I am sharing my experience so that others do not fall into the same trap.
I bought a pair of Asics Kayano 14 from the seller @melania_shop75.
After just one day of normal use, the sole completely broke. The defect was not visible upon delivery, nor were there any elements suggesting the shoes might be counterfeit.
I reported the issue to Vinted, but the platform did absolutely nothing:
no acknowledgment of the defect,
no human review,
no action against the seller,
only chatbots repeating the same response.
In summary: Vinted is useless for handling defective or counterfeit items and does not protect buyers in such situations.
I am publishing this message so that other users are informed and avoid buying from this seller.
In fact, once validated « Everything is OK », Vinted is no longer responsible for the sale.
Every time I had counterfeits, whether it was a polo shirt, t-shirt, or sneakers, Vinted always refunded me. I provided the photos and explanations, and it was very fast.
Hello - the seller isn’t necessarily dishonest. I had a case with a big brand where the shoes were in perfect condition upon arrival, but once worn, the soles disintegrated.
I contacted the brand, and they replied that the items had been stored for too long and did not deny the problem. Now, when I buy shoes, I always ask the seller to bend the sole in every direction before I buy them.
My first seller was very honest and didn’t dispute anything. The second purchase was canceled by the seller, who must have realized the issue and removed the item from sale.
A platform like Vinted (or Leboncoin, eBay, etc.) has the status of a host—it connects individuals and is not responsible for the items sold, therefore it has no legal obligation. It is the seller who is responsible, but as an individual, they are not subject to the same obligations as a professional: to put it simply, no legal guarantee, no after-sales service, no recourse possible. You can’t have it all.
For the sites, the only thing that implicitly subjects them is user trust.
Therefore, it is up to the buyer to be vigilant. And this is where online selling shows its limits—you don’t see the item in person, you have to trust the photos and the description, which can be misleading.
These sites are based solely on trust, and despite everything you might hear, this doesn’t reflect the reality that the vast majority of transactions go smoothly, and most people are honest.
And in cases like this, you might be told you’re lying, because there’s no proof that the buyer was at fault (because buyers can also be dishonest, people who buy the same item from you as theirs which is damaged or broken or has holes or whatever).
Thank you for your feedback.
Item verification was not available for these sneakers. Therefore, I had no technical means to check authenticity before receiving them, and my son found them acceptable at first glance – it’s difficult to do anything else but click « OK » under these circumstances. We are not experts capable of identifying a counterfeit with the naked eye.
On the other hand, a pair of authentic Asics – he wears several models – doesn’t fall apart in a day. The immediate degradation, combined with the seller’s response, « Sorry, but your use of the sole is not my responsibility, » objectively reinforces the hypothesis of a counterfeit product. This type of response leaves little room for doubt.
The problem extends far beyond this isolated case.
This Lithuanian « tech » company has created an environment where the platform becomes a veritable haven for counterfeits, while disclaiming all responsibility:
– no human support,
– only chatbots,
– no real claim process,
– a system designed to block any possibility of recourse as soon as you click « Everything is OK ».
This operation clearly goes against the spirit of consumer protection in most European countries. The complaint process is non-existent, opaque, and frankly kafkaesque.