From Shopaholic to Swapaholic

MOVIDA KATRIZIA tries out Swapaholic, one of Singapore’s fashion swap services, tucked away in the heart of the city, Orchard Central.

Entrance of Swapaholic swap shop at Orchard Central. PHOTO: SWAPAHOLIC’S FACEBOOK PAGE

Swapaholic is a fashion-swapping service that operates via a point system and offers a physical retail experience. I decided to try swapping there for the first time because of two reasons: my aim to start shopping sustainably and my overflowing closet.

Ms Tiara Safiah, Marketing Manager at Swapaholic, explains that Swapaholic “was born to solve the overproduction and consumption problem of the textile and fashion industry.”

“People outside the sustainability community actually adopt swapping these days,” says Ms Tiara. “[So] it proves that our system and processes [that] are catered to customers’ [convenience] are working.”

I headed down to the Swapaholic shop where I experienced its swapping procedure:

1. Swap-in

Customers will bring in their pre-loved items to the shop where staff will perform a stringent quality check. Items are required to be of acceptable condition according to Swapaholic’s guidelines before being accepted.

I brought in a total of six items: five were pre-loved pieces that I no longer wear and one was an unworn, still-tagged piece. The staff then conducted a quality-check of the items that took about 10 minutes. Of the six items I brought in, four items were accepted.

1. Earn Points

Customers can then process their accepted items into Swap Points which can be used to purchase any pieces that they like from the shop. The processing fees at the shop are structured in a way where the more items you give to Swapaholic, the cheaper the processing fee is per item. For instance, the fee is $4.50 per item if less than 10 items are processed, and $3.50 per item if more than 21 items are processed.

I was surprised by the information on the processing fee because it was not clearly stated on their online social platforms. Nonetheless, I decided to process three items which cost me $13.50 total. The three items were a yellow plaid dress, a grey plaid skirt and a multi-coloured striped cami top, all from the brand Temt. From the processing, I earned a total of eight swap points.

1. Swap-out

Customers can finally purchase items using the swap points earned from the swap-in.

After browsing around the store, I was able to find two items that I wanted in my closet: an orange sweater that was priced at three swap points, and a pair of beige corduroy pants that was priced at four swap points. For customers who do not have enough swap points, they can pay money to earn more swap points.

Holding up the clothing items I swapped out of Swapaholic. PHOTO: CHEW WEN XUAN

Swapaholic’s customer service made the experience easy and comfortable for first-time customers like me.

“[The staff] get to know you,” says Mrs Eileen Chan, a past customer at Swapaholic. “It's [a] much more pleasant experience than shopping at a high street chain where you just don't get that.”

The swap shop itself organises their items neatly according to categories. They offer various styles that mainly cater to people aged 18 to 50. However, I observed that they have more items that are of larger size which were brought in by previous customers.

Rack of items and the centre table for accessories upon entering the Swapaholic shop. PHOTO: MOVIDA KATRIZIA

Swapping is a sustainable strategy to extend the lifeline of your clothes and maximise their use.

“It’s nice to know that your clothes are going to someone that loves them,” says Mrs Chan.

Mrs Chan also found swapping enjoyable because “you don’t know what you’re going to get.”

“Sometimes, [you’ll] just be going through the rack and you will actually find that perfect piece that you've always been looking for,” says Mrs Chan.

Mrs Eileen Chan posing with her favourite swap find, a black slip dress. PHOTO: EILEEN CHAN

Ms Bianca Tham, a regular swapper, advises first-time customers to “go with friends.”

“It is a lot of fun helping each other look for clothes and trying them on together.”

Ms Bianca Tham enjoying her time at a Swapaholic Event. PHOTO: BIANCA THAM

Swapaholic Swap Shop Details

Address: Orchard Central #04-07

Opening Hours: Monday to Sunday (11am–10pm)