Yes, I understand, I work in a similar way. But I buy less and less with low margins unless it sells quickly. If I do it, it’s like you, it’s to attract visibility. I sometimes wonder how some professionals make margins when I see prices that defy all competition. After all, it’s rather individuals who amaze me when I see lots sold at the price of the quote for each piece, no descriptions, no information, no negotiation.
Well, it’s simple: either they got it really cheap (it happens) or they’re eating into their own profit margins.
For some, I can clearly see it because, given their stock, I know exactly where they get it from and therefore how much they pay (and I know there’s no negotiation possible with the quantities they do), and clearly they make no profit at all. Or, either it’s the beginning of their business and they benefit from all the tax breaks, so for now they are « profitable, » or they are forced to forget to declare it to avoid issues.
I even see large, well-established businesses that have been around for years starting to lower their prices to keep up, because they’re hurting themselves by breaking certain price points.
This ties into a post I made a few months ago about the economic phases of a website. (I didn’t invent anything! 
)
Current Vinted phase: downward trend in profit. Karl Marx described it 150 years ago.
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Then there’s the trend with articles like « Jean-Kevin earns €4,000 a month by working 15 minutes a day on Vinted. » We see it on social media groups, many start a business after selling 3 T-shirts and thinking it will be easy. A bit like all those who opened restaurants after the success of TV shows about culinary competitions.
From what I see with some of my competitors, it’s simply unsustainable in the long run. Especially since they are single-supplier, they all go to the same one but don’t supplement with anything else. So they all eat each other alive, sometimes it looks like a competition to see who will crack the most to lower the price.
I have an example of a series of figurines last year. Unobtainable for less than €40 and only on eBay abroad. I ordered them immediately, €5 from the supplier, I thought it smelled good and took a few boxes. I received them quickly and when I posted the ads, I was the only one on Vinted to have them. Since I still had stock, I didn’t play too much and set them at €25 (X5 is already good). In the afternoon, I had already sold out of some models, with packages containing all the models I had in stock. I don’t remember exactly, but I think I made €400 in sales in 1 hour and close to €1000 in 24 hours. And I received messages from buyers thanking me for the opportunity. Two days later my competitors started receiving them, a week later they were €8. But some didn’t even try to sell them at the right price, they put them directly at €10 without thinking. Well, I removed my ads, let them sell theirs, and when they started to disappear from Vinted, I put my ads back up.
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This requires some serious monitoring. If you do it by hand, I don’t see how it’s possible beyond about ten references.
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Absolutely not, I don’t track my competitors in absolute terms. It’s just that these are items where there are sometimes fewer than 10 listings but rarely hundreds, so by working on my own closet, I often come across listings from these sellers, especially those who put themselves in the window. Often their listings appear with mine through « similar listings, » and when I source items from this supplier, just for the purpose of researching selling prices, I inevitably come across their listings.
I think you reacted appropriately, by withdrawing your articles and waiting. There are trends, cycles, and opportunities that sometimes make it better to simply wait for the right moment, it’s a bit like the stock market. You found an opportunity that benefited you for a short while, and you should have expected others to find it too. When the time comes, it will benefit you again. Other occasions or opportunities are often how we achieve great performances. The right moment, in the right place.
Same as offers at -40%, it’s becoming tiring. Yet on all listings I write my prices are very soft, please do not offer discounts. And well, there are those who try, but I found the solution and that’s what I would do systematically today, an offer at €6 for a product at €10, I refused and made a counter-offer at €14. Knowing that most of the time the offers are not honored, might as well have a little laugh…
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Hello - It’s systematic on Vinted to lower the price and now LBC is also getting into it. What do you want when you have a coveted item with the mention « PAY » or « MAKE AN OFFER », it’s tempting. Let’s not be afraid to refuse low offers for sought-after items. I just refused an offer of 15 euros for a starting price of 25 euros (beautiful French signature porcelain tableware). Not in a hurry, it will eventually sell. If everyone gives in, it becomes the rule.
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Obviously, and I have no problem with that. Anyway, given the supplier, I knew very well that we would quickly be several, I was even surprised it didn’t happen sooner.
It’s like accepting a minimum wage job with a master’s degree or an 8-year degree. There will always be those who take the job. From there…
Sometimes I accept 40% off because sometimes I price things high for what they are.
But as a general rule, it’s annoying, yes. In fact, almost no sales are made without a discount; which also implies constantly being connected to the site. A day without looking = a day with almost 0 sales.
I’ve been testing a new response to offers at -40% for a few days. I no longer make counter-offers but write « your offer is too low to be taken seriously. »
This seems to work well: often, people propose something more reasonable themselves.
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That’s a good idea. I don’t know if Vinties are stingy, broke, or offended, but a counter-offer halfway doesn’t satisfy them.
Recently, I had an exaggerated offer on a fairly sought-after jazz vinyl, and bam: offer minus 40 percent. I replied that I ship my records in special packaging that isn’t free and asked for 1 euro more (just to see the reaction). No response.
No worries, I ended up receiving a much better offer.
I simply think that a large number of « random » sellers accept, which leads buyers to test low offers in the hope that they will be accepted.
I wonder if there isn’t also some testing going on because sometimes I receive offers that I accept directly but I get no response, just « Read » and that must be at least 70% of the time.
Don’t forget that quite a few are simply flipping items, so they have to bombard every day hoping that a few will match. I was able to see this by sometimes looking at some profiles where the attempt lacked finesse, especially when the person making the offer already has the item for sale in their closet, and at a higher price.
On books and other cultural products, I would be surprised if that were the case.
I did see a bit of triangular trade specialists. I spotted one who sells on Amazon, very expensive, then goes hunting for the title on Rakuten. With many negative reviews from buyers unhappy with weeks or months of delays. (But he also buys fake 5-star reviews to hide it).
on Video games (if we consider it a cultural product) it’s common but hey, it’s not necessarily the « healthiest » category in terms of sellers and buyers.
There’s even a practice where sellers don’t have the games in stock and buy from other sellers, asking to change the address. I noticed this on eBay with successful sales where my buyer appeared on the same day in successful sales as their purchase. And it happened to me several times.
Well, obviously now I can’t help but « play » a little and make sure my buyer gets into trouble with their client.
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hello - this topic has generated a lot of comments. I am happy about that.
In my opinion, for it to be profitable to buy and resell (this does not concern me as an individual) you would really have to find some gems because you have to absorb all the associated costs: shipping costs, commission, possibly, before you can resell high enough to make a profit. I have already bought items for my personal use, which upon arrival did not suit me, and each time I lost money trying to resell them.
When the guy doing the triangular purchase – who sells on Amazon what he then gets cheaper on another site – I console myself by telling myself that I indirectly sold via Amazon, a site where I am not.
You have to pay in advance a flat fee of around €250 to have the right to sell on Amazon, which is off-putting.
hence the attempts at « indecent » offers, and in general, these are private accounts, so obviously if there are no charges to assume, at worst, you just need to resell at cost price to break even.