New to selling on Vinted...

[AprillaCourt]

Been selling (as well as buying) on eBay for over 15 years & thought I'd give Vinted a go.

I've just had someone 'favourite' an item of mine & the app seems to be offering a message chat with various starting options I could use (such as "Hello, would you like more photos?" Or "Hello, I'm open to offers on this item...")

What's the done thing here - do buyers expect a message when they favourite something? I've favourited a couple of items but never had a message, & I can't help feeling it's a bit pushy, but I don't know what Vinted etiquette is...

Also, what's the situation with combined postage? I gather the buyer pays a flat rate for each item - is there a way to combine postage & send a revised invoice as there is on eBay?

If anyone has any other key tips for a Vinted novice I'd be glad to hear them!

Any help gratefully received 🙂

I sell a lot on Vinted, when someone favorites I usually send them an 'offer' which is a bit lower than the list price. I don't say / send anything else. No idea on postage, but you can offer 'bundles' which I've never done as a buyer but I assume would automatically combine the postage.

Oh, and I much prefer it to eBay. And you can change the courier options that you are happy to use, for example, if there's no drop offs available for a specific courier near where you live. Same as ebay just make sure you are very honest and put photos of the clothes label and any defects!

Thanks for responding @Lcb123 🙂

Ah I see - that's a great idea. Do you have any way of getting to the notification that an item has been favourited after you've received it? It flashed up & took me to the putative message chat & I swiped away (was busy listing at the time 😀) & now I can't see how to get to it to send an offer!

I can see in my own settings that I can switch off notifications to sellers when I favourite an item of theirs which might explain why I didn't get a notification when a precious item was favourited by someone. I've made sure mine are switch on in the hope that I may get an offer on something I like the look of!

Having received a misdescribed item from eBay myself this morning I hear you re: accuracy. I am always scrupulous but it's surprising how many people aren't. Also agree re: courier options - I removed the ones that aren't near me, that's a useful tool.

Thanks again 👍🏻

*previous not precious. It's a nice dress but I'm not sure it could be described like a treasured heirloom 😀

Ah - I found the favourite in notifications! Still finding my way round the app 😀

If anyone see this...what's the situation with Royal Mail on Vinted? I read something somewhere about it not being one of their integrated shipping options, so the buyer can't pay for postage. Does the seller have to cover the cost of postage in that case?

I've just sold my first item, the buyer selected Evri which isn't ideal as the drop-off is the other side of my city. Royal Mail is so much easier as I'm near the delivery office & they also collect...🤔

@AprillaCourt I'd check out the location of EVRi drop offs on their website, usually corner shops and Tesco Express around here, because there are lots of them.

Hi @Lavendersquare 👋🏻

Unfortunately there are only two Evri drop-off points here, & both the other side of my (small) city. Luckily one is near to somewhere I generally go twice a week, otherwise it would be a complete pain! I was saying to a local friend I can't believe there aren't any places to drop parcels to them in this area, but I double checked the app & it's true. Royal Mail would be so much easier but I'm still trying to deduce how it works outside of the integrated shipping programme on Vinted... 🤔

Thanks for replying 🙂

You can go into settings and turn off some options for postage. I turned off inPost as its very inconvenient for me but Evri & Yidael can be sent from my local One Stop/Londis.

When someone buys a bundle of items Vinted automatically combines postage and you get a notification to confirm the bundle & package size. You can also set up a bundle discount to encourage people to buy a few items.

The buyer still pays for postage with Royal Mail but you don't get a prepaid label like with other carriers. You pay and then when the item is marked as delivered the money is transferred along with the item money. Be careful with Royal Mail as I think they now have set amounts which could end up being less than you actually pay.

Hope that helps.

I have bought and sold over 200 items and had only three problems!

Photos: take front back and label.

Shipping: Royal Mail is really not great as it is very strict on parcel sizes. I'm often out of pocket. I have that switched off for selling and and don't buy RM items as there is no tracking.

Offers: I feel hassled if someone sends me an offer and it does put me off buying. I want an item and want to offer I'll ask. As a sell I'd think I want £5 I'll put it on for £6, and accept £4.75. Dependant on item obviously!

Ah I see - that's very helpful @Elmo230885 thank you. I can imagine if Vinted has a set price for Royal Mail but it's more to actually send the item you could end up out of pocket. Mind you that almost happens on eBay given that they now take a cut of it, grrr.

I'm staying away from bundles yet until I've got a good grip on the system!

Thanks for your advice about postal options - I'd never heard of InPost & had switched it off but I've just discovered there's a drop-off point really near to me, so I've switched it back on again!

Thanks @cherrypied I've sold over 2000 items on eBay & always provide very honest & comprehensive listings, it's the only way if you don't want hassle down the line, & I hate it when people misdescribe things (I had this only the other day with an eBay seller I bought from & it's unprofessional & annoying.)

I've just switched off Royal Mail given your & @Elmo230885 advice. Interesting that from a buyer perspective the lack of tracking puts people off RM too...

Really interesting what you say about offers making a prospective buyer feel hassled. I hadn't thought of it that way but I can see how it might come across so that's a useful perspective for me. Thanks for your advice 🙂