Could someone explain how Vinted works please

RelentlessForwardProgress · 2021-11-13T20:30:24+00:00

I have seen a couple of dresses on Vinted, they have a price and then a buyer protection premium. eg £10 + £0.70 =5% of the item's price. It then says shipping from £0 But it seems I have to press buy it now to seem how much the shipping is, and then what if its ridiculous and I don't want to buy? Also, I buy a lot on ebay and have about a 10% return rate due to unmentioned moth holes/ tears/ stains etc. But vinted seems to say the buyer pays return postage, is this correct?

Snally82 · 13/11/2021 22:31

You don’t press ‘pay’ - that’s all
Yes buyer pays unless seller is kind!

Campervan69 · 13/11/2021 22:36

I've not bought anything decent on vinted tbh. But I have sold quite a lot of items. It's good if you are happy to sell cheaply.

No1oneMrs · 13/11/2021 22:36

I recently purchased my first item on Vinted and the shipping said £0 and I wasn't charged any shipping costs.
DD tells me shipping for you first order is free.
All further transactions have shown the actual shipping costs.

Sleepyteach · 14/11/2021 06:44

When you press buy now you aren’t actually buying at that point, it will show you the fess/shipping and give you payment and delivery options and then you pay, if you don’t like the delivery costs you just don’t press pay.

mrssmiling · 14/11/2021 07:30

I am never using Vinted again. I bought two items which were as described, but then was completely misled by a seller and had to pay return postage. Item was described as new, but had clearly been washed and shrunk! I was refunded, but had to pay almost five pounds to return the item. Buyer do beware…Vinted ‘customer support’ supports sellers.😕

Snally82 · 14/11/2021 07:54

I should add to my earlier post, I’ve made probably about 30 Vinted purchases and haven’t had an issue with any.

Bowlofhotslop · 14/11/2021 08:03

As pp have said you have to click the buy button to see actual postage costs and the price quoted on the listing is almost always lower than the actual price but if you don’t like it just go back. I’ve bought quite a lot on there with no issues and got some brand new items for a fraction of the retail price, I love it. A couple of things which haven’t fit I’ve just resold and got my money back. There are no seller fees unlike eBay which is one reason it’s so popular.

GeodesicDome · 14/11/2021 08:07

Buyer do beware…Vinted ‘customer support’ supports sellers.

Good. I gave up selling on eBay because I was fed up with buyers openly taking the piss, with zero protection for sellers.

TheCategoryIs · 14/11/2021 09:52

On eBay it used to be once you clicked Buy now you were committing to buying the item (and ran the risk of being a time waster) but that doesn’t seem to be the case with Vinted.

Original poster

RelentlessForwardProgress · 14/11/2021 11:06

Thanks for the replies.

Good to know I can click buy it now to see postage without then having to buy it if they are too much.

But I'm a bit reluctant now knowing I do have to pay return postage, as I assume you get the same mix of perfectly reasonable sellers and the 10% taking the mick you get on ebay.

OP posts:

Bea08 · 15/06/2023 13:26

Just uploaded my first items onto Vinted and immediately "hidden" them as I got a message straightaway from a jarrot44 or something like that saying "congratulations your item is sold put your @email in the chat below". I'm assuming that's someone phishing for my email address and not how sellers communicate with buyers...

drpet49 · 15/06/2023 13:35

RelentlessForwardProgress · 14/11/2021 11:06

Thanks for the replies.

Good to know I can click buy it now to see postage without then having to buy it if they are too much.

But I'm a bit reluctant now knowing I do have to pay return postage, as I assume you get the same mix of perfectly reasonable sellers and the 10% taking the mick you get on ebay.

More than 10% taking the mick on Vinted. Have a look at the numerous Facebook groups dedicated to Vinted scamming and scam sellers.

isthismylifenow · 15/06/2023 19:36

Bea08 · 15/06/2023 13:26

Just uploaded my first items onto Vinted and immediately "hidden" them as I got a message straightaway from a jarrot44 or something like that saying "congratulations your item is sold put your @email in the chat below". I'm assuming that's someone phishing for my email address and not how sellers communicate with buyers...

Yes it's a phishing scam.

I use a different platform in a different country and got the same today. So it's everywhere.

On our platform you can't send an email address via their messaging system, as it is auto removed for safety reasons. This cheeky says send email address but leave out the @ sign.

Bea08 · 15/06/2023 19:55

Thank you! I guess it was obvious I was a newbie on the site! I'm going to take my stuff to the Charity shop instead!! Thanks again for taking the time to explain - very much appreciated. 🙏

leccybill · 17/06/2023 00:04

I love Vinted. I've bought and sold over 250 items with barely an issue. If I didn't like something, I just re-sold rather than returned it.

Beachlovingirl · 17/06/2023 09:13

I avoid vinted. Maybe it is just my inexperience. I have bought 2 things and had no issues. However I thought I would sell a couple of things. Listed them all fine. Then just got loads of messaging from people offering half the price listed and then someone bought the item which was great! Only they never paid and I messaged them to say if you pay now I can post it today and the reply was
“no sorry. I’m not going to pay for this”. Great I thought then why did they tap to buy it? It turns out when you tap to buy in vinted there is no expectation for the buyer to actually buy the item.

also on another topic I did sell something and the seller got to choose the delivery method and they chose a delivery provider that meant I had to drop off the item at a location over 30 miles from where I live. I cancelled the sale and re-listed on eBay, and removed all my items for sale from vinted. Will just give to charity or sell on eBay.

Squiz81 · 17/06/2023 09:23

Beachlovingirl · 17/06/2023 09:13

I avoid vinted. Maybe it is just my inexperience. I have bought 2 things and had no issues. However I thought I would sell a couple of things. Listed them all fine. Then just got loads of messaging from people offering half the price listed and then someone bought the item which was great! Only they never paid and I messaged them to say if you pay now I can post it today and the reply was
“no sorry. I’m not going to pay for this”. Great I thought then why did they tap to buy it? It turns out when you tap to buy in vinted there is no expectation for the buyer to actually buy the item.

also on another topic I did sell something and the seller got to choose the delivery method and they chose a delivery provider that meant I had to drop off the item at a location over 30 miles from where I live. I cancelled the sale and re-listed on eBay, and removed all my items for sale from vinted. Will just give to charity or sell on eBay.

In the settings you can turn off the postal options which don’t suit you, this means buyers are unable to select them. I don’t think this is immediately obvious when you start using the site though.

XiCi · 17/06/2023 09:25

Beachlovingirl · 17/06/2023 09:13

I avoid vinted. Maybe it is just my inexperience. I have bought 2 things and had no issues. However I thought I would sell a couple of things. Listed them all fine. Then just got loads of messaging from people offering half the price listed and then someone bought the item which was great! Only they never paid and I messaged them to say if you pay now I can post it today and the reply was
“no sorry. I’m not going to pay for this”. Great I thought then why did they tap to buy it? It turns out when you tap to buy in vinted there is no expectation for the buyer to actually buy the item.

also on another topic I did sell something and the seller got to choose the delivery method and they chose a delivery provider that meant I had to drop off the item at a location over 30 miles from where I live. I cancelled the sale and re-listed on eBay, and removed all my items for sale from vinted. Will just give to charity or sell on eBay.

What happens is that the amount for the sale goes into a pending balance, you send the item, they are all tracked, and the money moves from pending into your account 2 days after delivery or when the buyer confirms receipt, whatever is earliest. I've not long started selling on Vinted after a big wardrobe clear out and I've made a couple of hundred already. So much easier than Ebay as most items sell straight away and postage is already paid for by the buyer.

Also you control the postage options for buyers in your settings. So if you know there isn't an InPost locker for 30 miles you just remove that option. I have InPost, Yodel and Evri options all within a mile radius so none of them are a problem.

Beachlovingirl · 17/06/2023 09:26

Thank you @Squiz81 ! I never knew that. I’m going to check my settings now 😀

Twiz54 · 14/06/2024 17:54

I don't understand how Vinted works really. I've put some things on to sell and have been getting emails. Not sure if they are kosha so don't want to press anything. Eg. One shows an item I'm selling and says "this advert has been paid for" then there's a "reply" to click on. Does this mean someone wants to buy it?