A swap only works if the two shoes can actually reach their new owners, so shipping sits at the heart of how Step Swap is priced. The service covers a growing set of Central European routes, charges the real carrier cost plus one small flat fee, and shows you the exact total before you pay. This guide explains where Step Swap ships today, how a swap is priced, the difference between home delivery and pickup points, and how to check costs before you commit to anything.
Step Swap currently supports routes across several Central European countries: Slovakia, Czechia, Hungary, Romania, Poland, and Austria. Both domestic swaps, where you and your SoleMate are in the same country, and cross-border swaps between supported countries are available.
The set of routes has grown over time. Poland home delivery and expanded routes in Czechia and Hungary are recent additions, which means more people can now swap close to home rather than waiting for the network to reach them.
Whether a specific swap can ship depends on the pair of countries involved, because each route has its own carrier and price. The current list, and the cost for each route, is published openly so you can check your own case rather than guess.
The price of a swap has two parts: the carrier shipping cost for your route and one small flat shop fee. There is no membership charge and nothing is marked up; the shipping portion is the real cost of moving a parcel between the two countries.
Each person pays for their own inbound parcel, the shoe coming to them, rather than splitting a single bill. That keeps it fair and predictable: you cover the shoe arriving at your door, and your SoleMate covers theirs. The exact total is always shown in the chat before you confirm.
If a route cannot be priced, the swap cannot be paid for. Rather than guess at a cost or surprise you with a bill later, Step Swap blocks payment on any route it cannot quote, so you never agree to a number that was not shown to you up front.
Depending on the route, a parcel can be sent to a home address or to a pickup point such as a parcel box or shop counter. Pickup points are often cheaper and let you collect when it suits you, while home delivery brings the parcel to your door.
You can save a preferred pickup location on your profile, so setting up a swap does not mean re-entering it every time. The carrier used depends on the country: parcel networks such as Packeta cover several of the supported routes, with other carriers used where they fit better.
Whichever option applies to your route, the address details are handled on Step Swap’s side when the label is created. Your address goes to the carrier so the parcel can reach you, not to the other member, and you do not type your SoleMate’s address either.
Paying for a swap does not immediately take the money from your card. Step Swap places an authorization hold through Stripe, which reserves the amount without moving it, and the charge is only completed once both sides have committed to the swap.
If a swap is not completed within its window, the hold is released automatically. Releasing a hold is immediate and free, unlike a refund, which can take days, so you are not left paying for a swap that never happened.
This is also why checkout is card-based: a card can be authorized and held in a way that other methods cannot. The amount that gets held is exactly the total you saw in the chat, with no extra charges added at the end.
You do not have to sign up to see what shipping will cost. The public delivery fees page lists the supported routes and their prices, sorted so the routes most relevant to your country appear first.
Because the total depends on the pair of countries, the most useful thing to know is your own route: where you are, and where a likely SoleMate is. Checking the fees page first means the number you later see in the chat is one you already expected.
Shipping prices are kept current against carrier rate cards rather than left to drift, so the published figures reflect what you will actually be charged. If you want the full picture before committing, the delivery fees page and the chat total together leave nothing hidden.
Step Swap supports routes across Slovakia, Czechia, Hungary, Romania, Poland, and Austria, including both domestic swaps and cross-border swaps between supported countries. The list grows over time.
The cost is the real carrier price for your route plus one small flat shop fee. Each person pays for their own inbound parcel, and the exact total is shown in the chat before you confirm.
Yes, where the route supports it. Pickup points such as parcel boxes are often cheaper, and you can save a preferred location on your profile.
Your payment starts as an authorization hold, not an immediate charge. It is completed only when both sides commit, and released automatically if the swap is not completed in time.