I did that a few times, just going down 1 Euro and they accepted then, LOL, I guess they just tried it on
Vestiaire Collective experiences?
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I did that a few times, just going down 1 Euro and they accepted then, LOL, I guess they just tried it on
Recently they stood still and had to pull out things so the artsy situation was a nice surprise
Sorry. Over the last few months including May they were pretty stubborn and pushed very low prices despite my counter offers so when I reached third attempt, had to pull my item and try again (hoping it would a different person).
They haven't done that with me yet, but I listed a ton of really high end clothes all for 100 to 150 and switched off offers, I still get idiots asking me to sell for 50 and having hissy fits if I tell them "no thanks"
If I completely disagree with a VC pricing suggestion I will phone or email them stating my reasons and then submit again. Sometimes I think what happens is that they generalise over brand and category too much without recognising that a particular item is special/more recent/still available retail at a high price or only just sold out. I expect they do it for speed sometimes when assessing a lot of submissions. I don’t really think they’re generally trying to force you down for the sake of it, to be honest. As regards whether I get proved right or not, it’s variable. Sometimes I’ve persuaded them to let me price higher and the item hasn’t sold for absolutely ages, and I had to reduce it. They were right, and we sellers need to take into account that the market for second hand things is mostly not made up of the same people with the same budget as the market for retail, just as buyers need to take into account that pre-owned in ‘very good condition’ at a fraction of the price can’t be expected to be exactly the same as new unless it’s been sold as brand new in the description. But like you say, I still would prefer the reduction to be my decision. Sometimes I’ve held out firmly then got my desired price the first day the item is listed. I suppose in both scenarios it can also be just a matter of luck. Each item only needs to find the one person who will buy it, ultimately. ‘Market value’ is a very imprecise concept with second hand sales; they try to apply it, but the variables are more variable than most!
If buyers do that in the comments, trying to get an item much lower than the asking price, I direct them nicely to the offer function. At least then they’ll get that they can’t offer less than 70% of the price the item is on for. And if I’ve switched offers on an item off, it’s for good reason, and I’ll tell them that. If they persist I just reply ‘No, thank you. Please refer to my previous answer’ or similar.
It’s not as if we are profiting on these items we bought new and are already selling for so much less. Those of us who are not professionals have not been sourcing the items at good prices, and people who are doing that are working hard doing all their sourcing and they deserve any profit they make on that basis. I’m just someone selling on things I bought at full retail, or best case scenario in a ‘private’ sale. I expect a loss, and I’m happy if something I liked but can’t use goes to an appreciative home, but I don’t want to give things away for a silly price. As lots of us have said before, I’d prefer to donate.
Think i avoided the losses calculation for a long time but as I'm still an analyst deep at heart, I had to do that and it was an eye opener. All bags bought thinking yeah it's nice i can always sell it when i get bored just materialised in one massive chain of negative numbers. Especially now when I'd love to buy a new Kelly without touching my savings. Heyho. I also don't feel like I want to fund a luxury items for those who are smarter than me.
Having said that we'll see what future brings and thank you for your words
Think that was never my intentionI previously took the approach that stuff from non-prime designers are not possible to sell, not to mention high street bags/clothes so I succumbed to the option of just buying prime stuff for the reason of enjoyment and was glad i can sell it at all if bored.
But it happened for various reasons recently (size, health related, long story including getting drunk due to my intolerance for alcohol and buying very expensive but impractical for my life LV Capucines a few hours before my flight LOL) I traded almost brand new bags and just felt bad about my effort (multiple price negotations with VC, buyers, handling stupid questions i mean stupid ones) money and time I could have spent on something else/drink/eat/travel (that includes time spent on planning to buy and actually going to London to buy etc.). Also seeing that spreadsheet was tough.
My husband said it would have been better if I kept them but dislike clutter. So you see refraining from shopping or shopping at the houses expensive enough to prevent from the walk-in purchases might be the option for me.
I really enjoy buying and wearing great quality fashion. Everything I sell pretty much was brand new to me and is still unused, or a mistake I wore once. The trouble is that existence of VC makes me more likely to make poor buying decisions because I know I can recoup some of the outlay, though I know I’ll lose money, and I’m a little in denial by avoiding putting figures on it. It won’t break the bank, I don’t spend what I can’t afford, but still I am aware I’m being a bit wasteful and casual. I want to tighten that up, and I have done to a great extent, you are not alone in this! It is a bit depressing to waste hard earned money, affordable or not. So I think you did a very wise thing by making yourself look at the sobering figures, and concentrating on getting your reward instead from buying things that make you pause a little more before impulse buying.
I do think I kid myself a bit when it comes to how much I might be able to recoup and how far that mitigates ill-judged purchases. At least I feel I never kid myself that I’m buying things as an investment, though. There’s no such thing in the fashion world, I would think, apart from the odd very limited edition or iconic vintage piece, or maybe the whole Kelly/Birkin thing (off-topic: which I avoid and don’t know a lot about, because I feel Hermès maybe manipulates customers a bit more than I’m comfortable with. The bags are very nice, I can understand wanting one, but I don’t really want to ‘develop a relationship’ with an SA or boutique. Maybe it’s not really necessary to do that, I’m only going by what I read on TPF which may be an unbalanced picture. I don’t want to pay over the odds for a pre-owned Hermès, either, really, but I expect I would if I really hankered after one. I do understand it, they are lovely bags, it just happens I’m more of a Fendi person). Gabs’s special classic vintage items she mentioned in her post to Oikasecondhand might be investments, that sort of thing. And actually it still makes sense that when buying higher end things at least you can recoup some money, and as we’ve all said before, they hopefully impact the environment a little less, even if the ‘investment’ argument holds little water. I think it just helps to develop self awareness, about how often you’re doing it and when it’s gone too far. I think you’ve been quite brave, checking the figures! It gives you an objective handle on it.
One of my worst habits: buying the same thing in two sizes. My weight fluctuates a lot for health reasons. Sometimes I get two sizes of a skirt or trousers or dress, because I’ve also bought the top or jacket or shoes or bag to wear with them, which are generally more amenable to size changes, so I only got those items in one size, and I think I want to be able to wear the whole outfit in the event of fluctuations. So I basically tell myself it’s ‘an investment’ to buy the additional skirt/trousers/dress, in that it means I will be able to make more use out of the other bits. It’s an in-demand new piece and I won’t be able to get the other size later if I decide I need it, I tell myself. Then I realise I don’t really like the outfit in the bigger size anyway. So I eventually end up selling it, unworn, with tags, at a loss. I should recognise how often this happens and just stop doing it. It’s been quite rare I’ve actually made use of both sizes. I do not like the same clothes sized up from when I’m an Italian 44 to when I’m an Italian 46, or vice versa. I like different sorts of clothes when I’m a different size. It’s way past time I applied this knowledge with a little more consistency to my actions!
Never had luck with phoning them, and I do speak French quite fluently. I think they are a bit too disjointed and the different departments are not really connected.
I am selling notoriously low, some of the items I sold were offered again by the people I suspect bought them (the ones who asked a lot of questions) but for a much higher price, doesn't bug me much as I list to clear out and as you said, not like you make a profit anyway, but to be honest, if somebody offers a ridiculously low price and has a hissy fit that I decline, there is no way in hell I would give them the item. Last one is some doofus who wants to buy a Celine bag for 80. Sometimes you really got to wonder if they have no idea, just see an item on instagram and decide they deserve it, and somebody else should pay for it. If it goes for too low a price, I rather donate, give a friend a present...
I think the departments have been very disjointed but they are starting to build connections more now; it seems to be reflected in emails and phone calls I’ve had lately. And in the past I have found emailing first then calling to discuss the email really helps, they can see the points in front of them, and see the outcome I’m looking for, and I ask them to take it to the relevant department. I haven’t always got exactly what I wanted, I don’t suppose it’ll ever be perfection, but it’s a two-way street and I’ve been happy with the accommodations both ways, generally. My French is nowhere near good enough to negotiate. I really envy you your fluency!
Yes I would sell lower to clear out too, often I do, annoying maybe to see them resold higher, but it’s a decision you’ve taken and it helps clear the decks, doesn’t it? There are some things I’d stick to my higher price on regardless, it’s a complicated psychological decision as much as anything else!
I did get to that point, emailed them showing examples of similar items being priced 2x what I was quoted, then got 3 generic replies, asked to speak to a manager (in the meantime the item was allowed by a different pricing person at my price) so the manager said - you're fine and and. I of course understand their point, but I have a history of pretty quick sales regardless the price (I provide items with full set, receipts, rather new and have number of followers etc.) therefore keen to get it at my price which always is super reasonable and open to further negotiations.
I'm not paid yet per hour what my husband is but really that time could be used better, hence my lack of interest in selling anything (and buying).
LOL, given that French was my 3rd language and English my 4th, it's not that difficult really, plus I endured years of boarding school in a French speaking part of Switzerland (hated it, but that is another story), on the other hand, I am seriously numberolexic, to the point that if I do a transfer I need to copy and paste, people think I make it up, but it is pretty much like dyslexia just with numbers. Guess you can't have it all and I will never have a career as an accountant.
While lately the people you speak to are perfectly polite and nice (which makes a nice difference to the previous situation with the bored guy who brushed you off and the standard replies that showed that they didn't even read your mail), they let it slip that there is no real influence they have. Seriously, I do wonder how you get anywhere with them, I reached the point of giving up. Mind you in the event of that skirt they let me have so much cheaper, I called them and said I am so happy with it and find it unfair to the seller and would like to pay the full price and the seller to get the full price (it was already listed cheap) and was just told can't be done....
Yes I agree that the pricing team probably fails to take into account your good selling history, followers and reliability, and sometimes that you want to leave some room for negotiation with buyers. Possibly some less experienced members of the curation department adhere to the blunt tool of the rules more than others do. I do find increasingly as I’ve sold such a lot that I can refer to that and point out I know what I’m doing and am reliable and fair. On the whole I’m happy-ish with the prices I end up setting.
And yes ... I could be using my time more productively too. Sometimes I think I use the selling (not to mention the associated posting on TPF!) as a distraction from real issues as much as I do the retail therapy!
I’d settle for being multilingual any day!
They’ve definitely got rid of some the bored CS people, or cheered them up somehow, and the stock emails are getting fewer and further between. I really think they are starting to link things up and empower employees more; I think the change of CEO has brought a change of culture, but we won’t see it all happen at once.
I can’t believe how much time I spend thinking about this! Definitely an avoidance technique, there are other things I should be doing ...
Oh the totally funny thing was, I saw an item and thought I have to have it, only to find out it is actually a dress I bought and listed as it didn't work for me as well as I thought. It kind of made me sit back and rethink buying
