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.

Thanks OP. Vinted also have a huge problem with stolen goods. The shine has definitely worn off.

I'm also sticking to eBay - and depending on where you live, charity shops!

I agree.

I bought a bag advertised as new. It was scratched to hell and grubby. The seller got arsey with me for being fed up about it. The reality is I have too much on at the moment to be fannying around messaging Vinted and having to organise return when THEY WERE AT FAULT FOR ADVERTISING AS NEW.

I got a refund and they even returned postage, but that's not the point. I wasted at least two hours sorting out and returning, got a shed load of stress I don't need, and now have no bag.

I don't think I will be using going forward.

I must admit I've sold around 100 items on Vinted and purchased a few, and never had any issues apart from once when a buyer was trying to nitpick over a £1.50 item I had clearly advertised but they vanished when I said I was happy to refund them if they returned it. However, I probably wouldn't ever purchase expensive items on there, probably wouldn't risk more than £20 to be honest.

@Fleurons

Once the transaction is complete vinted will not get involved.

You should be able to leave feedback though by going to their feedback and clicking on edit and changing the automatic feedback.

You can also try a charge back with your bank or card, you get 120 days I think as long as you have proof of what happened.

There is also a Facebook group that has been set up by users recently, very helpful - Vinted Uk ~ Members Questions and Answers

https://www.facebook.com/groups/679139920068924/permalink/1120554959260749/.

Highlighting eBays new approach, fyi.

And here’s the “Vinted : Do not Use” Facebook page

oops tried to paste link, no luck!

ps. Agree with the poster who said never sell, or buy on Vinted more than you are prepared to lose, in my case about £15. Maybe some people just like buying and selling, for its own sake, just basic motives. I’m not sure I’d be bothered to buy things that are under £10-£15.

You have my sympathy @Fleurons.
I've been robbed twice by buyers, one on ebay, another Gumtree. Basically some people are arseholes. I'm extremely careful generally but we're all vulnerable at times to being had.

£79 for a handbag on vinted 😮 I don't think I've paid more than £5 for something on vinted. And I've had some great bargains, brand new stuff, great condition.
I wouldn't trust anyone selling second hand items for that amount on sites like vinted, and certainly wouldn't part with that amount of money.

@darwin, well you are obviously more worldly and clever. As I already stated, if you read my opening post, it was listed as new.

Over and out.

I've had the same issue many times, especially with designer/higher price items- and find buyers are so wary of scams and issues they're angry from the beginning. Sold a £4 pair of shoes to someone who threatened to come to my house and harm me because the tracking said delivered and she couldn't find the parcel (it was with a neighbour). I know in this economy a £4 pair of shoes going missing can be a big deal to most but threatening to 'lamp' someone is hardly worth it!

I bought a tee shirt from someone on vinted
A pair of jeans showed up in its place
Contacted the seller who gave me a sob story about how she was only 17,her granny had died and she has adhd
She asked me to send them back (which I did) but am now out two sets of postage and vinted fees which came to nearly half what I'd paid for the tee in the first place
Vinted don't give a toss and the seller blocked me when I asked for the postage to be refunded

Buyer beware I guess

Simple rule with Vi ted, eBay, Etsy etc
Anywhere or anytime you're buying from a person or small shop etc. don't spend more than you're willing waste.
Too many are scammers too many sell fakes. Too often websites are on sellers sides. Etc.

For me personally, being on the poorer end of society, I won't spend more than £10 on Vinted or Etsy if buying from a person.

eBay I'm a little more confident if it's a shop / business etc

If I was spending £50+ I'd want guarantees and warranties and free returns.

I have a £15 limit on Vinted purchases for this reason, but tbh, protection for sellers on ebay used to be shocking. Dh and I both had cheeky fuckers on there on separate occasions, which made me really wary of selling anything on there. Maybe it's improved though.

Just seen that FB Group. Wow, there are a LOT of v pissed off pp on there! I got banned for violating their terms and conditions, no idea why. I feel angry and resentful whenever I see their stupid ad on TV! Apparently EBay don't have fees for selling clothes anymore, so maybe a better place to sell on?

I’ve bought and sold a few clothing and handbag items, but would never buy anything costing more than £10 for the reasons you’ve described. Far better to use eBay for higher value items to buy and sell.

I also find just the state of the photos and descriptions (or mostly lack thereof) really off-putting. It really is the selling site for a lot of cowboys or very lazy people.

There's certainly issues with vinted, that's why I'd never use it for high value items.

It is more weighted more in favour towards the seller than the buyer.

I had a similar but opposite experience recently. I sold an item on vinted, brand new pristine condition, the buyer complained it was scratched, it definitely wasn't when I sent it but I agreed to a return anyway. The buyer returned a similar item to me but it wasn't my item as the serial number didn't match the one I sold. So now I'm out of pocket for the sale and I have someone else's old scratched item and they've kept my brand new one 🤷‍♀️.

I've also bought far too many things listed as brand new with tags that have no tags, have clearly been worn, and absolutely stink! Definitely no brand new.

I'm not sure what vinted could do to protect both buyers and sellers more? As I've been stung on both sides now.

I choose very wisely what I would buy from vinted now.

I use vinted and I'm always cautious when buying things I won't buy off anyone that doesn't have good reviews plenty of pictures of said item.

You can mostly spot them dodgy ones the only thing that annoys me is when they say stuff like item new without tags when it's been worn and they put stupid it's only been worn few times so as good as new actually no it isn't 🙈😂 it's used stop trying to sell things that have been worn and used.

It must be a bag thing when it comes to vinted OP my friend had similar experience as you bought a designer bag told new without tags when it arrived it was marked she however was lucky and got her money back despite the seller trying to argue it wasn't sent like that. It had clearly been used a few times.
She has another where the bag just never arrived.

This!! Only spend an amount you are prepared to write off if the description is inaccurate. Or just resell it

Vinted customer service is crap, well known fact. I think it’s run entirely by chat bots (and no that’s not sarcasm I’m being serious)
Why was he been paid if the item was returned?
Were you refunded?

You can replace the automatic review with your own review btw

I've just checked my Vinted buyers and even up to 2 months ago, where I have left a review (guessing if you let it go to auto review it might be different?) I can still go in and edit?

I think OP if you are spending more than £20 on anything there go through their reviews with a fine tooth comb.

But sorry you had such a crappy experience

I've had some good experiences with Vinted and no truly bad ones, but I'd never buy anything on it that cost more than I was prepared to lose. Tenner max, I think. If I was looking for something costly second hand, like a designer bag, I'd sooner go to a reputable reseller/second hand outlet, pay a bit more and have the protection.

I suspect Vinted will soon be overtaken by dropshippers, sadly. We lose the high street at our peril.

Oh dear. I use Vinted a lot, but I mainly sell. I sometimes buy, but when I do I always check the actual reviews from people (not the automated ones). So far, only great items. One dress wasn't like described, but it wasn't a bad item, just categorised poorly, so I sold it on with a better description.

Usually I withdraw my cash and buy using a credit card. With a credit card, you are generally protected against scams, and I would contact my card issuer and raise a dispute over goods not received/not in good condition with them. Let them fight with Vinted, and always cash your own money in.

I've bought a few bits on Vinted, but never spending big money and I check reviews and what else they are selling. I often ask for measurements and additional photos and those that don't reply, I don't buy from and those that do, with additional pictures, measurements etc., I've had no issues with. eBay was good, then I had two sellers who sold items in an awful state and no redress, telling me I had shredded the lining by tearing open the package! Just like the real world, unfortunately the virtual has just as many crooks and sadly it makes it difficult for the good 'uns. As quickly as Vinted grew, it can just as easily disappear and that the thing about customers, it takes ages to get them and seconds to lose them! eBay changing tack might make Vinted think twice about how they deal with disputes.