I’ve made £2.1k flogging my old gear on Vinted – your bio is all wrong & your descriptions are totally off for starters
If you have a wardrobe (or a loft) full of clothes you barely ever wear, Vinted might just be the place for you.
Not only can you buy reasonably priced high-quality secondhand clothes, shoes, bags and more, but you can list anything you no longer need or want in a matter of minutes.
We’ve seen countless stories over the past year of people cashing in hundreds of pounds, simply by flogging their old tatt on the marketplace app, so I decided to give it a try myself.
Whilst I have now managed to rein in my spending, in previous years, I would go as far to call myself a shopaholic.
Not only were my parents horrified when they figured out just how many trainers were in my ever-expanding shoe collection, but my over-purchasing left stunning outfits in my wardrobe simply gathering dust.
As a result, I thought it was time for a proper clean-out, so I gave my wardrobe a detox, emptied out my attic and began selling on Vinted.
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Not only was I keen to make space in my closet, but with a mortgage (hopefully) fast approaching, I was in a desperate bid to top up my bank balance.
And with some luck, and research from past Fabulous articles, I’ve now made a whopping £2,108.77 (and counting), without overthinking it.
I have over 200 gleaming five star reviews, with customers praising my speed and the condition of my items.
So if you’re looking to turn your old trash into someone else’s treasure, you’ve come to the right place.
Vinted is a dream for sellers who want to make some room in their homes, but here are some handy tips and tricks you can use to help your clothes fly off those shelves.
Update your bio
If none of your items on Vinted are selling, chances are, you’re probably making this very common mistake.
One thing I think many Vinted sellers overlook is their profile, in particular, their bio.
Whilst most sellers will have a blank bio, it’s important that sellers use this space to give their profile as much useful information as possible to buyers - it’s there for a reason after all.
Your bio should not only include information about you and the things you sell, but it can even include your age and clothes size, to give buyers additional context.
Sellers should take advantage of their bio and make it clear (if is the case) that they are open to offers and are selling items from a smoke and/or pet free home.
After all, your bio is a nice way to introduce yourself to buyers - and can be a super simple and effective way to sway someone into making a purchase from your page, versus from another page with less helpful information.
Fix your descriptions
Not only should your bio be as detailed as possible, but it’s important that your descriptions are incredibly complex too.
As well as including sizing information, you should also explain the item as best as you can, giving details of the brand, the size and the colour.
Your description is your opportunity to show off and persuade shoppers to part ways with their hard-earned cash, so share absolutely everything that you can fit.
Simply putting ‘brand new’ is not going to sell your items - key words and extensive details are essential.
Not only should you put the actual retail price if an item is still available to buy from stores, but adding a web link to the product could also be the difference between a sale and a stagnant listing that will sit on your page for months on end.
Snap it up
Another tip to ensuring your items sell well on Vinted is very simple, but really key - make sure pictures of your items look nice.
Whilst some people may find photos difficult to take, the right pictures on Vinted could be the difference between you selling something in 24 hours, days or even weeks.
What photos you should upload
High-quality and clear images will help your items stand out on Vinted amongst a vast array of items available on the platform.
Here are the five essential shots to include:
- Picture one: A clear shot of the front of the dress, gym set, trousers, etc
- Picture two: The back of the outfit
- Picture three: Photograph sleeve or pant length
- Picture four: Close-up of the stitching, or if any flaws on the item include zoomed-in shots of this too
- Picture five: If they are trousers, take pictures of lining, zips or buckles
First things first, don’t put items on a dirty or cluttered floor. Make sure they are hung up and visible, with a plain and clean background.
Not only this, but ensure your items are photographed in a well-lit space, ideally in natural light.
Avoiding harsh shadows or dim lighting will ensure finer details are not blurred out, and that vibrant colours really shine through.
As well as this, you’ll need to experiment with different angles and make sure to take and upload lots of pictures.
Including shots from various perspectives - from the back, front, and close-ups of the labels - will give shoppers a good overall view of items.
And if items aren’t of top notch quality, make sure your pictures reflect this.
Take snaps of any flaws or imperfections, such as stains or loose threads, to maintain transparency with potential buyers.
Be open to negotiation
Not only will great pictures sell items fast, but let’s be real, a good price will too.
With many of us counting pounds as a result of the cost of living crisis, if you want to persuade buyers to make a purchase, then you’ll need to make offers.
MOST POPULAR ITEMS ON VINTED
Vinted shared with The Sun some of the most popular items on the app:
- The autumnal months is when Vinted has the highest activity on the platform
- The company's most “favourited” listing globally was a Bambino Jacquemus bag with over 1,300 Likes
- Most popular colours in the UK include black, white, grey, brown, navy and pink.
- Best-sellers: Clothing within both Women’s and Men’s categories, dog equipment within the pet care category, and books within the entertainment category
Of course, you don’t want to sell items for less than you’d hoped for, but ensuring your items are priced competitively, and then giving buyers a fair, decreased offer, is a sure-fire way to increase sales.
Whenever anyone favourites an item of mine, I’m open to negotiation and will make sure to send them an offer at a slightly lower price.
Not only is being flexible to price decreases incredibly important if you want to make cash quick, but your communication is key too.
We’re all busy with jobs and social lives, but ensuring you reply fast and efficiently will set the right impression.
Not only this, but being polite and professional with your replies will help you get a positive review once an item is sold, which will also look great on your profile.
Time it right
Finally, if you’re eager to get rid of your old gear and make some cash on Vinted, it’s important that you time your listings right.
Rather than uploading once in a huge batch, it is better to list items little and often, as the item feed is typically filtered by what’s new.
Similarly to this, it’s also sure to be profitable for you if you upload items when people are browsing the app.
Whilst you might be tempted to book a day off work to upload your tatt to Vinted, the app told The Sun that its members are most active over the weekend - so you may want to think about uploading your items then for maximum visibility.
According to those at Vinted, secondhand shopping on the app often happens on Sunday evenings and sellers are most busy listing on Saturday afternoons.
New Vinted rules to be aware of
IF you fancy clearing out your wardrobe and getting rid of your old stuff on Vinted, you’ll need to consider the new rules that recently came into play.
If people are selling personal items for less than they paid new (which is generally the case for second-hand sales), there is no impact on tax.
However, since January 1, digital platforms, including eBay, Airbnb, Etsy, Amazon and Vinted, must share seller information with HMRC as part of a crackdown.
You're unlikely to be affected if you only sell a handful of second-hand items online each year - generally, only business sellers trading for profit might need to pay tax.
A tax-free allowance of £1,000 has been in place since 2017 for business sellers trading for profit - the only time that an individual personal item might be taxable is if it sells for more than £6,000 and there is a profit from the sale.
However, firms now have to pass on your data to HMRC if you sell 30 or more items a year or earn over £1,700.
It is part of a wider tax crackdown to help ensure that those who boost their income via side hustles pay up what they owe.
While your data won't be shared with HMRC if you earn between £1,000 and £1,700, you'll still need to pay tax as normal.
And if that wasn’t enough, timing your uploads around payday is also key.
Whilst most of us don’t have much spare cash to splash at the end of the month, it’ll come as no surprise that the week following payday is one of the busiest for sales.
So if you’re jealous of my hefty earnings, you’ll need to give these tips a try for yourself.
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Best of luck and happy Vinting!
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