How to buy on Vinted to find the best bargains

If you’re looking for a way to refresh your wardrobe without breaking the bank, Vinted is the perfect platform for you. Vinted is an online marketplace where you can buy and sell second-hand clothing, shoes, and accessories. 

I have been using Vinted as a buyer and a seller for around two years now, and I find it is the best place to both buy and sell preloved clothing compared to eBay, where I am a prolific seller in non-clothing items such as Cds, retro computer games and collectibles. 

In this article, I’ll guide you through the basics of how to buy on Vinted to get the best bargains. If you’re wondering if buying on Vinted is worth it, here’s an at a glance summary:

Getting started – how to buy on Vinted

To start buying on Vinted, you need to sign up and create a profile if you haven’t done so already. If you are thinking of selling on Vinted, I would highly recommend that you try the platform out as a buyer first to experience how it works first hand from a customer point of view. This will help you know the expectations when you come to list your first items for sale.

In order to sign up, head to the Vinted website or app and create a log in via an email address, Facebook or Google account.

You will then be asked to create a profile which includes your dress size, style and preferences in order to help personalise your feed. Don’t worry though – this won’t affect you browsing for other sizes and styles, such as buying for another family member. 

Once your profile is created, you can start browsing through the items for sale. The feed will auto populate based on the size and preferences you have entered in your profile, but we can use the search function to search for specific items.

What items are for sale on Vinted?

While it originated predominantly to sell clothing, Vinted has since expanded the categories on offer. The full list of categories and subcategories are as follows:

Women >

• Clothes
• Shoes
• Bags
• Accessories
• Beauty

Men >

• Clothing
• Shoes
• Accessories
• Grooming

Kids >

• Girls clothing
• Boy’s clothing
• Toys & Games
• Baby Care
• Buggies
• Ride-on toys
• Car chairs and feeding chairs
• Kid & baby furniture
• School Supplies
• Other kid’s items

Home >

• Textiles
• Home Accessories
• Tableware

Entertainment >

• Video Games and Consoles
• Games and Puzzles
• Music & Video
• Books

Pet Care >

• Dogs
• Cats
• Small Pets
• Fish
• Birds
• Reptiles

So as you can see, there are now a vast range of categories and items for sale on Vinted. While the buying process works in a similar way no matter what the item, I only have experience in buying and selling clothing and shoes on Vinted, so this article is focusing on clothing.

How to use the search function on Vinted

If you’re looking for a specific item, you can use the search function on Vinted. You will find this on the bottom of the home feed with the magnifying glass icon.

On the search screen you will see a general search box at the top to allow you to search by keyword, however, if you have a clothing type, size and brand in mind, a better way to search is by using the categories below this box.

For example, if I was searching for  “Crew Clothing dress”, using this as my keyword in the search box it is reliant on the wording that sellers have used in their item description. While I will get some returns that match my query I may also get other listings that happen to feature the word “crew” that may not be from the brand. 

In this example, the first result was a Zara dress that had a crew neckline.

You may also notice from these results that I got a variety of different sizes including a girl’s age 8 and 3 different women’s sizes.

A better way to search is to use the categories below the search box and select Women > Clothes > Dresses > All (I could also hone down further at this point and search for a specific dress style).

From here, using the buttons at the top of the feed I can filter by size, brand, condition, colour, material and price.

For this search I filtered by size and brand (Crew Clothing Company). Lastly, I clicked the “Sort By” button which is defaulted to “Relevance” and change to Newest First. This gives me the best chance to find a bargain that hasn’t yet been snapped up by someone else!

Once I have looked at the newest results first, if nothing has caught my eye, I will then sort by “Price: low to high.” This will usually bring up results starting at £1.00 depending on the brand and I have found some fantastic bargains this way! 

However, there are some important points to consider before you get carried away and hit “buy” straight away.

Read the item description – especially if the item is super low priced

While prices are generally very low on Vinted compared to eBay, never automatically hit buy without first reading the description and looking through all the photos, if several are provided. If a flaw such as a hole or stain is included and you haven’t read it, you will not be automatically guaranteed a refund (see the section below on “What If I have a problem with my item”)

Sellers can describe their items as New with tags, New Without Tags, Very good, Good or Satisfactory.

The first thing I look for is the item condition. If it is described as Satisfactory then this is the first thing that may put me off. The definition of what is satisfactory to you may wildly vary from the seller’s!

Several times when I have spotted what at first I thought was a total bargain I have then gone on to look at the listing closely and discover that there is a hole or mark on the item, hence the price. Usually I decide not to bother with these items.

However, I would say 70% of the time I use this search technique, even if an item is priced very low, it is in good condition and I have got an amazing bargain!

Look through seller’s profiles before buying on Vinted

The next thing I do is quickly check the seller’s star rating. You will find this under the item for sale when you click on it. This will show you how many stars out of 5 they are rated and how many transactions they have completed as a buyer and a seller. 

You can click through and read their feedback from other Vinted users. Vinted also provides auto 5 star feedback if a transaction is completed and the other party has not left feedback, and automatic 1 star feedback if a transaction is not completed.

If someone has no feedback, I’m usually willing to buy from them, after all, everyone has to start somewhere and get their first sale. The only thing that puts me off is if I see a seller with a low star rating. I will then click through and read the feedback. If they have a history of not sending out items then I will probably choose not to buy.

I have only ever had 2 occasions where items have not been sent to me within the timeframe, after which Vinted automatically refunds you as the buyer. In both cases the sellers had not had access to their accounts and contacted me to resend the items. So in general I have had a very positive experience as a Vinted user.

How to negotiate the price on something you love

If you find something you love but the price is a little too high, you can negotiate with the seller. Prices are generally really low on Vinted anyway, but occasionally there are a few items where the seller may be new to the platform, or just be totally out of touch with what similar items are selling for. 

In this example, I find it highly unlikely that this seller is going to get £30.00 for this yellow Crew Clothing dress when compared to the £2.50 one next to it! However, I probably wouldn’t even bother to make an offer on this until they have repriced accordingly. They are not going to accept an offer for a price in line with the other Crew Clothing dresses if they still think it’s worth £30!

You have a maximum of five offers per day, and the lowest you can offer is 40% off the selling price.

This is personal choice but if something is priced very reasonably, I wouldn’t personally make an offer on it. This £2.50 dress is a bargain, I’m happy to pay it rather than try and haggle an extra 50p off.

It is worth noting that unlike the “Make an Offer” feature on eBay, if a seller accepts your offer on Vinted you are still under no obligation to buy it, nor is the item reserved for you. You can choose not to go ahead with the purchase without any penalty, and equally another buyer could still buy the item after your offer was accepted.

Using the Favourite items feature

If you find an item you love but you’re not ready to buy it yet, you can “favourite” it. This will save the item to your favourites list, which you can access later. Again, this does not obligate you to buy the item in any way, although you will receive notifications if the price changes or it is sold. Occasionally, sellers may message buyers who have favourited their items and offer them a discount.

I like to use the favourites feature when browsing my feed and comparing similar items to decide which to buy.

Buying Your Item

What is the cost of buying on Vinted?

When you purchase an item on Vinted, you will either pay from a linked bank card, or if you already have a Vinted balance from selling on Vinted, you can use your Vinted balance. The Vinted balance can also be used to partially pay the amount due if it is not enough to cover the entire purchase. 

In total, you will pay the cost of the item, the postage costs, and then a buyer protection fee. This fee costs 3-8% of the item price, before postage, plus £0.30 – £0.80.

Once you select buy now, you will see a breakdown of the fees and postage on top of your item cost. On Vinted, buyers pay these costs which is what helps keep the selling prices so low.

So as an example, this £5.00 skirt is now £8.24 after postage and fees. It’s still a total bargain but if you are buying several items from different sellers, these postage costs and fees can add up.

On this screen, you can select the postage options. The postage choices are auto selected by Vinted depending on the item size and weight and in the UK can include Evri, Royal Mail and Yodel.  

Evri and Yodel are the services preferred by most sellers as they provide auto tracking and proof of delivery. It is usually cheaper to send the parcel to a local shop than have it delivered to home via these options so if you have a pick up point near you it could be a good option.

Top tip: Shop for bundles to save on Postage

If you’re looking to buy multiple items from the same seller, it’s worth asking if they can create a bundle for you. Sellers can choose to turn the bundle feature on within their listings, but if they don’t you can always message them to ask. This can save you money on postage and the seller may be willing to offer a discount for buying multiple items.

Similarly, there is a whole bundles category which tends to be more popular for children’s clothing. Although you’ll pay a higher amount of postage as the item is heavier, you can get some fantastic bargains on clothing bundles. Recently I bought my 8 year old daughter a summer clothing bundle of 14 items for just £6.80 and a 7 dress bundle for £20.00. Considering just one of these dresses was probably £20 new, it was amazing value!

Why Do Some Vinted Sellers Say “No Royal Mail Thanks” on their listings?

This is because unlike Evri and Yodel, Vinted cannot provide a printable postage label and automatic tracking within the app for the seller via Royal Mail. 

Instead they will have to go to the post office, purchase the label, upload the proof of postage to the Vinted app manually, and then rely on the buyer confirming that they have received the item before they receive their funds.

Although they can’t actually stop you from selecting Royal Mail if it comes up as a postage option (in my experience it rarely does anyway – I’m not sure how Vinted chooses the postage options), it is worth bearing in mind if a seller has stated this because it could lead to your order being cancelled if they are unable or unwilling to send via Royal Mail.

How to receive your item

Once you’ve purchased an item, the seller has five working days to send it to you. You can keep track of the items progress within the Vinted app under the Inbox section. In your inbox, you will have a message thread for each item you buy. 

You can also communicate with the seller in this thread and it’s a really handy and straightforward feature. 

If they don’t send the item within 5 days, Vinted will automatically cancel the order. You can still communicate with the seller at this point. If you haven’t received your order it can be frustrating but I would always be polite and friendly especially until you have heard back from the seller. For all you know there could be a genuine reason why they haven’t been able to send and being rude or nasty is not going to help you get your item!

In this case, the seller was away and forgot to put her shop on holiday mode. But she was very polite and apologetic and I was able to repurchase the item as Vinted automatically refunded me. 

What to do once you’ve received your item

Vinted holds on to your money until you’ve received the item, at which point you have two days to let them know if you have a problem with it before they automatically release the money to the seller. 

You can let them know everything is OK sooner though, which will release the money to the seller sooner. Both options can be found in the item thread in your messages section. If you do nothing, Vinted will auto complete the sale within 2 days, so it is important not to order items while you’re going to be away, as it will be too late to sort out any problems or get a refund.

What if I have a problem with my item?

Vinted states in their help centre that they can help you return an item for a refund if it is significantly not as described (SNAD). 

Here are the main cases that would be considered SNAD:

• Wrong colour
• Incorrect size
• Missing item parts
• Bundles with missing items
• A damaged item (stained, ripped, broken or damaged in any other way) that wasn’t detailed in the description or photos 
• Different main materials from the listing
• Counterfeit
• Any other visible flaw that wasn’t in the listing

The following features are not considered SNAD:

• Items you don’t like or don’t fit you (sizing correct as listed)
• Minor differences to an item that don’t affect its use or look

If you believe your item to be SNAD, you can select the “I have an issue” button within 2 days of receiving the parcel and submit a refund request to Vinted. If you need to return the item, Vinted states that as the buyer, you need to pay for this.

If your item is not classed as SNAD but you wish to return it, you will have to negotiate this with your seller and again pay the return postage. The seller is not obliged to accept the return in this case.

Personally I have never had an issue with an item being SNAD. There have occasionally been times when I have bought something and it hasn’t suited me. In these cases due to the low cost of the item, it would not be worth pursuing a refund as the return postage costs would cancel this out!

Instead I have either re-listed them myself or donated to charity. I like to think that I’ve had so many great bargains on Vinted that a couple of bad purchases (entirely down to my own taste) aren’t too much of a waste of money.

My Personal Favourite Vinted Bargains

Unfortunately, I don’t have the screenshots of some of these listings as after a certain number of months the pictures disappear from your purchase history. However these are some of my personal favourite Vinted bargains:

French Connection Virgin Wool Coat £20 – similar coats £160-£200 new

Boden Party Dress NWT – £8 – Similar dresses £80-100 new

Crew Clothing Dress – £1, similar dresses £45-60 new

French Connection NWT Party Dress – £6.00 was £130 new!

Boden AirPod case – £4 £25 new

Barbour Coat – £25

Is Vinted safe to buy from?

Vinted is a safe platform to buy from. The buyer protection fee that buyers pay as part of the sale price ensures your purchase is protected and you will be automatically refunded if you don’t receive your purchase, or it is significantly not as described.

Is it worth buying on Vinted?

Personally speaking, it is well worth buying on Vinted just for the bargains I have been able to get! On top of this, you are helping the planet by buying from a more sustainable clothing source. I have significantly reduced the amount of money I am spending on clothing both for myself and my daughter, and so has my husband too.

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