The second hand clothes market is dead.

[inthenameofpride]

And Vinted is to blame. Nice items that would previously have been snapped up in eBay auctions are sitting there for weeks on end as there no urgency to buy. Prices have dropped so low it’s hardly worth it any more.

In my experience there are generally two types of Vinted sellers - those who package in actual (new or recycled postage bags) and those who use a bit of a bin bag or Tesco bag and half a roll of tape. My teen loves a Vinted and we take bets on which it will be based on the item. As long as it’s fairly robust you’ll be fine.

Weirdest ones we’ve had were the Christmas gift bag closed with staples and a small item inside a cereal bag (my bet was on bran flakes) it took several washes to stop smelling vaguely like breakfast.

How do people deal with sizing though (as buyers)? I would like to buy more from Vinted but I find that when online shopping I have to send back at least half because it doesn't fit, so I feel like I would just end up with a lot of stuff I can't use?

The problem is that reselling removes the guilt of buying the new item in the first place. I think it encourages people to buy more than they otherwise would.

I have bought everything but 3 clothing items on vinted this year.
The 3 that were new, one was a raincoat and I wanted to ensure it was properly waterproof.
1 were vests that would have cost the same on vinted.
The other was underwear.

I've had a big old clear out and my old stuff has gone to the charity shop. My house is less clueless as I no longer feel a need to hang on to things if I can find and replace them easily at a later date.

I never put in an offer. If I like the price, I buy it.

I'm mid-divorce and need to kit out three kids' wardrobes and Vinted has absolutely come into its own. This week was leggings and PJs for my eldest

M&S - BNWT - £2
Monsoon - BNWT - £5
Squishmallow pyjamas, set of two, BNWT - £3
Mountain Warehouse fleece - BNWT - £5
Dressing gown BNWOT - £4

And so on. I'm getting lovely things at a bargain. I've kept a healthy Vinted balance from selling and I think I've got at least the coming year's worth of purchases funded from it now.

It’s tricky, I tend to buy brands I know the sizing in. if it comes and doesn’t fit I relist it.

Side note: Don’t trust the Vinted sizes - they updated what the size ranges meant about a year ago and there are still so many listings where it’s messed up. I always state the size in the description and take a pic of the label.

I can't see why. Donating it to a charity shop (surely even more worthy than reselling it) has been available as an option for years. I can't believe that anyone is going out and buying more clothes than they would otherwise have done on the basis that they can always sell it on vinted for a couple of quid after they've worn it for a few times.

You need to train the algorithm to show you things that you want to buy. So what you do is search for certain brands that you like. Then you use the “like” button on things you like the look of. Then you will get shown similar items - i.e. from similar brands.

Donating to a charity shop doesn't earn you money to spend on more new stuff...

I buy and sell LOADS on vinted and we love it!
I list every week Friday evening usually to post over the weekend and as long as you aren’t greedy with the prices I find things always shift. I listed 19 items last night and 12 have sold, 6 to the same person - what’s not to like! Then I keep the money in there for what I need next, great for the environment and my bank balance especially for the kids stuff.

You can on vinted. Confused by this comment

Vinted is excellent. I love buying big bundles of baby and toddler clothes for a few quid.

I find second hand shopping incredibly difficult due to sizing. I'm between sizes - I might want a 10 or a 12 or if it's non-numeric sizing, I might want a S or M. So it's roughly 50/50 whether something will fit.

Then, on Vinted I have to include 8-10 and 12-14 in my filter so it's a lot of stuff to look through.

Just find it quite a pain and not very rewarding.

You won't get more that much money for reselling fast fashion items.

I think the poster meant "they don't sell" as opposed to "Vinted won't allow you to list them for sale".

I love Vinted. Made over 2k last year and £700 this year just selling mine and DH’s clothes.

I buy pretty much everything on there too. I was an avid Depop user until Vinted popped up. I think Vinted is much more user friendly than eBay, although hate the bots if you have to report a problem, but luckily only had to do that a few times.

The thing I’ve noticed with eBay is people are just asking too much for their second hand tat. Almost twice the amount that Vinted asks for. I’ve noticed pretty much anything will sell on Vinted, if you list it cheap enough. It’s always the stuff I’ve debated just binning before listing it that has sold fast for me. I’m just happy to rid stuff without throwing it in the bin.

My Nana is the only person I know who uses eBay now and that’s only because she can’t get her head around using new apps.

You don't earn back anything close to the original price though. I really don't think it's the problem you think it is.

Children’s clothes on Vinted are doing really well for me as long as they are the right brands - Boden, Jojo, Zara, scandi brands like Konges Slojd. I can buy them second hand for my children and resell them at the same price or higher than I paid for them once they have been worn. I’ve also made quite a bit selling my ‘vintage’ Hollister and Abercrombie from when I was a teenager too in the 2000s too.

There is almost no point listing supermarket or cheaper high street kids clothing, the market is way too saturated.

Perhaps not. But vinted is full of people continuously buying and selling fast fashion. It would be daft to say reselling doesn't influence buying patterns at all.

presumably the bnwt items are mostly stolen

I sell loads on vinted. I don't price my stuff ridiculously low because I'm not in any rush to sell. This week alone I've sold some m&s jeans for £7, a zara top for £10, and a jumpsuit for £10. All worn, but in very good condition.

The former fast fashion buyers I know best (two nieces in law) have both stopped buying those items new in the first place, and will get them on Vinted, so I'm hoping this is an indication of other people's patterns.

Just as daft to assume it does without tangible research.
My anecdata is that people who used to buy fast fashion becuase it was cheap now buy better quality second hand items on Vinted for the same money. So that's fewer people buying fast fashion in the first place. Maybe there are more of them than the people now buying more because they know they can sell it on for a couple of quid.

I resell what doesn’t fit. But a size 8 will almost always fit. Usually a 6 too. Or 10. Another size might look better but they all go on.

Or I ask the seller to measure the waist etc or google the size guide of the brand.

Right, but if they buy a continuous stream of gently used fast fashion, they are still encouraging the production and purchase of those items in the first place.