Vinted - Please tell me how I'm being scammed

[Scammeduhoh]

I'm new to Vinted, I bought an item last week and now I've had a look round a bit more I've realised the seller is a scammer. They only listed one item, have no reviews and have a nonsense name of numbers and characters. Most importantly, after I "bought" the item my listing was deleted and I can see the same photos being used again in a new listing from a different seller with the same kind of single item, no reviews, nonsense name profile.

The problem is I'm not sure how I'm going to get scammed and I want to do the right thing when it happens to get my money back. My understanding is that vinted doesn't release money to the seller unless the buyer clicks that they've received the item and are happy. So far the "seller" has said they've sent the item for pick up at a local pick up point. I've been watching to see if it updates to delivered so I don't miss the 2 day window to complain but what else should I be watching out for? If they send nothing or some rubbish instead of the item I'll obviously complain but they must have a way around this? Otherwise their scam would never work?

Can you track the parcel on the app?is it showing in transit? If it says delivered and you haven't received anything report it to vinted

It doesn't say delivered yet and the tracking says it was posted from France but the listing says it's UK based. I've read that scammers on vinted can somehow use tracking numbers that have been used before but I can't work out how this is going to play out. Has anyone been scammed like this on vinted? What happens? Can I avoid it?

Always pay by paypal so that if house scammed you will get your money back.

I'm pretty new to buying on Vinted but I think that the seller only gets paid when you confirm you have received the item and confirmed you are happy.

So if they somehow used a fake tracking number, they still wouldn't get the money as you wouldn't confirm you had received it?

I could be wrong though, I know that scammers are getting more and more sophisticated with their methods.

I don't use Vinted for that reason, I've heard nothing but scammy experiences. However I've used Ebay for 25 years.

Here are a few rules I stick by:
*Always check the sellers' feedback before looking at ANY items they've listed.
*If less than at least 20, I block them and don't purchase from them. It doesn't matter how much I may like the picture of the item listed.
*Always check location. Make sure the address they list is the address they are sending from. You can do this on Ebay. Not sure about Vinted.
*If I have made a purchase I think is potentially dodgy, I do this: When I go to collect the parcel, or when the parcel is delivered, I video opening the parcel to reveal its contents. One video, no edits, always in shot. This gives you some evidence.
*Always pay with a credit card, this also gives you some protection to get your money back.

Did you ask for it to be delivered to a drop off point, or did you ask for a home delivery. Home delivery is always better if where you live is safe.

@Katy123g That's how I understand it too which I why I can't work out how this will go and was hoping someone had had this happen to them and could advise. I guess if it all goes wrong for me I can update this thread so others know.

@TheHumanExperience I failed at most of these sadly. Now when I look at the vinted listings I can spot the scammers but I had a bout of newbie over-enthusiam. I also selected pick up because it works better when I'm out of the house but I think that was a big mistake.

You can report an issue ie: parcel not received they will investigate. I mostly sell on Vinted but bought a couple of things and never had any problems

I nearly got scammed! There's a thread about it somewhere @Scammeduhoh search vinted and paperplate....😑 several posters had the same!

@MichelleScarn I found your thread, well done getting your money back. Fingers crossed I do too!

Contact vinted directly via the help centre, explain your situation and they will refund you.

Im not sure that it’s true that the seller o ku gets the money once the buyer clicks all ok and item received. I’ve bought a few things form Vinted over a year or so and never clicked anything to say it’s all ok. Maybe I’ve been a bit slack in not doing this (didn’t realise I had to) but my money has been sent and no emails received to say the seller hasn’t been paid etc. it would be awful for sellers to have to rely on people (like me) who just don’t check emails properly or get round to clicking a button to release funds. I suspect after a period of time, the money is released to seller if the buyer hasn’t raised any issues. This wil
likely be how the scams work

I was right. After 2 days the money is released if the buyer hasn’t raised an issue, it’s very clear in the vinted terms and conditions

Didn’t mean that to sound so smug. “I was right” 🙈😱😂

@CatsEatDogs it depends on how it’s been sent, if sent via Royal Mail the seller doesn’t get paid until after the item is marked as received, if they don’t don’t do anything it will eventually be marked as delivered automatically but it takes a lot longer than 2 days.
If using tracked services it’s different as vinted automatically gets the tracking updates.

Interesting post

I’ve recently started buying on Vinted so great information

OP I would also suggest taking a screen shot of the relisted item and asking someone to ask a question to the seller about it . eg whats the back like etc

Im sure someone here would be happy to do so if you dont know anyone

Ah I see. But money will still get released to seller regardless of whether buyer clicks anything, eventually?

I think I read somewhere that if the seller can prove they posted it then even if the buyer says it hasn’t been received then Vinted will still pay them. But also refund you. So it’s Vinted that loses out.
I’m not sure how this works if they’ve used a random tracking number though. Maybe depends what courier they use. Maybe some are easier to scam than others.

Can I just add that the random username with numbers could just mean the seller hasn’t set a username yet

Yes but I do think it’s unfair to make the seller wait as for untracked delivery it’s a 1 or 2 week wait as I think they need to give it 10 days, after that if the buyer hasn’t reported it as lost then vinted will automatically send the payout.

Yep, fair enough. Now I know I have to click something, I’ll do that next time

Update: I wrote to customer services and they replied with a stock answer to wait until the item did or didn't appear and then raise an issue within the two days. A few days later the info on the order updated to say that there was now a problem with delivery and if nothing happened by 25th Nov to raise an issue with two days. Then a few days after that I got a message to say the transaction had been suspended followed by one to say it had been cancelled and that I would be refunded. The refund finally came today.

So I still don't know how this scam is meant to work. Maybe it's as simple as hoping that the buyer won't raise an issue within 2 days but I alerted customer services so it never got that far. Either way, I fortunately got my money back but watch out for sellers with no previous sales and a username that's just a list of random characters. Now I know what to look for I can see them everywhere.

It’s happened to me before - the way Vinted works is that the seller gets paid regardless, and then if the item never arrives Vinted will refund the buyer themselves. This is why they have the little insurance “protection” fee added to each purchase - it’s paid for from this.
these scam sellers are infuriating but when you know what to look for they’re super easy to spot - they’ll have all the tell-tale signs you pointed out in your post, and often they’ll be “selling” the item ridiculously cheap even though it’s supposedly new with tags. If it seems too good to be true… often you can tell they’ve just gone into a shop and taken photos of an item in there.
whenever I spot one of these fake listings I report it to Vinted straight away in the app, and within ten minutes Vinted have ALWAYS delisted the item and blocked the seller. They really do act on reports instantly so it’s well worth doing!
but if you do get caught out by one don’t worry - it’s annoying having to wait, but if you report it after the date noted you’ll get your money back with no questions asked.

DON'T TRUST VINTED, I sold some very beautiful dior sunglasses. I sold them for £35 cheap as I wanted a quick sale, I had lost the box too, but I carefully wrapped the glasses in bubble wrap and put in a small box then into a jiffy bag, the buyer claimed they where damaged, basically she had just popped the lens out, as I could see in the photo, totally lied about the bubble wrapping, VINTED have now refunded her and said she doesn't have to send the item back!! £230 glasses ! really upset , what can I do? VINTED won't help me.

God that’s awful! Can you raise any kind of complaint/case with Vinted? I’ve never actually sold anything on there, only bought things, so I’m not sure x

Scam, don't believe them, this is exactly how they lured me into loosing my money, thanks to sirdaverecovery at p r o t o n dot me,,,, for the refund now my funds are recovered.