Kind Exchange

I used to really like the Kind Exchange, it seems like a good idea and I had a pretty good luck with store credit for my items when I would bring them in.
Lately, not so much. The staff is unfriendly; not helpful or even close to nice. And don’t even bother to bring stuff in, it seems like the majority of their stock is old and overpriced H&M and Forever21, and maybe that’s all they want to take. I brought in some pretty decent items and really didn’t receive much of an offer. I donated the remaining things, mainly because I didn’t want to carry them home. I was then told by a friend that she thought they were still selling donated items. Not sure if that is true, but I’ll be checking.
Doubtful I’ll buy anything further from a Kind Exchange.

Geeze… this place took a dive. In the past I’ve found some decent items but now it just seems cluttered with junk. The employees seem overworked. A worn-​out H&M sweater for $ 20? No thanks, I’ll buy it brand new for $ 30. I’m surprised they didn’t buy my silk Calvin Klein dress just because it’s off-season…doesn’t make any sense. I’ll just go to Value Village where the prices are the same, but it’s much bigger so there’s more of a chance of finding fun things.

The selection is a little sad and dingy looking, and I felt that the prices were too expensive for a second hand shop. I know vintage is huge in this city, but I’m talking $ 25 for a forever 21 sweater with the tag cut out. Also, I tried to sell some never-​worn, high quality clothing here and the sum they offered me was so low it would not have bought me lunch. I would not recommend trying to sell anything to them, they will certainly lowball you and then charge much, much more when they resell. You’ll have better luck selling on craigslist, facebook groups, or a local sales app. for what they offer you, you may as well donate to a worthy cause.

— Pretty junky. Rarely Will you find any treasures.
— Pricing isn’t setting you up for a deal. This second hand store is all about location.
— Sizing available is often larger (ie. Size 10 and upwards) — definitely not a bad thing.
— Smells like a value village; musty and stale.
— Last time I walked through, found a cute little jean jacket from Garage clothing (aka garbage tween brand), and they were selling it used for $ 25. That jacket didn’t even sell new for that price. Good try, but I’m no sucker!

Not impressed at all, i had to call twice to find out if they were gonna purchase any items. As well as it was my first time doing this, at least 10 items were never worn with tags on them so I’m quite surprised nothing was bought. They only look for particular styles which I think is ridiculous because there wasn’t any speciality items when I browsed the store myself.

I love it here, i picked up some sick Nikes and a vintage Guatemalan sweater on my last trip up. Also grabbed the wife a bunch of tops that the girl picked out she had good taste and was super helpful. Highly recommend

My experience:
I went there for the first time and was told that they only took clothes from the opening hour to the hour before closing, so I didn’t sell my clothes out. I checked online to see what clothes they were taking before I went there for the second time but couldn’t find the info anywhere, so I took the same bag of clothes there and sold none.
They could have done much better with the web site and may they could consider taking clothes for all seasons at lower prices.

I’ve never tried to sell my clothes at Kind Exchange so I can’t comment on all the hate from previous reviews but as a shopper, I’ve always been thrilled with this store (and their other locations). In fact, I try to avoid them for the most part because I can’t seem to stop buying things there.
The selection is great. I’ve found some cute pieces for as low as $ 9 and some designer pieces for insanely cheap prices. ($ 25 for a brand new French Connection dress — what?!) I guess your success depends on your style but I’ve always gone home happy.

This review is for the location at Queen and Peter. I was a little confused by the items in this store. Seems like a great idea, but all I saw were value village type things, and really, really cheap jewellery. I didn’t note any great brands or things that had been picked through with care or consistency. I brought a slightly used Chloe bag, that was rebuffed. I like the idea of this store, but I think it is wasted on the current people who work there.

Taken from:

«Just call your local Kind Exchange boutique and ask what they’re currently buying. Then bring your items up to our Buy Counter where we can help walk you through the selling process.»
This week i saw online that Kind Exchange was now purchasing clothes for fall and winter, i figured why not? gave them a ring and was told to just «come down to the store at 611 Queen West» Cleaned out my closet and took the gently worn next to new treasures down to the 611 Queen location of Kind Exchange. the girl working the counter there more or less told me she didnt have any money (purchasing power) to buy my clothes, so i should take all my bags to the other store down near Peter street on Queen west. She didnt go through my bags, walk me through the selling or donation process, nothing of the sort. i was just sent to lug my bags to the next location at my expense.
«We offer cash or trade on the spot to anyone with unwanted clothing, shoes, accessories, or more! «
after having read this^ off their website, i was under the assumption that bringing as many items as i did (4 bags) they would purchase at least a couple of items and i would be able to trade some of the rest in for other items.
took my bags to the «Buy Counter» at the Queen and Peter location of Kind Exchange where i was told i would have to leave my bags with them… Wait what? thats not how the process is outlined on Kind Exchanges website. (Then bring your items up to our Buy Counter where we can help walk you through the selling process.)
The frazzled girl at the counter had me fill out a form that she didnt and wouldnt explain to me, then told me she would call later to tell me what they would want from my items.
2 Hours later I received a voice mail from Kind Exchange stating «we will not be buying any of your clothes. You can come and pick them up within 7 days or you can donate them to Kind Exchange.» There was no offer for me to trade my items in and the donation process was never explained, even when i came to pick my items up.
OK, I am all for helping people in need (and i do on a regular basis) but from what i undertsood from the website I was bringing clothes was trade or sell as this is the supposed «focus» of their business. I did not go to Kind Exchange with the intent to donate 4 bags of my clothes, if i had wanted to donate my clothes i would have taken them to a deserving shelter, not spent half my day traveling between stores that give very little in the way of customer service.
Kind Exchanges website states «We also offer the unique opportunity for you to donate your clothing — the proceeds from the sale of your items will go to a local charity of your choice.» but no one mentioned that to me at any point in time.
there are no charities listed on their website, furthermore I could find no charities listing affiliation to Kind Exchange. it makes me feel very uncomfortable that there are no affiliations whatsoever listed online for these «charities» i could have donated to.
This to me this is a blatant SCAM, they say «we purchase clothes» to get you to bring your clothing items in, then they say «you can leave it as donation»
Ive seen and heard of people getting great deals from this place, but now that i know how they are able to offer those deals I will not do business with this company ever again.

This place is definitely better for buying clothes than selling.
Re: Selling
I recently brought in a bag of summer clothes. It was a mixed-​bag of pieces, some still with tags, never worn, a pair of ankle boots, worn once, still in perfect condition, and a few t-​shirts, camisoles, and tank tops, all in great condition. They wanted only two of the items, offering a total of only 5 $. 2 $ for a shirt with a tag of over 25 $, never worn, and only 3 $ for the boots. I could get more on ebay, with way less hassle. So, if you’re thinking that this store is a good way to get some cash and get rid of some clothes, think again, they’re extremely picky with what they’ll buy from you.
Re: Buying
As for shopping, this store is pretty cool, I found a cute leather skirt there for about 12 $, there are a lot of vintage-​y items, great selection. The concept is really neat, they donate money to charities, it helps with the environment, etc etc.
In short, I’ll keep popping in to shop, and probably donate some older clothes, rather than attempt to sell them, but if you/​I want to get some money for some really good condition clothing, I wouldn’t try and do it there.

Wow… so I went to this location to try to sell some clothes that I have been holding onto. Pretty much more then half of my stuff has not been worn and was summer attire. When I first dropped it off the girl at the counter was not exactly friendly and told me that she had a line up of other bags to go through first as it was a first come first serve process (which I totally understand). I was trying to decide whether to leave my stuff there or to come back another time as I was from out of town and she was like well you have 3 days to pick it up and I said to her yes, but for the 4^th time I am out of town and only here for the day *sigh*. Regardless, I left my stuff for them to take a look at. I finished up some of my other appointments and decided to check in after 2 hours to see if they had time to go through my stuff and there was another girl at the counter who said they just finished doing it. They told me they were taking nothing. When I asked why she said it was because the stuff I had was ‘similar’ to stuff they already had that wasn’t selling. I find it hard to believe because I looked around at the stuff they had and it was quite a different collection of items. Anyways… I said fine and was going to take my stuff back. Whoever the person was that looked at my stuff decided to staple the piece of paper to my bag which then as the other girl tried to get the staple out damaged my roots travel bag that had all my clothes in it. To say the least I was not impressed. Overall, my impression of the store was that it was not friendly and not really a consignment store considering they took not one thing from me. Was thoroughly disappointed.

What an amazing place! I love that they support local charities. They have a great selection of fun clothing and have a hip, welcoming staff and store. I found one of my favorite pieces of clothing here and I keeping going back for more amazing finds. A definite must visit if you are in Toronto.

They sell, they buy, they donate to charity!
Beautiful, unique pieces upstairs for very low prices, but don’t miss out on the bargains downstairs! All proceeds from the downstairs selection (which are great) go to charity, because someone has donated that piece to the store. They give you a few charities to choose from, as well. What a great idea! That selfless concept of passing on the proceeds from what they have received for free is what bumped my 4 star rating to a 5 for them.

Great mixture of items at this consignment store, its not the designer-​filled kind of high-​end vintage, but certainly a couple diamonds in the pile.
The upstairs is where for-​profit merchandise is held, and the downstairs «underground» is full of great bargain items where the profits go towards a charity of your choice. I personally love the concept and the downstairs is where a lot of the gems are — I found an adorable Zara dress for $ 15 and there was an AA blouse for $ 8! You will need to be prepared to dig a little, but its certainly worth taking a look.
Lovely staff and I’ll certainly come to check it out every so often.

Looking for cheap, cheap, CHEAP fashionable clothing?
Kind Exchange is a new vintage and consignment shop that has opened in the heart of the fashion district, on Queen West near Portland.
The space is big with three large changerooms in the back. All of the clothes are hung on racks and laid out nicely which makes for looking a gem a breeze.
The quality of the clothes is good and you can find some top brand names for low prices. There’s also a rack dedicated to new clothing by local designers, who have marked down their prices. They’re slightly more expensive but you get an original piece for less than what you pay for at most boutiques.
Kind Exchange is also about giving back. They will also trade in clothing and buy clothes. If you donate an item of clothing, the profit of the sale of that clothing can go to a charity of your choice.
It’s worth to keep checking their blog for updates. Depending on the season, they might be looking for a particular item more than something else such as heavy coats in the winter or dresses in the summer.
Get shopping and save!