Those of you who use vinted..

[lizzieq]

Started to use Vinted recently to sell and quite pleased with outcomes. Can I ask though -
do you like quick sales or do you let things linger for months? This is my main point - do I reduce or just let things hang in there?
do you ever pay to bump things?
do you find that things perk up towards the end of the month and payday?
have you had any really bad experiences with people?

I’m a buyer rather than a seller but in the last few weeks I’ve “bought” four items from different sellers who have then advised me they can’t find the item listed and would I please cancel the transaction. With that in mind I’d be wary of letting things linger for months, unless you’ve got plenty of storage and a good system, and I wouldn’t list obviously winter items in the summer and vice-versa.

I'll only buy something if it's been listed in the last few weeks - if it was uploaded 6 months ago then I tend to think the seller has forgotten about the listing and has got rid of the item. Occasionally I will message them to ask if it's still for sale, but only if I absolutely love the item.

I think it depends on how much you want the item to sell for. I have had more expensive but very good things listed for a few months before they sell, but someone always comes along in the end. On other occasions I got fed up with storing the item and just sold it for a few pounds - some people have had some right bargains from me!

To follow on, I've had a couple of 'off' experiences from sellers, when the item arrived absolutely reeking of cigarettes and/or fabreeze. I let it go because I figured it wasn't worth the faff of complaining, returning etc. Mostly things have been as described.

Could you cancel the item and relist it it to make it fresh ? If I see something on there a while. I always put in a cheeky offer.

I think that if stuff doesn’t sell in the first week or so it will end up lingering for ever (unless it’s something special). I’ve also learnt that in general it’s best to accept an offer as you probably won’t get another. I try to focus on the overall sums I’m raising rather than individual prices that stuff sells for.

I let things sit, but I'm only selling one brand that tends to be a bigger purchase and buyers tend to know the item. Once I list something it goes in a drawer I don't keep using it. I'm selling it because it doesn't work for me but also it's a great item that I can keep and may decide it works for me in the future, and I'm not a shop, so I'm not going to reduce it for a quick sale.

I sell quite a bit on vinted. I don't make loads as I sell for cheap. Its mainly as a way to get rid of things we no longer need.
I tend to leave things up until they are sold or wait until one of the charity bags comes through the door. Then I'll get rid of things that have been up for several months.
Never pay to bump but I do promote on Facebook groups weekly.
There is definitely ups and down with the amount that sells. The 2 weeks after the end of month pay day seems good.
I upload regularly either new items or refresh photos/descriptions of old things. Swap any bundles up and see if they sell better etc.
Not had many issues with sellers or buyers. One buyer wasn't happy with the quality of a few items in a bundle. It worked out at like £1.50 to refund her those items out of £12. So I just refunded to save the hassle. Every now and again you get someone that doesn't collect something and its returned.
Only issue I've had as a buyer is someone purposely hiding damage on an item on photos. I opted to keep the item and repair it as the cost to send it back wasn't much less than the item itself.

Useful thanks. There's a mass of Christmas type outfits and fake fur things on right now.

I’m happy to let some items sit. Mid-tier fashion labels go fast IME (M&S, Hobbs, Uniqlo, Zara etc.) - and always for considerably above the stupid Vinted price recommendations - but for designer stuff, I just leave it up. Everything is hanging in a separate wardrobe so I still the items if anyone buys.

I recently bought a pair of boots that had lingered on Vinted for 13 months. I didn’t haggle, just paid the advertised price. The seller then told me she’d made a mistake and underpriced them by £10 and invited me to pay more - after 13 months! I refused her kind offer to pay more and she cancelled the sale. Some people just don’t seem to want to sell their stuff.

When I sell on Vinted, I often do it for my son’s clothes when he outgrows them. They’ll be taking up space and I want them gone to make room for his new sizes, so I list them for a certain amount of time (usually until I get sick of them taking up space with nowhere to put them) and after that I take them down and donate them. For a few items that have been left up a while, I have had once or twice buyers message before buying asking if they’re still available and do I still have them. As pp have said sometimes buyers lose them or get rid of them and forget to take the listing down. I think buyers know that and it can put them off, not all of them will think to message like they did with me.

In terms of bumping, I only do it for items that are worth it money wise. For example, a bridesmaid dress that was made for my bridesmaid and it was never worn in the end as she had a baby. It was brand new and hand made. It cost a lot of money so there was a limit on the minimum I’d accept. It wasn’t getting much interest so I bumped it a couple of times and it sold. I wouldn’t say I’d do it for items I sell for a few £s as not worth it.

I’ve used it a lot. But only had two awful experiences.

Both times as a buyer, I’ve given feedback that’s not 5 stars.

Once was a swimming costume listed a very good condition. The reality was a totally worn out, with the padded cups being almost totally disintegrated and thread bare.

I gave 4 stars and said it was slightly more worn than I’d hoped. The seller gave me one star feedback and was pretty unpleasant in her comments.

The second was a seller who listed the item as a size totally different to the real size and really kicked off when I sent a polite message saying the label wasn’t the same as the size listed, with a photo. She left really nasty feedback.

I tend to put a few bits on when I have a wardrobe clear out. Usually things go quickly but if they don't sell in a month or so, I cancel the listing and take to charity shop. I've only had one bad experience with someone who complained about the condition of something despite what I considered a fair description but refunded and blocked her. I find the process fairly easy

I’m a buyer. I have offered on a few high value items, been declined (fair enough) only for the seller to come back to me months later asking if I’m still interested. It’s always a no thank you because by then the occasion I wanted it for has passed, or I’ve bought something else.

I’ve had two bad experiences. One dress turned up smelly. I didn’t bother complaining, just took it on the chin and sent it to the charity shop. Second time, it was a pair of boots. The heels disintegrated as soon as I put them on. I let the seller know, but kept them and got them re-heeled because I loved them. The seller was apologetic. I didn’t leave her bad feedback, just advised her to in future check heels carefully if they’ve been in storage a long time, as this can happen.

I tend to have a day when I sell lots of things cheaply because I have a day off and want to sell them quickly as an alternative to taking them to the charity shop. Then anything unsold gets delisted and taken to clothing bank. I use it as a way of Decluttering but only sell the better quality brands so they sell quite well.

I'm thinking there are better times to post as well - evenings, Sundays etc when people have more time to browse.

I'm noticing so much stuff on there which is obviously fake eg Wolf and Badger jewellery, Adidas etc. I've also seen stuff from Ali Express marked up 5 times. It's a minefield.

A lovely, new, velvet suit came onto my Facebook feed, from Tu which was advertised for £25. I scrolled through the photos and it had an original label, £28! Unless it’s an item that is wildly in demand, then that suit, with postage costs etc would cost more than getting it from Sainsbury!

Edited - ok, just carried on scrolling and the £25!is the jacket cost, and the trousers are £22, so may be interacted above, but with Black Friday discount, you can still get suit for around £30 from Sainsbury.

I'm not a prolific seller and have very few items, but I just let them sit there until someone buys something. I think it costs £1 to bump a listing. A pair of boots I listed took nearly a year to sell, in the case of those I think it was seasonal and demand was low at the time.