Yes, right now it’s calmer, we can afford to take a little time here (I was talking about the Christmas period in my message, since I’m in the toy business…) And I never said I didn’t reply to anyone, but that I « filtered ». For a simple and universal reason: there are only 24 hours in a day. So I already work a minimum of 50 hours a week, take two weeks of vacation per year, so yes, indeed, I skip a lot of requests that seem « complicated » to me and with a very high potential of leading to nothing (having been in contact with many professionals, it’s a golden rule: 95% of stupid disputes come from sales where there were a lot of demands or arduous negotiations)
For dishonest sellers, there is still a rating system that is there to save everyone time. When there is a certain number of 5-star ratings, and with « correct descriptions, great condition, well packaged etc… » there is still a good chance that things will go well. And after all, no one is infallible, yes with the workload, I might miss a small defect (I remember a dispute for a white dot of less than 1mm on a figurine) or make a mistake with a package. But in these cases, I always pay for the return for a refund and when the person remained pleasant and not aggressive, I refund by offering the item.
I rather appreciate the behavior on Vinted, compared to what I observe on Rakuten. Buyers there are, on average, much more annoying.
On Rakuten, about 1/3 never validate the sale, which delays payment by the buyer by three weeks. (Obviously, Rakuten already has the funds, which therefore become its working capital requirement, it’s cheaper than borrowing from a bank).
And it’s also on Rakuten that I observe the most complaints or deviant behavior. Let’s say between 5 and 10% of sales cause an issue, from the guy who doesn’t pick up his package to the discussion « it’s not ‹ very good condition › but ‹ good condition ›, I want a discount ».
The proportion is much lower on Vinted.
This is probably linked to the site’s ergonomics: on Rakuten, professional sellers are highlighted, so buyers are in a different state of mind than the one they adopt on Vinted.
I’ve never had a dispute on Rakuten, but I’ve stopped selling there. The commission is already too high, but for the last sale I made on there, I was charged €12 for cancellation (because it was sold the day before on Vinted). So that put me off, even though I used to like the platform (easy sales with good margins back then).
ok, but most of the time, the answers are in the ad.
measurements, materials, defect in photo, item available, type of shipping, plus there is the evaluation profile.
And secondly: you can’t have everything, a low price, and impeccable service.
Most people want a very low price with a new condition, no shipping costs and services that you have in stores, and which are paid for, of course.
At a flea market, you have to get up, move, rummage, basically you do the job of the person selling it to you online, so it’s cheaper.
I don’t know if they do it for individuals. Basically, they charged me almost €12 in fees for canceling the sale of a figurine that had been sold the day before on Vinted. Since it was my first sale on my pro account after a month, I never paid, I transferred everything from my shop and asked for the account to be closed. At some point, you have to be reasonable.
Hello,
My partner sold and sent a new dress with the tag still on it.
The buyer, unfortunately dishonest, disputed the sale by sending a photo where the dress is held by her partner who is sticking his tongue out and the dress had a large halo. It is very likely that this was just water put on the dress to make it look like a stain. I am warning you about these new scams because we disputed the dispute and Vinted ruled in her favor, which means not only is she refunded but she also keeps the dress!!! Double victory for this scammer and for us honest people, unpaid and without the dress!
In other words, on Vinted it is now possible to get clothes for free on one hand and lose money on the other.
This type of story is not new, it has existed for as long as mail-order sales have existed.
And there’s not much that can be done about it.
It relies on trust, and 99% of people are trustworthy. For the 1%, you just have to deal with it. As sellers, we have no recourse; we lose the item and the money, whether on Vinted, Amazon, eBay, Leboncoin, or elsewhere. And 1% is a lot of people.
Over time, I think I’ve encountered all the scams, at my own expense.
And right now, I must say there are a couple of real scoundrels online.
I also want to say that this applies when you are a buyer from a private seller, and it even happens with professionals.
And generally, it’s the same people, either buying or selling.
All this, and more, more, more, more, more, sometimes you just want to throw in the towel.
So, I sold a Lacoste shirt on Vinted in impeccable condition, and upon arrival, a dispute was opened with a photo of a shirt of the same brand and color, but very old and with a cigarette burn. I contested, saying it wasn’t the shirt I sent and requested its return. The buyer threatened me, saying she wouldn’t return this « piece of crap » that she threw in the trash. Then, I saw on her profile that she canceled 3 purchases. I think I was the crash test, and she didn’t expect the return request. The item was never returned, and the payment was cashed!
a classic. for clothes it’s not easy to do because you need the same model, color, size, etc., but for video games, consoles, coffee makers, which I used to sell… 15 years ago, it was very easy to do: keep the working item and return the defective item, which is identical in every way.
fortunately, the vast majority of people are honest. Otherwise, mail-order sales wouldn’t be possible.
Indeed, for video games, this was already a practice on eBay as early as the 2000s to replace a booklet, a CD, or a cartridge, especially for uncommon games that already had a good rating.
And I never said I didn’t reply to anyone, but that I « filtered ». For a simple and universal reason: there are only 24 hours in a day. So I already work a minimum of 50 hours a week, take two weeks of vacation per year, so yes, indeed, I skip a lot of requests that seem « complicated » to me and with a very high potential of leading to nothing (having been in contact with many professionals, it’s a golden rule: 95% of stupid disputes come from sales where there were a lot of demands or arduous negotiations)