up two Chinese money plants through a swap and they multiply so quickly. We keep exchanging the baby plants.
“It’s saved us so much money. Our collection would have cost at least £350.
“It’s so fulfilling because it feels like we’re building a mini ecosystem within our community and we’re all helping each other.”
