Selling on Vinted: How Does It Work? And Does It Work?

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Selling on Vinted has become a recent obsession of mine: this summer, don’t ask me how given the crazy temperatures, I did my fourth decluttering of the bradimalism era (and I’m not done yet: I still have various tops from my teenage years that I don’t have the strength to let go of, but one day it will be inevitable, especially since with Hashimoto's thyroiditis I’ve gained almost two cup sizes!). To cut a long story short: the wardrobe with items to swap has become too full, and during the Covid era swaps are no longer happening. So I rolled up my sleeves and seriously landed on Vinted: I had an account for ages, but I had only uploaded a couple of items, no one was interested, and I had even uninstalled the app.

Now I’ve started doing it methodically and things are going well. Have you ever tried selling clothes on Vinted? If it didn’t go well for you, keep reading, because there might be a couple of things you haven’t thought of, and this post could help!

Is it easy to sell on Vinted?

Let’s bust a myth: you won’t get rich, or you might at your own risk. Let me explain: selling items at a high price can be counterproductive and risky for various reasons. The first is that if a buyer gets annoyed and reports you for counterfeiting, there’s quite a bureaucratic process to get your account back (with certificates to send: honestly, I prefer to sell super branded items on Vestiaire Collective). Another reason is that due to counterfeit goods, few people trust buying there (it’s illegal to sell counterfeit goods on Vinted: checks are made based on photos and buyer reports, so there’s no guarantee). Finally, the average Vinted user is not used to spending high amounts, as we will see, so really, for high-end brands I recommend using something else.

When you need to sell clothes on Vinted, in my opinion, you hit the jackpot when you have medium to high-end items: Fred Perry, Ralph Lauren, Michael Kors, Furla… These are brands that, when appropriately discounted, sell very well. If you’re wondering what to sell on Vinted to make some money and you have items from these brands that you want to say goodbye to forever, you can make a little cash. Not much, though. Vinted, affectionately nicknamed “svinted,” doesn’t, in my opinion, allow for big earnings: I’ve seen beautiful Michael Kors bags priced at 150 euros that have been there since August, and personally, I wouldn’t consider them unless they were reduced by at least 60 euros. I bought a beautiful Furla bag that, including shipping costs, Vinted’s commission, and the starting price, cost me 53.20 euros. When it arrived, I thought I could have spent more, the problem is that you can’t know that in advance, and many don’t trust it, especially since when there’s a dispute, customer service is less active than Prandy when it hibernates. Who suffers the most? Buyers say that Vinted’s customer service doesn’t help them, while sellers say the exact opposite. The truth is that, ecumenically, customer service washes its hands of it, which it doesn’t do, for example, if there’s some technical inconvenience (I had issues with a label, and they resolved it in 24 hours).

Is selling on Vinted safe?

I take this opportunity to tell you that selling on Vinted is safe, as long as both parties are acting in good faith: any postal service issues are resolved, and thanks to tracking codes, you always know where your package is. Regarding good faith, only sell and buy from people who have mostly positive reviews (but do read the negative ones: once a poor soul got upset because there was a postal strike, and evidently, the buyer needed a scapegoat!).

However, compared to other places like Subito or Facebook Marketplace, Vinted is much safer: it manages payments and shipping labels, so you save yourself from all those scams like “Hey, I’ll offer you 50 euros for your dirty sock, I’ll send a trusted courier to pick it up, but first, you need to give me a 10 euro deposit. Don’t worry, the courier will return it to you later” (obviously, the courier runs off to Fiji with your 10 euros and those of others who get scammed: it’s always better to leave payments to external platforms!).

How does selling on Vinted work?

Believe me, selling on Vinted is easy: take a photo of your clothing/item, upload it, add details like color, size, and possibly measurements, and list it. At that point, respond to questions if you receive any, and when someone buys, print the shipping label, attach it to the envelope/box, and go to the post office/tobacconist. Nothing more. You have about 5 days to ship, and of course, I recommend not going right after you receive an order (even though the app evaluates speed both in terms of algorithm (shows your items to more people) and in terms of reputation (for 7 days, it gives you a fast shipping badge that everyone will see). It all depends on how convenient it is for you to ship: I have all the pickup points close to home, so if I want to take a 15-minute walk, I can ship each time. If you need to take the car, I recommend consolidating shipments to amortize costs and the environmental impact in terms of smog. However, the money only arrives when the buyer has received the goods (they have already paid, but Vinted holds it), so if we’re talking about large amounts, it’s better to act quickly!

Who pays for shipping on Vinted?

On Vinted, it’s always the buyer who has to pay for shipping. In some ways, this is convenient because you know that the price you set is what you’ll get. However, the buyer adds a fair amount of money between shipping costs and Vinted’s commission: for this reason, sellers complain that item prices are low or that ridiculous offers are made. Let’s be clear, sometimes it’s true, but the final price also needs to be considered. Let’s take an example: I have a basic white t-shirt that has never been worn, and I list it for 5 euros after paying 19. That reasoning makes sense, but I will NEVER sell it. Because there are plenty of white t-shirts at 1 euro, and by listing it at 5, the buyer would end up paying 9: they would spend less at H&M. In general, I advise against trying to sell overly basic items. For two months, I’ve listed some fabulous blazers, but they’re solid colors (two of them are a classic blue) and they ignore me as if I were a flat-chested teenager.

What to sell on Vinted to make money

Well, a bit of everything, although I must say that clothes are the most complicated to sell at reasonable prices, as we’ve seen why. You cannot sell computers, phones, and so on; you cannot sell the bottom piece of lingerie sets (how delightful, I’m left with a Calvin Klein thong size that reminds me of how I looked at 18 without a hint of a shape, while a flat-chested girl bought the tank top and bra. Vinted wants to save us from maniacs who buy other people’s underwear, as if eight liters of Napisan and sunlight weren’t enough to erase every trace of you…), you cannot sell counterfeit goods. For everything else, it’s all fair game. Up to this point, I’ve talked about clothes, but you can sell other things like:

• Books
  You have a better chance if they are bestsellers that have just come out, possibly famous on TikTok. Because even though The Garden of the Finzi-Continis is much more beautiful, it can be found for two euros at flea markets, and it doesn’t make sense to give you two euros and another two to Vinted and the courier. For example: I looked for Troubled Blood by Galbraith, which isn’t exactly high literature, but zero, very little! If, however, it’s Colleen Hoover you’re interested in, they will compete to take it off your hands for little.
• Jewelry
  Always for the previous reason, you mostly find costume jewelry. But also some Pandora charms at a reasonable price, which go quickly (a woman warned…)
• Perfumes and cosmetics
  These should be unopened and in the original box. In fact, I sold two perfumes like this, but I admit I did a single spray to see that I didn’t like them (however, the buyers were prepared, in fact, they asked me if it was really as full as it seemed in the photo). Again, the name pays off. My Estee Lauder products (this time yes, completely unopened!) sold in two days, while the precious oil that a company gifted me at Cosmoprof, which sells for 150 euros, no one cares about, because it’s a niche brand.
• Household items
  Many sell them, but you have to be very careful with packaging: if the item arrives broken, Vinted doesn’t credit you the money (which only arrives when the buyer confirms that the item is okay, or after 7 days from when they picked up the package). If it arrives half broken and half not, returning it is an adventure worthy of Indiana Jones and is not convenient for anyone… I don’t know, I don’t feel like selling or buying knick-knacks, but never say never!

Well, for now, I’ll close, since this article has already expanded like the universe, and I wouldn’t want you to divert an asteroid straight towards my house because I bored you. However, if you’re interested in the topic, I’ll soon write another post with tips for selling more on Vinted: subscribe to the newsletter to stay updated!

Ah, and of course, come visit me on my Vinted and follow me!