To think Vinted buyers are RIDICULOUS!

[ThisFunHedgehog]

Lighthearted post.

Just that really 🤣 I’m very new to vinted. So let’s hear your Vinted horror stories!

I don't mind sending immediately if I'm asked to.

I do mind buyers assuming I'll send immediately - while I have eg three day dispatch selected on eBay - and then emailing me, demanding to know whether I've sent it or when I'm sending it.

You don't want to do a boot sale! You say something is 50p and they walk away affronted!

How then is it unreasonable to ask that you post it asap?
Because Vinted has a clear delivery policy whereby the seller has a set number of days to send. They don't offer a "Same Day Delivery" type policy like some shops

Lockers get full, shops are shut, they aren't all 2 minutes from the house.

Why would I spend money on petrol driving around to find a locker with space or make a special journey to post an item which I'm getting £2 for when I could just deliver it 2/3 days later when I'm driving past the shop anyway or could come back to the same locker just down from my house later?

Then refund me my purchase and wait for another buyer. I bought because I have a need. You can't meet that need, fine. Give me back my money, and all is good. I am not doing you a special favour buying your item and you are not doing me a special favour selling it to me. I have now paid money which will go in your account, not mine.

In any case who on earth has an urgent need for a £2 item? That would be silly, agreed.

I'm talking about I've spent £12+ on your item and I ONLY bought it because I need it fast. You say no. That's your prerogative to run your business (HMRC sees side hustles as taxable now, god help us) that way, but then don't expect me to be happy having handed over my money.

There is also a way of checking specific items on Vinted via Google Lens, so feasibly whilst you're refusing to accommodate my one off request to post quicker, I've discovered Jane6408 has the same item, and is very willing to accommodate my normal request to post a bit faster and will be getting a glowing review from me, plus a follow.

Again a set number of days to send isn't the same as the seller 'can only' deliver near end date.

I understand the Lockers are full thing and there's maybe nothing you can do about that. A seller messaged that her Locker was full. I don't care when that item arrives as long as it turns up, so I messaged 'no problem.' the thing is though you can't tell if the seller is telling the truth or whether it's true. The buyer is at a disadvantage when it comes to posting.

*or whether it's a lie

I'm talking about I've spent £12+ on your item and I ONLY bought it because I need it fast. You say no. That's your prerogative to run your business (HMRC sees side hustles as taxable now, god help us) that way, but then don't expect me to be happy having handed over my money.

But if you’re ONLY buying it because you need it fast, the time to ask if they can post immediately is before you buy it. It’s twattish behaviour to buy, then expect to be able to cancel if the seller can’t send immediately when you know perfectly well that it’s a possibility.

I disagree I am acting as a shop. It’s a private seller to private buyer transaction which is totally different .Vinted even describes itself as a marketplace not a shop.

I do post very quickly , Same day or even next day usually without ever being asked to be quick but if you want something for a specific event a handful of days away they Vinted isn’t a great place to buy it as postage times - as you’ve stated - aren’t guaranteed. Whereas a shop can offer a next day delivery that’s not what Vinted does have the facility to do.

Just this morning I’ve had an item bought at 7am, this is a buyer who had asked various questions over the last few days

I’ve printed the label off, packaged it in a brand new postage bag. I’m out and thought I’ll post of my way back and now I’ve just got a message to cancel transaction as they’ve bought the wrong size. After all the questions I dealt with I can’t understand this and this irritates me. Time wasted for nothing

I was selling a pair of shoes. Overnight, buyer sent a question, but then bought the shoes before I was able to answer the query. Then contacted me to cancel as they wouldn’t arrive in time for an event she wanted them for.

All fine. I refunded and relisted. They resold straight away. Then the original buyer contacted me, upset the shoes had been sold 🤷‍♀️

What’s the caper?

Rubbish buyer. That's out of order

Just FYI “side hustles” are only taxable if you are actually trading - ie carrying on with a view to profit. You won’t need to report/pay tax on selling your old clothes.

I'd be the same 🙈 As a working single parent who doesn't drive, I post once, maybe twice if you're lucky, a week. So some orders get posted out the next day, but some after 5-6 days. If I was a buyer and needed something urgently, I'd ask before I buy. And I have had people message saying they want something for an occasion so would I be able to post asap, those instances I've made sure I post the next day.

"How much can I make through my hobby before I have to pay tax? If you make any money through a hobby, then you're allowed to earn up to £1,000 each tax year without being taxed. You'll also not be subject to National Insurance (NI) contributions on these earnings."

So if it's just a few items fine.

But £1000 is a pretty low threshold for tax. From what I see, a lot of Vinted Sellers would be making that profit yearly, especially in the period before Christmas.

Not if you're using an inpost locker?

I am a tax adviser - the £1k trading allowance only applies if a trade is carried out/work is being done. Selling old clothes on Vinted is not a trade.

If you were to buy clothes from charity shops or whatever and re-sell on Vinted to make a profit, that would be a trade and you would need to pay tax.

I haven't sold anything on Vinted yet, but have bought a few items.

What's starting to drive me mad are sellers who list 'new with tags' without a price tag in sight. It does seem that some sellers think that nice pictures of both sides of the care label qualifies as the tag.

What's that all about?!

Then refund me my purchase and wait for another buyer. I bought because I have a need. You can't meet that need, fine.

No, you accepted Vinted's time scales for postage when you purchased. The seller is under no obligation to expedite postage and has no obligation to cancel when they are following the T&C's you agreed to when you brought - namely there are X number of days in which to post the item.

If you have a need for an item to arrive in a certain time then you check BEFORE purchase that the seller is able to accommodate you wanting something AHEAD of the alloted time scale.

I struggle with Vinted too, everything seems to only sell if it is extremely cheap, like £2 or £3. I have listed several designer kids and men's tops and trousers (Tommy Hilfiger, Hugo Boss, Ralph Lauren etc) that they kids have worn only a handful of times and my husband has never put on (still with tags) the only way to sell them is to price them under £5, which is ridiculous. It also isn't worth my while buying a bag to send them in and driving to the drop off point for that price. I have gone back to taking our items to charity shops.

The one to watch out for are the brands who use tied on or safety pinned price tags that can be removed and replaced. I've been caught by a couple of those and thankfully got my money back.

Thought the same!!

Oh ok I stand humbly (and happily) corrected on that one.

You can still be privately messaged by a buyer asking so although no possible through the offer system, it can still happen.

I’ve sold several items with no issues with payment etc. Only had one minor problem with selling when someone haggled me down and I agreed and then they said they would pay in another three days time latest and I never heard from them again! But the item sold anyway (for my original price) so they did me a favour! Have only bought one item from a buyer who it turned out was a scammer and there was no actual item!

That’s so annoying. You’ve gone to the effort and could have been doing something else with your time and it seems like some buyers don’t really consider that aspect. Seems to be like time wasting is another big gripe.

I myself would check beforehand, because I'm a reasonable buyer! I can't relate to the examples of piss-taking detailed above.

I was objecting to the seeming 'I'm doing the buyer a favour attitude' and 'The buyer is being unreasonable to request faster shipping'

Firstly, the only motivation for buying in the first place might be related to time scales. Secondly, there's nothing wrong in asking can you post today or tomorrow instead of four days time, when I've paid, why is that umbrage? Thirdly, if I ask once bought and you say, sorry no, I won't/can't post earlier, then the buyer has the facility to cancel the purchase at their end as the purchase is literally no good to them unless it arrives early. Which I can't see the objection to that.

But yes, it's wise to ask in advance. The only issue might be someone else buys the item while they're waiting for a response from the seller, so I can see how some buyers panic and buy before asking.