Vinted selling and postage rules explained as warning issued

Vinted is a popular platform for selling clothes and unwanted items (stock image)
-Credit: (Image: NurPhoto via Getty Images)


Vinted has become a popular service in the last few years for selling second-hand items. The platform now has 105 million users across more than 20 different countries, including 16 million users in the UK. Many have established entire businesses based on their success in the marketplace.

You need to download the app if you want to set up an account. There are no fees to pay as a seller. Instead, the buyers pay a protection fee and cover the postage of the item.

If someone buys one of your items on Vinted, there are some rules you must follow. Before you sell, you should select the best-fitting parcel size when uploading a new item. You can change parcel size by editing your listing but only before the item is sold.

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You can choose which carriers will be available to your buyers in your postage settings and change your preferences at any time. However, changes will only apply to future orders. Items that were sold before your latest changes must be sent with the carrier selected by the buyer at the time of their purchase.

After selling an item, you'll receive shipping instructions in your conversation with the member and in your email. You should use the shipping method indicated in the instructions. After an item is sold, the shipping option selected by the buyer cannot be changed. The only way to modify the shipping option is to cancel and repeat the order.

Vinted is clear that you must send the item within five business days of the purchase date. You have five working days to ship the item since your buyer purchased it. However, Vinted might recommend shipping the item sooner if you can. That’s because the tracking details may take up to 48 hours to update.

If Vinted doesn't receive any tracking updates for five working days after the item’s purchase, it has warned that the order will be cancelled within a week after the five working-day time frame is missed. The automatic cancellation may not happen immediately after the missed deadlines. If the seller sends the order after the deadline but before the automatic cancellation, Vinted will ask the buyer to refuse the parcel, so that it gets returned to the seller. After the order gets cancelled, the buyer will receive a refund. Refund processing time depends on the buyer’s payment method.

If you can’t ship in time, you should chat with the buyer via the conversation screen, explain the situation and cancel the order yourself. If you reach an agreement with your buyer before the cancellation, you’ll avoid automatic negative feedback. After cancelling the order, you may agree to sell the item to this member at a later date. You will have to re-upload the item via the conversation screen, so it’s visible to buyers again. You can also reserve the item for the buyer for up to five days. This way, nobody else will be able to buy it.

If you won’t be able to send any items for a while, you can use holiday mode to hide your listings for up to 90 days. This will prevent buyers from starting new orders with you. Once the item is delivered and the buyer confirms that everything is ok with it, you’ll receive your earnings in your Vinted balance.