Vinted & Relay

garfield33

Hi MSE-ers

(First the usual apology if this has been covered - I have browsed and tried to search but not found anything).

I sold an item on Vinted recently, and the buyer chose Relay which I had never even heard of before, didn't know it was an option. I found a local shop that does it and sent it off, however the buyer never collected at their end and it is apparently on the way back to me. It has been over a week now and no sign of the item, and the tracking within Vinted just says "returning order to sender". I've tried putting the ref into the Relay website but it only gives me info on the outgoing journey.

Has this happened to anyone else? is it normal to take this long? How much long should I wait before raising it with Vinted?

Thanks!

Timeline:

Thu 23/4/26 buyer bought and paid

Fri 24/4/26 I posted the item via Relay

Mon 27/4/26 available for pick-up

Mon 4/5/26 return to sender as buyer did not collect

Wed 11/5/26 (today) still no sign of it

Chop-D

I recently had to return something through Relay and it took 4 weeks, they appear to be very slow, so I wouldn’t worry just yet as long as it shows on Vinted that it’s on the way back to you.

soolin

Relay returns take ages, just keep an eye on the message thread on Vinted. It’s also the only service on Vinted that return it to the drop off point, and not to your home.

garfield33

Thank you both. I didn’t know it went back to the drop-off point - bit annoying but at least I know where it is now!

soolin

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81997617#Comment_81997617

You should get a QR code that the shop needs for you to collect.

Incidentally, after sales are complete and I have my item back I always block time wasters who haven’t collected.

CurlySue2017

I recently had a buyer choose Relay and that was my first time using them too and I wasn't impressed. There are no drop off points that I pass by, so had to go out of my way to send it. But it seemed slow to arrive compared to others and I got no updates at all until it was delivered.

It went smoothly in the end, but once the sale was complete I changed my shipping preferences in Vinted so that buyers can no longer choose Relay.

garfield33

Thanks everyone.

I've had an update today that the transaction has been suspended and that customer services will be in touch… great… It doesn't give any more detail but it is now 2 weeks since they told me it would be returned so perhaps that triggered something.

Once this is all (hopefully) resolved, I will block the buyer (although maybe they had Relay problems too?) and remove Relay as an option. I've never had a problem with a delivery company before, not even with the dreaded Evri.

Tomorrow I'll probably be passing by the shop that I sent it from - I might pop in just in case it has found its way back.