Vestiaire Collective experiences?

[Annie J]

I totally understand that people have issues with VC, I had them too and expect will have them in the future, but this looked like something completely different, if QC refuses an item, it is NOT sent to the buyer.

I’m confused as to how the date on the certificate of inauthenticity predates the sale. I think the poster must have muddled something up.

Or maybe the poster’s purchase was actually earlier than that, and it just looks like the date was 14 May because that’s the day VC accepted them back? An IT blip? They happen.

But anyway, if as you have checked out, the shoes are not actually back on sale, as you say, mistakes happen, Vestiaire have put their mistake right, accepted responsibility and made restitution. I think the poster must be mistaking a ‘Sold’ listing for an active one as you say (haven’t looked). And it does look like they would have refunded because of the condition being more worn than originally stated. I’m not convinced they’re fake, I’ve seen different versions of those trainers with different finishes and logos. Designers do make samples and use them on runways then sell them off (I think you had a sample piece you were wanting to sell yourself, didn’t you?), or models get to keep them and sell them off. I’m trying at the moment to get hold of something from one designer’s runway that never made it into production, it’s genuine, but unknown. Authenticators don’t always get it right in those cases, even if they did see the pair that was sold through Vestiaire.

 

[Gabs007]

By the way, did you know you can always see who bought your items? If you click on the Vestiaire profile pic next to the ‘Congrats your item has been sold’ message in app notifications, it takes you to the profile of the buyer. You can’t always message them direct because they won’t necessarily look at messages on the sold item and won’t get notified unless they’re already in a conversation with you there, but if they have anything for sale themselves you can try there. I noticed a new button on the phone app this week, ‘Contact the seller’, separate from the ‘Comments’ button. It doesn’t seem to have appeared elsewhere yet. Maybe we’ll get a ‘Contact the buyer’ button too, that would be useful.

I don't use the app, for my own protection, I have a bad impulsive shopping habit anyway, so imagine me waiting at the airport or waiting for a Drs appointment, being on the train... I would end up ordering like crazy

 

[Annie J]

I don't use the app, for my own protection, I have a bad impulsive shopping habit anyway, so imagine me waiting at the airport or waiting for a Drs appointment, being on the train... I would end up ordering like crazy

My most vulnerable time is when I’ve had to take my painkillers ... everything suddenly looks so desirable!!

 

[Gabs007]

My most vulnerable time is when I’ve had to take my painkillers ... everything suddenly looks so desirable!!

With me it is more when i am feeling a bit frustrated, like just fixed a work problem, possibly spent hours and hours on something totally avoidable, set the client down, explained exactly what they did was wrong and why they should not do it again, and 2 days later they do it AGAIN.... I tend to then use retail therapy and often ended up buying something, packed it away because I was busy, weeks later figured it is not quite me, the shoes are pretty but I couldn't wear them for hours, the bag is not quite the size that I like or an ornament on it is an overkill for my personal taste, a colour shade doesn't work, a dress or a skirt just isn't me totally or I don't have the occasion to wear it, the usual stuff, stuff that usually ends up on a resale site with QC as I don't want to deal with moody buyers that never will be happy, returns and all that. I see it as recycling and giving somebody who will hopefully appreciate it the chance to have something that would be out of their financial comfort zone, and like you I tend to give a lot of the proceeds to homeless charities or the Dog's Trust. I feel that this way it isn't wasted, and I am sort of like, once I spent the money, it is gone, I don't actually buy stuff with resale value in mind.

 

[bisousx]

To be honest, I bought and sold through VC and found it actually better as a buyer, you can buy items very cheaply, it does show the item location, so you do have an idea how long it takes, depending on where you are, yes it does take time, if you do want immediate delivery, it is not for you, but you usually do not get immediate delivery and the much reduced price you get on VC, to expect the item straight away and much cheaper than a shop, it doesn't work. You have the option of paying full price and getting it immediate from a shop, or you get it cheaper and wait, to expect both is simply unrealistic.

Look, I am in the UK, I make a point to send within 2 or 3 days, as I think it is common courtesy, it still sometimes takes 2 to 3 weeks to reach them if they are using ParcelForce, especially since Paris had a few protests. They can't beam items, usually it was pretty straight forward, there was one occasion where the seller flaked out and didn't send, and yes, i had to wait about a month until I got my money back but I knew that in advance.

As for the screenshot, there should be one in this thread somewhere, posted one before. It could be that your seller doesn't have that, could be for various reasons, maybe she cancelled a sale, makes you lose the trusted seller status, maybe she didn't reply fast enough to some questions or did not bother to reply because somebody just made a stupid comment (you sometimes get a "Hi there, I want to buy it for peanuts") and you actually have to reply, if a buyer asks to cancel a sale and you agree, as the seller you lose trusted seller status, as somebody said in the thread earlier, nobody knows when you get trusted seller status

If she has sent the item, what do you think VC or the seller should do if it is on the way? Wave a magic wand?

As for accepting returns, seriously? I am prepared to pay VC a commission to not deal with buyers who have buyer's remorse or want to borrow items, as they often do on eBay, I am not there to lend somebody my clothes and bags for free, or to ship them around so somebody can take pictures with them, or use me as their try on wardrobe.

It honestly seems that you want the items much much cheaper, straight away, and then return if you don't like them, well, you get that on NetAPorter, FarFetch and a few other companies, it is not much of a problem, but you pay full price. As my granny would have said "You can't have your cake and eat it!"

I totally understand wanting items straight away, that is when I go into a shop and pay full price, for some items I need to do that as I can be a bit difficult to fit. Most tops I have to try on to avoid wardrobe malfunctions, unless I know the particular brand and cut, I won't buy it online. As I said, you have 2 choices, spend less and wait or spend full price and straight away, you have to decide what is right for you.

If you want to be able to exchange and get your money back for an item you spent a lot less than retail, who do you think should pay for that? And why should somebody or a company pay for you changing your mind? Even with certain brands or companies, if you exchange too much, you end up banned from buying their items or the SAs will simply sell to somebody else. Cheap, fast, with all the trimmings and the ability to change your mind that is wanting the moon on a stick or a somebody walking into a Hermes shop, expecting a Birkin in the colour she always wanted, the leather she dreamed off and the hardware the way she wants it, but straight away please, for half the price and if she doesn't like it next year, she can bring it back for another model....

Um, I think you’re completely misinterpreting what I said.

Re: returns

I have read reviews about Vestiaire that state that unlike Poshmark or Ebay, Vestiaire will not accept returns if item is not as described. Plenty of people got stuck with an inauthentic item via Vestiaire. Don’t insult me by presuming I would want to buy something from a reselling app to try on and return? Your colorful post’s insinuations are beyond rude.

 

[Gabs007]

Um, I think you’re completely misinterpreting what I said.

Really? You were not complaining that you can't return items or change your mind?

Look, you have been on and on that you don't know if the seller sends the item, then it turns out that the seller has sent it, what else can she do? She is not the postal service, I haven't bought from Russia so far, but I understand it is quite a large country, you knew she was sending from Russia and that it gets shipped to Paris first for QC, don't you think that takes time?

I don't know how much you paid for the item, but I bet it was not anywhere close to what you would pay retail or even pay in a consignment store, most likely a really good bargain, the downside of it is that you have to wait, but nobody can rip you off, because if the item doesn't get send, is different or not authentic, you get the money back. You are a private individual, buying from another private individual, VC is in the middle and acts like an escrow service to make sure you get the item you ordered, and the seller the money, that does take a bit more time than ordering from a shop. Seriously if that makes you so nervous, I think maybe you should only buy new stuff, from the retailers directly, this way you can return, can walk in and pick it up.

Yes, I would be nervous too if I would wait for a long time for an item, but on the other hand the knowledge that I will get my money back would give me peace of mind.

 

[Gabs007]

Um, I think you’re completely misinterpreting what I said.

Re: returns

I have read reviews about Vestiaire that state that unlike Poshmark or Ebay, Vestiaire will not accept returns if item is not as described. Plenty of people got stuck with an inauthentic item via Vestiaire. Don’t insult me by presuming I would want to buy something from a reselling app to try on and return? Your colorful post’s insinuations are beyond rude.

Darling, I think you should simply go to a shop, pay full price, you might want to work weekends for that, you could most likely paid with a credit card or PayPal, so you are covered anyway.

Btw you might have heard about doing your research? And you said yourself you want to return, so please be a bit consistent.

As for what you have read in reviews, well, how verified are they? Oddly enough people could actually do returns, they just do not do returns if you change your mind, or your story, like the seller not sending, then having sent. I think you are a more than inconsistent. There was another post where somebody slammed VC and it also was quite inconsistent, as apparently she got an item that didn't pass QC and had it authenticated.

As for do I think you would want to buy from a reselling app to try on and return? Possibly, I am sure not before you took a lot of pictures for instagram.

Over pages we have tried to explain stuff, you want a screenshot posted of the trusted seller symbol, well yeah I have one, but seriously, since you can't be bothered to search in the thread, I can't be bothered to search my computer.

Have a nice day, year, life, I think I use that ignore feature, I am a bit tired of inconsistent stories, want to return and then acting all insulted because some people are totally upset that somebody wants to buy an item cheap, wants it fast and wants to return.

 

[Annie J]

Um, I think you’re completely misinterpreting what I said.

Re: returns

I have read reviews about Vestiaire that state that unlike Poshmark or Ebay, Vestiaire will not accept returns if item is not as described. Plenty of people got stuck with an inauthentic item via Vestiaire. Don’t insult me by presuming I would want to buy something from a reselling app to try on and return? Your colorful post’s insinuations are beyond rude.

I didn’t think Gabs was insinuating that you would do that yourself. She was really only describing a frequent seller experience and explaining why she felt returns aren’t appropriate with this sort of purchase.

I am honestly trying to be helpful.

It’s not actually factually true that Vestiaire will not accept returns of items not as described, they do not have a “we do not accept returns” policy as you put it in your post. As a seller and buyer on Vestiaire, I don’t want people to be misled about that, just because it’s not true, and also quite legitimately because it could affect my sales and those of other decent sellers.

Policy is that returns are not accepted for items which pass QC and come from a private seller, that’s normal and it’s reasonable. If you just don’t like what you bought, re-listing without them taking a further commission is a very fair offer for this kind of purchase.

Occasionally as with any platform mistakes happen and things make it through QC that should not have done. They have accepted an item I considered not as described back from me, but only once was it needed because other items not matching the description were stopped at QC anyway and I was offered the chance to reject or pay a lower price. Before I ever bought or sold much. I’m not exactly some sort of VIP, we’re all just part of a massive number of buyers and sellers. They treated me fine.

This is what I was meaning about being cautious reading reviews. Vestiaire processes a vast amount of items and the reviews represent only a fraction.

Undoubtedly bad experiences happen with Vestiaire, and more frequently in the past as the business appeared to get swamped and probably somewhat complacent, but people don’t post so much about good experiences, some complaints are based on misunderstanding, or subjective difference of opinion (sometimes people seem to forget that second hand in very good condition is not always going to be as good as new) and some people post a bad review before giving the platform time to sort the problem out. There are even people who are just dishonest. I do not mean in any way at all that I am thinking that applies to you, I really just want to set your mind at rest about your special purchase. I’ve had that pit of my stomach sick feeling when I think I may have made a bad decision with a lot of money.

Sometimes, too frequently probably, Vestiaire has quite clearly wrongly passed something through QC and failed to take adequate timely action when it was brought to their attention. There was a very nice lady here who received a leather jacket with a shredded lining that should have been in very good condition and obviously wasn’t. I can’t remember if she got her refund directly with Vestiaire in the end or if she escalated it quicker with PayPal, because at that time Vestiaire still seemed very slow with sorting out these things. No doubt the odd fake bag, maybe even an obvious one, makes it through. (Some of them are outrageously convincing, there was even a thread where Hermès and Bababebi disagreed about the authenticity of a Kelly. It wasn’t anything to do with Vestiaire). Vestiaire clearly hasn’t in every case given quick and satisfactory restitution in the past.

All the resale sites appear to do this sometimes (and even the retail sites) and if you look at the eBay threads you’ll find dozens of sellers who are really unhappy that eBay pretty much automatically finds in favour of the buyer, because it’s so unfair to sellers, who get scammed quite often.

I wouldn’t want to sell or buy on Vestiaire if it was as universally bad as some reviews make it sound. I and many others have found it a really good option for buying and for selling. There are things I would change if I could (no doubt there would be on PoshMark or eBay too). It’s also very apparent at the moment that they are aiming to revamp their QC process, speed up customer service and eliminate the bad experiences. It was about time they tidied it up and hopefully they’ll pull it off.

It doesn’t sound like you have had a bad experience yet, don’t be too worried by the disproportionate number of negative reviews you see, for every bad one there could be five or ten or a hundred or more good ones. I hope that your bag arrives in the stated time frame and it is passed by QC as authentic and in the appropriate second hand condition described, and you are pleased with it when it arrives.

 

[nicole0612]

My most vulnerable time is when I’ve had to take my painkillers ... everything suddenly looks so desirable!!

This made me laugh so hard! I had a minor procedure last month and was sedated for it with pain meds and sedatives. When I got home I purchased a $12,000 pink birkin on vestiaire that I really didn’t want or need! So I can relate! I would never buy an expensive big pink bag normally!

 

[Annie J]

This made me laugh so hard! I had a minor procedure last month and was sedated for it with pain meds and sedatives. When I got home I purchased a $12,000 pink birkin on vestiaire that I really didn’t want or need! So I can relate! I would never buy an expensive big pink bag normally!

Well, you’ve made me laugh very hard too! Oh dear, one very expensive pink Birkin for re-listing maybe?! Those drugs are powerful things ... very nearly once made me decide on a completely new way of life, and thank goodness nobody was around to make me sign on the dotted line: I’d had major back surgery, and started to come round afterwards in the recovery room, high as a kite, and started asking everyone around me how they were feeling, because “I feel fantastic!! Do you feel fantastic?” and I had a blinding, epiphanic revelation that I now knew exactly what I should do with my life, I was absolutely destined to be a nurse, and it would be wonderful ... I am a hygiene freak, and not in the same way a nurse would be. The world is definitely better off without me as a nurse ...

 

[nicole0612]

Well, you’ve made me laugh very hard too! Oh dear, one very expensive pink Birkin for re-listing maybe?! Those drugs are powerful things ... very nearly once made me decide on a completely new way of life, and thank goodness nobody was around to make me sign on the dotted line: I’d had major back surgery, and started to come round afterwards in the recovery room, high as a kite, and started asking everyone around me how they were feeling, because “I feel fantastic!! Do you feel fantastic?” and I had a blinding, epiphanic revelation that I now knew exactly what I should do with my life, I was absolutely destined to be a nurse, and it would be wonderful ... I am a hygiene freak, and not in the same way a nurse would be. The world is definitely better off without me as a nurse ...

Oh this is too funny!! I can’t really relate! At least I only purchased a weird expensive bag and didn’t start having ideas of changing my profession! Those meds are something else, wow

 

[Polaremil]

Thank you for reminding that sold items can still be seen if you go to their site through a browser. I am lusting after something from an otherwise good seller, but she has been slow to post items in the past...

 

[denimjackets]

Speaking of selling with VC, can anyone experienced with the site tell me how fast your products have sold? Obviously some will sell faster than others but in general, what can someone expect? I want to sell my Hermes jewelry but don't know if I should go with VC or TRR. I know TRR gets lots of traffic but their commission fee is very high.

 

[Polaremil]

Depends on the item and condition. I have sold H bracelets, they sold quickly. One was the enamel H bracelet, the other a CdC. Both like new or unworn condition. But this was back when these items were not readily available on H.com.

 

[Annie J]

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