Why do Vinted buyers make offers and then disappear?

[PistachioTiramisu]

What is going on with people on Vinted. I have been selling on there for a few years now and have never had any problem or complaint (over 150 items sold).

Nobody ever seems to buy an item at the price shown any more - you just get endless offers below the asking price. OK, but if I accept them and pack up the item, I never seem to hear back from the prospective buyer. Why do people make an offer which you accept and then never get back to you? It's infuriating.

The amount of effort I put into a listing tends to correspond to the value of the item - it's not worth my time for something worth £5 to do anything more than take a couple of snaps and add a basic description. And I assume that people are generally willing to take a gamble on low-value items.

If I want to sell something worth more it's worth my time to take more time over the listing and add measurements.

I find it's such a roulette on vinted anyway as to what sells and what doesn't - I added two almost identical pairs of shoes last month and one was sold within minutes and the other still has zero views.

Well I guess the same reason put something in an online shopping basket, see if you can find a discount...and then go off to think about it.
Bear in mind that once you like one red coat, Vinted will show you lots of red coats. So I send you an offers- Vinted will show me that same coat from another seller, but maybe cheaper, or better condition, but also has a top I like so I can bundle.
Or I get buyers remorse and as I haven't paid for it yet, great stuff.
Or I show my husband and he pulls a funny face and puts me off.
Or I have time to search the item, see what it looks like on a model and realise it's not likely to suit me.
Or in the day/ weekend some people take to accept, I've changed my mind and like something else better.

Vinted is a platform that relies on instinct behaviour, and unfortunately that means that once the brain has time to engage, a lot can change.

I frequently make offers on the assumption that most sellers price-in that people will make offers and have a slightly lower selling price in mind.

I can't work out Vinted algorithms. It's a lottery as to what will get seen and what won't.

This. I make lots of offers and only buy on the one that comes back first.

It’s often if you’re selling something for £5, it’s worth £5. But the cost to me with postage and fees is more like £10. So I’ll make an offer to meet somewhere in the middle. It’s rare that I see something that is at a total reasonable cost to me as the headline price is actually what I’m willing to pay for the item.

In my experience, 8/10 times the answer on Vinted to “what kind of wool is this” is “polyester”, and so it is absolutely a valid question.

I wish more sellers would put the care label on the pictures, it’d save me having to ask precise size and material composition which are more often than not listed incorrectly (see also, silk and satin are not the same!).

I do this.

I’ll offer sometimes when I’m tipsy, or relaxed in bed etc but in the cold light of day I actually don’t want it.

I just had the same…there’s some real knobs out there these day 😁

People are just ruder these days anyway, so it's not just on selling platforms. It's like all the posts you read about kids' birthdays on here-you just didn't get many parents failing to reply to invitations/cancel last minute or not turn up a couple of generations ago.

So you’re one of those knob time wasters 🤔

For someone that’s been selling for a few years, how do you not know how offers work? It’s an offer, not a commitment. If I want a certain item, maybe a cream jumper, I’ll find ones I like and make offers. Then buy the one I want at the price I want.

I’m still quite liking Vinted. If I want the item and it’s only just gone on, I’ll just buy it. If it’s been on for a chunk of time I’ll make an offer. Most of the time if that gets accepted I’ll buy it.

I find it's easier to assume nothing is going to sale and anything I list will be dropped off at charity shop in a months time. A offer is just that. You can put things on at a price that would then be happy to be knocked down on a offer. Ie you want 6 so put it on for £7.

There is no ryhme or reason to Vinted. Someone wouldn't take a £1 off trainers for a fiver they have had listed for three months. Someone would take a offer for something that's been on for over a year. There's no ryhme or reason

I think it's better as a buyer than a seller, personally.

I preferred ebay for sales - list a batch of stuff on the weekend for a set period of time, and then pencil in time to ship off what has sold a week or so later.

On Vinted, you list stuff and you might have it cluttering up the place for weeks or months before it suddenly sells, usually in a week you're run off you're feet and the last thing you need is having to make a special trip to the post office to send someone a £5 Zara top.

As a buyer, it's also better if you're in the market for a general browse rather than looking for something very specific - for example I've been on the hunt for a very specific pair of trainers - ebay will show me exact matches, whereas Vinted will show me various things which are kind of a similarish style.

People just try it on.
Dont pack things up to post though until the item is sold and you have the postage label.

Guilty as charged! I have made an offer which has been accepted, but then the same item has come up with another seller, but cheaper. Always going to go for the cheaper option I’m afraid.

Usually because I’m looking for something specific. So I’ll search for a specific dress, favourite the ones that come up, send offers and pick the one that’s the cheapest in the best condition and the seller has the best reviews.

On previous discussions about vinted on here, many posters have said that they over price their items as they expect people to make offers!

Accepting offers doesn’t mean that they’ve bought the item so there’s no need to package at that stage. If I have a few similar items in my favourites, then I might make offers and buy the one that works out the cheapest.

People do want things for cheap on Vinted, but you also have to remember that Vinted charges buyers a fee (they’ve recently renamed it as being an Vinted fee, and are no longer saying it’s for buyer protection!). With postage on top you can end up paying £5 for a £1 item.