Vestiaire Collective experiences?

[MinimalStyle]

Update: vestiare sided the buyer as they trust their buyers to be honest. OK what about the sellers? Where is the seller protection here? We’re entrusting our expensive items to you! Omg.

Do not ever ship with direct shipping on VC guys.
You’re shipping your item directly to the buyer without going through Vestiare collective’s hand and the buyer has 72hrs to then raise any issues. Between then and payment, anything can happen to your item. E.g. buyer has buyer’s remorse and wants to get his/her money back - proceeds to nick your bag and lodge a report for non conformity as the “nick” he/she just placed on your bag was not as described in your listing.
Or the buyer is a scammer and swaps your real item with his/her fake and lodges a report. In which case, he/she sends the fake one back to VC for authentication which will obviously fail the verification and you’ll end up with a fake item back.

Sellers be warned.

This is disturbing. I’m just puzzled as to how did they swap your bracelet for a fake one. You must have had some good close up photos of your original item so could use them as the proof?
Fakes are never perfect, that person could not have an exact copy of your item, after receiving it, done in 3 days which is the timeframe for filing a complaint…I’m just really perplexed. I always take detailed photos of my items, of scratches and other characteristics and I’m very thorough with it. Exact copy is really hard to achieve there will always be something missed and if you have detailed photos of your items you can then prove the items were swapped. I’m just perplexed by your experience, it’s really sad how VC handled it.

 

[dollymolly_precious]

This is disturbing. I’m just puzzled as to how did they swap your bracelet for a fake one. You must have had some good close up photos of your original item so could use them as the proof?
Fakes are never perfect, that person could not have an exact copy of your item, after receiving it, done in 3 days which is the timeframe for filing a complaint…I’m just really perplexed. I always take detailed photos of my items, of scratches and other characteristics and I’m very thorough with it. Exact copy is really hard to achieve there will always be something missed and if you have detailed photos of your items you can then prove the items were swapped. I’m just perplexed by your experience, it’s really sad how VC handled it.

Hi minimalstyle,

Because I shipped directly to the buyer without going through VC’s authentication/QC process - it became a he said she said situation.
The buyer claimed that he/she received a fake one from me which was not as described in my listing and lodges a report. After which, the buyer sends a fake bracelet to VC to which he/she then got a refund for as the item that got to VC for authentication is obviously a fake. VC then sends me back the fake item in question. Now, VC obviously does not know what I shipped out as it went to the buyer directly which gave the buyer the chance to do a swap. In this case, VC trusts the buyer more than the seller and unfortunately I did not record myself packing the parcel as proof.

I’m just glad that it wasn’t a very expensive item. Lesson learnt.

 

[MinimalStyle]

Hi minimalstyle,

Because I shipped directly to the buyer without going through VC’s authentication/QC process - it became a he said she said situation.
The buyer claimed that he/she received a fake one from me which was not as described in my listing and lodges a report. After which, the buyer sends a fake bracelet to VC to which he/she then got a refund for as the item that got to VC for authentication is obviously a fake. VC then sends me back the fake item in question. Now, VC obviously does not know what I shipped out as it went to the buyer directly which gave the buyer the chance to do a swap. In this case, VC trusts the buyer more than the seller and unfortunately I did not record myself packing the parcel as proof.

I’m just glad that it wasn’t a very expensive item. Lesson learnt.

Yeah, that is so not ok and people are able to get away with it
I sell with Direct Shipping and never ever thought that something could go wrong
But if/when it goes wrong VC customer service is the worst thing, you get a bunch of random people answering the same question and each gives you a slightly different answer.
I wish someone came up with a new similar platform for Europe/worldwide…

 

[dollymolly_precious]

Yeah, that is so not ok and people are able to get away with it
I sell with Direct Shipping and never ever thought that something could go wrong
But if/when it goes wrong VC customer service is the worst thing, you get a bunch of random people answering the same question and each gives you a slightly different answer.
I wish someone came up with a new similar platform for Europe/worldwide…

Same! I used to do direct shipping a lot but never again. It’s too much anxiety (constantly checking during that 72 hours to see if something crops up)

 

[onlyk]

Same! I used to do direct shipping a lot but never again. It’s too much anxiety (constantly checking during that 72 hours to see if something crops up)

Maybe add a tag and pictured together in the listing, may help a bit. If you sell a lot directly to buyers may worth the effort, or move to another platform gives seller more protection

 

[alaia.lou]

I wanted to share my recent experience with VC. I bought an Hermès Picotin 18 from Vestiaire, paid for authentication and the bag is claimed as authentic.

Once I’ve received the bag, the dustbag seems to be off and I decided to send to bababebi and the result came that the bag is counterfeit!

Now I’m in contact again with Vestiare and they agree to do second authentication. But if they found the bag to be real after the second check, they told me that I will need to relist the bag & pay the fee to them as well.

So frustrated. Anybody has the same experience here?

 

[Albarya]

I too have a horrible experience just this morning. Mind you I spent all my breaks at work dealing with all Vestiaires incompetent customer service agents and still not reaching a valid explaination. I purchased a bag in AUD $$$$, happy with the checkout summary in AUD and order was confirmed in AUD$$$$. Next minute they emailed me the invoice arrived with the wrong sum (too low) and when we check our bank, wrong amount was deducted from there too (which is too high). None matched the amount we paid online. Spent hours going around in circles with Vestiaires agents only to be handballed to their “superiors” before they stop replying to you. No one can explain why numbers don’t add up but they keep insisting it’s foreign currency conversion fee? Why? All transactions are in AUD, Prices are in AUD, country set as Australia, both me and seller is paying and paid in AUD, direct shipping within Australia, I paid using my AU card in Australia…. What is the use of a foreign conversion fee? Apparently the wrong sum in my invoice in $$$$ sign in US dollars, however biller code is in Paris EUR. Goodness me, what a pandemonium! Who knows whether it’s Monopoly currency they’re using on their invoice yes — Does not say in there anywhere! Then they just hit you with “ conversion fee charge by the hundreds”……..

 

[Monaliceke]

Yeah, that is so not ok and people are able to get away with it
I sell with Direct Shipping and never ever thought that something could go wrong
But if/when it goes wrong VC customer service is the worst thing, you get a bunch of random people answering the same question and each gives you a slightly different answer.
I wish someone came up with a new similar platform for Europe/worldwide…

Guys, never ever ship your items out via direct shipping. I just got scammed out of my Tiffany silver bracelet. A buyer has bought it off me via direct shipping and then swapped mine with a fake and lodged a report. Now all I have back is a fake Tiffany bracelet OMG help

I didn’t even “opt” for direct shipping. They just put my items as “direct shipping” options to my buyers. I still can’t figure out how to stop this option.

I hope so too! Fingers crossed and will keep y’all updated.
Should have trusted by gut instincts and cancelled the sale. Never felt comfortable shipping something directly to a buyer without at least going through VC’s authentication/handling.

Update: vestiare sided the buyer as they trust their buyers to be honest. OK what about the sellers? Where is the seller protection here? We’re entrusting our expensive items to you! Omg.

Do not ever ship with direct shipping on VC guys.
You’re shipping your item directly to the buyer without going through Vestiare collective’s hand and the buyer has 72hrs to then raise any issues. Between then and payment, anything can happen to your item. E.g. buyer has buyer’s remorse and wants to get his/her money back - proceeds to nick your bag and lodge a report for non conformity as the “nick” he/she just placed on your bag was not as described in your listing.
Or the buyer is a scammer and swaps your real item with his/her fake and lodges a report. In which case, he/she sends the fake one back to VC for authentication which will obviously fail the verification and you’ll end up with a fake item back.

Sellers be warned.

Today, I had a shocking email that VC is allowing my buyer to send me back my item by DHL. They didn’t even communicate with me about what the issue was about.

I sold my Ferragamo varina flats in size 7M, listed clearly on VC. The buyer wrote to me that she wears 38 and couldn’t fit in the shoes. VC simply allowed her to ship it back to me directly. How can I know if the buyer would ship me something else instead?

I am very disappointed with VC now. After selling more than 60 authentic items, all shipped on time and very accurate description. But my profile still showed 80% compliance. I have many more valuable items that I wish to sell, but I’m hesitant to sell on VC again after such an experience. Can’t trust them anymore.

Yeah, that is so not ok and people are able to get away with it
I sell with Direct Shipping and never ever thought that something could go wrong
But if/when it goes wrong VC customer service is the worst thing, you get a bunch of random people answering the same question and each gives you a slightly different answer.
I wish someone came up with a new similar platform for Europe/worldwide…

I forgot to mention that I chatted with them via the app as well. Guess what, they dropped me in the middle of the chat maybe because they couldn’t give me an answer. Is this customer service at all?

 

[Monaliceke]

On the app, go to FAQ then check:
Help Centre Selling Payment & Fees General

You will see all the details there. I noticed 2 important points - quoted from their FAQ below:

1. Selling Fee of 15% will be deducted from the final price of your sale.
2. A payment processing fee of 3% will be charged on your sale to cover the external processing costs of your transaction.

It was much better in the past (I think it’s around 2020) when their commission % rate goes down when you sell a higher value item. I find their commission has increase tremendously. I have been selling there since 2020 and also purchased 1 vintage kelly watch 2 years ago. Everything went well for me so far.

After today’s experience, I’m not going to sell on VC anymore. Definitely not buy anything there. But hey, they allowed my buyer to send me back my item - simply by listening to one-side of the story! They never even “investigate” the issue with me. I’m so disappointed after being a long-time seller & buyer there. I guess I can better go to a consignment store to sell my valuables instead of taking unnecessary risks at an unprofessional platform.

 

[Monaliceke]

Guys, never ever ship your items out via direct shipping. I just got scammed out of my Tiffany silver bracelet. A buyer has bought it off me via direct shipping and then swapped mine with a fake and lodged a report. Now all I have back is a fake Tiffany bracelet OMG help

I just found out that we as Sellers do not have an option to refuse to sell via direct shipping.

 

[msrby07]

Hi all, I am eyeing to buy a bag on VC and I have bought from them multiple times already. But today, I just noticed that they have added a 5% buyers fee (15% for international) on top of the authentication fees, shipping fees and Customs fees. Is this new or did I miss out on it? Like a used Chanel Mini Flapp with Top Handle, now costs twice more than the actual store price. The way they posted about the buyers fee, it is for handling,inspecting the item, free relisting and customer support (which is useless, honestly!) etc. But aren't that a given already from the massive selling fees they take? Is it just me or VC is getting ridiculous and greedy? So bummed with VC but at this point, I'd rather go store bought. Pffttt

 

[dollymolly_precious]

I just found out that we as Sellers do not have an option to refuse to sell via direct shipping.

View attachment 5860948

Exactly. I cancel orders now that are direct shipping. I just can’t with it. I have another incident where the buyer claimed that there were insects in my bag (and with video proof) and VC allowed the buyer to ship the bag directly back to me.
That’s puzzling because I’ve checked and cleaned the bag before sending it off and when I got it back (I don’t see said insects). Sounds like the buyer had buyers remorse and decided to put the insect in my bag for a refund. Ridiculous.
And yes, sellers beware as VC almost always sides with the buyer

 

[dollymolly_precious]

I just found out that we as Sellers do not have an option to refuse to sell via direct shipping.

View attachment 5860948

I’ve found myself buying less and less from VC nowadays as the prices are going through the roof. Shipping/authentication/custom duties/etc are ridiculous especially if you’re not buying something super expensive. E.g. a $400 pair of shoes will end up costing me close to $600 after all the ridiculous charges are included. That’s like an additional 50% more on the selling price, LOL. At that point i’d rather just buy it in stores and I also don’t blame the seller for this as I know commissions on VC are ridiculously high too so the seller is getting close to nothing for his shoes.

 

[MinimalStyle]

Yeah, some time ago it made sense to buy vintage/discontinued stuff on VC. Now the prices have gone bonkers. And don’t even start me on contemporary stuff…prices for used items VCA, Hermes, LV etc., are so close to brand new from the shop prices that it makes no sense to purchase via VC, just save up a little more and buy brand new. How does VC still exist/make money I have no clue??

 

[Monaliceke]

Exactly. I cancel orders now that are direct shipping. I just can’t with it. I have another incident where the buyer claimed that there were insects in my bag (and with video proof) and VC allowed the buyer to ship the bag directly back to me.
That’s puzzling because I’ve checked and cleaned the bag before sending it off and when I got it back (I don’t see said insects). Sounds like the buyer had buyers remorse and decided to put the insect in my bag for a refund. Ridiculous.
And yes, sellers beware as VC almost always sides with the buyer

This is ridiculous and unacceptable! I’m very worried about what I’m going to receive from the buyer. I shall film an unboxing to have proof to protect myself - in case she has buyer’s remorse and damage my shoes so that she can return. Or worst case if she send me back a fake!