Since the beginning of 2026, many sellers have observed a sharp decline in sales, sometimes from -30% to -70% depending on the platforms, categories, and international exposure. The economic context is clearly weighing on non-essential purchases: reduced purchasing power, persistent inflation, possible increases in energy/fuel prices, and geopolitical concerns. Customers are comparing more, negotiating more, delaying their purchases, and favoring low prices or good value bundles.
The situation does not mean the market is dead, but it is becoming much more selective. Sellers with too much average stock, prices that are too high, little cash flow, or excessive dependence on a single platform are at risk of suffering greatly this year. Conversely, those who adapt their strategy can limit the damage: better stock turnover, realistic pricing, attractive bundles, targeted reductions on unsold items, maintaining margins on rare pieces, and diversifying across eBay/Vinted/Shopify/Google/Instagram.
Conclusion: 2026 is shaping up to be a year of sifting. The least structured sellers risk losing out, while the most reactive will need to prioritize cash flow, visibility, and rapid stock turnover.
I would almost say, so much the better… or at least, if it could sort out or eject the « scammers », the sellers with few scruples… the incompetent ones, etc… that would do some good.
We have more and more buyers who are afraid of scams… it’s astonishing…
It’s clear that the pseudo-pros who only sell on Vinted… there will be some goodbyes in the air…
As far as I’m concerned, I feel like I’m rather stable compared to last year, or I could have progressed without Vinted’s blocking.
I think so at the platform level too. Rakuten has already announced it. Beebs isn’t taking off, LBC is collapsing outside of real estate/cars, I’m not very optimistic about new attempts like Opla or Au vide grenier which have done rather well but remain clones of Vinted.
From what I’m reading on Facebook, I even think it could be a relief, a liberation to stop. A bit like those who opened restaurants or real estate agencies after the M6 shows.
I struggle a lot with journalistic shortcuts like « year of weeding out » or « losing out ». They are catch-all phrases without meaning.
Advice such as « prioritize cash flow, visibility, and rapid stock turnover » is so generic that it offers nothing. One could give the same advice to Tesla as to the local baker. Shouldn’t one also increase revenue and decrease costs?
I don’t have the same impression for LBC, and as @Faune said, it’s stagnating, or there’s even an increase compared to the previous year.
It perhaps depends on what you offer or not.
Lately, there have been quite a few buyer bans.
They are certainly cleaning house
I’ve had this type of message at least twenty times in 3 weeks
For my part, I’ve completely stopped hand deliveries via LBC, which makes you waste time, or can even cause you annoyance (the “lapins” [scammers]).
Their €0.99 per package campaign with Mondial Relay worked well (by the way, if they could bring it back every month , and especially at the end of the month )
Regarding the new platforms cloning Vinted, I don’t really believe in them either.
There’s nothing to genuinely attract both buyers and sellers.
It would take something truly new.
The collapse was last year as far as I’m concerned. I easily make 3 times more there than I did in 2024. After that, I would put it in perspective by the fact that I don’t really deal with it anymore given the numbers I’m getting. I created a personal Vinted account in case of a major setback on the professional side, and without hardly dealing with it, I make more there than on LBC without even trying to sell. So anyway, I’m in the vicious circle on LBC.
You’ve said it all. And these were the same phrases 15 years ago, and surely long before. I heard this in the markets in the 90s.
It’s a profession, and like any profession, it can be learned, and like everywhere, there are people who are gifted or not, people who truly love it or not (opportunists, for example), people who start with resources, others start from scratch, there are many discriminating factors right from the start.
« Equality of opportunity »
It’s like opening a car repair shop without ever having opened a hood, because there’s no training for it. You don’t get a vocational certificate in online sales, not to mention the specifics of commerce, psychology, algorithms, sourcing, and all the rest.
The illusion is like dating sites: anyone can start, but few will succeed. That’s all.
If the reasons given in the news, on social media, and by those complaining were the main causes for the decline, everyone would be impacted without exception, but in reality, some are doing very well. So the analysis doesn’t hold.
We always come back to the same problem: finding only external reasons to explain a problem that is majorly internal.
I tried eBay a bit, without success. But all the comments I’ve read here are pushing me to get back into it, with more method. Beyond a certain hostility of the interface, what bothers me the most with eBay is being in direct competition with large resellers like Momox. Mechanically, that should drive prices down, as was the case on Rakuten.
There were a few comic books I had my eye on for months and had been waiting for the used price to drop. I finally felt like buying them, and Vinted was where I found them cheapest.
But while I was at it, I made some super aggressive offers, even when the prices were already the lowest on the web. Just to have the buyer experience, for once.
As a result, within two hours, half of those offers were accepted.
You need to understand that eBay is not Vinted. So I don’t know your market, but I assume there are still similarities. So eBay, to get started I would advise you to really target collectors if you have nice, rare items. And that’s where you might have some nice surprises. Items that are found everywhere at low prices might indeed not be very dynamic on eBay, except for large sellers who have been established for many years. This is one of the difficulties of eBay, and it’s also starting to be the case on Vinted: there are big shops that have been there for 20 years and you have to make your mark among all of them.
Another element to consider, where Vinted is unreliable with professionals and even some customers can be reluctant, is the opposite on eBay. Just officially registering as a professional doubled my turnover in the first month.
It is indeed possible to « follow brands » or save searches, but there’s no option for notifications or email alerts. You always have to re-run the search.
I find that a very interesting indicator!
Thanks for sharing
Not necessarily, it’s just that there’s a bottleneck. The goal is to know which one. And this can vary. And that’s how we can improve . By integrating what’s slowing us down, when possible. For clothes, it’s often the size. Price, of course, is a factor. Etc.
, and especially at the end of the month 
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