SusieQ / 19 August 2025 / Categories: Internet, Online Retail, Useful Guides

Vinted; Selling and Buying Fakes Online

In my experience on Vinted there are loads of people selling fake designer goods

I've been reading about a few people getting scammed on Vinted lately, there's loads of people discussing this on Reddit asking for advice so I thought I'd share what I have discovered in the hope it will help people navigate and enjoy their shopping experience more on Vinted which in my view, regardless of the obvious pitfalls (some people are just low lifes and con artists) does have some great advantages for both sellers and buyers. I just helped my friend who has been on a weight loss journey photograph and upload all her large sized clothes which were snapped up very quickly and she ended up with enough money to buy a whole new wardrobe for her new slimmer body, a great result.

I have another friend who loves a designer dupe and there are loads of these on Vinted. Vinted say in their policy to sellers you must not sell counterfeit, fake or dupe products which of course doesn't stop people. And I don't see Vinted doing anything to close these sellers accounts down or stop them posting fake everything from Sunglasses to handbags all using the brand names Chanel, Prada, Hermes, whomever, to market their listings and get more people looking. There’s a lot of demand for these designer dupes.

Some sellers are pretty honest about what they are selling. And it’s obvious a "Hermes" bracelet say for £10 isn't real or a £3500 Alaia handbag for £300. I've even had sellers say outright in the messages, "It's a dupe", or "It's a great copy" again Vinted must be able to see these conversations and don't seem remotely bothered. There are simply too many of them to be an issue.

The things I have noticed you need to be very aware of reading the conversations on reddit, and there are quite a few, anyone who asks you to do anything outside of Vinted is up to no good, don't listen to anyone who is particularly complimentary or overly nice, chances are they are up to no good too.

I've had a pretty good experience on Vinted to date, however the lines do get blurred when you buy something higher priced expecting it to be real that ends up being counterfeit.

Should this happen and you hit the "Everything is OK" button before realising, it's game over for you, there is absolutely no recourse and you are stuck with the item. Vinted customer service is non existant. All they will do is tell you, you must take up your grievance with the seller, like they are going to help you out once you have paid an over inflated price for the hot potato you are now holding. Nah, they probably won't even respond so don't waste your finger strength even typing the email.

I got in touch with Vinted legal department, it was the only email I could find anywhere following an incident. I did get a reply so I have posted it here.

Vinted is great if you are smart, keep your purchases under say £30 so in the event you do get scammed the burn isn't so painful. People with good review history are obviously better than no history at all but this doesn't guarantee they'll do the right thing when they know Vinted don't get involved and it behoves them to keep as many people selling on the platform as possible.

Vinted policy around selling fakes items is very clear. It strictly forbids it but like many sites that are as massive as Vinted and operating globally what they say and the reality are often miles apart.

To stay protected in the event someone sends you an item SNAD seller not as described, make sure you hit "I have an issue" within the allocated two day period. Do not hit "everything is OK" regardless of how many times Vinted email you and encourage you to.

Then at least you may have a shot at getting your money back should something go wrong.

I thought the last line in the letter was pretty humourous, "If you decide to report the matter to the local authorities, we will fully cooperate if they contact us for information" Could you imagine, ringing your local police station and telling them you got ripped off on Vinted, someone sold you a fake handbag pretending it was real? And when you told them you knew and wanted your money back they didn't reply. No shit Sherlock.