Now more than ever, Swop2Shop is a service that’s needed for fashionable women hungry for a bargain. Imagine a rail of new clothes that you can change at will, dresses and shoes, scarves and skirts…well at Swop2Shop your dreams can come true. Providing a service for women of all shapes and sizes, the Swop2Shop website hopes to return in the near future, with a range of clothes costing you less than you dare to believe. More details will be disclosed in the future so keep your eye on the Swop2Shop blog for upcoming news.

By Peter Madden | 25 November 2010, 15:31 BST

http://uk.ibtimes.com/articles/20101125/hard-cash-gives-way-digital-credit.htm

Peter Madden tracks our future transactions

In a couple of decades’ time, money as we know it may no longer exist. Banks and bills could be a distant memory; national currencies may no longer hold sway; and bartering – of products, services and time – may be back in fashion.

Hard cash is already giving way to digital credit. One sure sign is the steady closure of bank branches on our high streets. Pop into a pub for a pint these days, and you’ll find another: regulars flashing credit cards, not tenners, at the busy bar staff. Meanwhile in Japan, you only have to wave your mobile at a vending machine to get your favourite can of fizz.

Digital payment systems might start to pawn virtual currencies, independent of dollars, euros or pounds. The seeds are already being sewn. Who needs cash when you can spend credits from cyber schemes like Beenz and I-points, use your air miles, or trade in your loyalty bonuses? Just how long before Amex or eBay issue their own currencies?

We are already seeing a boom in bartering, thanks to peer-to-peer sites like Swaptree, where you can exchange books and CDs, and SWOP2SHOP for clothes.

So what does virtual money mean for sustainability? Will it pave the way for more local currencies – taking the lead from towns like Totnes? Will it loosen up some liquid for credit-crunched companies? Or will the exchange of old wares and private services wean us off our love of shopping?

These new transaction trends could prove impossible to regulate, their future dependent on our readiness to take a leap of faith. But given the behaviour of major financial players over recent years – and their seeming inability to learn from mistakes – people may well opt to place their trust in other forms of exchange.

Peter Madden is CEO, Forum for the Future.

Dear Member,

We’ve been sending out e-mails every week to remind you of our imminent closure, but this week we are saying our final farewell. Clichéd it may be, but Swop2Shop really has had a rollercoaster ride these past 16 months. We have seen the birth of this brilliant idea, felt the adrenaline rush as press articles were printed in glossies and broadcast on TV around the country and we have experienced an overwhelming sense of pride as both our team and membership have grown.

We have secured some lasting relationships with our friends and partners, Mhoula, Hello Eco Living, Ecotricity and My Zero Waste and we are extremely privileged to have received such great support from these affiliations. We thank everyone that we have worked with in the past that has helped build awareness about swapping and have strongly believed in our success; we couldn’t have done it without you.

PUBLIC AWARENESS

Public awareness of clothes swapping only began in the early nineties when small groups of friends got together to exchange clothes.  However, online swapping only began very recently, with large American sites like Thred Up only starting out in 2009!! When you think of how huge America is and how small we are in comparison, it’s understandable that the swapping craze has yet to hit big in the UK.

We have many ideas floating around concerning a future Swop2Shop model, but our main priority will be to make our members feel part of a swapping community without having to pay extortionate monthly payments. Swapping has been going on for generations, between families and friends, neighbours and colleagues. We want this very basic concept to continue and evolve so that people are aware that swapping is something everyone can participate in and enjoy doing so.

Naturally, the Swop2Shop team is now dispersing to pursue different ventures, however, if you ever have any queries or you would like an update on our ongoing pursuit for funding, please be aware that you can contact Zoe Bawtree at zoe@swop2shop.co.uk.

A MESSAGE FROM ZOE

As you all know, this decision was one of the hardest I’ve ever had to make. For the last 16 months my life has revolved around Swop2Shop and it was no easy task admitting defeat, especially when both myself and Kathryn worked so hard to get it off the ground. I believe that there is still an almighty amount of potential left in this project and I’m not willing to see it disappear completely, so for now, I am closing the door on Swop2Shop and will await the time when I can reopen it once again. Thank you for being a member of Swop2Shop, I hope that your passion for swapping continues and please know that your support has been of great consolation in these difficult closing weeks.

We have decided to go to the Good Web Guide Awards in London as we were short listed from 1800 sites. We are very proud to be noticed as a small developing business hence this is not farewell. Thanks again for all your support we will let you know how we get on by visiting our facebook page.

Thank you, from all of us at Swop2Shop. We hope that you enjoyed the site.

Zoe Bawtree,

and the Swop2Shop Team.

Swop2Shop has received some great coverage in its closing weeks and we are really grateful for all the amazing support we have received off the press and our partner companies. Earlier this week, we were surprised to be informed that out of 1,807 entrants, Swop2Shop was shortlisted for The Good Web Guide’s, ‘Website of the Year Award’! Although we didn’t make it through to the Top 20 we are extremely proud to have been part of the small group that made it through first round judging.

We are also ecstatic to have received a two page spread!! in the Gloucestershire Echo, Weekender Magazine/Paper.  It is a lovely editorial piece surrounding Swop2Shop’s progress a year on from when the site was first initiated and understandably, we were both happy and sad to see such a great piece of press in the final weeks of Swop2Shop’s closure. The coverage is a prime example of the support the company has received over the past year and we are confident that there is the potential for the site to re-emerge further on in the future.

We hope that you are busy spending your remaining points and remember, if you haven’t got enough credit in your account, you can still buy top-up points!

Happy Swapping!

The Swop2Shop Team

We would like to inform you that you now have 3 weeks remaining to spend your accumulated points. We would like to reinforce that points cannot be transferred to other user accounts or exchanged for monetary value. See FAQs for more info.

We would like to inform you that you now have 4 weeks remaining to spend your accumulated points. We would like to reinforce that points cannot be transferred to other user accounts or exchanged for monetary value. See FAQs for more info.

Our apologies for any inconvenience caused,

The Swop2Shop Team

However, the Swop2Shop team is proud to have seen through a year of great organic growth and gathered a following of people that share the same passion for swapping. We know that the news of Swop2Shop has arrived quite out of the blue, but I believe this will only assure you that the team were ferociously trying to keep the business alive, right until the very end.

You now have a little over 5 weeks left to spend your remaining points. There is still an abundance of stock to purchase, so keep browsing the site for more hidden gems. Remember, if you have any questions please first visit our FAQ’s page as most of your queries can be answered there. However, if your question remains unresolved, do not hesitate to contact a member of staff at admin@swop2shop.co.uk.

We would like to thank you for all your support and understanding.

Swop2Shop Team.

We regret to inform you that Swop2Shop will be closing for the foreseeable future. All of us working for Swop2Shop love swapping, love S2S and most of all, adore you…our lovely swappers who also share our passion for clothes swapping! However, as the company has grown organically over the past year, we haven’t received the support we were hoping for. We are extremely disappointed to inform you of this news but financially and emotionally, we cannot carry Swop2Shop any further at the present time.

We have decided to take time out to refocus on the model and to enable a better swapping experience that we can all benefit from. With the craze massively taking off in the States and gaining traction throughout Europe, we intend to re-launch Swop2Shop in the future when demand in the UK increases.

However, don’t panic, you have six weeks* from today to spend your accumulated points. We regret to inform you that your current listings will be suspended from the site and you will be unable to swap your items. You will also be unable to purchase from other users due to security precautions.

Nevertheless, you can still purchase items from the Swop2Shop stock with your remaining points. Please note that points are non-transferable and can only be spent on the Swop2Shop website. After the six week period, member accounts will be closed and points will be null and void. We assure you that your information will not be passed on to any third parties. Please see our Terms and Conditions for more information.

We hope that you can sympathise with our situation but we cannot afford to run Swop2Shop based on this current model. Next year, we hope to return with a new improved model. We hope that we can return with a more efficient and profitable site that really will make swapping the new shopping.

Swop2Shop would like to thank you for all your support and we hope that you understand just how difficult this decision has been. We will be sending out weekly e-mails to inform you of the approaching deadline. Click link for New FAQs.

We hope that you enjoy spending your last points.

The Swop2Shop Team

*you have from 7th October 2010 until the 19th November to spend your remaining points.