Second hand school uniform and textbook website sees up to 600% jump in visits as parents look for bargains

As the cost of school education continues to rise, a website that allows parents to buy and sell second hand school uniforms, text books, sports equipment and musical instruments has experienced a dramatic jump in its usage.

Listings overall in the past 12 months are up 350%, text book listings a staggering 600% and school uniforms up 200 % on schoolxchange.com.au (www.schoolxchange.com.au ) started only two years ago by Sydney mother  Claire Pearson.

The site now gets 100,000 hits a week from parents in all states and territories across Australia.

“Mums and dads are finding it increasingly tougher when it comes to the cost of their child’s education and whether you’re at a private or state school there are many families looking for savings,” Claire Pearson, a mother of two, said today.

“I think one of the reasons for schoolxchange.com.au’s success, apart from being able to save between 50% and 60% on uniforms and books, is that it allows parents locally to deal directly with each other.

“The website simply provides a connecting platform, with the description of an item for a particular school, an assessment of its quality and the price the selling family wants. Contact details are discreet and that gives both the buyer and the seller confidence to make contact, check the item, whether it’s a Year 7 uniform or Year 11 maths book, or maybe a tennis racquet or cricket bat.”

Mrs. Pearson said the most sought after books are Maths, English, The Arts, and Science which contributed to the increase since last year of 600%.

“Once the word spreads, I find the number of listings for a school will begin to increase significantly. Mandurah Baptist College in West Australia currently has 57 listings, while Barker College in Sydney has 134 items listed at the moment,” she explained.

“New South Wales has the biggest number of listings, but Queensland last year increased by  200% and we think that will increase dramatically this year with the devastation of the floods, Victoria was up 340% and West Australia up by 240%.”

More than 7,000 public and private primary and secondary schools are listed on the site from all states and territories.

At any time it has more than 2,000 items for sale.

“Because you’re dealing locally, there’s no cost for packaging or shipping involved. A parent can check the items personally and pay the other parent directly,” Ms. Pearson said.

Families wishing to list items on schoolxchange.com.au pay a small fee ( a percentage of the value of the items they list) to the site. There are no additional fees or time limits and no costs to buyers.

“The fee is a small fraction of what they’ll recover from selling old or used items rather than just becoming more clutter in the bedroom or around the house,” she added.

A snapshot of 2010:

• Listings up 350%
• School Uniforms up 200%
• Textbooks up 600%

Visits to site up 225%

Total number of hits 4.8 million averaging 12,500 per day which is up 280% over 2009.

Biggest Increase:

Textbooks: Maths, English, The Arts, and Science increase since last year 600%

Listings from States other than NSW:

• Qld up 200%
• Vic up 340%
• WA up 240%

Stand outs for school uniforms include:

• Barker College NSW (134) listings and
• Mandurah Baptist College WA  (57) listings

Enquiries from people searching for items average 120 per week

Textbook listings up 300% since advertising on targeted Facebook ads

Let Your Hands Do Your Talking!

Last month I was invited to join the Australian Literacy and Numeracy Foundation and start a wall of sponsors on http://www.wallofhands.com.au

Have you heard about the Wall of Hands? Did you know that 4 out of 5 indigenous children in remote communities can’t read by the time they leave school? How can this be possible in Australia in the 21^st Century?

Imagine if your child couldn’t read. I know I spent a huge amount of time helping my kids to read when they were in primary school. Without literacy and numeracy it’s impossible to participate in the modern world.

Please let your hands do your talking. Visit this link http://www.wallofhands.com.au and make a donation on schoolxchange’s wall. You can make a donation for as little as $5.00 – a little more than the price of a coffee.

So, make a difference, make a donation.

We’ve been very busy over the last few months updating our www.schoolxchange.com.au website. As with all aspects of running and operating this unique service, it’s been a real learning curve, but we think we’ve improved and developed a great new site for you to use with some new features that will enhance it’s functionality whilst maintaining the user friendly interface.

It’s still easy to list items and find what you’re looking for, but we’ve added some additional features such as “Can’t find your school” and links to our Twitter and Facebook accounts.

Listings for items such as uniforms and textbooks at www.schoolxchange.com.au continue to grow. We’re receiving enquiries every day from schools all over Australia and now upload these live onto our Twitter and Facebook pages. This means you can keep track of what customers are looking for and what they have for sale, instantly.

Why not let your friends know about www.schoolxchange.com.au by clicking on the “Send this site to a friend” link on the homepage. With more buyers than sellers, it makes sense to advertise your items now as there is a clear demand for pre-owned uniforms. The more listings we have, the better the site works for everyone!

Our home front is as always, busy, busy, busy at the moment. Tax returns to complete, school assignments to supervise, HSC exam jitters to soothe…the list goes on and on doesn’t it? Thank goodness winter is almost over. I’m already looking forward to the next school holidays, summer sports, longer days and watching my boys play outside in the warmer weather. Soon it will be time to check that summer uniforms still fit and are all in one piece. Life is just one long holiday for parents isn’t it?

We hope you check out our new website soon and remember, we welcome your comments and suggestions, good or bad!

By for now,

Claire.

Time to wrap yourself in the cocoon of winter, stay warm and make your home a haven. Slow cooked meals and keeping the family warm and healthy are the top priorities at this time of year.

The pace of life seems slower as we hide away at home but as all parents know, this is only an illusion. The end of Term 2 and the beginning of Term 3 are actually the busiest time of the school year.

Assignments need to be done, music exams need to be attempted and for many of us who have kids involved in club sporting teams the games continue throughout the chilly June/July holiday period.

Have you checked the kids’ wardrobes to make sure they have all the items they need to stay warm and cosy? Not only do they need jumpers and blazers for school but they also need tracksuits, fleecies and warm shirts for sport. If you need any items then check our site, www.schoolxchange.com.au.

Kids really do have a tough time trying to stay warm and dry during winter don’t they? For sport they are out in all types of weather, especially the boys and girls who play rugby, netball, hockey or soccer. Travelling to and from school on public transport means kids often arrive home cold and wet. It can be particularly tough for senior students who are struggling to meet the demands of rigorous study and exam schedules. Getting the uniforms washed and dry for the next round can be a challenge for parents- especially if you are trying to juggle work as well.

Have you thought about having a spare set of uniforms for the emergency days when you just can’t get everything dry in time for school or the game? Second hand uniforms can be very handy in this situation. Having a spare set that hasn’t cost the earth can make life a whole lot easier. Just check out our site www.schoolxchange.com.au to see if there are any items you can pick up for a bargain.

With the school holidays just around the corner it’s a good time to think about selling the items your kids have outgrown or no longer need. It’s also a fantastic way to recoup some of the money you have spent on these expensive items. The money can then be used for the new or second hand items you need to buy to keep the kids outfitted.

Are you going to the ski fields this winter? You can be certain that your children will have grown since last season and chances are, you’ve probably only had a few weeks wear out of them. So why not list any gear you don’t need, ski pants, jackets, boots, gloves… the list goes on and on!

How do you list the items you would like to sell? Just register at www.schoolxchange.com.au. You’ll need a credit card or Paypal account as you need to pay a small listing fee of 10%. (Less for more expensive items) Follow the prompts on our website and you are all set to go. It is really easy and your details are always kept confidential.

The great feature of our site is that your ad remains online until you sell the item you’ve listed, there are no time limits or repeat fees. And don’t forget that you can also sell and buy textbooks, musical instruments, hiking gear and sporting goods as well. We plan to keep expanding our site to meet your requirements.

If you have any thoughts you would like to share with me then you can contact me through our website or you can become a guest blogger… so let me know what you think…

Keep warm!

Bye for now,

Claire.

People often ask me questions like’ “how did you come up with the idea for www. schoolxchange.com.au?” and “do you have kids yourself?” So I thought I’d tell you a little bit about myself.

I migrated to Australia from England on my own in 1979. When I look back now, I think, did I really do that? I probably wouldn’t be brave enough to make such a huge move now. It’s a big decision to relocate to another country or even another state, especially if you have the extra responsibility of children.

Like most people I’ve had experience in several industries. My career has included roles in the public service, banking, advertising, and as a freelance graphic designer. Being a ‘stay at home’ mum I chose to be actively involved in my local school community and volunteered for various positions and committees such as the school tuckshop and uniform shop. And as I often tell my own boys, nothing you learn is wasted!

Chatting to other parents I soon realised a common subject amongst them was that they all had uniforms and other items they wanted to sell, but didn’t know how to. They also wanted to find economical ways to keep up with the constant demands of seasonal uniform changes and extracurricular activities such as sport and music.

So, the idea for schoolxchange.com.au slowly evolved until one day I realised that the answer was to develop an internet based business that made it easy for parents to find exactly what they needed online with a simple listing process for people to advertise items for sale that was targeted to their own school community.

Although my boys are now teenagers, I have a third “baby” - my business. I have guided and nurtured my kids and now I’m finding that I need to nurture and develop schoolxchange.com.au. My experience as a graphic designer has been a good starting point, but I quickly discovered there was an awful lot to learn!

Launched just 18 months ago the business has been growing steadily. At first the website was just a place for families to sell their pre-owned school uniforms to other families. Now schoolxchange.com.au has grown to include all Australian schools in all states and offers a range of items for sale including uniforms, textbooks, sporting gear, musical instruments, scout and cadet uniforms and even calculators.

With new updates and redesigns planned for the coming months, I hope to be able to continue to bring families a reliable, up to date, secure service, helping busy mums all across Australia and make life just that little bit easier!

Like to share your thoughts? You can contact me through our website or become a guest blogger.

Bye for now,

Claire

Term 1 is already over and we can all breathe a sigh of relief now our kids have settled back into school routines.

Are you new to our site? Then I would like to say a huge welcome!

Term 1 was an incredibly busy time both for www.schoolxchange.com.au and for me personally. Parents were busy buying and selling on the site as they were getting organised for the new school year and I was flat out coordinating the marketing and promotion of the site as well as answering enquiries, making sure all our customers were happy.

What a hectic January and February I had! I was of course, very excited about appearing on Channel 9’s Today Show and about being interviewed on several radio stations. Our site was temporarily overwhelmed by the huge demand and we suffered some brief delays due to the huge amount of traffic. This was unavoidable and as you are probably aware, the same fate that affected the launch of the controversial MySchool website recently.Things quickly returned to normal once the jam subsided and the small hiccup was well worth it giving us national exposure, thousands of new listings and hundreds of new, registered users. www.schoolxchange now has listings for schools and communities all over Australia.

But just when we thought we could relax a little, it’s time to get organised again. With the days getting cooler and shorter, it’s time to shake out the winter woollies and sort through winter uniforms and sports gear. Chances are, your winter uniforms from last year are too small, so why not list them as there are plenty of eager buyers looking for a bargain.

Don’t forget to check the sport uniforms and equipment as well. The kids have probably either outgrown these or even changed sports and you don’t want to be left with lots of unwanted items. We also have parents who are looking for cadet uniforms, camping gear and hiking boots, so if your child no longer needs these, they can be listed as well.

How do you advertise your items? Easy! Log onto www.schoolxchange.com.au register and list the items you want to sell. We’re cheaper than other online selling sites and the only site dedicated to serving Australia’s school community.

Sellers have a huge advantage when they advertise with us because buyers have the option of viewing all the items that you are selling. Buyers simply click on “view details” for an item and then “view all items for sale by this seller.” This means buyers save time and the seller can sell more items in a single transaction. So if you’ve visited or bought items using our site but haven’t advertised before, why not give it a go! You have nothing to lose but plenty to gain.

Don’t forget you can contact me through our website and  you can even share your ideas as a guest blogger.

Keep warm and cosy this autumn!

Claire.

There was definitely a chill in the air last Easter weekend! I used the long weekend to sort out the kids’ school uniforms. I feel so much better - now that I am organised for Term 2. Believe me, it takes a brave woman to try to create order out of my son’s chaos!

Summer uniforms that are too small will be listed on www.schoolxchange.com.au . My advertisement will stay on the site until the item is sold or I remove the ad. Of course, I also discovered that my kids need some extra winter uniform items and bigger sizes for their sport uniforms. My plan is to visit www.schoolxchange.com.au to list my unwanted items and to check out what is available for winter before I shop anywhere else. All I need to do is register, list my items and pay a listing fee of 10% of the item price through Paypal or using my credit card.

Uniforms sell quickly on www.schoolxchange.com.au as it is a really popular, secure website that parents check regularly. It’s a great site for finding all sorts of things that kids need. Not only are there school uniforms and sport uniforms available, but also textbooks, musical instruments, school bags, even hiking shoes. Really, anything your child needs for school can be found on this site. It feels really great to get rid of the clutter in the cupboards and I can use the money from the uniforms I sell to put towards the items my kids really need.

It’s just too easy and now I’m rewarding myself with a well-earned coffee and Easter bun!

Cheers!

Joy, Sydney

Guest Blogger

And what about all the other stuff they’ve accumulated during the year that they won’t be needing again? School bags, textbooks, sports gear, musical instruments… The answer is to list them for sale on www.schoolxchange.com.au

At this time of year we have many parents searching online for school essentials and schoolxchange is fast becoming one of the most popular sites for the trading of secondhand textbooks. They are all searchable by subject or study year, making it easy for buyers to source what they need in their local area. With most books retailing for $40-$50 dollars new, we offer parents huge savings by being able to buy items at approximately 50% of the retail price.

Why use schoolxchange? With most school-operated uniform shops closed for the holiday season, we offer an easy, quick, convenient and secure online facility specifically aimed at the school community. With the ability to search by school (no scrolling through pages and pages of listings from other schools) and a simple, straightforward listing process. No complicated contracts, bidding procedures or long pages of information to read. Just register, list your items and pay a listing fee of 10% of the item price through Paypal using your credit card.

Another great advantage to using www.schoolxchange.com.au is the option for buyers to see at a glance all the items you have for sale giving them the opportunity to see what else you have. Buyers simply click on “View Details” on an item and then “View all items for sale by this seller”. This is designed to save buyers time and enables the seller to sell more items in a single transaction.

We would like to extend our thanks to our many, new customers who have sent messages of encouragement since our launch last November and a big welcome to all our new members.

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas and a prosperous New Year!

Cheers!

Claire

Now is the perfect time to drag out those summer school uniforms and check they actually still fit the kids. It has probably been a long time since you last looked at them and who knows how much your kids have grown over the last six months.

Don’t panic if you realise your kids have had a growth spurt and don’t fit their uniforms any longer. www.schoolxchange.com.au are here to help fit the kids out with inexpensive and pre-loved uniforms.

Log onto our website and do a quick search on your school to see what size uniforms are up for sale. The schoolxchange website is built for mums so it is quick and easy to use. Remember that kids grow very quickly so buy a uniform as large as you can for your child without them feeling drowned in fabric!

Once you have fitted out your kids with their new uniforms you will be wondering what to do with the outgrown versions. Schoolxchange can help with this as well. Just log onto the  www.schoolxchange.com.au website and list the old uniforms you which to sell.

The Schoolxchange website is the perfect way to save money on updating school uniforms. By listing your old uniforms for sale and purchasing the new ones on www.schoolxchange.com.au , you will save valuable time as well as money.

Don’t leave it too late. Term Four is fast approaching and your kids are growing fast. Log onto  www.schoolxchange.com.au today to ensure your kids are ready for the summer school months ahead.