General information and good practices

The information provided below forms an overview of the key functionalities and principles of the Vinted site. Should you want to understand your legal rights and obligations with respect to your use of the Vinted site, then please consult our Terms and Conditions via this link. 

WHO ARE WE?

We are VINTED PLATFORM LIMITED, a company registered in the United Kingdom. We are located at 5 New Street Square, London EC4A 3TW, United Kingdom. Please reach out to us on legal@vinted.co.uk should you have further questions on the information provided below.

WHAT IS VINTED?

Vinted is an online marketplace through which users are able to sell or purchase certain items with other users. Vinted does not sell or buy items shown on the site and is not a party to any transaction between users. Our Buyer Protection service is added for a fee to every purchase made by users using the “Buy now” button and offers you a refund policy under set conditions, customer support and safe payments through our integrated payment system. 

WHO CAN USE OUR WEBSITE?

You may not use the site when you are considered a professional seller. If you are 18 years or younger, then your parent or guardian (adult) must register your account and supervise your use of the site.

WHAT KIND OF ITEMS CAN BE SOLD ON VINTED?

We seek to ensure that Vinted is a friendly and safe place for its users. Therefore, when you list an item, you must make sure that you are allowed to trade that item, and that you comply with the Catalogue rules, which gives an overview of what you can sell and cannot sell on our site. Below, you find some examples of what our current Catalogue Rules say about the above: 

You can sell:

  • women’s, men’s and children’s clothing, footwear and accessories;
  • children’s toys, furniture and childcare equipment;
  • new cosmetics, beauty products, beauty devices and gadgets;
  • tech accessories such as headphones, smart watches, phone cases and similar items;
  • homewear such as textiles, tableware and home accessories;
  • entertainment such as video games, consoles, accessories, books, board games, puzzles, music & audio;
  • pet care items such as clothing, accessories, bedding, travel accessories, and toys.

You cannot sell:

  • items prohibited or restricted by law (such as counterfeit items, stolen goods, firearms, weapons, etc.);
  • items that do not comply with hygiene standards, or may pose health or safety risks (such as worn underwear, all cosmetics that have already been used and that are not in their original sealed packaging, etc.);
  • medicinal products, food and tobacco products; 
  • items that simply do not align with the Vinted vision (such as animal fur and its products, sports equipment for adults such as bikes, skis, snowboards, tickets for events, etc.); 
  • items purchased in bulk or typically sold as low-value dropshipping items;
  • a large number of brand new items, including items with tags;
  • items with a note such as "can be ordered”, “sold”, “currently out of stock”, “check back later”, etc.

Please bear in mind the above list is not exhaustive and is to be viewed as a guide only. We kindly ask you to consult the Catalogue rules to find a complete and accurate overview of what you can and cannot sell on Vinted.

HOW TO SELL AN ITEM ON VINTED?

Listing items on Vinted for sale is free of charge. To list an item in the Catalogue, the seller must comply with all Catalogue Rules. When you list an item in the Catalogue, you must complete a questionnaire, which includes selecting a category that most accurately represents the item and uploading at least one good quality photo of the item. 

You cannot use photographs found on the internet and/or photos of a similar item. The description and photographs of the item must reflect the actual quality and external appearance of the item, as well as any faults, defects or alterations affecting the item.

HOW ARE ITEMS RANKED ON VINTED?

By default, listings presented on Vinted’s landing page or in the search results are sorted by “relevance” taking into account the following criteria, listed below in order of importance:

  • relevance to the search query (including the language of the query);
  • the user’s preferences (e.g. categories, sizes);
  • historical data about user’s browsing habits (sizes, price range, condition, brands of listings Buyer has engaged with);
  • the date on which a given item was uploaded.

When a user searches for an item, listings are sorted by default by “relevance”. Alternatively, in the Catalogue, a user can also choose for the listings to be sorted by price or by date. If a user chooses for listings to be sorted by price and date, the preferences indicated in the user’s account will still be taken into consideration to classify listings.

Sellers can improve the visibility of their items by opting for the following paid services which also affect how items are sorted in the feed:

  • Bumping Listed Items

Specific items selected by the seller can get better visibility on the item feed, newsfeed and other users’ Catalogue search results. More information about bumping listed items is available here.

  • Wardrobe Spotlight

A seller’s wardrobe can be promoted to a separate section in other users' newsfeed and Catalogue search results based on these users’ preferences, Catalogue filters, and most favourited items. More information about our Wardrobe Spotlight feature is available here.

HOW CAN A BUYER PAY FOR AN ITEM?

You can pay on Vinted by using credit cards, debit cards or any other payment method offered on the site. 

IS VINTED’S SERVICE FREE?

For sellers

Listing the items on Vinted for sale is free of charge. However, our additional services for sellers, such as the above-mentioned item Bump and Wardrobe Spotlight are paid services.

For buyers

For each transaction made using the “Buy now” button, Buyer Protection is applied for a fee. The fee for the use of the Buyer Protection consists of:

For orders (including bundles) priced less than £500, the formula is:

  • A fixed amount: a range of £0.3 to £0.8 and;
  • A variable amount: a range of 3% to 8% of the purchase price agreed between you and the seller, regardless of postage costs

For orders (including bundles) priced £500 or more, the formula is:

  • 3% of the item's price (including the value-added tax (VAT) applied to the item’s price)

For your security and that of the transactions, we invite you to complete the transactions using the “Buy now” button and to not make any transactions outside the site. Purchases made without using the “Buy now” button are at your risk and we will not offer any of the services included in the Buyer Protection in relation to such transactions. 

DISPUTES BETWEEN USERS AND VINTED

In the event of a disagreement between Vinted and a user, Vinted encourages users to reach out to Vinted first in any case to find an amicable solution. In that regard, the user may:

  • address a written complaint to Vinted’s customer support using the contact form;
  • Vinted will use its best endeavours to try and resolve the user's complaint in an amicable manner;  
  • the user can also use alternative dispute resolution methods such as consumer mediation. VINTED will consider any suggested alternative dispute resolution methods offered by the user.

FEEDBACK ON VINTED 

Leaving feedback

When a transaction is completed, buyers and sellers can leave feedback on each other and give each other a star rating. Every feedback is connected to the respective transaction, so it is not possible to leave feedback for a user with whom you have not made any transaction. Users can leave their feedback as follows:

  • you can find the 'Leave feedback' button in the conversation thread when the order is completed;
  • then choose the number of stars you would like to give, ranging from one star to five stars (the lower the number of stars, the worse experience of a given transaction it indicates), add a review (comment), and submit it.

Users can leave their feedback up to four days after the order has been completed.

Editing/removing a feedback

You can edit or remove your feedback, by clicking on a corresponding button located below a given review.

Storing feedback

In the user’s reviews page, the feedback is sorted in a chronological way (from the newest to the oldest). Each feedback published includes the username of its author, a review (comment), star rating assigned by a given user, the date and time of posting a feedback. Feedbacks are stored according to our Privacy policy. In case feedback is left by a user who subsequently deleted his/her account or a user leaving a feedback is inactive for at least five (5) years, his/her user name will not be visible and there will be a note stating that the content comes from a user who is no longer active. Other information will remain published online according to our Privacy policy, unless they are reported with Vinted as being inappropriate or abusive and Vinted removes them in line with applicable laws and Terms & Conditions or they are removed by the author of a given feedback.

Replying to feedback

User can reply to a given feedback left on his/her account by others users or by Vinted by clicking on a corresponding button located below a given review. 

No compensation

No compensation is given to users or to Vinted in exchange for their online reviews.

Calculating the average star rating

A user’s average star rating is based on the average amount of stars that this member has received. Only feedback left by other users or Vinted affect the star rating. Every feedback counts, so if the same user leaves more than one feedback, each of them will be taken into account.

To calculate a user’s average star rating, Vinted  rounds the average rating up to the closest star or half of a star:

  • If the average rating is equal to or greater than X.75, it is rounded up to X + 1. For instance, an average rating of 3.75 stars will be rounded up to 4 stars; 
  • If the average rating is between X.25 and X.75, it is rounded to X.5. For instance, an average rating of 3.26 stars will be rounded up to 3.5 stars, just as an average rating of 3.74 stars;
  • If the rating is below X.25, it is rounded to X. For instance, an average rating of 3.24 stars will be rounded up to 3 stars.

DOES VINTED REVIEW FEEDBACK?

Vinted does not pro-actively review feedbacks

Users rely on each other to provide feedback. Vinted does not review feedback prior to when it is published by users.

Challenging a feedback

If users disagree with the feedback that they have received, they can:

  • contact the other user to find out what went wrong and ask the other user to change their feedback by returning to the comment they left (or that Vinted automatically left instead of them) and editing it; or
  • leave a comment under any feedback left and give their point of view. For instance, if it was something out of their control, like a third-party error, users should not hesitate to say so.

Inappropriate reviews 

Any feedback left must be in line with Terms & Conditions and Community Standards, otherwise they are considered to be inappropriate or abusive. If the feedback received is inappropriate or abusive, you should report it to Vinted by simply clicking/tapping on the ( i ) icon in your conversation and choose “Report”. Then, choose “Member left harassing / inappropriate feedback” and explain the situation. Alternatively, you can send an email to legal@vinted.co.uk or a letter to VINTED PLATFORM LIMITED, 5 New Street Square, London EC4A 3TW, United Kingdom. Vinted’s customer support team will then work to resolve the issue if the feedback does not comply with our Community Standards. If a given review is inappropriate or abusive, Vinted may block the account of its author in whole or in part, in line with Terms & Conditions.

Vinted automatic feedback

In certain cases Vinted leaves automatic positive or negative feedback on a transaction. Positive feedback to the seller (a five-star rating only, without a comment) appears if a transaction was completed and the buyer did not leave a feedback within four (4) days. Vinted gives positive feedback to sellers only. Negative feedback (a one-star rating only, without a comment) appears, if a given user manually cancels the order already submitted (unless he/she does so for the first time). This also happens to sellers if they don’t send the item on time, and the order gets automatically cancelled. Vinted gives negative feedback to either the buyer or the seller (depending on the party cancelling a transaction).

Vinted does not remove the automatic feedback. A user can explain the situation to its buyer/seller (who has not given a given feedback because an automated negative feedback was posted by Vinted), who might agree to edit or remove a given feedback left automatically by Vinted.

LEGAL RIGHTS OF BUYERS

Vinted is an online marketplace for transactions carried out between private individuals. 

Absence of the right to reject

For transactions between private individuals, the provisions of the applicable legal acts do not include any obligation for a private seller to offer a right to reject. However, some private sellers may nonetheless decide to offer the option to return or exchange an item (for example, by mentioning this in the descriptive section of their advertisement).

Below, you will find some information on the rights and obligations which apply to sales conducted between private individuals. 

The legal provisions that apply to transactions between private individuals:

  • The provisions of the Sale of Goods Act 1979 concerning the law on the sale of goods are available here. 
  • Certain sections or subsections of the Sale of Goods Act 1979 do not apply to a contract to which Chapter 2 of Part 1 of the Consumer Rights Act 2015 applies, which is available here.

Contract formation, title, quality and description of goods

Certain rules apply to the sale of goods. The seller must have the right to sell the goods; the seller must be the owner or have permission from the owner to sell the goods and the goods must match the description and the photograph used.

Contract of sale. Section 2 of the Sale of Goods Act 1979 is applicable. “(1)A contract of sale of goods is a contract by which the seller transfers or agrees to transfer the property in goods to the buyer for a money consideration, called the price.

(2)There may be a contract of sale between one part owner and another.

(3)A contract of sale may be absolute or conditional.

(4)Where under a contract of sale the property in the goods is transferred from the seller to the buyer the contract is called a sale.

(5)Where under a contract of sale the transfer of the property in the goods is to take place at a future time or subject to some condition later to be fulfilled the contract is called an agreement to sell.

(6)An agreement to sell becomes a sale when the time elapses or the conditions are fulfilled subject to which the property in the goods is to be transferred.”

Implied terms about title. Section 12 of the Sale of Goods Act 1979 is applicable. “In a contract of sale, other than one to which subsection (3) below applies, there is an implied term on the part of the seller that in the case of a sale he has a right to sell the goods, and in the case of an agreement to sell he will have such a right at the time when the property is to pass. <...> (3) This subsection applies to a contract of sale in the case of which there appears from the contract or is to be inferred from its circumstances an intention that the seller should transfer only such title as he or a third person may have.”

Implied terms about description. Section 13 of the Sale of Goods Act 1979 is applicable. “(13) Where there is a contract for the sale of goods by description, there is an implied term that the goods will correspond with the description.”

The application of section 13 of the Sale of Goods Act 1979 to private sales can be inferred from the fact that other terms implied by the Sale of Goods Act 1979 (for example, as to satisfactory quality and fitness for purpose) are expressly stated to only apply where the seller is selling in the course of a business; no such qualification is made in relation to section 13.

Faulty Goods. Goods from private sellers do not have to be fault-free, and if the marks were clearly mentioned by the seller or visible in the seller’s photograph, then the buyer in those circumstances has no case against the seller. However, if the goods were advertised as 'good as new', for example, you have the right to ask for a refund. Misrepresentation is illegal, but a lack of information is not.