Vinted problem :-(

SJM1988 · 01/05/2026 13:26

You just have to wait for it to be returned and then raise an issue if it isn't in the condition you sent it in.

I had one this week that was complaining about the pattern on a dress making it looked damaged. That is how I purchased it and only wore it once. I sold it for £5. I did a return and she didn't want a return but refund without return. Vinted sided with me and asked her to return it. I'm 99% sure its going to come back damaged so we will see.

Needtosoundoffandbreathe · 01/05/2026 13:27

Leave it - you've done all you can. Her messages scream scammer. It sounds as though she may already have the same bag with a dirty interior or she's used AI to make yours look like that in the photo she sent. Raise an issue if you get it back damaged.

SilenceInside · 01/05/2026 13:29

You've done everything you can do at the moment. The first line support from Vinted is automated, so it won't be a human responding unless you persistently message and ask for things to be escalated. But you don't need to escalate anything at the moment.

I wouldn't have offered the buyer a partial refund if I had proof I had sent the item clean.

She was trying to bully or intimidate you, you've blocked her and reported to Vinted. There's nothing else to do other than wait for the bag to be returned, if t ever gets sent back to you.

Original poster

OrangeMoonsAreCool · 01/05/2026 13:30

Ok thank you. I will leave it for now. If it comes back damaged I will definitely raise an issue (and I’ll be wearing gloves when I unpack it - honestly, her messages are slightly unhinged and a bit scary).

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Original poster

OrangeMoonsAreCool · 01/05/2026 13:32

SilenceInside · 01/05/2026 13:29

You've done everything you can do at the moment. The first line support from Vinted is automated, so it won't be a human responding unless you persistently message and ask for things to be escalated. But you don't need to escalate anything at the moment.

I wouldn't have offered the buyer a partial refund if I had proof I had sent the item clean.

She was trying to bully or intimidate you, you've blocked her and reported to Vinted. There's nothing else to do other than wait for the bag to be returned, if t ever gets sent back to you.

That’s what my daughter said! I’m a mug and my default mode is ‘I’ve made a mistake’. I kind of panicked and thought maybe I hadn’t looked closely enough inside the bag. But then I found photos I had taken of the interior and it WAS clean and not all yellowy like in the photo she sent.

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DeadBug · 01/05/2026 13:36

I was recently scammed on vinted by someone who sent me paper instead of the handbag I ordered.
It's really frustrating because you want to speak to a customer service agent but it's impossible. It's just bots and you have to wait for the timeline stated.
I did get my money back and have now deleted the app.
It's just not worth it.

SilenceInside · 01/05/2026 13:37

It's understandable when you're not familiar with a system and if you work on the basis that buyers are normal and rational. You've been unlucky to encounter a weird buyer early on!

Rachelshair · 01/05/2026 13:41

You've done the right thing agreeing to a return and paying for it. Noone can argue with that! If she doesn't send it you'll get compensated. Not done it myself though. She was probably hoping to keep it and get refunded too.

Original poster

OrangeMoonsAreCool · 01/05/2026 14:09

Thanks again! I feel better now - we shall see what happens. I will update!

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Woahtherehoney · 02/05/2026 10:43

I had something very similar happen with some shoes - the person said they smelt really bad when opened and were rotten. You could see from the photos they absolutely were not. I asked for a return and she kicked off at me - it’s people just trying to get something for free and it’s so cheeky! She kept asking me to sort it “off platform” - absolutely not.

Original poster

OrangeMoonsAreCool · 02/05/2026 19:32

Woahtherehoney · 02/05/2026 10:43

I had something very similar happen with some shoes - the person said they smelt really bad when opened and were rotten. You could see from the photos they absolutely were not. I asked for a return and she kicked off at me - it’s people just trying to get something for free and it’s so cheeky! She kept asking me to sort it “off platform” - absolutely not.

Very similar! What happened in the end?

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HelloMama · 02/05/2026 19:50

OrangeMoonsAreCool · 01/05/2026 13:23

I am a beginner in the world of Vinted.
Summary - I sold a handbag, very good condition. Buyer received bag and within an hour launched a complaint saying it was ‘very dirty’ and posted a pic of the inside which did NOT look like it did when I sent it! She asked for a partial refund. I asked her to return the bag and instigated that process and paid for the return. (Maybe I shouldn’t have done that?)
Then - I received a barrage of angry messages from the buyer saying that she was angry that I’d asked for her to return the bag, that she would try and clean it but wanted a partial refund and that I needed to be ‘moral’. I replied that I was surprised that it seems ‘very dirty’ as that is not my recollection and I have photos showing the bag was not ‘very dirty’ when I sent it. But I offered £5 off which she was not happy with (she paid £35 for the bag). Her messages then got very weird with vague threats that karma would find me, that something ‘bad’ was coming etc!
I just repeated ‘please post the bag back to me as per Vinted rules’ and I blocked her.
So…I’ve been in touch with Vinted and told them everything. My issue is that I don’t really want the bag back - I don’t trust that she hasn’t done something nasty to it. I seem to only be receiving AI replies from Vinted (block the buyer, she has 5 days to post the item etc) and I don’t think a real human is actually reading my messages.
What can I do, please?!

OP, I had the same thing happen, almost word for word what you've said here.

I sold a really nice handbag for £35, perfect condition. On recieving it, the buyer sent photos of it scuffed and stained inside, saying it was damaged and in poor condition which wasn't true. I think they'd used AI to make it appear damaged? They insisted it was worth only £5 from a charity shop and that's all they'd pay, and wanted me to provide a partial refund to that amount.

Once I asked her to return it, she went nuts! The messages were aggressive and so awful, very similar to what you described here - I wonder if it's the same person! I fully expected it to be returned damaged in some way, but it arrived back in the perfect condition I'd sent it. I think she was just a chancer. It was a horrible experience and I nearly stopped using Vinted altogether after that, despite having bought and sold 100s of things with no problems. My only regret it that I paid for the return postage as I just wanted to get it sorted quickly as possible.

Boopybop · 02/05/2026 20:38

You do get the odd chancer on Vinted. I sold a brand new face moisteriser (from SpaceNK advent calendar) for £30. Got a message with a photo of a (same brand) eye serum, with the packaging, saying I’d sent the wrong item. I checked the photo of the packaging - it was not the barcode of the item I had sent. Plus, my item had not been delivered, but was delivered later that day. I went back to buyer, saying it was not the packaging I had sent as was wrong barcode. She insisted that she had no idea who had sent the eye serum. My item arrived about 3 hours later, and I messaged her to say I’d been notified that my item had arrived. She still insisted she had no idea why she had received the eye serum.

it was blatantly obvious that she had ordered both, and planned to tell both sellers they had posted the wrong item - but had been too premature with her haste of accusing me of sending the wrong one. Absolute chancer: i finally received my money, then I blocked her.

Original poster

OrangeMoonsAreCool · 03/05/2026 06:49

HelloMama · 02/05/2026 19:50

OP, I had the same thing happen, almost word for word what you've said here.

I sold a really nice handbag for £35, perfect condition. On recieving it, the buyer sent photos of it scuffed and stained inside, saying it was damaged and in poor condition which wasn't true. I think they'd used AI to make it appear damaged? They insisted it was worth only £5 from a charity shop and that's all they'd pay, and wanted me to provide a partial refund to that amount.

Once I asked her to return it, she went nuts! The messages were aggressive and so awful, very similar to what you described here - I wonder if it's the same person! I fully expected it to be returned damaged in some way, but it arrived back in the perfect condition I'd sent it. I think she was just a chancer. It was a horrible experience and I nearly stopped using Vinted altogether after that, despite having bought and sold 100s of things with no problems. My only regret it that I paid for the return postage as I just wanted to get it sorted quickly as possible.

Show quote history

My goodness!!!! Did her username begin with C? And a profile pic of a woman with very short bleached hair?
I really REALLY hope that if she does send the bag back, it’s not damaged. I know I can raise a dispute with Vinted but how will they know who to believe?
After all, I can’t prove that the bag wasn’t made dirty AFTER I took the photo I have of the interior.
This has definitely put me off Vinted - dealing with nuttery is not fun!

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Original poster

OrangeMoonsAreCool · 03/05/2026 06:55

Boopybop · 02/05/2026 20:38

You do get the odd chancer on Vinted. I sold a brand new face moisteriser (from SpaceNK advent calendar) for £30. Got a message with a photo of a (same brand) eye serum, with the packaging, saying I’d sent the wrong item. I checked the photo of the packaging - it was not the barcode of the item I had sent. Plus, my item had not been delivered, but was delivered later that day. I went back to buyer, saying it was not the packaging I had sent as was wrong barcode. She insisted that she had no idea who had sent the eye serum. My item arrived about 3 hours later, and I messaged her to say I’d been notified that my item had arrived. She still insisted she had no idea why she had received the eye serum.

it was blatantly obvious that she had ordered both, and planned to tell both sellers they had posted the wrong item - but had been too premature with her haste of accusing me of sending the wrong one. Absolute chancer: i finally received my money, then I blocked her.

What a time waster!

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asdbaybeeee · 03/05/2026 07:42

OrangeMoonsAreCool · 01/05/2026 13:30

Ok thank you. I will leave it for now. If it comes back damaged I will definitely raise an issue (and I’ll be wearing gloves when I unpack it - honestly, her messages are slightly unhinged and a bit scary).

Video yourself unpacking it as evidence

YellowEllie13 · 03/05/2026 07:48

what a rubbish experience for you. She definitely sounds like a scammer. Did she have 5 stars? I only now deal with people who have 5 stars with some (hopefully) genuine reviews of either buying or selling. The platform is rife with scammers unfortunately

Yerdug · 03/05/2026 07:56

Welcome to the Wild West that is Vinted. Buy or sell, you pay your money or sell your stuff and you take your chances. Ive learnt not to deal with any sales or purchases over £20 or so, or whatever amount I cant afford to lose. You might have to end up writing this one off worse case. Sorry😞

Original poster

OrangeMoonsAreCool · 03/05/2026 10:18

That’s another thing - can she leave me a bad review?

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Original poster

OrangeMoonsAreCool · 03/05/2026 10:20

Yerdug · 03/05/2026 07:56

Welcome to the Wild West that is Vinted. Buy or sell, you pay your money or sell your stuff and you take your chances. Ive learnt not to deal with any sales or purchases over £20 or so, or whatever amount I cant afford to lose. You might have to end up writing this one off worse case. Sorry😞

That’s what my DH said (about maybe having to write it off).
I am still hoping the 5th May will arrive, she hasn’t sent it back and I get the money after all and it’s done!

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Original poster

OrangeMoonsAreCool · 03/05/2026 10:22

YellowEllie13 · 03/05/2026 07:48

what a rubbish experience for you. She definitely sounds like a scammer. Did she have 5 stars? I only now deal with people who have 5 stars with some (hopefully) genuine reviews of either buying or selling. The platform is rife with scammers unfortunately

She had all 5 star except one 1 star where there was some sort of angry exchange with someone else about a transaction. I’ll know better next time - if there is a next time!

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atamlin · 03/05/2026 10:26

Occasionally people try this. I always apologise and ask for them to return it. 9/10 they don’t and were just trying it on. Only one time I gave full refund and said to keep item as it had a small mark on but id listed it as “very good”.

SilenceInside · 03/05/2026 10:28

One bad review from a clearly odd buyer wouldn’t put me off a seller, particularly if the seller had responded calmly and with facts. I would avoid anyone who gets into a public argument via reviews!

bittertwisted · 03/05/2026 10:30

Vinted are useless. I sold an item, buyer claimed it was damaged, it wasn’t. I didn’t even have a chance to ask for a return, they raised it straight to a dispute via Vinted
they kept the item and their money
it’s stealing and I will never sell
on there again.

ChristmasRager · 03/05/2026 10:31

I get this a bit too - people wanting it for free/ cheaper and raising false complaints. Block the buyer and let Vinted manage it