A vent about Vinted ! And what would improve it…

[Notcontent]

As a long-time buyer of second hand clothes (but from charity shops) I decided to give Vinted a go. So over the last 6 weeks or so I have bought quite a few things for myself and for teen dd. Have also spent too many hours browsing. I therefore think I have quite a good snapshot and experience of it.

it’s been very mixed. Some lovely sellers whose items have matched the description. But you do have to be very careful. Biggest issue is that many sellers misdescribe the condition of the item. “New without tags” usually means that the item has been worn but still looks good. “Very good” is completely meaningless - I have had a jumper that was shrunk and a top crusted with deodorant.

this can’t be just my experience so I was a bit puzzled initially why all sellers have 5 star reviews. The only time people seem to get negative reviews is if they failed to send the item. But now I understand why - because if a buyer does not leave feedback, the seller automatically gets a five star rating. I did actually consider leaving a bad review for a couple of sellers - but I was concerned about retaliation or being blocked from the site. Surely a better system would be to only award ratings based on actual positive feedback…

anyway, rant over. I will keep using Vinted but have learned the hard way to be very careful.

I join the chorus about how annoying it is that almost no one puts information about fabric. I am currently stuck with vinted as I'm pregnant and don't want to spend fortune on maternity clothes for just few months. I would never buy anything expensive there, given how horrible returns are. The fact you have to pay return postage when seller sends you wrong/faulty item is outrageous.

I've recently started using Vinted to buy. I almost laughed out loud when I received an item that had apparently been 'worn once'. The only way that could be true is if it had been worn continuously 'once' for days/nights on end. 😂 It was soooo washed-out, even the label was washed out. Binned, obviously.

OTOH, I've had some tremendous bargains on brands with which I'm familiar sizing-wise. I do the same as with Ebay and take a great deal of notice of the surroundings in the pictures. If the surroundings look messy/manky, I scroll on by no matter how attractive, in theory, the item may be.

I’ve largely had good experiences with Vinted but do agree that some people’s definition of ‘New without tags’ is questionable, especially when the photos are of them wearing said item on a night out 😁

I would like to think I'm a good seller, I pack things well, send a copy of the postage receipt, leave feedback on their feedback, but I had an auto feedback last week from someone who just couldn't be bothered. I left feedback and messaged asking them to reciprocate. No response. It's interesting that buyers view auto feedback as a negative.

Can't stand it. I got in a mess with a delivery (mostly my fault, some to do with Evri) and found communications via the app almost impossible. It just didn't seem to suit me somehow. I'd rather stick with ebay.

I buy a lot on Vinted and would say around 4 out of 5 items are just as described. Ordered a fleece recently that was listed as 'new without tags', which was covered in hairs and stains when it arrived. When I questioned it with the seller, they got really shirty with me saying that it was 'a good price' and I was 'so exaggerating'. It's rather annoying that I've had to pay to return the item to them, and I'm not sure what the 'seller protection fee' is for that is added to every purchase (other than generate profits for Vinted).

I agree. I always leave feedback and increasingly a lot of people don’t bother. It’s frustrating.

I’ve just started buying and I would say only 2 items out of 5 were as described. For example a pair of jeans listed as “relaxed fit” and “straight” were in fact “relaxed skinny”. I didn’t return because I only paid £4 and as a new user I had no feedback to back me up. The one great buy was from a seemingly older lady and when the parcel arrived I knew it would be lovely - beautiful tissue paper and a little note of thanks. Exactly the shit I’d do 😏

ive just had one where the seller sent me the wrong thing. I had to pay for return postage. That’s just ridiculous and has really put me off

I sold a few things where I described there was a pen dot, a tiny stain etc and got bad feedback ( I was honest in my listing, bnwt dress but had a pen dot) but weirdly I still had a five star rating afterwards. I only list things as good or bnwt tags. If it looks great to me someone could always say its not. I like Vinted and go in cycles of loving and hating it. It's like ebay, most of it as described. Some isn't. It a wash won't sort it I open a dispute.

It depends on the other feedback and amount of feedback tbh. A few auto feedbacks don't bother me as I know a lot don't bother, and I've forgotten to leave it more than once (only remembered when Vinted prompted me to edit their auto-feedback). Personally, I look at a few things if I'm undecided about buying - friendly communication helps a lot too!

They also can leave YOU negative feedback even if they've listed something dishonestly.

Right?! I thought protection fee guarantees you right to return at seller's cost if item comes in shitty condition.

On the good side, you can buy gorgeous baby clothing there at no cost really.

I've luckily never had any issues with what I've bought on Vinted but there are some things about the app itself that annoy me.

The sizing system - I hate the way they match numbered sizes with SML sizes. I'm a 12 and for most brands a M fits me best. But on Vinted I end up having to select both M / 10 and L / 12, when I don't want to see half of those items.

I also think they should add more filters. Not necessarily as many as eBay but some basic things. I've recently been looking for a work dress that's knee length with long sleeves. I've given up on Vinted as I can't easily filter for that, like I can on eBay.

The sizing system - I hate the way they match numbered sizes with SML sizes. I'm a 12 and for most brands a M fits me best. But on Vinted I end up having to select both M / 10 and L / 12, when I don't want to see half of those items.

Yes! it is bizarre. In most brands a size 10 would not be a M. I am a 10 and usually look at both S/8 and M/10. And sometimes still have to ask a seller to clarify what size it actually is.

I would just photograph the label, that seems pretty easy. I'd always check the label when buying something in a shop (though that's because I hate hand wash only and I'm also allergic to wool).

I’ve bought tens of clothing items over the last nine months but i decreed to DH last night that I am deleting the app and Vinting no more. A lot of my purchases are duplicate items in smaller or larger sizes (menopause!)

Reasons for giving up on Vinted -

Worn once is a blatant lie - I had a yellow Joules t shirt dress arrive yesterday that had been in fact ‘worn twice’. The item is faded and nowhere near the colour of the original item.

A purple and pink Boden wrap dress in ‘very good’ condition went straight to the clothes bank. It was so worn, faded and bobbled that it was unwearable.

A next dress advertised as 14 tall had another piece of an identical dress sown on to the hem to make it even longer. Not shown in the photograph.

New without tags - encompasses everything from immaculate and genuinely unworn to worn and washed it several times but I think I can get away with it.

Feedback is a completely useless function.

Can I ask why a seller would bother selling a bundle of kids' playwear for £1? Is it motivated by ethics of reuse and recycle/carbon footprint reduction? I would not have expected to find stuff on there that cheaply, seems hardly worth the bother.

I sell a fair amount of stuff for £1 - adults clothes. It's because I just want it out of my house - so I hope the low price will tempt people - but I also want it to be worn and not just end up on a beach on Ghana (which is why I don't charity shop it)

Re condition of items, I always err on the side of caution so I don't get buyers trying to return things and mostly list things as good or satisfactory - occasionally very good. And if put worn once, I mean worn once! Reading this thread makes me wonder if I should change the way I list things though

That would be me. It’s £1 for basically clothes I would throw away she it all adds. I’m not in a position to throw away any amount of money so it’s motivated by me being absolutely on the bones of my arse. I do also sell the better of dds clothes as singles / sets too and tend to keep the money in my Vinted account. It means instead of having to stretch out already tight budget to get a new pair of shoes, I can just withdraw when needed or buy 2nd hand from Vinted without crying about my financial situation. It’s great if you’ve no need to ‘bother’ to scrape money together but some of us do.

I had a similar conversation with my brother last week. He's in the 'CBA for a couple of quid' camp. I love it. I get genuine delight from someone getting new life from items we've finished with.

I bought some shoes the seller said were a UK4.

they were a US4, so a UK3 and didn’t fit. I should have double checked the label inside before I left feedback 😡

@RichardHeed I'm sorry that money is so tight for you, but in that case you are probably under-pricing the stuff. I know that the problem is that the buyer has to pay postage on top, so if it is literally a bag of rags I can see why they would not want to pay much more than postage. But I bet you could go up to £2 and still sell it.

I’ve listed a few things and it’s been ok - most items posted out using Evri.

until this week - a Yodel label manifests itself! It’s impossible to print (I use a label printer and so it has to be cropped and resized from A4) and then turns out there’s only one drop off point within a 10 mile radius (I live in a city). Just driven there and the msn in the shop said it was invalid and wouldn’t scan 😬

I’m going to have to send it via Royal Mail - it was a £2 item and I don’t have the energy to spend any more time on it!

anyone else had this problem?