Vestiaire - anyone used this site?

[Fabellini]

Eyeing up something on Vestiaire Collective site, but just not sure about it. Does anyone have any experience of them at all?

[Larastheme]

Loads of negative reviews on pursefourm

[louloubelle2]

I've bought a few things from there but nothing too expensive - no more than £200 and they stuff was new with tags. It's all private sellers, the site just acts as an authentication portal then they send it out once the quality has been verified. There are rumours they unwittingly sell on fake bags i.e. their authentication process isn't that great, but I'm not sure how true that is. You can talk directly to the seller though and ask as many questions as you like.

I also listed something for sale once but took it off as the commission they take is huge, something like 30%. I'd rather sell on eBay.

[louloubelle2]

I think the negative reviews are confined to high end bags, like on purseforum, as PP said. Thing is, the seller can list and the bag isn't authenticated till it is sold and arrives at Vestiare office for sending to the seller.

I would say if its clothes you're probably ok.

[Fabellini]

Hmm..... I thought as much. I'm not sure where I heard, but I knew there was something that made me a little nervous about actually pressing the buy button!
Having said that, it's actually shoes, so maybe they'd be ok?

[Gruach]

I've had a reasonable experience with them. Once, something I ordered seemed to be taking a long time to arrive; long before I enquiried they chased the seller and updated me. When it arrived at their offices for authentication and quality control they emailed me to say it wasn't quite as perfect as the seller had claimed (clear photos of the imperfections) - and offered two options: either a lower price or a refund. I chose the refund and the money was in my account within days. So no problem there.

I've been slightly wary because you simply don't have quite the same back up as with something bought new from a shop. If you change your mind after an item has arrived you can't then return for a refund but have to offer for resale. Which seems a terrible faff and not great if you would prefer the money to use on something else.

But it is all very tempting! And I imagine if the weight of opinion was against them they wouldn't be able to carry on.

[HairsprayQueen]

I'm just waiting for my money back for something that hasn't been received, my first order through them- I suppose it's not their fault and the same could happen with eBay etc but it's a bit annoying.

[louloubelle2]

Depends on the brand, if they are e.g. Valentino shoes there is a possibility of a fake, if they are Isabel Marant, then I've never heard of fake versions.

I'd be more concerned about quality, I find most photos really bad on VC, which is unnecessary, I'm perfectly capable of taking decent photos on my phone, don't know why others can't do it, so I'd be checking with the seller if you can't see all the signs of wear.

[MsBojangles]

I've bought and sold a few things, no problems at all.

I'd be wary about buying a high end bag from them though, too many fakes knocking about.

[aniceearlynight]

I have bought a few relatively inexpensive (less than £150) items from them, mainly French brands such as Maje, Sezane, Isabel Marant that are more expensive/harder to find in the UK. It's all fine when the systems works as it should, but when it doesn't you soon realize that the customer service is pretty much non-existent.

I bought a skirt from the VC site on the 2 Jan and the seller has still not sent it to VC HQ, yet VC CS have told me a buyer cannot cancel a transaction until a minimum of 30 days have passed...30 days during which they have held on to a not insubstantial sum of my money and I am not able to buy another skirt elsewhere as I don't have funds and in case this one does eventually turn up. This is where VC falls down, especially as it has no rating system for sellers as ebay does, so you can be randomly lucky or unlucky with a buyer and cannot make an educated guess on whether you want to buy an item from his/her feedback, especially as the pics are often so poor (as mentioned up thread).

I paid on Paypal, so yesterday I had a bit of a google to see if I could open an 'item not received' case via paypal and stumbled across the following blog www.memoirsofawardrobe.co.uk/2012/12/review-of-vestiaire-collective.html - read right through the blogger's (positive) review to the comments below on VC customer service and 'authentification'. They are pretty much uniformly terrible so there are obviously a lot of very unhappy customers out there. It's such a shame as it's a brilliant idea and there are plenty of tempting things on there but the company just seems to be very badly run.

[Gruach]

earlynight I have absolutely no reason to defend the site but isn't it a little unfair to say It's all fine when the systems works as it should, but when it doesn't you soon realize that the customer service is pretty much non-existent. when the example you give doesn't show the system not working.

The up to 30 day waiting period (or whatever length it is) is clearly shown on the website. You haven't been waiting 30 days yet so ...

It is infuriating I grant you. Absolutely no good if you want something to wear next Saturday or to wrap as a gift in two weeks time. And rubbish if you value your blood pressure and don't like an element of risk ...

[aniceearlynight]

You are right Gruach – the 30 day wait is stated in the T&Cs, which I should have read before I clicked on the buy button. However, I do not think the info re. the possible waiting period is clearly stated either on the website or on the App - it can be found on page 8 of the T&Cs, a link to which is tucked away at the bottom of the first page of the website. Anyway, I have now found them and read the relevant section – Clause 3.6.1 (Non-receipt and late delivery of Products).

This states that 'If the Buyer does not receive his products within thirty (30) days after the date of his Order....the buyer will be entitled to cancel his Order even after the cooling off period has expired (if it applies) by sending a registered letter with an acknowledgment of receipt to the following address....Vestiaire Collective will refund the buyer within a maximum of fourteen (14) days from the date the registered letter with acknowledgment receipt is received'.

So if I understand this correctly, if the skirt is a no-show, I'm going to have to send a registered letter cancelling the order . Hairspray Queen, did you have to do this?!

[jaybeeyellow]

What are people's opininons on Hardlyeverwornit?

[MsBojangles]

No success with Hardlyever, had items up with them the same time as VC and not a single bite. Plus, they constantly bombard you with emails showing their new listings, I adjusted my settings and still they came - I ended up sending them a snotty email

[cathyandclaire]

I've bought two things, both arrived safely as described, better overall experience than EBay for me.

[Fabellini]

The blog aniceesrlynight highlighted has convinced me.....I don't love the shoes enough to possibly put myself through all that hassle!

[HairsprayQueen]

No, I didn't have to send a letter, they were actually very quick to process the refund off their own back at the end of the 30 days but it just felt like a long wait to get to that point as I was looking forward to my item!

[Longislandicetee]

Was slightly worried when I saw this thread earlier this week because I had just bought a bag through this site and my heart was in my mouth. The transaction was last week. On Wednesday I got an email saying the item had arrived at their HQ and was undergoing quality control. Yesterday I got an email to say the item hadn't passed their control tests as it as described in the photos. At this point I was thinking "oh crap, never going to see my money". I just got an email today to say I have been refunded and been given a voucher to use for next time. So I either dodged a bullet or they're quite good!

[geordiepidge]

I bought a Marc by Marc Jacobs bag but it was one of the ones where it's already with VC, authenticated and ready for despatch. Postage can be a bit high but I had a code to get it for free. Bag arrived within a week, all perfect, no problems at all.

However, when I was looking (I wanted a black MBMJ Natasha so fairly specific), there were listings from 6 months, a year, two years ago. I wouldn't trust those sellers to even remember that they listed it, let alone be ready and waiting to send as soon as they get an order. They probably don't even have the item any more. So there's something really flawed there.

I reckon if it was listed within a month or two and it's a good price, it's worth a go.

[Hopjhin]

Do not use this site. There is zero customer service. Try sell used goods and if you can't return you are stuck with old crappy merchandise. I have tried calling them and sending emails. No one answers. Do not take the risk. You will end up wasting money

[DonnaEd]

Chanel Backpack Debaucle - Mal a la Tete!
Tried to buy a Chanel backpack but was told that a preferred customer had reserved it. After several weeks of checking back I was finally told that it was available for purchase. The seller agreed to the price I offered and Vestiaire told me I had to purchase it within a period of time. I tried to purchase it within that time and was told that the item was unavailable because a preferred customer wanted it. When I asked to speak to a manager I was told that none were available. When I asked for someone to call me back, I was told, "Our customers call us, we do not call them." WORST CUSTOMER SERVICE EVER!!!!!! I see why the ratings are so low. Sadly this company does not seem to care. It is like trying to have a meaningful conversation with Donald Trump.

[Zouriss]

AVOID!!!!
Have bought and sold on this site and it's a night mare !! If you sell you wait weeks for your money!
Bought a bag almost a month ago , no sign of of it, you cannot cancel an order even if you haven't received it!!! Waiting for a refund , I have no idea when I will get that .
Customer service a joke, completely unhelpful , really not worth the time and effort to use this site !

[KettleOn919]

I sold a couple of pairs of Repetto shoes on Vestiaire a few years ago. The main problem I encountered was receiving a lot of messages asking questions about my shoes in French, which I don't speak. I was a first time seller dealing with a first time buyer, neither of us spoke the other's language and we both got into a bit of confusion with the process. After that was sorted, everything went smoothly; I sent off the items, they were authenticated quickly and I received my money in good time.

[RazzleDazz1e]

I’ve just sold a Chanel bad, a Louis Vuitton and a pair of Loboutins. Money received within 2 weeks so very positive feedback from me!

[AnaViaSalamanca]

I have tried selling aa couple of designer bags without success recently. Too many people linking it and giving offers and then walking away when the offer was accepted. The thing is, once you accept an offer you cannot accept another, so for days I had to sit, accepting one offer, waiting, then the next day accept another offer and the same saga continues. Extremely irritating so I deleted the whole thing.

As a positive for a buyer, though, I think you have a lot of room to lowball the seller. After my bags were there for a couple of weeks, I was happy to just get it over with with any reasonable (say 60% of the asking price even). I think this works well for items that are not extremely popular (so no chanel, for example).

[Zouriss]

razzledazzle you're obviously one of the lucky ones, if you look up their reviews you will see that most people do not have a good experience with them.
I'm still waiting for the bag I ordered !