Notes on Styling | 52 | Thinking of getting into Vinted?
Here's what I've learnt & why I like it.
Hello my lovelies,
May 26th, how?
Where has this month gone? It’s not just me right? I’ve been finishing up work with my Spring Clients and my head has been in a lovely haze of new style beginnings, digging into the final sticky bits of taking what’s been learnt and flying free to go it alone.
There is a balance to find, between the excitment of this new creative feeling, with a focus also on what building a good wardrobe looks like. Balancing the two is the magic sweet spot and we rock & little forward and backward between the two as we finish up.
And so it is time to take a little summer break with clients. I won’t be opening up new client spots up until September. I have really seen this year that what I am doing here works best with the rhythms of the big seasons (Spring & Autumn) and it’s also nice to have time to review things and make them better for the new school year.
I am also excited for extra space to write here over the Summer and reflect on going deeper and slower with your style - and the impact it can have.
But to today, I have some thoughts on Vinted, the second-hand buying and selling platform for you.
This post has been germinating for a while, since February in fact - as I have been getting into Vinted as an experiment, both for finding new homes for items I am ready to say goodbye too aswell as seeing how it works for finding items to buy - good items. What I didn’t quite realise now when I started, was just how much it would also help me tune into my style with precision, focus and reward. It does much more than what I expected of a second-hand clothing app!
I’ve also been speaking to some of my own clients who are thinking of trying it out for items they are ready to let go of and so, I’ve been keeping some notes I wanted to share today.
No particular order to them. If like me you are thinking of delving in or have any kind of interest in learning a little more about it, I hope these notes are helpful.
Julie x
Vinted as a thoughtful wardrobe planning tool
I saw a post here on Substack the other day - what happened to all of last season’s must-haves? There were pictures of things like Alignes’ denim dress of the season, that adorned the pages of every fashion mag and Instagram page - and the answer is -there are lots on Vinted or Vestaire collective right now!
Things come and go so quickly in fashion. The power of understanding our style is in understanding the difference between seeing something we like that’s on trend, and seeing something we like and knowing it’s still ok to let it go as it doesn’t really truly (deep down in our heart) fit with our personal style.
No matter what the item costs - high or low, you want to understand the difference between what you want to buy and what you know you want to wear. Vinted can help to focus on what you're building for your wardrobe; finding new homes for unworn items and honing in on brands that feel good additions even after the trend has passed.
Now, I’m far from a Vinted Expert but have been learning the in’s and outs over the last few months and really enjoying what it has brought to my own styling processes and most surprisingly, how it can help focus on the brands and pieces that genuinely feel like you.
Signing up & getting paid is straight- forward
I spent max 15 minutes setting up my profile & an hour getting some items up to sell. You can have as much or as little personal info as you like. Nobody has to know it’s your stuff if you don’t want. You save the market (country) you are in i.e ‘Ireland’ or the ‘UK’ that way you are only shipping and buying from people within this market. You link your bank account and so once the item has been received by the buyer, you get paid. Obviously, the more you have to sell the more time you will spend on the app.
Playing with the Price
Once you post up an item to sell (real pictures are best, flaws and all), you can see how many people are viewing or have ‘favourited’ your item. This helps to gauge the interest. If you have lots of views and likes, chances are it will sell. Based on this you can decide to reduce the price etc. This is viewed as really normal on Vinted. Below are a couple of items I sold just after I posted them so no views yet. All items were sold within 3 weeks.
Add in as much (and honest) detail as possible
People really want all the detail and you should too. Photographing the fabric label is important as I didn’t do this at first, and everybody asks! If there are any marks, just be honest. The app trades on honesty as you cannot send it back so if you know there is a mark or it’s 4 or 5 years old and you are still willing to buy - at least you know what your getting as does the seller if buying from you. The only recall (as far as I know) that you have is to report the seller to Vinted, which will make it harder for them to sell to others so it’s in everybody’s interest to be honest. Sizing and fit is obviously then the biggest risk.
The app will get to know you
Once you start using the app to browse, it starts to understand what you like to search for and the brands you look at most. It will feed you newly uploaded items from these brands first. I know we are all grappling with the internet knowing everything about us, but this is a styling win in my book. It helps to focus on similar brands, a similar feel and when you are feeling confident and creative you can always extend your searches and have some fun.
‘Recommended for you’ helps you find new brands
Vinted has a ‘Recommended for you’ section (below) that will feed you items from brands that have a similar vibe to the ones you have saved and search mostly for. I have saved searches for items from COS, Arket, Pixie Market, Agolde, Frame, Toteme, for example so I am being given some ideas and items from Victoria Beckham & Daniel Wellington, brands that have a similar pared-back, minimal feel. I think this is clever and helpful open your mind to new brands but within a style that feels like you.
‘Favourite’ Items.
You can also ‘favourite’ items you see (below) so you are keeping them within reach to consider and not losing them in the maelstrom of choice!
Finding Specific Items
I definitely recommend using Vinted to search for specific second-hand items also. Maybe it’s something you tried on last season but did not buy. You will find so many things brand new, with tags on. Just pop the name of the item in the search bar, then click the little bookmark icon on the top right and it saves the search so when more of the items you are looking for are uploaded for sale, you will be shown.
Frame Denim I found.
I had tried on Frame’s long barrel-leg denim last summer and saved the style and size that fit in the notes on my phone. I couldn’t justify the £250 price tag. I saved the exact pair as a search on Vinted and within week’s found the exact pair for £70, never worn. Definitely, my best find!
Buying from real people like you
It’s easy to have a conversation with the seller of an item you are looking at. I’ve had friendly conversations with the sellers of both items I’ve bought and both have been really helpful. I found this beautiful wool coat (below) from 7Stories and asked the seller to take some extra measurements on the sleeve length as I was unsure if they would be too baggy.
It’s ok to offer a lower price than advertised
If you are unsure about sizing or perhaps a mark or something about the item is causing doubt but you are wanting to risk it, you can offer a lower price. It will either be accepted or not. In my experience, if they don’t accept it they may meet you half way or lower it a little. It seems to be perfectly ok to ask!
Postage & Profits
Postage is always charged on top and adds around £3 to the order depending on the size the package will be. Both my orders arrived within 4-5 days. A seller is encouraged to send the item promptly. On the other side, if you are selling items, the price you charge will have a set postage added on top. You just need to decide whether your item will be a small, medium or large package & once sold, the postage will be added on for the buyer to pay.
Selling is a great feeling
I have sold 8-10 items now and made over £250. This is a good feeling! Knowing items you weren’t wearing that were taking up mental and physical space in your wardrobe have gone to a better home. An item that might be haunting you, reminding you of what you spent might be someone else’s most loved piece! Don’t assume because you don’t love it, no one else will.
Keep those Amazon Boxes & Envelopes
If you do intend to sign up to sell items, start keeping spare envelopes/ package envelopes to reuse, which is perfectly acceptable in the world of Vinted.
Finding Focus for Your Wardrobe
I underestimated just how much Vinted would help me focus on the brands that feel good to me. It will introduce you to items from brands with a similar feel and vibe to what you seem to like too. If you are trying to hone your style and stick to shopping from similar brands for that purpose (which I recommend), the algorithm really pays off in this way.
Final Thoughts
I definitely recommend giving it a go. With all these things, it takes a little time and energy to get things posted and to get into it, but once your in the flow, it really is quite easy. If your going away on holidays or maybe you just want to consider an item you’ve posted, maybe your having second thoughts about selling, you can mark the item as ‘hidden’ for this purpose. You can also put your profile into ‘Holiday Mode’ when you need a little break ;-)
That’s it for now, hope this was helpful.
Please feel free to share this post with others who might enjoy it too and as always, thanks for being here with me!
It means a lot.
Julie x