MEC Ends Online Gear Swap
It was started 25 years ago and was popular across Canada
Mountain Equipment Company (MEC) has announced that it will end its online gear swap on Feb. 24 of this year. The gear swap was launched in 1997, before social media or most online marketplaces existed. All active posts will be removed.
“It’s been gratifying for the people who created it to see it get so much use over the years, connecting the MEC community and keeping used gear out in the wild,” MEC said in a statement.
“Now that the market for secondhand outdoor gear is so established, it’s time to push pause on our platform. We’re looking at ways we might improve it, integrate it into e-commerce and build programs at MEC that do even more to extend the life of outdoor gear.”
MEC was originally known as Mountain Equipment Co-op before being rebranded as MEC, it was sold in 2020 to Kingswood Capital Management. Last year, the newly owned company made a one million dollar donation to Canadian outdoor groups. MEC was rebranded yet again last year to Mountain Equipment Company and the original logo of a mountain was brought back. MEC continues to carry top-of-the-line gear and its brick and mortar stores are still hubs for outdoor communities across Canada.
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