Vinted - is it safe? Read many negative reviews and am wary - but there's some good stuff!

[PunishmentRoundupWithJoon]

Always bought a lot of second hand clothing on ebay but have been looking at Vinted recently. Things seem quite a lot cheaper on there and I'm wondering if it's 'safe'. Looked at Trustpilot and the reviews are pretty terrible - 65% are 1 star reviews!

I'd be starting with something fairly cheap, under £10 so not a major issue if something goes wrong. I seem to recall a thread a while back on here about Vinted and many people were saying that the customer service was terribe, so I'm quite wary.

Does anyone use Vinted for buying and can you let me know the positives and the negatives please?

Thanks in advance!

Typo alert...obviously 'terribe' meant 'terrible' 🙄

I joined about 3 weeks ago. I just bought my first thing a couple of days ago, so I'll let you know.
I have sold about 7 things now, all exactly as described and posted quickly, so the people I have sold to have hopefully had a good vinted experience.

Maybe people mostly leave reviews about vinted when they have had bad experiences?

I think the point is more that if something goes wrong, Vinted don't give a shit. I had an order that was totally ruined by the delivery company (evri, of course). The problem was that somehow they had poured oil or similar over it and it stank and could not be washed out. Vinted said that the photo didn't show a problem. I pointed out photos don't show smells and offered to post it to them. They didn't even reply.
So, yes, Vinted are shit but you can still get good deals because most people aren't as shit as the company that runs it

Iv bought hats, bags, shoes etc, never had an issue!

i haven’t had any issue just sometimes people not sending things but everything I’ve bought has been fine

I've bought and sold over 50 items and only had one issue... the tracking said delivered yet the person claimed not to have received it. Vinted refunded the buyer and I kept the money from the sale. Really rate it.

I only ever buy brand new with tags. I check the seller's reviews too. I've only had a couple of duffs amongst a lot of purchases. I've stopped selling as I can't be bothered with it.

I've got some amazing bargains so I'd recommend it. I did fall out of like with it but went back after a break and fell back in. Annoyingly 😂

Thanks all, it sounds ok so far. Have added a few things to my favourites list and will take the plunge and order tomorrow.

Have only just joined so don't know how the payment system works yet. In the 'payment options' it says 'credit card' so presumably when I order I'll just provide my card details. I'm so used to paying via paypal on ebay!

My son bought a pair of trainers, the seller was fantastic and so was Vinted. Only issue was the delivery which was Evri but they are notoriously awful around here (still waiting of Christmas presents to arrive). We got them in the end and were just as described.

My experience is very much buyer beware and seller beware.

If buying focus on ‘New with Tags’ or ‘New without Tags’ or accept that ‘Very Good’ can mean a multitude of conditions. Check the pictures carefully and check the seller reviews.

I also rarely spend more on an item than I am willing to lose.

My buying experiences have been generally quite good, although I have had a few fit issues and had to resell things that were too big or too small.

I have only had one serious purchase issue where the seller sent me a totally different item to the one I bought. That issue is ongoing and I am waiting for a resolution. However, I suspect from her other reviews she has made a genuine mistake and it will be resolved.

When selling I consider all aspects of the buyer profile before accepting an offer. I try only to sell to buyers with good reviews. Obviously that approach doesn't work if someone pays full asking price, but few people do.

Once sold, I package immediately and well, put the parcel straight in the post and communicate all the way through the post sale process.

I have bought and sold dozens of items and been genuinely delighted with many of those transactions.

What is not so good is the customer service if you have a problem. Trying to get Vinted to accept some genuine Converse trainers I sold as the real thing, resolving shipping issues and actually getting Vinted to send me the excess account balance I was holding at one time, have all been real tear your hair out moments.

I hope you enjoy your Vinted experiences

Oh and just to add. I never use Evri, who are dire. I set my shipping options to Post Office only and use their tracking facilities.

Mixed experiences, I've had a few items not in good condition (eg stains, a hole, missing something) and one item never sent and seller didn't respond to message (Vinted refunded in that case). The descriptions did not include the faults. Equally I have had other items in good condition. I only buy very inexpensive items so it isn't a major problem but I would avoid spending more than i could afford to lose. I found selling hopeless, even at very low prices, so gave up on that.

I've bought 4 boys 3 piece suits off of Vinted, no issues, items were as described and sellers sent them straight away. Have been really pleased with my experience of it.

Purchased far too much on Vinted and it’s been fantastic. An evening dress for £10 my best find.

got a fabulous "new with tags" winter coat for £10, then got a bit carried away and bought a few things that were a bit "meh" - but very inexpensive. Definitely worth keeping an eye on it for bargains.

It's all sounding quite positive so far. The items I'm looking at are substantially cheaper than they would be on ebay, which surprised me. @Curlewsreturn - I wouldn't want to use Evri either so will be using post office where possible.

My dd sells loads of stuff she's made almost a grand in a few months. She only sells though not buys but gets her money and has never had an issue

Just bear in mind that if something isn’t as described you have to pay the postage to return the item to the seller and you don’t get refunded for that.

Ok, have just ordered my first item. It's less than £5 and I've had it sent to one of those locker places as that meant no postage fee. The locker place is literally across the road. Not sure how people make money on there!

It's only free on your first order, that's how!

@Twinedpeaks - really?? I didn't know that! Thought it was a bit odd. You'd think they'd flag that up as an incentive though.

Vinted is as good as the seller. There's a lot of crap on there and you have to read the product info carefully. Out of loads of baby purchases I've only had one bundle I've sent back because it was in bloody awful condition. Thankfully the seller wasn't an arse about it.

Vinted add a fee to protect your purchases and they're pretty good at honouring it. The most common issue is Evri losing parcels, it's frustrating but normally both seller and purchaser get compensated by Vinted.

It's great as a seller because the postage is super easy. Much less of a faff than eBay.

I only know as I didn't realise till after! Didn't you get a message when you first joined about free shipping on your first item? Check your Vinted inbox

I'm actually going to list a couple of items myself.

Does Vinted take a percentage of the selling price?