Vinted - just fucked up

[Gambino1726]

Anyone else have issues with vinted? I encounter so many sellers who describe the item as “very good” or size 10. When it shows up the items is in terrible condition or the sizing is wrong.

if the seller disagrees with you, then as a buyer there is absolutely nothing you can do. Vinted doesn’t help, doesn’t make
judgement, just takes the ‘buyer protection fee’ and leave seller and buyer to scrap it out. Usually resulting in 0 stars going both ways, even if the buyer has done nothing wrong.

im getting really pissed off with vinted.

recently the site is full of scammers setting up for 24 hours. They sell designer stuff for odd low figures, like £3.68, and only
accept card payments. If you’re foolish enough to buy something, by morning they’re gone. Vinted policy states ‘WE do not take responsibility for scammers’! So again Vinted to fuck all.

also, you can’t sell period related products like new period pants as these are classed as ‘extreme items’. 50% of the population need period products but vinted think it’s extreme. What kind of messed up patriarchal BS is that?

This whole post is so weird....direct payments aren't a thing!!! Unless you've clicked an outside link....

I've wondered this. But after putting my (very) suspicious mind to work, I came to the conclusion that they rely on people not bothering. If someone had bought a dozen very low-priced items, they may well just click to mark as received without checking.

In fact, I also did this while I was depressed - I randomly decided I needed gloves, bought 5 pairs from different people and, having got the message about not ignoring the emails but still in cba mode, just confirmed delivery. Still haven't opened the packages or even counted them.

You can’t pay a seller directly on vinted. I’m not sure if you are confused about that or if you’ve clicked a scam link. All payments go through vinted.

I've been using Vinted for years and this whole thread is a mystery to me. I don't doubt there are scammers on there but I'm struggling to understand how you can do anything different than to follow the buying process on Vinted which involves your account being debited and then Vinted holding the money until you confirm receipt.
If you're sending money directly to sellers is this because you've interacted with them or clicked a link they've sent? Or are you saying that the 'Buy Now' button has been hacked to send money to the seller and not Vinted?

A seller had my home address and threatened dd with violent rape if I requested a refund. Was a great experience.

That is absolutely outrageous. Please tell me you contacted the police?

You’ve fallen for a fairly obvious scam. Only pay Vinted.

Yes of course. Nothing they could do as sellers gave a fake address. Vinted do nothing to check ids so you're on your own

I think those scammers use the scatter gun approach. If people buy from them, chances are a v small number will forget to check, or be away or busy, or distracted, and the money will end up being automatically paid.

There was a scam a bit ago where buyers were getting packages with a paper plate in. Worked particularly well in summer when people would be on holiday and not able to open the parcel before the autopay.

I have not had issues with scammers (although I I think I am pretty good at spotting scammers and sellers who might be a bit dodgy).

For me the biggest annoyance is inaccurate descriptions. E.g. used items being described as “new without tags” on the basis that the item is “like new”. But I just avoid those sellers as that tells me everything I need to know about them!

Strange - bought and sold at least twenty items on Vinted this year and had no issues - got some gorgeous dresses described as very good condition that looked unworn.

I do always check out the seller history.

Honestly if people are buying £150 crème de La mer sets for £3.68 and sending payment independently of vinted then more fool them. There are scammers on every platform but those are really obvious ones surely?! If it looks too good to be true then it is. If they have no other reviews then they're likely fake. When I see items like that I just report them.

I've sold around 1k of stuff on vinted this last year and buy most of my items from there too. I always take a buyer beware approach - knowing items are non refundable so I'll be asking for measurements and extra photos if needed. Prepared to take a small hit every now and then for the literal £100s of pounds I've saved. I asked for proof of purchase once for a reasonable expensive hat which pissed off the seller but there are so many fakes around of that particular brand I didn't want to risk it.

The more I learn about vinted the less ethical an organisation I realise it is. Please continue to tell your story so people know about this. I’m disgusted. I’m sorry sorry you’re daughter and you had to go through that

It should be Vinted who does the necessary checks on their sellers. They charge enough and my experience of being threatened is not by any means unique. It took the threats escalating for them to get involved at all.

I got sucked into a scam seller last night. Bought an item that was a bargain - as I have had many bargains- and I got a message it had been posted at 2am with a picture of the label that looked odd.
Looked at seller account, no reviews.
I told Vinted I was suspicious and I got a refund this morning!

I always get any vinted purchases sent either to a post locker or my local Evri pickup. That way, sellers never have my address details. I don't use my full name either. Definitely check reviews! A large majority of sellers on there are most likely genuine. Vinted do need to step up their customer service by the sounds of things though!

I've been selling on Vinted for ages and came across my first scammy buyer at the weekend. Their scam was basically getting an item, deciding they don't want to pay for it, removing the tags and claiming it was used instead of brand new. They then try for a refund, and when they realise they left the tags visible in the 'proof' photo they submitted🙄 and Vinted sides with the seller, they refuse to return it, have an epic strop over messages, threaten you (because they now have your address), block you and write nonsense reviews which just make them look unhinged. Funnily enough they have multiple one-star reviews and have now been 'sanctioned' by Vinted, whatever that involves.

Vinted really needs to automatically make all returns to collection points only, for seller safety. Or actually both ways, because the buyer in my instance was a seller as well, and really shouldn't have access to the address of anyone they interact with online.

At the end of the day don’t pay a seller directly it’s clearly a scam! You didn’t use Vinted to pay them so no Vinted aren’t going to help. You said it was a direct to their account. That’s not how vinted works. It’s like if you used eBay and the seller sent you a payment link instead of going through eBay.

It looks like there's a high chance of being scammed on Vinted or Depop. Similarly, threats and lively exchanges seem commonplace.

A survey of 1,300 buyers by Which? found that buyers were most likely to be scammed on Depop, where a staggering 57% reported having been scammed; on Vinted, it was 22%. Interestingly, though, fraud was not revealed to be a one-sided endeavour. Which? spoke to 1,400 sellers, too, and nearly a quarter of them reported being scammed over the same two-year period. No one and everyone is winning in this arrangement.

https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2024/dec/22/click-clic-boom-how-secondhand-clothes-shopping-turned-very-sour

I don't buy designer gear on Vinted out of principle. If there is an issue or if it's fake, the buyer takes the full risk. No idea what their 'Buyer Protection Fee' is for! Why won't they just call it what it really is - a transaction / platform fee?! I once saw a 'Thomas Burberry' tweed jacket in 'Very good condition' listed for £35. I reported it as fake, but it was allowed to stay up and sold.

Great article. So timely! Thanks for sharing

Money refunded straight back to the card I paid with.

The scam thing happened to me but the scammer can't prove delivery (they provided a 'proof of postage' within moments of the order which was my first red flag) but could never prove the delivery so it did get refunded in the end. They also blocked me after the same

Debit cards have redress too, via your bank. No minimum amount

I've sold around £4.5k and bought probably less than a quarter of that. I had one complaint which I apologised for and refunded including postage. I've fallen for one scam attempt and money was refunded by V, another where the item wasn't collected and I received it back, and another where the size was wrong and the seller got sniffy with me but V refunded me. It works pretty well.

I honestly cannot see how the Op has been scammed, it just doesn't work the way she is claiming.