Vinted - beware

[Fleurons]

This is a Public Service Announcement.

I bought 6 things on Vinted, all bags and handbags. 2 were good, 2 were awful, and 2 were dirty inside (lazy slapdash sellers) but salvageable.

The worst one was advertised as new, it wasn’t. It stank of mould, dirty inside etc. I paid £79.

He eventually agreed a return then said I’d marked the bag, and not enclosed a (stinky, dirty, old) dust bag and strap. I really believed he lied as I double-checked contents. I was very polite about a possible solution, but he blocked me and gave me a bad review. And by this time he had my money and the bag. Vinted are not interested and have simply closed the matter.

I can’t even leave him a bad review, since I’ve paid him already and in the world of Vinted that means everything is okay!

This is just to warn people who use or want to use Vinted. It is not at the same quality level as eBay. A lot of slapdash, lazy, unpleasant people - and scammers. The ugly side of commerce.

Don’t be fooled by positive reviews. You can’t leave a negative review once the money is gone through after 48 hours. If you don’t leave a review, they automatically get a five star positive review anyway, which is ridiculous. Vinted itself as a platform are completely disinterested in the outcome. Very simplistic AI bots, and you are in a constant race against time. You must raise an issue within two days, you must give a review within 48 hours, etc.

Never had a problem with eBay in 20 years of buying and selling. I have 100% reviews for both. But within two weeks of Vinted, I’ve experienced a non-stop nightmare and had two terrible reviews as a buyer (which they did as a form of retaliation).

As I said, this is a PSA, be warned!

There is actually a Facebook support group for how awful Vinted is. Like the one they had for Hermes. Buyer beware. Be careful.

Did you raise an issue? They're some shockingly bad sellers on there.

I understood they didn't release the money until you confirmed you were satisfied is that not correct then?

I sell a lot and now eBay have scrapped fees for clothes that’s where I’ll be sticking, everyone is better protected.

I use vinted all the time and have never had any big issues.
As pp said, you must have confirmed everything was ok to release the payment?

This. I’ve bought and sold. I sent an item on Monday and won’t get paid until the buyer confirms they have received it and are happy.
ive had the odd item that is less than perfect, but not unwearable

I've only received one item which was poor quality. I raised a complaint and my money was refunded. I couldn't believe how easy the process was.

@neilyoungismyhero I have no idea how my money was released to him after he complained/lied about the returned item. Whether this was accidental on Vinted’s part, or mine - I have no way of knowing what happened, because Vinted just closed the issue down, told me it’s between me and the seller.

Obviously I never intended to release any money. I had sent the bag back for a refund! It’s a weird system, where Vinted hold the money in limbo. No idea how this came to pass as I certainly never pressed such a button once he raised his lying “issue”. But the app is very basic, shall we say.

Sounds good.

No I didn’t @Microwaveexpert . This is further down the line when the seller raised an issue. I have no idea what happened, technically.

Anyway, just warning others to be careful.

As people have said, it’s maybe okay if you’re selling stuff for a tenner so it doesn’t make much difference if you get totally shafted.

Yes, you have 48 hours to raise any issue. When your item is delivered/collected Vinted tells you that. If you are happy with the product you can release the funds earlier that 48 hours but you have 48 hours to check. You released the funds by not declaring an issue in 48 hours.

I will add that the measure of a company is always when things go wrong, not when things go right.

Also, the ethos. Vinted is unashamedly about money and the bottom line. It’s very clear from the way they run their platform and some of the kind of people that sell. At least eBay was started with some kind of altruistic motive, recycling stuff, even if that model has obviously changed somewhat.

Wrong. You’ve not even read my posts. I did not do that. I did raise the issue. That’s why I returned the item.

You said you contacted the seller to arrange a refund. But did you click the “I have an issue” button on the App?

You posted “You must raise an issue within two days, you must give a review within 48 hours, etc.” as if this is the shocking part, when it is clear when the item is delivered/collected. In the message thread there is a button “I have an issue”. So if you didn’t click that within 48 hours, you are not declaring an issue by default.

Of course I did. The problem occurred when the seller raised an issue - fraudulently- with the returned item! Then the app did some strange things and sent him my money as well. So he has money and bag. F. knows why - and Vinted won’t discuss it saying it’s between me and the seller!

Anyway as I said, this is just a PSA. Warning others, take it or leave it. Best,

I buy loads from Vinted but never spend more than I'm willing to lose because one person's 'good condition' is quite often very different mine.

As I said PSA for those who assume good standards and protection.

The system is set up so that no money goes either way until all issues are resolved.

If the seller had an issue with your return, Vinted should have investigated this. They should only have released the money to him if they were satisfied that you still had the item and it was exactly as described. Even if they agreed with him that you had somehow damaged the bag, they should not have paid him until the bag was back in your hands. Otherwise you got nothing for your money.

I had a problem with a buyer - Vinted are terrible when sorting problems! @Fleurons email their legal team, that’s what I had to do (as the seller ) to get my money when my buyer fraudulently claimed they didn’t collect the parcel from the parcel shop, despite emails and cctv to prove they did collect! So buyer kept the £59 item AND got a full refund! 😡

Yeah I would not be dropping this with Vinted when it’s almost £80.

@Change2banon presumably the legal team did sort it?

What is supposed to happen at Vinted, is actually not what happens irl. There are many times when their procedures literally get tossed to one side and they do what the hell they like and just shut you down! They’re not like eBay at all.

Sounds like one for Which? to investigate @Change2banon .

In a fashion .. they just said buyer has been refunded, case closed! I replied with a breakdown of dates/correspondence etc and also If I do not receive my money within 7 calendar days, by midnight 3.10.23, I will report Vinted UK to Trading Standards and the appropriate Ombudsman bodies. Only after this was I given my money. Even then though, when the money didn’t arrive they said to wait 30 days! I said I’d already waited 45 days, if they don’t issue immediately I will escalate this further as per previous email - my money was then sent within 15 minutes! So yes, it was sorted but my goodness did I have to work for it!