Hello everyone,
I would like your opinion on a problem I am increasingly encountering on Vinted.
Since the beginning of this year, I have noticed a sharp increase in buyers who purchase an item and then simply never pick up their package. I’m not talking about an exceptional circumstance or a health issue, but about packages that are returned without justification and are not even repurchased afterwards.
I find this situation is completely normalized, even though it has real consequences for sellers.
In my case, my pickup point is 10 km from my home. Each sale therefore represents a real investment: I wash and iron the clothes, I take the time to take beautiful photos, I write complete descriptions, I indicate measurements, any defects, and I answer questions so that the buyer knows exactly what she is buying.
Then, you have to print the label (paper, ink, electricity), carefully prepare the package, dedicate time and energy, and then a member of my family has to make the trip to drop off the package. If it comes back because the buyer does not pick it up, you still have to go back to the pickup point to retrieve it.
In the end, the buyer is fully refunded, while the seller loses their time, energy, money, and their item remains immobilized for several weeks. I don’t find this normal.
What also bothers me is that there is no system to identify buyers who habitually do not pick up their packages. We cannot leave a review in this case, and future sellers are therefore not informed. Personally, if I knew that someone regularly did not pick up their packages, I would prefer not to complete the sale.
In addition to penalizing sellers, these unnecessary returns also generate additional transportation and thus more pollution.
In six years on Vinted, I had never experienced such a situation. This year, I have already had more than a dozen uncollected packages, and I find that it is becoming a real problem.
Am I the only one to notice this increase? Have you experienced the same thing?
I wonder if it would not be useful for several sellers to contact Vinted to ask for improvements, for example:
- that a history of uncollected packages appears on the profiles of buyers;
- that sellers can leave a review in such situations;
- that symbolic compensation be provided when the package is returned because it was not collected.
In my opinion, this compensation should be funded by the money already paid by the buyer who did not pick up their package. Part of this sum could be retained to symbolically compensate the seller, but also to contribute to the costs incurred for the pickup points. They also dedicate time and space to process these packages that make unnecessary journeys.
Today, everyone loses: sellers, pickup points, Vinted, and even the environment due to additional transport. On the other hand, the person who does not pick up their package can do it again and again, with impunity and without any consequences. I don’t find this normal.
The goal is not to sanction people who have a genuine unforeseen circumstance, but to discourage false purchases and unserious purchases. If there were a financial consequence, even symbolic (for example €1 or another fixed amount), many would probably think twice before ordering without intending to pick up their package.
I also think there should be real consequences for buyers who, repeatedly and without legitimate reason, do not pick up their packages. For example, a system of warnings, then, in case of recurrence, gradual sanctions such as temporary suspension of the account, or even blocking if these behaviors repeat. The objective is not to penalize people who have a genuine unforeseen circumstance, but to prevent abuse. Vinted is not a game: behind every order, there is a seller who dedicates time, energy, and money to prepare and ship a package. It is normal for repeated and disrespectful behaviors to have real consequences.
I would be very interested to know your experiences and ideas. If many of us encounter this problem, it might be time to report it to Vinted.
