As I mentioned yesterday, I’ve had problems with truly smart shopping. I tend to settle for just what I need, perhaps because I don’t like to go from store to store or maybe because I just don’t like to spend money.

David at My Two Dollars posted a little while back on an online thrift-store alternative called Swango.

Essentially Swango is an online swap meet. You bring your own clothes and you get others. Swango gives you credits for uploading clothes, you then use these credits + $0.99 to buy the clothes online. They say the fee is basically to keep the site running, it’s not a non-profit after all. Some also goes to a charity that helps low-income families get new clothes.

It has the advantage over thrift stores that it’s easier to browse and you’re not limited by geography. Geography gives it an advantage over Craigslist, and price gives it one over eBay. Of course, if you want to sell something for money, you can always put it on eBay, but there’s probably a number of items which would go straight to the thrift store instead. Now you have an alternative.

Swango previews items and may reject some of your uploads based on wear or brand. On the plus side, they’re rejecting other people’s ugly stuff too, so you’re benefiting from their vigilance.

The only disadvantage I have come up with is that it seems you need to be able to list clothes on the site in order to start swapping. I suppose that’s the proper spirit of a swap. I’m just not sure what I have that’d be worth listing, except the suit I bought that I would rather get money for if possible. I’m going to keep this in mind, though, and keep an eye on it.

What you have to pay:

• Credits. They’re free, but we’ll get to the cost below.
• $0.99. To keep the site running. Cheaper than most thrift stores. More expensive than free.
• Shipping. You don’t have to pay shipping for items that you order. BUT you have to ship your items to the buyer on your own dime. And you have to list items to get credits, thus meaning that you may have to pay to ship them if anyone wants them.

This makes me miss the rummage sales I worked at in college. Very low prices and everything went to a non-profit that rescued girls from forced prostitution. I loved volunteering because it was always a good place to get clothes and the money went to a good place. I still have some favorite items from those swaps.

And as with the Diva Cup, I wasn’t paid anything to write this, I just find it interesting.

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