Expensive vinted mistake

[Mamma272]

I bought a secondhand jacket for £150. It arrived and smells of perfume which I hate! I’ve washed it and it still smells.

I’ve been through this once before - I bought a charity shop jacket and found it reeked when I got home I couldn’t tolerate the smell of it. I tried so many remedies including gallons of white vinegar and even vodka! I also stored with activated charcoal and that didn’t work. I ended up spending more than the cost of the jacket and eventually returned it.

This is by far the most I’ve ever spent on clothes on vinted - I usually buy bundles of baby things that are always clean!

Do I have ground to return it? Give a 1* review? I don’t know if I have the energy to try all the remedies again and as it’s cold it’s going to take longer to dry and limit how often I can have a go.

Funny how most people here have apparently never owned a raincoat. And especially brands like Arc'Teryx or Patagonia sell some at several hundred pounds.

OP, I hate pre-scented clothing too, and I wouldn't expect an outdoor/exercise jacket to reek of perfume. Also I've been using unscented detergent for the past few decades. In my near-unscented bubble I once bought a polyester jacket on EBay that arrived with a Febreze stench (with Lenor the worst commercial scent IMO). It didn't wash out. But airing out the jacket for a week helped a lot, and over time the rest dissipated.

If it happened again and I wanted it done more quickly, I would put the item in a box, cover it with lots of baking soda, and let it sit for a few days, then check. Only then I would wash it, in order to protect the material (shake off the soda first as it's abrasive).

We would fill a basin/sink with warm water (not hot) then gently squeeze in 10 drops of green fairy. Don’t make loads of bubbles just add it when the water is already run. Give it a swirl to mix then soak for an hour or so, then wash as normal. Nothing fancy but that would clean a lot of fabrics right up.

Original green fairy liquid is a magic potion!!

I’m not sure, we never did that. I was in the dry cleaners for about 5 years and we mainly used green fairy liquid or the bar soap (which is impossible to get now) and the chemicals we held in house. Most things are removed by soap and then put through either the washing machine or dry cleaning machine.

Some of the smells I smelt would make your hair curl! As soon as you start to steam press them they come out and they are rank!

Why would the freezer remove perfume? This only works to kill bacteria. Edit: At very low temperatures only, lower than a standard fridge-freezer.

Return it, item not as described. Unless the listing says it's been worn, and smells of perfume.

I would take it to the dry cleaner anyway and ask them if they can do anything. Having working in fashion for many years, getting clothes tested for these things was expensive and meant that often we would say no dry cleaning or dry clean only when we didn’t want to pay to test. Certainly go and talk to them and see what they say

im very sensitive to smell and sometimes I’m sure it’s partly the memory of the smell when it’s been washed and soaked that many times!

I can think of worse things than a perfume you don't like that it could be smelling of !
However, £150 for a second hand, polyester jacket seems a bit steep to me.

I've been given loads of second hand clothes from friends and family. Some have smelled incredibly foisty as they've come from old houses/lofts but I've found washing them with a big scoop of Napisan/Vanish really helps get the bad smells out. Might be worth a try if you haven't already as they always smell really clean afterwards. I do the same with kids clothes off Vinted too as I hate when they smell like other peoples houses.

If you don't like the smell, it doesn't really matter what that smell is.

You are focussing on the fabric not that "It has some specialist features that I needed. Not a brand name. RRP is £300+.".

I would complain if you are within the 2 day limit.

I once complained about an item that had clearly been stored somewhere damp and smelled bad. Obviously you can't take a photo of the smell (!) but I got my money back.

Nothing is ever solved, doesnt mean dont ever do it. If it actually stinks and wasnt listed as having an odour, nothing wrong with doing it once they ask about returning. Up to others to decide if their experience and how they rated it was reasonable, as long as it is an honestly held belief of that experience.

People also seem confused about the idea that it is just buyer beware. Very few of these sites work like that, they have set minimum conditions that the classification you choose has to meet. And then on top, odours are specifically called out in the guidelines as the kind of flaws that would be mentioned in the description for accurately describing, if you choose not to do so, this is not buyer beware it is just not an accurately described item.

You spent £150 on a second hand polyester coat 😂 this has to be a joke or made up.

I’ve not read the full thread so this may have already been suggested, but try hanging it outside for a few hours then washing it or (depending on the material) hang it outside in the rain then washing it.

That amount for a second hand polyester coat seems excessive. 😳

Not given that it is £300 new, @Boomer55.

Oh no. Sorry but they saw you coming. Why did you click everything was ok?

Wrap it up in a plastic bag or even better a vacuum bag and put it in the freezer. Leave it for a few days and then wash with an enzyme remover.

@Mamma272 Could you contact the manufacturer about this? If the garment is a technical one, the suggestions here may not all be suitable for it.
Having said this, I had a similar problem with an item and hanging it outside, together with soaking and washing it several times, eventually got the smell out.
I hadn't heard about using fairy liquid before, helpful to know!

So odours are something that should be declared and if not, the buyer can refuse to accept the item? I've had a few cheaper items that I've chucked when they've come through smelling, because I didn't want the hassle of sending them back. If it happens again, im rejecting them but 150 quid, I wouldnt be writing off that amount.

Ask the manufacturers of Clinique Happy. Somebody dropped a brand new bottle in an office I worked in around 1995.

When I went back to the building in 2021 because it had changed uses and was connected to my totally new employment direction, there was still a whiff of it in the corridor outside and the room itself had been completely gutted down to the joists to try and get rid of the smell.

If you wash clothes with washing-up liquid you potentially have 3 problems. It is foamy, it leaves a slight residue and the clothes smell of WUL.

Get it outside as long as you can, preferably in the sunshine, beating it lightly with a tennis racket or something (sounds mad, but it helps), and keep doing that every day until it's a bit better.

I prefer that then loading anything else onto it. Sunlight is a good cleanser.

Yes, technically.

It is all about the process of course. On paper the answer is yes, a persistent odour on paper should be listed and isn't described properly if it isnt. Obviously Vinted is the one that investigates and makes the determination on what you both say. People do get their money back for this very issue, but others also have not done.

If it is a real issue you have, you should at least try though. Complain to seller, then complain to vinted.