I’ve also got five or six items which have been wrongly showing up on my ‘awaiting reception’ (or whatever the phrase they use is). Not through concierge, I don’t use that, so it’s a bit different, but both direct shipping and ship-to-VC items. I asked, and they said they were actually in the system as received but were not displaying as such. My guess is they are items that got caught in the middle of some IT change. It’s irritating to get reminders and I would prefer it if they cleared that list, but I have been paid for the items at the correct time, and they haven’t adversely affected my stats, so I’m just ignoring it now.
Vestiaire Collective experiences?
- Thread starter Kopisusu
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OK, I am selling 2 dresses, as they have Notte by Marchesa and Marchesa Notte (well hard to tell, they all say Marchesa Notte and the question to the CS was ignored for 3 times and weeks, same with chat, then finally "Marchesa is the main line, you are listing the diffusion line" sod that, I knew that but I sent you a picture of the label, tell me where you want to list it, that was the question... After weeks and weeks finally the reply "Both is fine" so I thought I do one each, now apparently Notte by Marchesa is fine for direct shipping, Marchesa Notte is not... Which makes me list is as Marchesa Notte, I have to deal with Parcelforce and their delayed shipping but not with buyers not picking up or possibly switching or calculating when it arrives and then manufacturing a flaw and returning.
Ongoing saga with the parcel not updating and VC not responding... DHL (IMHO rightly saying VC issued the label their responsibility to get in touch with them) tried to call DHL again and through some weird fluke somebody looked it up, seems buyer did try to redirect it several times hence the stop in tracking, finally picked it up and showed ID but signed with another name. Tracking now (a month later) shows as delivered so I have to wait out the 72 hours now. Would have been a lot less stress if VC would have deigned to reply, even a "Let us contact DHL and we keep you updated" would have been nice.
I started buying from VC around 2013. Mostly to purchase Hermes scarves. I couldn't be happier with their services. They were very thorough with the inspection process and had good authenticator team.
Fast forward a few years, not only the customer service has declined, but the authenticating process has become increasingly questionable. When they sold me a very obvious fake H scarf (missing copyright, lack of details, etc.) and insisted on its authenticity 3x, I stopped doing business with them completely last year.
I have read many people have similar issue with them. The saddest part is, there are so many good, legit sellers in that platform.
Fast forward a few years, not only the customer service has declined, but the authenticating process has become increasingly questionable. When they sold me a very obvious fake H scarf (missing copyright, lack of details, etc.) and insisted on its authenticity 3x, I stopped doing business with them completely last year.
I have read many people have similar issue with them. The saddest part is, there are so many good, legit sellers in that platform.
I think as a buyer paying with PP and CC you are quite well protected, I sometimes do wonder a bit who does the authentication, from a seller's POV (clearing out a lot of stuff due to upcoming move) they can be a total pain to deal with.
One of my items the tracking stopped, the CS was next to useless, DHL kept on telling me VC needs to contact them, I kept calling until finally somebody at DHL was willing to help me, said the recipient tried to change the delivery address repeatedly and they became suspicious, they left a card when she wasn't in and demanded ID when she came to collect it, she then tried to claim that it isn't her signature and DHL would be more than willing to press charges given that she showed her ID, however VC doesn't seem to be interested because DHL hasn't received a reply. I would think they would be eager to have her removed from the platform.
You are correct. I purchased with PP and was able to get my money back (after I paid for authenticator service certification).
I just couldn't overlook how VC justify their action on this, thus stopped buying from them.
If it was an honest mistake, and they owned up, it would have been different. I am sure other similar reseller platforms have their shares of fakes issues. How the company handles it is what counts for me. That is why I feel for those honest sellers in VC. By protecting its own interest regardless the consequences, VC inherently protecting fake sellers.
I just couldn't overlook how VC justify their action on this, thus stopped buying from them.
If it was an honest mistake, and they owned up, it would have been different. I am sure other similar reseller platforms have their shares of fakes issues. How the company handles it is what counts for me. That is why I feel for those honest sellers in VC. By protecting its own interest regardless the consequences, VC inherently protecting fake sellers.
That is my big issue with them too, mind you before I started clearing out, I bought quite a few items from them and only had one issue that was addressed really fast and I got refunded.
Stuff can happen and will happen, but as you said, how the company deals with mistakes is quite telling, unfortunately in Europe there aren't a lot of resale sites for designer items people can use and I find Rebelle worse, from both sides, as a buyer and a seller, they were quite good at one point, but then all of a sudden jerked their commission up with CS going rapidly downhill. That VC are protecting their own interest, well, that much is to be expected from a company, it's the HOW they do it.
I so far had really good experiences (knock on wood) with JoliCloset, when I bought, was updated throughout the process, as to tracking, when they received it, authentication (very minor issue that wasn't mentioned and they email me pictures to ask if I am OK with it, it was super minor so I really didn't mind), then sending it to me and quite pleased with the bag and the price. I sold only very few items through them as it is unfortunately a bit slower than VC (a lot less well known) and pretty much the same as the buying experience, updated every step along the way. What really makes me like them is that they make clear that they will pass on information about fakes and who offered them (they require ID if you sell over a certain limit, and they require your account information) to the authorities and brands, which is quite a detractor for people trying to pass on fakes. I hope I haven't jinxed it now.
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Btw to clarify, you said 3x was that 3 times they sold you a fake scarf or 3 times that they said it was authentic? Because when it happened to me, I contacted them and required that they check again, supplied pictures with the mail, got a return label mailed and and they put it through authentication again and decided they made a mistake and a fake slipped through. So I didn't have any issue to complain, apart from having to wait to get refunded, but that is normal. Just wondering if they changed that?
I hope you got your money back one way or the other in the end. If this was a full year ago or more it doesn’t sound so surprising because it did seem from various people’s reports that sloppy cases and bad handling did happen, even if they were possibly minority experiences (even if they appeared to be majority experiences in reviews etc which isn’t surprising in the context). I didn’t know about them back when you were first buying there. I get the impression they started off well then got too big and swamped, and then these things started slipping through. It looks like they knew that was a problem. They had a big régime change round about the beginning of last year and since then changes have come through steadily, and I think there are likely to be fewer such cases because they will have been very aware of the mistrust this sort of thing was causing and set out to turn that around. I can’t be certain or measure the change directly myself as I’ve never been in the situation of receiving anything in poor condition or fake from them, just genuine things in the described condition with the exception of a lost part of one item. The closest I came was when they offered to cancel a purchase that arrived at QC without paperwork (which I hadn’t actually been expecting). You might find it’s better now. If there was one big area I’m sure everyone thought needed real improvement it was confidence in their authentication. Sometimes they go too far the other way in their zeal to be reliable for the buyer now, and it’s probably more likely to be the seller who suffers. I think there was someone here a short while ago who was selling a genuine item (a bag, maybe?) which VC did not agree was genuine despite evidence to the contrary. I don’t know what happened in the end, I hope it was sorted out properly. I’m both seller and buyer but with more selling than buying. It has been generally smooth and any problems arising have been sorted out either right away or with a little patience. You’re right about the good seller’s point of view. I have found over the few years I’ve been on the site that most issues are on the seller’s side of things, and as a good and reliable seller I sometimes (though by no means always) felt let down and not appropriately valued, given that they need me and others like me to provide the goods to make the money. But a lot of it has changed, and apart from teething troubles, it’s improving for the seller, in my experience. There have been a lot of tweaks which have improved things, even if some have been bumpy initially. I’ve probably sold about 100 items since the changes started, at a guess, so I’ve had a fair number of transactions to judge it by. I’m not a subscriber, so I am not paying for any priority service or anything, so I would think my experience is a fairly average snapshot. You might find it a more reliable service than you did before, if you ever felt the inclination to try again, it seems essentially a different company with some hangover from the older culture which is gradually disappearing. I’m hoping they will continue to improve, which I do think they probably will, and alongside that I also hope Joli Closet gains more traction and reach as it will be good competition in Europe to keep both outfits striving to offer a good service to attract the sellers and buyers.
I've just had a rough experience with VC, and honestly, reading all the negative stories here makes me feel a little better about the loss and the fact that my misery has company.
I sold a pair of boots with detachable feather charms. When I shipped the boots, I took the feathers off and put them in a little plastic bag to include in the parcel. The feathers were delicate and I didn't want them to get damaged in transit, I placed them clearly in the box with the shoes and even had a note explaining why I'd done this. When VC received the parcel, their Quality Control team marked my item as non-compliant and said the feathers were not there. I went back and forth with their CS, only for them to finally admit that they likely threw the feathers in the bin without bothering to look in the box for them! To add salt to the wound, they still haven't sent my now, lower-in-value boots back to me! That's a £115 sale and a pair of ruined pair of boots thanks to Vestiaire Collective's terrible customer service and incompetent quality control team. What's worse is the buyer was really looking forward to them, but so far, VC hasn't updated EITHER of us with what the plan is! Am I getting them back? Will the buyer be offered a lower price? It's like these boots went into a black hole.
I sold a pair of boots with detachable feather charms. When I shipped the boots, I took the feathers off and put them in a little plastic bag to include in the parcel. The feathers were delicate and I didn't want them to get damaged in transit, I placed them clearly in the box with the shoes and even had a note explaining why I'd done this. When VC received the parcel, their Quality Control team marked my item as non-compliant and said the feathers were not there. I went back and forth with their CS, only for them to finally admit that they likely threw the feathers in the bin without bothering to look in the box for them! To add salt to the wound, they still haven't sent my now, lower-in-value boots back to me! That's a £115 sale and a pair of ruined pair of boots thanks to Vestiaire Collective's terrible customer service and incompetent quality control team. What's worse is the buyer was really looking forward to them, but so far, VC hasn't updated EITHER of us with what the plan is! Am I getting them back? Will the buyer be offered a lower price? It's like these boots went into a black hole.
Being forced to use ParcelForce is a bit frustrating! I happen to work near their Central London depot, so can take packages straight there. But their biggest issue is they don't provide receipts at their London depot! So whenever I do this, I'm always worried they'll lose the parcel, never update the tracking, and I'll be left with no proof that I've done my part.
The QC really can be totally frustrating a bit like their CS, apparently they are working on the problem that items are not properly displayed, for weeks now, it seems they are just sending out a standard answer when you ask.
I worry about the direct shipping, at least you can use DHL and it goes straight to the buyer, but then there is always the worry that the buyer might do a switch or will replace your authentic item with a fake and claim that is what you sent them, or substitute your item with a no name product and claim that is what they got... With the way VC is acting, I am not confident they give the seller any support.
BTW the fact that you haven't gotten the return confirmation might be a good thing? They might (hopefully) own up to their mistake? The few things where I had to detach something as you couldn't securely pack, I used a safety pin and attached the embellishment to the item of clothing. I was forwarned, because I had sold shoes and I had a little unbranded bag that really worked with them, identical colour, so I put that in with a note that I want to give it to the buyer as it works so well together. Buyer then left a note under the item, thanked me for the shoes, I asked if she got the matching bag as well, she didn't....
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I expect you’ve already done all this, and of course you know what you’re doing, but you haven’t already chased this again, from my experience with VC and its quirks, I think I’d give it another a week or two to see if it just gets done (I’ve had resolution emails late with apologies about delays recently, about a couple of delivery issues), and if you haven’t heard any more, I wouldn’t just call, I would email with clear details about the outcome you expect, follow with a phone call, refer them to the email and wait on the line while they read it. It usually helps bump things up, to ensure the problem is being attended to in a (reasonably) timely manner. Emails have to be via the web form in the help pages now, on website or app, so I always screenshot anything I’m sending that way so I can refer back to it — the old email address doesn’t work unless you are replying to one of their emails. I am always really clear, straightforward and determined where necessary, and I find that things get sorted out, usually swiftly, so overall I end up happy, with most of my purchases/sales working out fine anyway, and the small minority with hiccups getting resolved. (If only someone could tell me the secret of getting John Lewis to sort out issues with two Christmas deliveries ... nothing seems to be working there, just endless loops, and they’re normally so reliable!)
If they do get back to you but the resolution isn’t adequate, do the same. You will get a suitable resolution if you are unambiguous with them and correct any errors/gaps/misunderstandings on their part. Hope your issue is sorted out sooner rather than later. Things would undoubtedly be better without waits and prompts but I still find VC a very useful and generally smooth service so I don’t mind being patient with the odd problem. I reckon they haven’t taken on enough new CS people yet and I believe from what I’ve read and what CS has said to me that they are going through another swamped period with increased sales, and, although things are generally getting better, things can still be slow at times, and they haven’t quite optimised the links between departments to expedite and seller/buyer problem resolution yet.
It’s such a shame about the missing feather charms. As regards the packing, I’d say the same as Gabs. I once had a bought item sent with a part missing. They agreed they’d lost it and offered suitable alternative resolutions, so I would assume they will get around to this with you/your buyer. I think in what I imagine is the giant warehouse there is rarely or never any chance something missing will turn up. So I do more or less what was suggested above. I try to imagine in advance all the possible ways the unwrapping could go wrong in the warehouse and then I completely foolproof my sold item packages, putting unmissable notes in and literally tying or pinning things together, in bags if necessary to avoid damaging the items. It sounds like you did most of this anyway but I take it to obsessive levels! I sometimes also take quick phone pictures of what I’m packing and how, just in case of question.
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Yes, I don’t like the absence of a receipt from Parcelforce depots either. At least they scan it as they accept it though, so the tracking is then visible immediately. I make sure they scan in front of me and I track it while I’m still there and screenshot the result to be on the safe side.
My local main post office gives receipts and scans quickly so that’s best all round, but is so much less convenient for me.
I just don’t get why Parcelforce and sub-Post Offices don’t have a proper tracking link between them. We get a receipt at the Post Office but no tracking until PF collects. Of course the two are different companies these days but I can’t see why they can’t organise to have tracking from the drop off point, i.e, the post office, the same way I get a DHL scan if I’ve dropped off at a WH Smith or other DHL drop off point. In this day and age it’s ridiculous, and I don’t know how they compete with the other couriers. Having said that, UPS isn’t great with receipts at drop off points either.
Practically speaking so far though, when I’ve had to use a sub post office, I have managed to make sure that all my items to VC still register as being sent on time by making sure I’m fully taking into account the possible delays with between drop off and collection/tracking around the weekend if there’s a bank holiday. And VC has backtracked on the 3-day shipping for “expert” badges requirement, so maybe they recognised this is a problem. When they relaunched the seller badge allocation some time last year, at first you had to send within 3 days for “expert” and 5 for “trusted” — now it’s 5 for both (and 7 for everyone) which is more realistic with the Parcelforce setup. The couple of times a year there’s still a possibility of missing the deadline by a day or two regardless of when I drop off (Easter, Christmas), I think I’ll use the holiday setting as I’d rather do that than fiddle around with cancelling sales I can’t ship in time, disappointing buyers and having to list again.
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Typo above, I meant to say “if you haven’t already chased this again” etc!