Vinted - where am I going wrong?

[StuckInARut40]

I keep reading about people finding great bargains on Vinted, to the point where they don’t buy from ‘normal’ shops any more. I’ve been on a few times and searched for particular brands, but everything that comes up seems to be really highly priced for something second hand. Items that are brand new (with or without tags) are only a few pounds less than buying new, and that’s without the ability to return if they don’t fit/suit! And those that are good prices don’t look as if they are in great condition. Where am I going wrong with my searches as I can’t find any of these amazing bargains people talk about?!

Interesting thread. I live on the continent and use vinted a lot, but it sounds like it’s a bit different here. We can’t make offers for any more than 40% off the asking price for one thing.

There’s a lot of good stuff on European vinted - the Spanish and French sell Sezane and Massimo Dutti, and the Dutch and Belgians sell Cos and Arket. The French and Italians sell a lot of designer items too.

I love vinted. I sell clothes i know i wont wear or dont fit and also buy
Some good bargains ive had:
Leather converse high tops. Paid £12, but online £90
M&s harper jeans £2 and £5, in shop £32 each
4 x pair of work pants from m&s in shops currently would have cost me £100. I paid on vinted £25 for them all in total
New look loafers, paid £7, brand new, in shops currently £34
M&s blazers are £49 each. Ive now bought the navy, black and brown check. Combined all 3 at £30

I find alot are tags that people have ordered but have left it too late to return, hence sell on vinted.

Buy and sell is around 120 items up to now. Out of them only 2 x items ive bought where they've stunk and ive had to wash them numerous times to get the stench out. I cant complain overall. Saves me a fortune.

Good things at a reasonable price go very quickly, usually in under 24 hours. So the best thing is to keep browsing, multiple times a day. I've had some great bargains on there. Brand new yard boots for dd3 which cost half the price of what I'd have paid, new. I also got a mini Boden coat for dd4 which is in mint condition for a great price.

I mean paid new from a website obvs.

Me too which is why I only get brands I’m confident fit me

And there is a return process - I recently had an item returned (I mislabelled a parcel so the buyer got something else 🤦🏻‍♀️) and it was quite easy, I had to pay for a postage label and they sent it back and got a refund from Vinted

I’ve never said it to anyone but some people’s offers are bloody cheeky to the point where it’s not actually worth me the effort of putting it in an envelope and taking it to parcel drop for that much! And don’t get me started on people who make offers, you accept them and then they never come back and pay for the item!

I've had some shit items but mostly good ones. I bought a dress for £3 which I've worn loads, and a top for £1 which I get so many compliments on. It's harder to find bargains now than it was a year ago though. If you're happy to buy Zara, ASOS, H&M etc high street level stuff and are careful with your choices there are rich pickings to be had for under £5 a pop.

I've bought and sold on Vinted. You have to look at the reviews and be quick if you want something. I lost out on 2 decent things last week for procrastinating. I picked up a lovely black jumpsuit for work from Whistles for £15, was originally £150.

I've sold a lot of things on there. I am one of these people who buying nice things from decent shops, with nothing to go with it, inappropriate for my lifestyle, and it hangs there for 2 years. I'm working on this! One woman messaged me in a bit of a grump saying my things were too cheap! I was a bit embarrassed.

Some people do have a bit of a nerve though. There are some cashmere jumpers on there that come from companies that sell them for £250 and people are selling them with holes in for about £50.

I usually just look for things for work on there as I don't want to spend lots on clothes for my job. Also, I look for nice to haves such as Sweaty Betty after workout tops.

I sold a designer item of jewellery once and the person who bought it wrote that it was a fake on reviews, but didn't ask me for a refund, or challenge me on it. I got very upset about that, and went to great lengths to get proof that it was, and then responded to her under her review. It made her look petty.

You have to cut the wheat from the chaff and be very specific about what you are looking for.

My best buys:
Zara coat for £5 (around £90 new and was like new)
Hunter wellies £21 brand new in box

@TheLeadbetterLife you can only make a proper offer of 40% under, but occasionally you'll get a one word message saying '£5' or whatever daft price.

@NotFastButFurious where people make an offer but don't accept, I always assumed that either they've offered on a few similar items, and got another one accepted first, or they've made it to see what the reduced cost would be with fees and post, then decided it's too much altogether. Or they've liked something at 11 on a night when they're doom scrolling, then realised in the morning light it's something they'll never wear!

@IHaveNeverLivedintheCastle I think you're almost certainly in the minority with having nothing BNWT in your wardrobe! I know my problem personally is buying something that's almost right in the sales, but it's not actually quite right, or I have nothing to wear it with, or the sizing is not perfect, or it's yet another dress for going out when I dont have much of a social life, or a fashion item that doesn't suit my lifestyle. All of those things I might keep the item, thinking I'm going to wear it, and then it's still there with tags on a year later.

I currently have some Zara sundresses that never got worn last summer on holiday, sitting there with labels on, that I need to either wear or list in a month or so.

To be fair the only BNWTs in my wardrobe now are two things- a dress I bought a week before lockdown in 2020 to wear to an event planned for that summer that then got rescheduled multiple times and eventually became a winter event (so the dress wasn’t warm enough) and I’ve not had another occasion yet to wear it too, and a dress I bought in the sales this January that is almost perfect but needs shortening as I am very short. (Thinking about it, I really need to drop it into the tailors today, it’s sat there too long!)

But when I was younger, and spent more time going round the shops I would buy things in the sales because they were bargains or things for a lifestyle I don’t live, and end up giving to charity shops after a year or so.

I too have only one mac with BNWT, which I bought in the pandemic when it was too much of a faff to return. Nothing else. Not saying this to sound smug or anything: I have very little wardrobe space, so tend to not buy much and anything unused jumps out.

But clearly from what posters have said, a lot of the BNWT are fake. I looked yeterday for a jumper, but several BNWT jumpers look bobbly. Some are genuine, but how does one tell?

I would definitely have used Vinted for DC when they were little though and growing out of clothes every month, but I missed that boat.

I volunteer for a local charity at their warehouse, helping to process the donations.

It still amazes me how many things we find that are new with tags.

Items I've found include designer cashmere jumpers, a genuine Chloe handbag and one time we found six black bin bags full of niche top range brands for example.

Every shift I've done we find plenty of unworn items with tags and we're just one local charity...

I always take a screenshot of the item and then use Google image search to find it on the brands website. Gives me an idea of how it actually looks when styled correctly and I can read people's reviews.

@GordoStevensMustache that's a good idea. Will try and the other tips on here if I venture back onto Vinted.

I searched a Dutch brand I like. I found a short silk jacket I liked the look of which the seller is selling at £98 and claims it's "XL size 14"

I might have been tempted but fortunately the seller included a picture of the garment label which shows it's a "2" on the brand's own sizing. A "2" in that brand is not by a considerable margin "XL or a 14.

I love Vinted but have been stung a couple of times by sellers describing as BNWT and then the items arriving badly stained.

One seller was genuine and refunded me in full, the other called me a scammer and left me a bad review! It was a white dress and was covered in brown stains on the back which had been sneakily left out of the photos! Put me off for a while but I do still have a good browse!

I always ask for more photos if there's something missed off (someone trying to sell a cashmere jumper with no pictures of the cuffs.. funnily enough she blanked me)
Also I ask for the composition and care label. I tend to expect BNWOT to have been worn once although I don't have the nerve to list it like that myself. It's a bit annoying when listers post the picture of themselves wearing the brand new item at a wedding though..

I'm selling new with tags a mint velvet dress on ebay for £40 I had a offer of £20 I just declined, as if I going to half the price when I only just listed it.

You need to be quick

The best thing/prices go very quickly.

I find if you search further down the page, its all over priced stuff left.

I’ve mostly had really good experiences! I’ve bought dozens of things and can only think of two where the seller had lied about the condition.

I only buy things which are easy to clean though, I wouldn’t buy knitwear or shoes. And I am very picky about the reviews, I don’t think I’d ever buy from someone who didn’t have 100% positive feedback.

It’s weird how some sellers get so worked up about offers. They seem to take it so personally.

I had a really snarky response back from someone when I put in an offer, so I just left it and moved on. The item didn’t sell and is still sat on there now, and she’s actually now reduced it to less than the price I offered!!

I don't understand why people favourite things then don't buy. I also wish more people would make offers. I want stuff to go to a good home more than I want an extra few pence.

I favourite things I'm considering. Sometimes I unfavourite them because I decide not to purchase, sometimes I buy them (possibly quite a time later), sometimes I'm still undecided. I'm not sure what you don't understand about it - if it were the same as the 'buy' button, it wouldn't need to exist.

I do have the 'tell sellers I've liked their item' turned off, so I'm just an anonymous like on your item.