Vinted mystery. Can anyone explain the scam here?

[CrackOfYawn]

Recently I’ve noticed that in the early hours of the morning loads of designer bags appear in my recommended feed (Mulberry especially) The bags appear all in good used condition according to the pics. They are all priced at the exact same low amount. This is normally around the £6-£9 mark but always very specific amounts like eg £9.37. The sellers all have different names but all are made up of random letters and all have no reviews.
Now obviously I’m not a dafty, I know a Mulberry bag selling for under a tenner honks of a scam but I’m a curious fecker so I start favouriting them to see what happens. They seem to last until the morning and then suddenly vanish.
Yesterday there were stacks of them so I reported half a dozen. Vinted just sent feedback on the reports, saying on 3 of them that they had taken action and on 3 of them the item had been removed before they could view.
Thing is, I’m mystified how this can be a scam? You don’t get paid on Vinted until the buyer receives and accepts they’re happy with the item so how do these scammers make money out of this?

i don’t know how or why but I’ve noticed exactly the same thing being done with things like trainers so it must be a thing. It’s noticeable because as you say it’s always too cheap, odd amounts and using identical pictures

I’ve also noticed this on Facebook marketplace. When you message the seller they don’t get back to you. I was wondering if it was a click bait thjng and they were getting paid money for the adverts on the listing page, but I don’t actually know if Facebook pays out for ads like that.

Yep. The other thing that’s strange is that the bags are all posted under the same but random category, like drill bits 🤯

I haven't noticed this to be honest. I wonder if it's to harvest names and addresses, if people do buy?! The seller doesn't see buyers payment details, but in order to post the items, they'd have access to names and addresses. I've never sold on Vinted only bought. Does a seller see a buyers phone number details?! Again a name, address could be used to gain further information and if a phone number can be seen, it gives them more information to use to scam.

I haven’t experienced this but I have often wondered how scams work in Vinted. Due to my search history, I often have feeds full of of trainers and football shirts. Most of them are fine, but they are always peppered with sellers like you describe. No reviews, names that are a random mix of letters and items that are suspiciously cheap.
I only ever buy from sellers with a decent amount of very good reviews. But what would happen if o did buy from one of the dodgy ones? As you said the payment comes from Vinted once you say you are happy. No option to steal data, claim things have been stolen etc. I don’t get it!

This makes sense I guess. Quite elaborate, though.

It is puzzling isn’t it? It could be the personal data they’re after I guess, but there’s surely easier ways out there of getting that than having to generate shipping labels? It could be bots but again, why? It’s very strange

I’m huge Pom Pom London bags collector and the very same happens with Pom Pom bags too. Every morning. Nicked pics from other sellers and prices like £8..

There's a common Amazon scam whereby the scammers get access to your account and then add things like iPhones to your basket to scare you, before claiming that a third-party 'scammer' whom they are 'helping you to beat' has done it.

Maybe, if they're based in India (as most of them on Scam Interceptors seem to be), they've just been told that Mulberry bags are desirable in the UK and don't really look at the price (in a foreign currency to them) when doing it?

Or maybe the price doesn't matter that much to them, as long as it's something desirable that a scammer has added to your basket - after all, most people would be just as scared at their account having been accessed and compromised whether via something costing a grand or a tenner.

I’ve noticed exactly the same with perfume, and I’ve never understood what the scam could be.

It happens with all kinds of more expensive items. Lots of BNWT, all selling for £6.19 or £9.36. I work nights so often notice this in the early hours.
I mean whatever the scam is it must be working coz they keep doing it!

I've been looking this up and it seems the scam is that they either send you nothing and try to pressure you into accepting it? Or they send you an expensive item with an invoice and try to put pressure on you anyway because they will say they have your address?
The listings are usually gone by morning.
I clocked buy on a wallet the other night then cancelled within half an hour once i realised there were loads of other listings by random sellers.
Hoping there wont be any repercussions but I did block them after reporting them.
The lesson is an old one. If something seems to good to be true. It likely is! Lol.
Trouble with vinted is that there ARE often little gems that come up!
I've been very lucky on there with some fabulous finds that people just want gone.

Yup, loads of scammers on my feed today selling designer bags, makeup etc all for similar strange prices, like £6.80 and all in different weird names. I reported it to Vinted.

Can buyers see your personal details on Vinted no?

Same with Loungefly bags.

I’m so glad you posted this, I was googling yesterday trying to understand what the scam was. I love mulberry bags and am often to be found looking through the listings for bargains late at night and see this every time now. I’ve been really wondering about it.

I've noticed this starting a few months ago. New seller (no reviews) listing expensive makeup or skincare at £2.46 or similar very low identical value for all items. Lots of different sellers, probably the same person and probably using photos from existing listings on Vinted. Now this weird price has crept up to £6. Loads and loads of items appear very late in the night then disappear. I think Vinted remove them as fake listings.
No idea how it works but it us a big scam.

Could it be code for something? So they really have something else for sale that they’re not allowed to sell on Vinted, but the buyers know what to look out for and then get in contact?

@afaloren This! Glad it's not just me 😂

Was there anything else in the photographs? I have clearly watched too much Elementary but I wonder if it's a way of selling stolen goods. So it might be an alert of some kind - presumably to people who are looking out for it.

Some form of money laundering? Looking like they have stock that they don’t have?

I once put a dress on eBay, it was a plus-size bridesmaid dress, and had loads of messages from creepy men asking me for photos of my boobs! Did I accidentally send a coded message? @EmeraldRoulette

@afaloren no, I think that's just how many weirdos there are out there!

Data harvesting?

I reported loads of cheap new unopened perfume all listed under Hairdryers.
No idea what the scam is and not heard back from Vinted.

I have noticed exactly as you all describe. Even screenshotted some of the sellers wardrobes or whatever they are called. All high end bags or perfumes. All at the same randomly price like 6.98 or similar. Yes under a weird category again like timber. I duly sent Vinted an email along with user names and basi ally got told to Fuck off some had already been banned others will no be so. No thank you or anything.

This evening after not receiving a dress I ordered. The seller was in hospital. So as it has been 58 hrs after supposed delivery which neither me or the parcel.shop have I lost my shit. Emailed the board members and said what are you doing I am going to report you to 111 online for the theft of my dress which I supposedly collected whilst in another town and these dodgy middle of the night listing's. People don't act like that for no reason. It is definitely a person or group as the photos are the same and the username like 5 random letters.

Come on MN we have a case to crack. No mo ey moves so it can't be money laundering, a bit elaborate to get people's names and delivery addresses as many of us use work/parcel lockers. Very, very odd.