Is Vinted a good alternative to Ebay?

turnitround

Would like some opinions on using Vinted please.

Ive sold on Ebay for a long time but gave up about a year ago due to the fees. Last night I spoke to someone who aid she sells on Vinted and thinks is brilliant so today I took a look at the site.

Im confused about the postage part. It says the seller chooses the carrier and as the lady said last night everything she has sent has gone via Evri which doesn't fil me with confidence.
As I understand it the buyer selects the postage and a label is sent for you to print off then you take the parcel to the nearest collection point. 
However, it says that if something does not arrive (which could be most of the stuff if Evri are the carrier) then the seller has to chase and does not get paid. 

I'm concerned about being responsible for any losses when the buyer has chosen and paid for the 
courier. From what I have been told about Evri they fail to deliver/lose lots of items. Surely the seller has no control and any buyer can state a parcel has not been delivered.

Am I just being negative or do a lot of people have a lot of problems with Vinted?

tightauldgit

I listed a few things on Vinted just to try it but I haven't sold anything yet so couldn't tell you about the process beyond that. Hard to know with Vinted what's going on I find. With Ebay it seems you can see whats happening a lot clearer. 

A buyer can't say it hasn't been delivered if Evri mark it as delivered. I believe that with most couriers payment is automatic on the courier marking it as delivered. Apparently not with RM though. 

I think I'm probably going to write it off as a waste of time and just take the unwanted clothes to the charity shop though.

Sus59

I have sold lots of things on Vinted and never had a problem with Evri. If you really are so concerned then you can deselect the Evri option in your settings.  Be aware that buyers on Vinted are probably prepared to pay less than ebay buyers.

soolin

I sell loads on Vinted and think it is safe for sellers, not so much for buyers. Sellers can delete any postage options they would prefer not to use and buyers can only choose from the payment options that sellers allows. All postage options apart from RM are automatically linked to Vinted, so buyer pays Vinted and Vinted charge buyers a fee plus postage and seller is sent a label. 

That label tracks the item and if item is lost then buyer gets a refund and seller gets the item cost released to them. If buyer doesn’t collect item then item is returned to seller. 

Royal Mail is different, with this seller is given the address and a postage credit which is fixed at £3.49 , they post, upload tracking and or proof of postage. Buyer then has to confirm receipt , if they don’t and tracking shows delivery then selelr has to chase Vinted to release the fu ds and postage money. I, like many others, have removed RM as an option from postage due to the time it takes to get your money.

Pollycat

As a buyer, I like Vinted.
I always choose the click and collect option as most places offered are convenient for me. And it's cheaper.
I find the info provided by Vinted once I've paid for an item is better than eBay.
On all my purchases, full tracking has been available.
And I've never been let down by Evri - not just on Vinted but all my purchases from various retailers.

I prefer the 'buy it now' Vinted way rather than waiting for an eBay auction to end.

I do find the info provided by sellers on Vinted less informative than on eBay.

Buster_Danog

In my experience if a seller sends something with Evri and it is lost in the system they have kept the money and the buyer is automatically reimbursed. That was an item below £20. I don't know if there is a limit on the amount that Vinted will cover. However if your point is a parcel being marked as delivered and not being received I don't kow what happens.

There are other options like Yodel Store to door / store or InPost lockers, all of which have their own pros and cons.

I find it is good but I have not done as well on bundles of items that used to sell well on ebay. Things like eight or ten used t-shirts in one sale.

CJamesS123

Etsy and Depot are good for finding older and hand made items

pattycake

I’ve only recently discovered Vinted.  Initially I was going to sell some of my bulging wardrobe but in the end could not be bothered and took two large bags to the charity shop.

However, I was seduced by the low prices on Vinted and have made a couple of purchases.  I have selected Evri delivery to a local convenience store and it has worked out very well with no issues.  Incidentally, the items I bought are great and incredible value.

Buster_Danog

pattycake said:

 Incidentally, the items I bought are great and incredible value.

You're lucky. I end up selling most of the clothing items I buy on Vinted.

Pollycat

Buster_Danog said:

pattycake said:

 Incidentally, the items I bought are great and incredible value.

You're lucky. I end up selling most of the clothing items I buy on Vinted.

I'm with pattycake.
I've not been disappointed with any of my purchases on Vinted.
But...I am very careful about what I buy.
I check the photos in minute detail and if I'm not sure of anything I ask.
Ditto for eBay.
So it might not be a case of being lucky but more being careful with purchases.
No item I've bought could have been said to be 'not as described'.
In fact, some have been better than I expected.

Exodi

My partner sells a lot on single low price items on Vinted, it seems to work well enough. Quicker and easier than eBay.

We've also bought a few single items on Vinted. One funny thing to mention is that people don't often sense check their bundles.

E.g. I wanted to buy a tumbler off Vinted for £25 (don't ask, it was a fancy one my wife wants).
They offered bundles, I believe it was 4 items for 25% off.
I pick up 3 other items they had for sale worth £1 (that I don't need) to bring my order up to £25+£1+£1+£1 = £28 with 25% off = £21.

I didn't buy it in the end (I probably would have contacted the seller to point this out and see if they would just offer it at the reduced price) - but this isn't the first time I have noticed this sort of opportunity.

Also, I don't know if this is just unlucky, but I feel like people are very nonchalant about posting things on Vinted compared to eBay. Whereas on eBay people generally post things out a day or two after purchase, I have found it more common than I'd like for people to get round to posting things out after 4+ days.

This may be because there are more 'business-like' sellers on eBay, whereas Vinted has more casual sellers, or I've been particularly unlucky.

Unfortunately in an era of next day delivery and high expectations, it does cause irritation when a seller responds with something like "I'll try and post it at the weekend x".