Vinted Backtracks After Sellers Outraged by New Shipping Policy

Second-hand clothes app Vinted has abandoned an update to its delivery options after users said it would make selling more difficult.

Vinted is popular in part because of the range of courier options it offers, with sellers able to deselect those that don’t suit them - for example, if a company requires them to print a label and they don’t own a printer.

But users reported this week that this list of shipping options had disappeared from their profiles, and voiced their anger on social media.

Vinted told the BBC its in-app shipping options had returned to their previous settings, after listening to user feedback about the change.

There are more than 16 million Vinted accounts in the UK.

Olivia Lott, who lives in rural Devon, said she turned off InPost as a shipping option because her nearest drop-off point was a 30-minute drive away in Exeter.

“I had a buyer ask me if I could do InPost, and I said that was fine, but I went into my settings and I couldn’t turn it on,” she said, because the list of couriers wasn’t there.

While Olivia said the change was inconvenient to her, others were more frustrated.

TikTokker Kerry said: “I’ve had to go and cancel five orders, which I’m really annoyed at. That was £60 worth of orders.”

Some, like Theodora Philcox, hoped it was a glitch.

She posted on X, formerly Twitter: “@Vinted Please fix the glitch in the shipping settings. I have had to cancel sales and others are doing likewise. This will ruin your platform if it doesn't get fixed quickly. A huge number of people don't have printers - you're making Vinted impossible to use as a seller.”

vinted removed the ability for users to turn off certain postage options??? girl WHY i don’t have a printer leave me alone 😭😭

— hannah (@infinjtee) August 7, 2024

Users in certain areas cannot access all shipping options - InPost does not operate postal lockers in Northern Ireland, for example.

Twenty-five-year-old Abbie from Yorkshire said that she couldn’t use InPost or Yodel to send packages as there are no drop-off points near her.

“Additionally, Royal Mail post offices are only open when I work, so it rules them out,” she told BBC News.

Vinted told the BBC that the change was made on Monday.

In a statement, the company said: “We regularly test and trial different things to evolve Vinted.

“Recently, we made some changes which meant some of our members had a different experience with managing their shipping options.

“We heard the feedback and confirm the shipping options have returned to their previous settings, there are no further actions needed from the members.”

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Vinted, an online marketplace for secondhand clothes, has recently implemented changes that have upset many of its sellers. The platform has altered its settings so sellers can no longer deactivate specific postage options.

Before this change, sellers had the flexibility to select preferred postage options when listing an item for sale.

For instance, a seller could choose to avoid using Yodel and opt for InPost and Royal Mail instead.

Now, the choice of postage provider is solely at the buyer’s discretion, a shift that has caused significant discontent among the seller community.

The change has led to a surge of complaints on social media platforms, with users expressing frustration and confusion.

One TikTok user, May Jorga, posted a video showing a screenshot from Vinted with the caption, “Vinted vs being painfully against sellers. Why would they even think this is a good idea?”

The screenshot appears to show a message from Vinted’s customer service, stating, “Unfortunately, there is no possibility to deactivate shipping providers. If it happens that you can’t ship the item, we recommend to talk with the buyer and cancel the transaction with a mutual agreement.”

The video by May Jorga has garnered numerous comments from other sellers sharing similar experiences.

Nat commented: “I noticed mine did this today. Had to find a Yodel store even though I had this option turned off. My sister’s still gives her the option to turn off postage options tho,” suggesting that the change is being rolled out gradually.

Another user, Jess, shared: “I noticed this yesterday, had a buyer that chose InPost but I had this turned off.”

The frustration among sellers is palpable, with many worried about the potential impact on their sales.

Lisa, another user, commented on a different video, “It is just going to be a nightmare. Some people don’t have certain drop-offs in their area, so they are going to have to cancel sales and ask people to re-buy. This is going to lose people sales.”

As sellers voice their frustrations on social media, it remains to be seen how Vinted will address these concerns moving forward.

UPDATE: Vinted has now abandoned this update.

In a statement, the company said: “We regularly test and trial different things to evolve Vinted.”

“Recently, we made some changes which meant some of our members had a different experience with managing their shipping options.”

“We heard the feedback and confirm the shipping options have returned to their previous settings, there are no further actions needed from the members.”

Online retail is a key focus area for the sixth edition of the RTIH Innovation Awards, which is now open for entries.

The awards, sponsored by CADS, 3D Cloud, and Retail Technology Show 2025, celebrate global tech innovation in a fast moving omnichannel world.

It’s free to enter and you can do so across multiple categories.

Key 2024 dates

Friday, 25th October: Award entry deadline

Tuesday, 29th October: 2024 shortlist revealed

30th October-6th November: Judging days

Thursday, 21st November: Winners announced at the 2024 RTIH Innovation Awards ceremony, to be held at RIBA’s 66 Portland Place HQ in Central London.

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© Paxton Media Ltd 2024. All rights reserved. No part of this website, including text, graphics, logos, images, and software, may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means without the prior written permission of Paxton Media Ltd. Vinted is a mobile app, known for buying and selling new or secondhand items, mainly clothing and accessories, with over 16 million users buying and selling on the app in the UK.

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Vinted has left consumers in the dark, as the app appears to be trialling the option to remove sellers’ ability to pick and choose the couriers they want to sell with. Vinted is a mobile app, known for buying and selling new or secondhand items, mainly clothing and accessories, with over 16 million users buying and selling on the app in the UK.

Vinted sellers have been left confused at the app for this unexplained change, with a popular TikTok stating that some sellers “don’t live close to some posting options”, and voicing that it’s now difficult for them to send their sold items.

Retail payment experts at Dojo , theorise that the move could be an attempt to decrease the number of couriers sellers can choose to send from. This could be in light of increased shipping and delivery fees by couriers.

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This is part of a wider conversation around rising operational costs which have been consistently impacting many UK retailers. In fact, 33% of businesses, from a recent Dojo survey, reported having to cut production costs to mitigate outgoings . According to TikTok user @nico_april_, Vinted Support has been in touch with some users to say the change is a trial that some app users are part of.

Some Vinted sellers have recently noticed the app no longer allows sellers to choose which courier they send their sold items with. Vinted allows sellers to choose from a range of courier services including; Evri, Yodel, InPost, DPD and Royal Mail. Vinted’s ‘help’ section specifies that “we may decide to add, remove, or temporarily disable certain shipping methods if needed.”

Previously sellers could enable and disable which courier services they didn't want to sell with, now the app is trialling an option where sellers have no authority to choose. Users have left comments on Vinted’s recent post on the social media app, Instagram, saying “why have you taken away the option to customise which postage options suit the seller”.

Retail payment experts at Dojo commented: “Vinted has previously allowed sellers to decide which shipping couriers they use. Although part of a larger online marketplace, this choice enabled sellers to feel like they had some control over their own online ‘wardrobe’ where they could sell pre-loved items.

“Vinted may have introduced this updated shipping policy to combat increased shipping fees from couriers. At the moment the platform is running a trial on a sample set of customers, to gain feedback. Depending on the response, sellers may see the app revert to previous settings. Being able to sell pre-loved items conveniently and with a degree of flexible delivery is a huge part of why users flock to apps, like Vinted, to sell. By making the process less convenient and limiting courier methods, these apps run the risk of impacting their consumer loyalty.

“For example, some sellers may live in rural areas or not be able to drive, leaving them with a limited choice of convenient couriers to send parcels via. In these cases, removing the seller’s authority over couriers could leave sellers with no choice but to cancel orders and lose sales. We could see sellers who don’t agree with this update decide to sell their items on other marketplace sites to have autonomy over where they post from and which courier they choose.

“The response on TikTok really highlights the importance of brands maintaining the aspects and values that created and fed their brand loyalty in the first place. In this case, a brand has built its platform on the back of being a convenient way to sell. When retail brands start to play with these foundations, customer loyalty really can falter.”