Annoying minor vinted scam

[VintedBinted]

Has anyone else had similar?

Buyer complained the (v cheap, unworn!) item smelled bad, using "item significantly not as described". Made it sound as if receiving it was a horrific experience for her. I, foolishly, believed her, despite being fairly sure I hadn't posted a smelly item out. Thought maybe something had occurred in transit, was ready to complain to couriers etc.

Agreed to refund and asked her to return, which I think i paid for. (A bit hazy because either vinted deletes stuff it thinks is resolved or buyer has deleted half of the history of the messages, including her accusation. I am not sure which).

I have received the item back. It doesn't smell (I've checked with various people). I see now this was a scam because she didn't want the item when she received it.

Mostly posting this as a warning to others. It really fucks me off when dickheads spoil something good. We've all received items that don't suit us. Sell on, FFS! If everyone acted like this buyer, vinted would grind to a halt.

It’s not a scam. You’ve not lost anything bar the postage which you agreed to pay for. You don’t have to accept returns on Vinted. You could have told the buyer to resell the item. A scam is when you loose money. You’ve not lost.

I did say minor! 😅

Yes I've only lost the postage. Yes I "agreed"(although scams often entail people agreeing to things they later regret). I obviously wouldn't have agreed had I realised the buyer just wanted free returns on an unwanted item.

I class it as a minor scam because the buyer lied to get something they wanted which I wouldn't have offered had they been truthful.

Don't worry I know worse things happen in life! But I do think this sort of thing is a shame as, like I said, if everyone starts doing it it will spoil vinted.

I agree, I used to sell on eBay and had stuff like this happen a few times, or people opening a case saying the item hadn’t been delivered even though Royal Mail GPS tracking showed it at their address. I won that particular case but was a hassle uploading the proof to eBay.
I also had someone leave me negative feedback because the item smelt of fabric conditioner… like what the fuck?! It’s clean and if you don’t like the scent wash it!!
I’ve not had any problems yet on Vinted fortunately but I use evri postage and I take photos of the item as I’m packaging it.

You are right though a small minority who spoil it for everyone else and want something for nothing!

Hmmm, it's a rare thing that I receive anything on Vinted that I'd describe as smelling nice or even clean. Most things have that ' been hanging in storage ages' aroma to them.

It's not a scam.

Do you send all these items back though?

I'm quite smell sensitive but if I don't like the smell of something I wash it. Vinted is so damn cheap, it's absolutely no bother. Tbh for me I can just as much dislike the smell of somebody else's fabric conditioner or perfume as I do somebody else's wardrobe. Washing second hand clothes is kind of automatic for me.

I was expecting to receive a returned item that had been covered in rat piss at the parcel depot.

Are you sure you had to pay for return postage and it wasn't optional? I've found the opposite frustration as a buyer, seller listed the item as the wrong size. As the buyer I still had to pay for the return postage due to the seller's mistake, whereas the seller could just re-list again so no worse off.

If there was no smell to the item it's frustrating that they wasted your time, but I'm pretty sure it gives you the option for the buyer to pay return postage so financially you're no worse off as hopefully someone else will buy. I think you can also try to contest the return in the first place if you believe there is nothing wrong with the item.

It's just part of the Vinted game, you win most, you lose some. Block the buyer so they don't see your items in future. Most people are decent and if they don't want something they resell it.

Exactly the same happened to me, op, and it was twice in a row, which made me suspicious. I did not ask for the items to be returned, just refunded but it has put me off Vinted and I probably won't go back for a while.

A quick peek at both buyer accounts revealed them to be people selling multiple items a day, so I guess they buy lots cheap and sell on for more - and if they can get it free so much the better.

They were both items in very good condition from sought-after 'posh high street' brands and I was selling them very cheap, so it left a bad taste in my mouth (and not a 'very strong smell of perfume' in my nose either).

Ooh I had no idea this was possible (although I had noted her user name). Will do this.

I'm trying to work this out. But I'm fairly sure I did pay looking at bank transfers for the date.

It may well have been optional though. I did the whole thing really quickly and distractedly as was in the middle of something else far more important (serves me right for looking at my phone when I shouldn't have been). And, gullible idiot that I am, I took her complaint seriously! The way she phrased it, you'd think she'd had to get her house exorcised after opening the parcel.

I find vinted really frustrating for going back and seeing what has happened. I can't even see any record of her message of complaint to me, which she did using the "item significantly not as described" channel. I can't tell if that's vinted annoyingly removing stuff or whether she deleted once she'd got the response she wanted from me.

In over 200 sales I've had this twice. I simply replied politely saying yes you can send it back. I don't offer to pay postage as I know the item didn't 'smell'. On both occasions I've never heard back and they haven't returned it. It's simply a dishonest way to send back an item that you've changed your mind about or don't like. It's few and far between don't let it put you off 🙂