Vinted has well and truly changed the game for me when it comes to buying and selling clothes online. It’s quick, hassle free and is guaranteed to make you think twice before purchasing at full recommended retail price (RRP) from the high street.
Within the last year I’ve easily made a few hundred quid selling on Vinted, so if you’re in the market to make some extra pocket money and you’ve never tried Vinted before, keep reading!
So, what is Vinted?
Vinted is an online marketplace for anyone to buy &/or sell second hand items including;
- Clothes
- Shoes
- Bags & Accessories
- Makeup, Hair and other Beauty Items
- Toys & Games
- Furniture
- Homeware Items
- Books
- Pet Items and Accessories
Typically, I use the app to sell clothes and shoes so the tips in this post will be focused solely around those items.
Selling items is completely free and simply involves snapping a few photos, providing a description, setting your price, uploading to the Vinted app and arranging the postage (paid for by the Buyer). You can even choose which delivery services you want to use or avoid. Personally, I only use Evri or Royal Mail as they’re the easiest drop-off locations for me.
Whilst Vinted works the same for everyone, some people have a lot more success at selling than others so I’m going to share some top tips I’ve learnt along the way that have helped me make hundreds of pounds worth of sales over the last 12 months…
1. Take clear photos, lots of them and in natural lighting
It goes without saying that your photos are the most important element when it comes to selling on Vinted.
Always ensure your photos are taken in bright, natural daylight to allow for the real colours and textures of the materials to be seen by potential buyers.
Keep the background of your photos tidy and minimalistic, and try to take a photo of your item against a plain wall or door, ideally on a hanger instead of crumpled up on the carpet.
Don’t just stick to one photo either. Take a photo of the front and back of the item, as well as any fastenings e.g. zips or buttons. Take a photo of the label that confirms the brand and size of the item, as well as any signs of imperfections such as general wear and tear, stains etc. If possible, try uploading a photo of you wearing the item too so the Buyer can see how it actually fits.
Personally, I’d never sell an item of clothing that had an obvious stain, noticeable rips or irreparable damage if they were shoes. Be mindful of the items you’re selling and determine which ones would be better going to your local clothing bank.
2. Knowing how to price your items
How you price your items is going to depend on a few things:
- How quickly you want to sell it.
- The overall quality of the item.
- How much money you want to make from it.
Ultimately, it’s completely up to you what price you sell your items for however, there are a few things to bear in mind.
Pricing Brand New and Unworn Items
Whilst it can be tempting to try and recoup your money by re-selling at the full RRP you paid initially, you’re unlikely to attract much interest as the majority of people are on Vinted to bag a bargain. If they were prepared to pay full RRP, they’d be ordering from the brand direct so you’re going to need to knock off a few quid.
If you’re selling brand new items that still contain the tags and have never been worn, I’d recommend reducing the RRP price by 10-20% to see if you gain any interest. The longer the items remain unsold, the more you can gradually reduce the cost until you find a buyer.
Buyers can also make reduced offers so it’s totally up to you if you want to accept or decline. You can also counter-offer to see if they’re willing to meet you somewhere in the middle so there’s ample room for both parties to haggle.
Pricing Used/Worn Items
How to price used items is going to depend on a few factors;
- The current quality of your item
- How often it’s been worn
- Roughly how much you paid at full RRP
Most of my items come from high street brands such as New Look, ASOS, H&M etc, so I tend to price the majority of my items under £10 as I’m after a quick turnaround. Whilst it may not sound like a lot, the more you sell the quicker that pot of money is going to build up therefore the more space you’ll make in your wardrobe for some lovely new additions.
As a useful guide, during the upload process Vinted will show you examples of similar items and how people have priced theirs. That way, you’ll know if you’re competitive enough. There’s no point trying to sell something for £20 if everybody else is selling the same or similar items for less than a fiver, so bear this in mind before you upload.
You can also adjust the cost of your item at any time.
Additional Costs for Buyers
Vinted will also add the obligatory ‘buyers protection fee’ and postage to the overall sale price so you need to be mindful of this from a buyers perspective. Typically, the buyer will be spending around £3-4 more than what you’re selling the item for once they take into account the fee and postage costs.
3. What to do if your items have been “favourited” by potential buyers
Vinted gives buyers the option to “favourite” items which is very similar to a wishlist. Any favourited items will be stored in the buyers “favourites” list and providing they have notifications turned on, they’ll be alerted if there’s a price alteration or if the item is sold.
With those stubborn items that have clocked up a few “favourites” but you can’t seem to shift, consider reducing the price, even if it’s as little as 50p. Every person whose “favourited” that item should receive a notification to confirm that you’ve dropped the price so this may encourage them to snap it up before somebody else does!
Additionally, you could message the people who have favourited your item to let them know you can arrange prompt postage, or perhaps make them a reduced offer instead. I don’t recommend doing this all the time as it could become rather annoying or pushy, but it can’t hurt every now and again, especially on any items that have been active for a few months.
4. Wash any clothing before posting
Let’s face it, nobody wants to receive a stinky old top that’s been festering in the back of your wardrobe for the last 7 years, so pop any items in the wash to freshen them up before you send.
For any items that have stubborn stains that won’t come out, make sure you’re clearly photographing the stain so your buyers know exactly what they’ll be receiving. That way, you’ll avoid any complaints and a low star review rating.
5. Clean any worn shoes before posting
Whether that’s a quick wipe over or a spin in the washing machine (if safe to do so) for any regularly worn shoes, it’s just good manners – not to mention hygienic. If you’re able to post them in a proper shoe box with protective coverings over them (particularly if they’re brand new), even better!
6. Always include a detailed description of the item
An item can look good in a photo, but if the seller hasn’t bothered to include a brief description I’ll likely skip onto something else. Your description should confirm whether the item is brand new or used; if the latter, be sure to confirm how often it has been worn (e.g. hardly worn, well loved etc). I also recommend confirming how tall you are and if the item is true to size or runs big/small. As well as a description, you also need to ensure you’re completing as many of the filters as possible – category, size, condition, material and colour.
All of the above will make you a more credible seller, hopefully help you sell more and therefore increase your chance of a 5* star rating.
7. Be strategic when “bumping” your items
Bumping an item temporarily increases its visibility to more users and should help you sell it quicker. However, this does come at a cost so you need to be mindful before you “bump”. For example, there’s no point paying to “bump” a pair of Summer shorts in the middle of Winter as that’s not what people are going to be in the market to buy. Instead, bump your Winter coats and jumpers as these are likely to be the most searched for items during that time of year.
Personally, I don’t bother bumping anything below £5. It costs £1.55 to bump an item for 7 days and £1 to bump for 3 days so in my opinion, it doesn’t seem worth it however that’s totally up to the seller.
8. Don’t forget to turn on your bundle discounts
This is something you can activate in your settings which basically gives buyers a discount if they pick two or more items to purchase from you. You can select the amount that’s discounted (10%, 15% etc) and the buyer will only have to pay one lot of postage as you’ll send everything out together…as a bundle.
9. Is it worth it to “spotlight” your wardrobe?
From my experience, at £6.95 a pop I’d probably say no. I didn’t sell a single item when I paid to spotlight my wardrobe so I won’t be doing this again in a hurry. I’m sure some people have had success from doing it, but £6.95 for no guarantee of a sale is a little steep in my opinion.
10. Always strive for positive reviews and 5 star ratings
After selling an item, Vinted encourages the buyer to leave a star rating and written review on the experience they’ve had with the Seller. The better the star rating, the more reliable you’ll come across therefore the more likely people are going to buy from you.
If a Seller fails to ship an item within the required timeframe (5 days from date of purchase) and the buyer is later refunded, Vinted will publish an automated 1 star review that reads “Auto-feedback: Sale not completed” on the Sellers profile which will subsequently affect their overall star rating, reliability and reputation on the app.
Always respond to messages as quickly as you can, be friendly and answer any questions the buyer might have. After all, it’s essentially a business transaction so you need to be treating your buyers like customers.
11. Upload new items regularly
Admittedly, some of my items have been sat on my Vinted again for over a year so I can only assume the app isn’t pushing them out to people very often.
However, as soon as I upload new items I get an influx of purchases and “favourites”, including some of those older items. When somebody views an item, it’s possible they’ll click on your profile to have a browse at other items they may be interested in (this is why it’s so important to have your bundle discounts turned on!).
Keeping your profile fresh, updating any poor quality images and adjusting the price on unsold items that have been lingering a while should help get your items in front of more sets of eyes – therefore more money in your pocket!
I appreciate this was a long one but I hope this post has been helpful and do feel free to share any additional selling tips in the comments below.
Kayla x
Lucy says
I am obsessed with Vinted and I love selling my unused items on there! Like you, I use Evri ParcelShop and Royal Mail as they’re the easiest ways to send parcels for me. I’m one of those people who likes to send off parcels ASAP for the buyer as I want them to get the item ASAP! I always look the the seller’s rating before buying an item from them, I never buy from anyone with less than 3 or 4 stars, I need to know how reliable they are! x
Lucy | http://www.lucymary.co.uk
Kayla says
Hi Lucy, I am exactly the same! I will usually post my items the following the day as it increase your chance of a 5* star rating too. Like you, I also look at the sellers rating and comments. If there’s too many “failed to send item” comments I won’t bother either so maintaining a decent star rating is key I think! Kayla x