Despite its success, Vinted does not seem to meet all the aspirations of users and new platforms are developing.
Founded in 2008, Vinted now claims more than 50 million members, including more than 19 million in France. The Lithuanian company, which makes it possible to buy and sell second-hand clothes, is present in 16 countries. Many influencers are speaking out for this convenient and lucrative platform. Some even becomeadvisor” for “vinties», the nickname given to the aficionados of this site. “HAShaving gone through difficulties myself on Vinted, I dedicate myself to helping second-hand sellers“explains one of them.
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On Facebook groups, such as “ Vinted: increase your sales“, members post almost daily”my challenge of the day“, which is in fact a sales objective of a “market consumption», a concept borrowed from Élodie Juge, which refers to users (80% of vinties are women between 15 and 45), sellers but also buyers. We also observe the growth of a new type of actor, adolescents and more particularly adolescent girls.
Vinted sees its “merchant cons“speculate, thanks”to their skills development“. So much so that sellers and buyers come to take the law into their own hands: a Facebook group “Vinted Disputes», place of a trial with open comments of the Lithuanian unicorn, is all the rage.
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And the success is such that there is even a Neurchi Vinted, a group that brings together anecdotes from the vinties on Facebook. We hunt for bargains on Vinted, but also good jokes.
“Vinted is the biggest business school, maybe not the best! »
Elodie Judge
“You don’t wear it, sell it! “. The platform’s slogan is clear. According to Élodie Juge, doctor in management sciences, Vinted specialist since 2013, the platform has never hidden from the search above all for “good deals“. And the ecological argument of the second hand was not his at the start. “Buy in bulk. Save on shipping costs.»: so many injunctions that encourage transactions. Élodie Juge dates the environmental concern of the “vintiesin 2019, a new paradigm for the platform in the era of time, as evidenced by its Instagram page recently. Very enticing Instagram page by the way, far from the lambda Vinted threads, which are more like a maze where you would need a breadcrumb trail.
Vinted and its detractors: the ransom of success?
However, its detractors denounce the defects with tweets and in blogs such as Le dressing libre or Les jolies tulips. The pretty tulips blogger tells an anecdote: “ I haven’t logged into Vinted for 2 days […] I can neither answer for that, nor warn the other buyers that I have neither addresses, nor means of refunding them“. In summary, on Vinted, once an offer to sell has been accepted, you have to be reactive and post the package quickly, otherwise the application blocks the seller. The free dressing blogger attacks counterfeits, among other things: “Even though the platform requires certificates of authenticity, there is no real control of the goods.“Time-consuming, poor quality products, lies about certain products…Céleste, 20 years old and former regular at Vinted, describes the main flaw of the application according to her: “ In summary, you can put stupid stuff on Vinted.This user regrets the absence of quality control, which could be found on other platforms such as Videdressing.com, which was responsible for checking the quality of the garment.
From “merchant consumption“which nevertheless return to the”home“: the disappointment with Vinted is quickly mitigated according to Élodie Juge since, in the end, “it doesn’t work that badly.»
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The desire for greater ecological attention drives users to other platforms. MooM offers buy-back, repair, customization, collection or recycling services… Alternatives which include more players in short and which assert their advantage of being physical as well as having the same commercial guarantees as in a classic store. “I like the Unique app, you see the second-hand shops around you.says Celeste. Another solution, Redivie, which proposes to be an intermediary between individuals and brands that are getting into second-hand. Some brands have already set up their second-hand sites: Redoute with La Reboucle, Okaidi with IDTROC, and Stella McCartney with The RealReal.
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