Vinted or eBay - as a seller?

[TokyoBouncyBall]

So I've always sold things on eBay but have gone off it for the hassle and the scammers.

And I have a couple of bits of almost unworn designer clothing that I want to sell, but am wondering if Vinted is now better or whether this is just because I have seen so many ads? What's other people's experience been? Do I swap or stick with eBay, where DH and I have at least accrued twenty years (!) worth of feedback.

All thoughts and ideas welcome.

I made the move to Vinted.

buyer pays all fees which is welcome news as a seller, especially since eBay started taking a percentage of your postage costs in fees too. I personally wouldn’t go back to eBay, even as a buyer.

I like vinted as a seller. Do not use royal mail as you have to pay it yourself and get reimbursed but if you choose the wrong size parcel you can't end up short. If you use couriers then the buyer pays for a label that's sent to you and it's fully tracked. Buyer pays fees so the price you list it for is what you get. The buyer also only has 3 days to raise an issue after delivery. Once that's up, or earlier if they confirm it's fine, you get your money and they can't come back with an issue at a later date. Returns can happen but buyer must pay return postage. You will get cheeky offers and most people expect a bit of bargaining so best to list a bit higher than you want and have room to negotiate.

Vinted has much better protections for sellers than buyers. As a buyer I only use vinted for lower value items since the protections lean to the seller.

I’ve found Vinted very easy but prices can be lower.

Not on everything. Sezane is still quite pricey on Vinted and so is some ski stuff.

I much prefer Vinted. It's so quick and easy to use. As a PP said the prices may not be as high, but the buyer pays the fees so it balances out. I sold something recently which was lost by Evri and Vinted reimbursed me and the buyer with no hassle.

This is brilliant, thank you, you're convincing me to have a go.

Is it relatively straightforward to set up the courier within the listing?

Vinted has a very easy user experience from a seller POV - but stuff generally sells for lower prices than EBay.

If I'm selling general clothes/accessories I go to Vinted. Anything like collectibles - unusual ornaments and the like, EBay is still the place IMO. Maybe that will start to change...

Is Vinted mostly adult clothes? Or a mix of ages? And non clothes?

I've been selling stuff on Vinted for about 2 months now and have made about 75 quid. It's quick to make listings, easy, and I like using Evri and Inpost as the delivery options so far.

Vinted is definitely easier. Don't offer Royal Mail, and you just print out a prepaid label to post. Price things 20/30% higher than you want for them, because everyone wants to make an offer. You'll get lots of offers which then never pay, but the item stays live until it's paid for. If you get multiple offers accept them all and the first person to pay buys it.

When entering details for the item for postage options choose the ‘parcel size’ option

There will be a recommended option depending on your category selection.
Go into each and check the ‘size & compensation’ specifics.
These don’t tend to be much different for couriers but will vary for Royal Mail

Make sure that you can put together a parcel within any of the dimensions / weight limits
Otherwise if you can fit in all but one option then you get caught out of the buyer picks the ‘wrong’ option

If not, or if a courier is unsuitable for you (no drop offs in your area) then you need to exclude them in your profile

Hi sorry another question from a vinted novice. How do you tell which parcel companies operate from your area? I think it makes sense to just use one - i know the post office is near but not sure how it works with couriers? Thanks

I’ve been using Vinted quite a bit over the last few months and I find the seller experience is vastly superior to eBay. The range of what you can sell is more limited - clothing (women, men, children), shoes, accessories but also children’s toys, baby equipment and school supplies. As others have said, prices skew low but for many things I’m happy to make a bit rather than nothing at all. Popular brands sell best; more obscure labels can slip under the radar.

If you go into Profile - Settings - Postage there is a list of all the postage services. For each one there is a link where you can check the nearest drop off points. You can then disable the ones you don't want to use.

Vinted all the way I was a ebayer seller for over 20 years currently they have my account on hold as a buyer claims they haven't received the item it was clearly delivered 3 weeks ago! I tack everything .
Still they haven't closed the case.
I love vinted I've only just started selling but so far I'm doing well

Choosing your preferred carriers can be quite a personal thing.

Obviously there’s the issue of whether or not there’s a suitable drop off point for you

Providing options gives buyers choice as they may or may not prefer a particular carrier, having had problems in the past or convenient collection points where applicable to them

The cheapest postage options do tend to be ‘pick up in store’, but the shops that take them may not be convenient for a buyer
I’ve discovered a couple of times that the tracking has come up as delivered & ready to collect about the day before it’s really available, so unless I’m passing I’ll sometimes not bother attempting to pick up until the next afternoon / evening

It’s a key lesson to learn as a seller to review your available carriers and to disable any you wouldn’t be able to use.

Next there can be the frustration when selling multiple items that one buyer picks Royal Mail, another picks evri etc and you’re on a journey to drop it all off

For me that’s the only occasional ‘issue’ as I’m well served, with a royal mail counter in the garage around the corner from me, a few shops that each takes particular carriers and more cabinet options popping up nearby
(With cabinet drop off I have not had the problem of a suitably sized cabinet being free, but I did have one that was a snug fit)

When you create a listing do pay attention to the small / medium / large parcel specifics

They are not always the same in each listing category.

This is less of a problem with carriers for which Vinted provides the seller with a label to print, but with Royal Mail you can get caught out on subtle differences on the size / weight allowance and end up paying RM more than you have been given in the payment

When setting the parcel size in the advert look at each of the options to make sure the item you’re selling will fit and isn’t too heavy (when wrapped!)
It can turn out that most options are fine but the only one with the lowest allowance gets picked by the buyer
If you can’t risk that carrier then remove it from your seller options, or make an allowance in your selling price in case you have to fund a little more

Thanks for all the advice everyone. It sounds like there's a lot to consider so glad im not going in clueless. Now just to sort out the wardrobe.....

Vinted is so much easier but I'm within a couple of minutes walk of yodel, inpost and Evri drop offs. I don't send by Royal Mail. You don't need a printer with the three couriers they can all be done digitally, i print the Evri labels in the local Tesco express.

I made £300 just before Christmas and £100 last week. Expect to sell for low prices, it's great if you just want a clear out.

Also list seasonally so ski stuff sold
Really well in December for example.

I prefer posting with Royal Mail.

I am very familiar with sizes and weights for RM and buy the postage online, where I print off the label. RM will also collect from your house, free, and they zap the barcode and you get an email confirmation of collection.

I've not done that yet as I'm unsure if the buyer would accept a screen shot of an email and it also shows your address.

Locally, we have had huge issues with Evri (parcels being lost) and I don't have a drop off point nearby.

I agree that Vinted has much lower prices. I am tired of people 'favouriting' items- what's the point? Either they buy or they don't. I can't be bothered with all the hassle of packaging up and taking to the PO for a sale under £5.

Likewise I don't like cheeky offers as I sell mid-high High St brands and want a reasonable / fair price.

Are there any other options? I was considering Vinted but I have a few items that I don't want to sell cheap. They're new with tags (received as gifts but the wrong size) - Westwood; Ted Baker, etc. I've found Ebay has quite a few scammers on the clothing side so was looking for an alternative.

I think big names new with tags can do quite well; otherwise check with a good old fashioned vintage shop that takes things on commission.

That's a good idea. Thanks.

Well, after nearly 22 years of eBay- along with my extreme efforts, high quality items, swift posting, honesty and fairness - I’ve had a few thoughtless remarks flippantly given by buyers who weren’t happy with my careful recycled packaging (sorry Planet Earth). Heartbreaking to see the ruinous feedback. So, I’m done with high fees, scant protection for sellers and the rest)and thinking of changing to the recommended Vinted. I’m very grateful to read everyone’s honest opinions on here. I’ll give it a go today..☺️

I really didnt like selling on VInted. I had too many people saying they were interested and never hearing from then again or haggling once they had put in an offer

But that’s just how Vinted is. People liking items is part of the process as it offers and haggling.