Vestiaire Collective experiences?

[Gabs007]

Yay. Purchase received today. As described, better colour than I expected (had not seen the colour IRL). So pleased. But already tempted by something else.

Do you know where the seller sent from? I had lately quite bad experiences with the DHL service they offer, first it was really there in between 1 and 3 days, lately in the UK they take a week.

 

[Polaremil]

I don't know, from my experience and the experience of a few friends, they desperately seem to want to find flaws now just to show that they are on the ball, or possibly because somebody working for them wants the item for a lower price than already listed, sometimes things seem a bit shady...

I am seriously hoping a few new players enter the designer resale market and give the big ones a bit of a run for the money.

While I am delighted with VC cracking down on fakes, there is a certain arrogance about them that often rubs me totally the wrong way,

I have also suspected that they sell to acquaintances or themselves when they insist on really low prices or when they find faults that should have been covered by the condition status and general description.

Do you know where the seller sent from? I had lately quite bad experiences with the DHL service they offer, first it was really there in between 1 and 3 days, lately in the UK they take a week.

The Netherlands, I believe. The shipping was extremely fast.

 

[Gabs007]

I have also suspected that they sell to acquaintances or themselves when they insist on really low prices or when they find faults that should have been covered by the condition status and general description.



The Netherlands, I believe. The shipping was extremely fast.

A friend sold a Hermes Kelly she inherited and didn't like, the price was so knocked down, quoting resale value is low blah blah, the same bag was sold as soon as she listed, then sold by VC for a considerably higher price, for a while the price dumping was really nuts and totally put me off from selling...

I think the UK DHL is quite bad, whenever I check the tracking, they pick it up from the drop off store, then it sits in their Birmingham warehouse for a week before they ship it on, for the buyer it must look like I am a lazy sender

 

[Annie J]

I don't know, from my experience and the experience of a few friends, they desperately seem to want to find flaws now just to show that they are on the ball, or possibly because somebody working for them wants the item for a lower price than already listed, sometimes things seem a bit shady...

I am seriously hoping a few new players enter the designer resale market and give the big ones a bit of a run for the money.

While I am delighted with VC cracking down on fakes, there is a certain arrogance about them that often rubs me totally the wrong way,

I have also suspected that they sell to acquaintances or themselves when they insist on really low prices or when they find faults that should have been covered by the condition status and general description.

They always did say in the FAQs that they had the option as a company to buy at the agreed price, so if you think they’re really undervaluing something like an obviously saleable Kelly or Birkin at the listing stage, it’s important you hold out for what you know is market value.

As regards finding flaws in order to buy themselves at QC stage I can imagine you might conceivably get the odd rogue employee trying that, but doubt it would be accepted practice. Of course it would still have to be offered to the original buyer at the lower price anyway, so unless the original buyer is a friend ... suppose it’s not impossible, and it has crossed my mind, but I wouldn’t like to accuse them of it, I think I don’t have any real evidence to support it. The original buyer took my item at the original price, anyway. I think they genuinely are trying to make their reputation for QC better now, maybe sometimes being over zealous, I don’t know: they’ve passed all the items I’ve sent in except for one thing a long time ago, and I’ve sold an awful lot. They’ve actually passed all the items I’ve sold since the changes too. I’m really clear and incredibly detailed in my descriptions to make sure they can’t query it. I tend not to rely on the general condition criteria so they’d be hard pushed to query compliance. So far, so good.

I’m actually quite surprised that people are still finding them arrogant; I’ve occasionally encountered that in the past, agreed, but even then mostly not, to be honest, and when I’ve phoned recently I’ve found them to be bending over backwards to help. Perhaps I’ve just been lucky, but I have been noticing a more optimistic and cheerful sort of helpfulness recently.

When I look at some of the other sites, it doesn’t really look like I’d get more for my items; I went looking in hope and expectation actually but was a bit disappointed! I guess the truth is that however great some of these things we sell are, they’re still second hand and even if NWT, the customer is taking the risk that they’ll have something unsuitable that they can’t return, to a private seller. Re-listing isn’t a bad option in the pre-owned market, and they get a good price, we get at least something, it’s all a trade-off.

Quality competition will always be a good thing. I may try Joli Closet again one of these days but to be honest I’d rather keep it simple at the moment.

 

[Annie J]

A friend sold a Hermes Kelly she inherited and didn't like, the price was so knocked down, quoting resale value is low blah blah, the same bag was sold as soon as she listed, then sold by VC for a considerably higher price, for a while the price dumping was really nuts and totally put me off from selling...

I think the UK DHL is quite bad, whenever I check the tracking, they pick it up from the drop off store, then it sits in their Birmingham warehouse for a week before they ship it on, for the buyer it must look like I am a lazy sender

I think it’s been a combination of a little slowness from DHL if you use a drop off store, and delays currently at the VC warehouse in acknowledging things that have actually been delivered, with the higher sales.

 

[Annie J]

Yay. Purchase received today. As described, better colour than I expected (had not seen the colour IRL). So pleased. But already tempted by something else.

 

[Gabs007]

They always did say in the FAQs that they had the option as a company to buy at the agreed price, so if you think they’re really undervaluing something like an obviously saleable Kelly or Birkin at the listing stage, it’s important you hold out for what you know is market value.

As regards finding flaws in order to buy themselves at QC stage I can imagine you might conceivably get the odd rogue employee trying that, but doubt it would be accepted practice. Of course it would still have to be offered to the original buyer at the lower price anyway, so unless the original buyer is a friend ... suppose it’s not impossible, and it has crossed my mind, but I wouldn’t like to accuse them of it, I think I don’t have any real evidence to support it. The original buyer took my item at the original price, anyway. I think they genuinely are trying to make their reputation for QC better now, maybe sometimes being over zealous, I don’t know: they’ve passed all the items I’ve sent in except for one thing a long time ago, and I’ve sold an awful lot. They’ve actually passed all the items I’ve sold since the changes too. I’m really clear and incredibly detailed in my descriptions to make sure they can’t query it. I tend not to rely on the general condition criteria so they’d be hard pushed to query compliance. So far, so good.

I’m actually quite surprised that people are still finding them arrogant; I’ve occasionally encountered that in the past, agreed, but even then mostly not, to be honest, and when I’ve phoned recently I’ve found them to be bending over backwards to help. Perhaps I’ve just been lucky, but I have been noticing a more optimistic and cheerful sort of helpfulness recently.

When I look at some of the other sites, it doesn’t really look like I’d get more for my items; I went looking in hope and expectation actually but was a bit disappointed! I guess the truth is that however great some of these things we sell are, they’re still second hand and even if NWT, the customer is taking the risk that they’ll have something unsuitable that they can’t return, to a private seller. Re-listing isn’t a bad option in the pre-owned market, and they get a good price, we get at least something, it’s all a trade-off.

Quality competition will always be a good thing. I may try Joli Closet again one of these days but to be honest I’d rather keep it simple at the moment.

I always list on both, and as I said, atm my experiences with JC are better than with VC, I honestly have no crazy ideas about what I want for an item and the fact that on JC you can't switch off offers is a bit annoying, I much rather list as cheap as I am willing to part with the item, if somebody buys it, great, if not, well then not, but the habit of trying to make the lowest offer possible and expect an almost new designer item for the price of "supermaret's own brand" is a bit of a tendency. With the move getting nearer, yes I want to get rid of stuff, but then if I am giving away items, I rather give them to friends or charities than to some vulture with an entitlement complex.

Totally funny though, I sold some Vivienne Westwood shoes that I bought but int he end never wore them, new with box and all, and somebody told me they would buy them for 50, my reply was "I bet you would, but I think for 100 they are quite cheap and you might have noticed I am not taking offers", total melt down, threats to report me for rudeness and all that, so I pulled them, I might actually relist them for a higher price, just to annoy that particular vulture

 

[Annie J]

I always list on both, and as I said, atm my experiences with JC are better than with VC, I honestly have no crazy ideas about what I want for an item and the fact that on JC you can't switch off offers is a bit annoying, I much rather list as cheap as I am willing to part with the item, if somebody buys it, great, if not, well then not, but the habit of trying to make the lowest offer possible and expect an almost new designer item for the price of "supermaret's own brand" is a bit of a tendency. With the move getting nearer, yes I want to get rid of stuff, but then if I am giving away items, I rather give them to friends or charities than to some vulture with an entitlement complex.

Totally funny though, I sold some Vivienne Westwood shoes that I bought but int he end never wore them, new with box and all, and somebody told me they would buy them for 50, my reply was "I bet you would, but I think for 100 they are quite cheap and you might have noticed I am not taking offers", total melt down, threats to report me for rudeness and all that, so I pulled them, I might actually relist them for a higher price, just to annoy that particular vulture

No, I don’t think you have crazy ideas about prices. I just realised I had to adjust my expectations sometimes, with brands like Diane von F, Roksanda, Dolce & Gabbana, The Row, Maison Margiela, Prada, Miu Miu, Jimmy Choo, all new, they just don’t seem to sell if they’re priced too high, even if NWT and quite recent (so thank goodness at least for the lower commission). It would be different with an Hermès bag, they and a few different things hold value in a different way to most designer things.

I have to be honest that at times when I’ve persuaded VC to let me list higher than they thought I should - not high, just higher - the items have just not sold.

As luck would have it I’ve sold at similar prices quicker on VC and had to pull from JC because of that, but I expect that was just luck, I wouldn’t suggest JC wasn’t as good, just didn’t sell there as quickly on these very few occasions I tried in both places. Actually the items were priced lower on JC yet attracted no attention at all, but sold quickly on VC. It must be largely chance. I’m all in favour of decent competition coming on the scene.

I do occasionally pull and re-list higher after a while, if I’ve reduced a price and still had no sale, and more often than not the item sells quite quickly after re-listing at the higher price. I guess it’s sometimes just visibility.

I know I said before, if I make an offer on an item I never offer the minimum 70%, I always try to be fair. It is annoying when people make silly offers in the messages when the item’s already priced low. If I’ve turned offers off on an individual item, it means it’s at the lowest price I could sell for. I reply patiently but am quietly irritated!

I’m wondering who that particular buyer thought they could report you to?! I’m not sure anyone’s going to ban you from the site for eventually being a little irritable with a persistent buyer offering you £30 or £50 for a £1500 item (I’ve had it happen!).

 

[Gabs007]

I am usually putting the things on for 1/5th to 1/10th of what I paid for them, some items have a notoriously low resale price, like Temperley. What I noticed is that on JC I do tend to list a bit higher as people want to negotiate, if you list too low they seem to think something is wrong with it... Odd...

Never tried the relisting, but good point, yes, visibility or listing at a quiet time might be the issue,

I have honestly no idea, I invited her to report me and asked her to let it rest, I made it clear that I am not selling for the price she can afford, she then decided I have a problem, after she plastered 27 messages (you do have to reply to each of them or you lose trusted seller status), I ended up just posting "See above, thank you, hope you find the item you like for a price you can afford" as a reply to avoid getting into a spat but she totally went nuts, I called VC, they said they would remove her comments, 4 days later still not, so I pulled the item. I think it was just a frustrated teenager who wanted something badly and was super stroppy that her wish was not my command.

On the bright side, a friend said she now instagrams all of her stuff, with a link to the site where she is selling, but a lot of people contact her on instagram, I haven't asked much, but apparently in a lot of cases people are eager to cut out the middle man, not sure if I am comfy with that, as I do like the idea of the item being checked and then the sale is done.... I always wondered about the "general signs of wear" description because it is actually very non descriptive, but maybe that is also a reaction to VC being really arsy about stuff?

 

[Annie J]

I am usually putting the things on for 1/5th to 1/10th of what I paid for them, some items have a notoriously low resale price, like Temperley. What I noticed is that on JC I do tend to list a bit higher as people want to negotiate, if you list too low they seem to think something is wrong with it... Odd...

Never tried the relisting, but good point, yes, visibility or listing at a quiet time might be the issue,

I have honestly no idea, I invited her to report me and asked her to let it rest, I made it clear that I am not selling for the price she can afford, she then decided I have a problem, after she plastered 27 messages (you do have to reply to each of them or you lose trusted seller status), I ended up just posting "See above, thank you, hope you find the item you like for a price you can afford" as a reply to avoid getting into a spat but she totally went nuts, I called VC, they said they would remove her comments, 4 days later still not, so I pulled the item. I think it was just a frustrated teenager who wanted something badly and was super stroppy that her wish was not my command.

On the bright side, a friend said she now instagrams all of her stuff, with a link to the site where she is selling, but a lot of people contact her on instagram, I haven't asked much, but apparently in a lot of cases people are eager to cut out the middle man, not sure if I am comfy with that, as I do like the idea of the item being checked and then the sale is done.... I always wondered about the "general signs of wear" description because it is actually very non descriptive, but maybe that is also a reaction to VC being really arsy about stuff?

“General signs of wear” in the seller’s description, do you mean? Yes I guess could be trying to cover all bases to preempt over-zealous QC. I think I wouldn’t buy something that said that on it though, unless it were from a professional seller and I could return, too much room for concealment of flaws. I don’t think I’d want to use that phrase in any of my descriptions, it’s too vague. Logically there’s always going to be a tension at QC between buyer and seller interests and opinion, with condition of pre-owned goods being so potentially subjective. My strategy is just always to describe every single thing that could conceivably be considered a flaw and downgrade the condition category probably to lower than necessary if there is even the slightest room for subjective differences, so there’s nothing that could possibly be argued with. An uncut thread at a concealed seam end (my item was a very similar thing, and the item was NWT) or a disagreement about shoe colour, though, kind of hard to cover for! (I still think it’s bonkers for LK Bennett to have called a pinkish-nude shoe “Marshmallow” which set you up for a fall on that one. I’m pale pink. Pale blush IS nude anyway and what is the definition of beige, exactly?!). Hopefully it just doesn’t happen too often. Guess I’ve been lucky with nearly 150 sales only to have had one query and a reasonable buyer who thought the item was quite cheap enough already and the ‘flaw’ was insignificant.

Yes, have to reply to all of those mad offers to stay recommended ... If it’s a blatantly ridiculous offer, I’ll give a polite and very full reply as to why I’m not taking offers the first time, thereafter like you, something just like, “Please see my previous reply”. I’ve seen a lot of people just write “I’m sorry don’t accept offers” or “Please use the offer function” or “The price is final. Thank you.” Guess that’s enough really.

 

[Gabs007]

“General signs of wear” in the seller’s description, do you mean? Yes I guess could be trying to cover all bases to preempt over-zealous QC. I think I wouldn’t buy something that said that on it though, unless it were from a professional seller and I could return, too much room for concealment of flaws. I don’t think I’d want to use that phrase in any of my descriptions, it’s too vague. Logically there’s always going to be a tension at QC between buyer and seller interests and opinion, with condition of pre-owned goods being so potentially subjective. My strategy is just always to describe every single thing that could conceivably be considered a flaw and downgrade the condition category probably to lower than necessary if there is even the slightest room for subjective differences, so there’s nothing that could possibly be argued with. An uncut thread at a concealed seam end (my item was a very similar thing, and the item was NWT) or a disagreement about shoe colour, though, kind of hard to cover for! (I still think it’s bonkers for LK Bennett to have called a pinkish-nude shoe “Marshmallow” which set you up for a fall on that one. I’m pale pink. Pale blush IS nude anyway and what is the definition of beige, exactly?!). Hopefully it just doesn’t happen too often. Guess I’ve been lucky with nearly 150 sales only to have had one query and a reasonable buyer who thought the item was quite cheap enough already and the ‘flaw’ was insignificant.

Yes, have to reply to all of those mad offers to stay recommended ... If it’s a blatantly ridiculous offer, I’ll give a polite and very full reply as to why I’m not taking offers the first time, thereafter like you, something just like, “Please see my previous reply”. I’ve seen a lot of people just write “I’m sorry don’t accept offers” or “Please use the offer function” or “The price is final. Thank you.” Guess that’s enough really.

If I buy something that is listed as good, I expect general signs of wear, nothing major but I don't expect a new item, with very good, I think the signs of wear should be tiny, not visible when worn, for example if the soles of shoes show a bit of wear, not a problem, a scratch on the upper would be a problem, with new I expect new, I sold shoes today that I only listed as good because the soles had really tiny signs of wear (you get that with leather shoes even if you just walk to the car) and put a note in, that I listed them as only good but due to recent events and comments I have seen on forums, would they please clarify if I need to list every single sign of wear on a shoe now or if their website statement of what is good or very good is still valid...

Oh and got a mail from them about the horror, that they got a notification and encourage me to be friendlier, wrote back and said I contacted them to remove the 20 odd comments she left insulting and threatening me, since that didn't happen I removed the item

 

[Annie J]

If I buy something that is listed as good, I expect general signs of wear, nothing major but I don't expect a new item, with very good, I think the signs of wear should be tiny, not visible when worn, for example if the soles of shoes show a bit of wear, not a problem, a scratch on the upper would be a problem, with new I expect new, I sold shoes today that I only listed as good because the soles had really tiny signs of wear (you get that with leather shoes even if you just walk to the car) and put a note in, that I listed them as only good but due to recent events and comments I have seen on forums, would they please clarify if I need to list every single sign of wear on a shoe now or if their website statement of what is good or very good is still valid...

Agreed on condition. It’ll be interesting to hear if you get a response; maybe a detailed email might get a useful clarification too. I’m going to continue putting in every detail I possibly can, just to be safe. Takes ages though!

Oh and got a mail from them about the horror, that they got a notification and encourage me to be friendlier, wrote back and said I contacted them to remove the 20 odd comments she left insulting and threatening me, since that didn't happen I removed the item

Hmm. She actually went through with it then! What a peculiar thing to do. Uncomfortable perhaps for you to get an email like that, but something tells me you won’t take it to heart!

You can get peculiar sellers as well as buyers like that. I was making offers on a bag about a year ago; I started off with something like an 85% offer, I didn’t want to insult with a 70% minimum offer when it’s a good bag; she declined, with no counter-offer. Fair enough, it’s a negotiation. So then I offer 90%, declined, still no counter-offer. So I offer 95%, also declined with no counter offer, and I have to wait 24 hours before I could offer again anyway. And there is only 5% left to offer before we’re back at full price anyway! She just maybe shouldn’t have the offer function switched on ... Or she’s sold the bag somewhere else and ought to delete the listing. Actually I saw she sold it at a lower price later, so I don’t know what was going on! Sometimes buyer and seller behaviour defies logic. Anyway, small problems, just irritating in a minor way.

 

[Gabs007]

I guess she is still smarting that I didn't want to sell her those show, new and in box, with card and receipt for 50 Euros... After all they only retail for £1400 so asking 100 for it was hardly wanting an extortionate price

 

[Annie J]

I guess she is still smarting that I didn't want to sell her those show, new and in box, with card and receipt for 50 Euros... After all they only retail for £1400 so asking 100 for it was hardly wanting an extortionate price

Wow.

Yes, I’ve experienced the same - not quite such extreme rudeness and an actual complaint, but rudely toned demands with no please, or thank you or even “would you consider” for me to accept £30 or £50 for a brand new perfect £1500 item that I’m listing for something like £100-£150. I reply politely and firmly but it’s a real nuisance if they keep on and on.

Actually part of why I hate it when I have to list too low is that it encourages even lower offers. I think I said before somewhere in this thread, and you raised a similar point a few posts back, where you suspected someone thought there must be something wrong with an item if it was priced so low: there is such a thing as “reassuringly expensive”. Sometimes I think the lower prices simply attract the wrong buyers, and those buyers who would be prepared to pay a price that reflects the quality and condition of the piece don’t always look in the lower price categories, so pricing low for quick sale isn’t always a strategy that works. If we were all allowed to list a bit higher, it could conceivably attract different buyers and lead to more sales. I can’t point to the research to prove this, I just have a feeling! Meantime we can only price for the market that is there, but to ask to pay even less when something’s already incredibly low is a bit mad.

 

[Gabs007]

Wow.

Yes, I’ve experienced the same - not quite such extreme rudeness and an actual complaint, but rudely toned demands with no please, or thank you or even “would you consider” for me to accept £30 or £50 for a brand new perfect £1500 item that I’m listing for something like £100-£150. I reply politely and firmly but it’s a real nuisance if they keep on and on.

Actually part of why I hate it when I have to list too low is that it encourages even lower offers. I think I said before somewhere in this thread, and you raised a similar point a few posts back, where you suspected someone thought there must be something wrong with an item if it was priced so low: there is such a thing as “reassuringly expensive”. Sometimes I think the lower prices simply attract the wrong buyers, and those buyers who would be prepared to pay a price that reflects the quality and condition of the piece don’t always look in the lower price categories, so pricing low for quick sale isn’t always a strategy that works. If we were all allowed to list a bit higher, it could conceivably attract different buyers and lead to more sales. I can’t point to the research to prove this, I just have a feeling! Meantime we can only price for the market that is there, but to ask to pay even less when something’s already incredibly low is a bit mad.

She actually lectured me that she would do me a favour by buying them, I then replied that if I want to give them away, I certainly will consider friends or a charity shop, but not going through the trouble of listing them on VC.

Oh there is totally something about low priced listed items, before I went into personal PR, I did a lot for blue chip companies, with one very well known and rather high end car manufacturer there was a slight issue with an high end car not selling as well as expected, actually lagging behind when they usually had waiting lists, I did suggest to rebrand and market for more, they did a few minimal changes, just to justify giving it another name and charged 1/4th more, and people actually had to go on the waiting list, again, to get the car...

I think most of the resale sites concentrate on a quick turn over and think they are attracting a new clientel, when in fact they are not, the people who can afford them will not sell with them as there is too little return and also not buy because it is a bit of a turn off if the item you paid a lot of money for is available for anyone cheaply, it diminished the value of a brand, which in the end isn't good for the site as well...