To think that these are likely stolen goods?

[OhTediosity]

Browsing Vinted this morning, saw a BNWT shirt I liked, looked at seller's other items as they had bundle discounts on. Every single item (200+) is BNWT from M&S, most current season (I was in the store this morning and I recognised several items). Not outlet, not seconds. Prices around half RRP.

I'm not going to buy from them but it's got me wondering if there could be a legitimate explanation for where all the stock has come from, because my immediate thought was to wonder if it had been shoplifted.

YABU: there are legitimate explanations
YANBU: the likeliest explanation is that it's been stolen

Sounds like it fell off the back of a lorry.

Yes, almost certainly stolen goods. Half price, current lines… can you send the link please 😂

Yep what’s the Vinted username? 😉

I'd be tempted to send a link to m and s.

They are a 'pro' seller - do Vinted check these at all?

I was watching a seller that is a pro seller only thus morning. They were doing a warning post saying they had recently twice been banned for advertising 12 items at once BNWT, it wasn't allowed and if repeated their account will be deactivated and banned for good.

How the seller you talk of can advertise that many items at once and it not be picked up is strange.

I’m astonished people buy from Vinted. You have absolutely no idea where the stuff comes from and you have no idea where it’s stored etc. Mind you, I don’t have any interest in fashion and have a small amount of basic clothes that didn’t cost much. I have a tshirt on today that I bought 8 years ago. Cost per wear works out to about 1p.

Wait til you find out how food can sometimes be produced and stored! Or how some restaurants, hospital cleaners etc perform!

Or indeed that 56% to 60% of cells within your very own body are microorganisms like bacteria, archaea, and fungi! A bit of vinted dust is neither here nor there in the grand scheme of things.

It'll be from one of the outlet stores. The sales can be quite good. I've seen people empty a whole rail in their basket

That was my first assumption but I really don't think it is. The outlet swing tags look different and there's no evidence of any markdowns, just the RRP from the store.

@OhTediosity lots of brands have outlet style online stores to sell off stock that they've had at half price. M&S did have a bit half price sale recently.

Brands also have teams keeping an eye out for stolen and counterfeit goods being sold on platforms like eBay and Vinted.

So it could easily be legitimate.

Petty thieves tend to steal smaller quantities, so perhaps someone selling lots of "new with tags" items but all different sizes might raise some eyebrows. They usually don't list huge quantities at once to look like a private seller.

Wait until you see how new clothes are stored!

I'm a pro seller you have to submit all ID and HMRC tax details to open a pro account. They are likely a reseller with good links to stock buying.

Years ago I worked at a retailer very similar to Sports Direct. The management reckoned we lost between 20 and 25% of stock value through 'operational losses' - stealing - and acknowledged most of it was the staff.

That's interesting - thank you

M&S workers get a 20% to 30% discount..sometimes more.. maybe she works there?

Would be a bit strange to sell them on at a loss though, if they’re listed at half price?

I think a lot of stuff on vinted is stolen if it’s BNWT .

It won't be stolen, M&S donate or sell off their past stock and people buy it in bulk to sell on (including me!) We have a charity near us who have massive donations from M&S and they sell off loads of their old stock at silly prices. I'm currently selling women's leather and suede boots on Vinted that retail for £76 and for which I legitimately paid £2 a pair. There's also a warehouse in Manchester where a regular at our local car boot sale gets his stock and sells it for silly prices as well.

I've heard some horror stories but I've only had good experiences, both as a buyer and a seller. I'm very selective and will only buy from sellers with decent photos and more than a few words in the description - I find that people who put a bit of effort into their listings tend to be reliable and selling something decent.

But a lot of it is current stock. This is what made me wonder.

@Rosessmelllovely OP said it is current stock so it looks to me like stolen goods with the volume they are selling….

I did notice that when M&S suspended online orders last year due to the cyber attack there seemed to be a lot of BNWT stock on Vinted all of a sudden. I'm absolutely convinced that in that case it was enterprising shoplifters filling a gap in the market.

You might find it's slightly updated packaging or there's a subtle difference. I bought and sold thousands of packs of M&S women's knickers that had been donated because they'd changed the packaging or just changed the name of the knickers. M&S still sell the exact same knickers.

As a Vinted seller, can I ask what the benefits are of being a pro seller?