Sick of Vinted & Ebay scams, what are the alternatives

[Screamingtern]

Numerous posts and Twitters about the recent Vinted ‘paper plate’ scams have left me questioning where to shop next.

I gave up buying and selling on Ebay 9 months ago after being ripped off on a couple of purchases and have become a real Vinted addict. Now I am more unsure.

I only ever buy new, with or without tags, so often end up paying approx 50% of new price and often the things I buy have tickets showing heavily discounted prices.

So wise MNers could you let me into the secret of where to go to buy end of season / end of line pieces with reasonable discounts. I loved the green aspects of buying second hand but if I am just going to be scammed would prefer to be paying a bit more with the obvious benefits of an option to return if something looks hideous or doesn’t fit.

Bumping for advice

Brand alley if you like designer stuff. Slow delivery though.

A lot of high or highish brands have sample sales.
I agree re Vinted, eBay and instagram - they’ve all become unusable because of the endless fraud.

I had lots of ok Vinted stuff but no gems - mainly trainers for my son (Nike new no tags in none of the high end styles so unlikely to be fakes and more a bored man with too many pairs!) but now? Prices have gone up and I don't see many bargains

I’m a new Vinted user and have been really pleased with my very bargainous purchases - what’s this paper plate thing??

Organise a jumble sale in your community? Why does it need to be brand new, with tags? There are millions of amazing, beautifully tailored clothes in wardrobes all over.

Many of the 'new with tags' are shoplifted, not so green

I mostly use Vinted for kids stuff, and have had some nice party dresses and some brand new converses at greatly discounted prices. Adult stuff is patchier - often listed as brand new without tags but then arrives with marks, or clearly not new. I've also sold quite a bit.

Charity shops? Much greener, as they don’t involve a courier going to multiple drops. You have to go fairly regularly, and shop for winter stuff in spring, as that’s when people have a clear out!

@UseOfWeapons the charity shop I work in is very season appropriate - we store out of season donations to bring out later

That’s excellent, what a good idea! My local ones mostly don’t do this, maybe lack of storage space, but the ones in wealthier areas do have some very nice stuff!

I've always found vinted to be very reliable but I would never use it to buy 'new' or high value items, I mainly use it for kids clothes. I think buying from sellers with lots of reviews cuts the risk. Vestiaire Collective is good for designer stuff and if you pay the extra for verification then no chance of a scam.

I shop at Otrium. Basically I’m lucky that they sell two brands that I wear a lot of - sandwich and white stuff. They don’t send loads of pushy emails and often have weekends where there is an additional 20% off so that’s 70% off full prices. Some of the other brands they sell are a bit ‘high end’ for me but they have stuff like French connection, etc, too.

if anyone wants one of those ‘refer a friend’ codes I’m sure they do one so I’d be more than happy to share as we’d both benefit.

Take a trip to one of the designer outlets in person perhaps? Not sure where in the country you are but we have a big one not too far from us.

I've never had an issue buying or selling on Ebay, but equally am not interested in or buying designer or high popularity/value things. I always check feedback and how long the seller has been in business, in detail, as a rule.

My understanding is that the scams are most frequently on high popularity branded items and i'd not buy those second hand anyway for fear of actually ending up overpaying for a fake.

I do think it's more about what you're looking to buy than what platform it's being sold on.

I’ve bought two high end handbags on Vinted and both were great (approx £250 each) but I think I’ve been very lucky, and I’m nervous of doing it again in case it goes wrong. Nowadays I use Vinted for kids clothes and disposable fashion for me.

For luxury items I’d definitely buy new or from a (very) reputable seller. Nobody needs luxury by definition so I’d rather save up and pay more for the peace of mind.

I love Vinted (perhaps too much, I find it very addictive) - but I usually buy things in the £10 to £20 range. For that I can get lightly worn things from decent brands (thought, people tree, sometimes toast, Levi's etc) that I could never justify the cost of buying new.

I don't think I'd trust it for high end things, but for what I'm after I don't think it'd be worth the hassle for con artists.

That's a fab site. Thank you. I'd take a referral code if you have one although I won't use it for a week or so as I'm going on holiday tomorrow.

Sorry for derail OP

I buy a lot on Depop. Mainly brands like Arket, &OS, and Cos. I find it much more straightforward than Vinted, plus the items tend to be photographed/described in more detail (not my experience on Vinted) .

I’ve had a couple of wool/alpaca jumpers which were a bit more bobbled than I expected but in years of buying that’s been my biggest gripe!

What is the paper plate scam?! I’ve bought things on Vinted that weren’t as photographed, were in less than good condition on arrival. Very disappointing.

Buyers on Vinted have been sent a paper plate instead of the item they ordered. The package is marked and photographed as 'delivered' by the courier company.

I like Vinted for kids stuff - I like that the money isn’t handed over to the seller til you click that the item is ok, and always ship to a store rather than to my house.
For adult clothes I prefer Depop, I’ve had one or two items I thought were in less good condition than as labelled but overall it’s been good.

Thank you for the reminder @GettingStuffed. I stopped using Brand Alley after a particularly frustrating returns experience, but maybe I need to give them another try.

@FrozZen I go for NWT or NWOT because I often find that items described as ‘very good’ are not always very good.

i live rurally but our annual jumble sale doesn’t often reveal the labels I am looking for.

Ditto the charity shops in my nearby small market town. When I lived in a larger city I would find great bits, but not here.

Thank you @Nowisthemonthofmaying I am browsing through Vestiaire Collective now.

Yes please @Mykittensmittens I would love a referral code, Otrium looks good.

Being more specific does anyone know how to find past seasons Toast, Camper, Oska, Jigsaw, White Company pieces? I never see those labels on places like Brand Alley or in the Designer Outlet in my nearest city.

I buy loads off vinted but it's mainly kids stuff and high street bargains for me, so the stakes are quite low. I've had a couple of great finds for wedding guest attire - two dresses both brand new with tags retailing at £100 ish each and I got them for a fiver, that kind of thing. There is the risk that new stuff is stolen though, but it doesn't exactly keep me awake at night.

I wouldn't buy anything expensive or designer on any of those sites because of all the fakes out there. I find Depop sells the same stuff but the search function is quite poor and stuff is more likely to be overpriced.