Why I'm done with Vinted after a very disappointing Buyer Protection experience

[TTAntiPlayer]

I've bought and sold dozens of pieces of TT equipment on Vinted, but, after my latest experience, I've decided that I'm done with Vinted.

I bought a blade that was advertised as new, unused and weighing 85g.

TBH, the seller did add some photos where you can maybe see some dents, but they were taken with flash, which hides the smaller dents and the real condition of the blade. And because the description clearly said "new, unused and 85g", I basically did not pay too much attention to the details in the photos. Obviously, this makes me wonder if the way the photos and description were presented was intended to mislead buyers and make them not pay too much attention to the details.

What I received was completely different, a heavily used blade in very poor condition, with multiple dents and other clear signs of wear. The actual weight was 93 g. It is one of the worst condition table tennis blades I've seen in my more than 30 years of playing.

I contacted Vinted Support, provided photos showing the condition and asked for a refund. I even offered to return the blade at my own expense.

The first response from Vinted was actually encouraging. They said they could see that I had reported an item that was significantly different from the description and that they would contact the seller to find a solution.

Just one day later, I received another message saying that Vinted had reviewed the case and decided that the item was not significantly different from the description, and they released my money to the seller.

I honestly don't understand how a blade advertised as new and unused, but arriving heavily used and covered in dents and weighing more than 8g (10%) than he said, can be considered to match the description.
What makes this even more frustrating is that, after checking the seller's previous reviews, I found that other buyers had reported similar problems with this seller.

So my question is, what exactly are we paying the Buyer Protection fee for if this is how disputes are handled?

Buyer Protection should mean that when an item is clearly not as described and you provide photographic evidence, there is actually some protection for the buyer.
It honestly feels like Buyer Protection is only there to take your money, and that this is part of Vinted's business model.

I'm closing my Vinted account and I won't be spending another cent there.

 

[Marvinn8686]

I've bought and sold dozens of pieces of TT equipment on Vinted, but, after my latest experience, I've decided that I'm done with Vinted.

I bought a blade that was advertised as new, unused and weighing 85g.

TBH, the seller did add some photos where you can maybe see some dents, but they were taken with flash, which hides the smaller dents and the real condition of the blade. And because the description clearly said "new, unused and 85g", I basically did not pay too much attention to the details in the photos. Obviously, this makes me wonder if the way the photos and description were presented was intended to mislead buyers and make them not pay too much attention to the details.

What I received was completely different, a heavily used blade in very poor condition, with multiple dents and other clear signs of wear. The actual weight was 93 g. It is one of the worst condition table tennis blades I've seen in my more than 30 years of playing.

I contacted Vinted Support, provided photos showing the condition and asked for a refund. I even offered to return the blade at my own expense.

The first response from Vinted was actually encouraging. They said they could see that I had reported an item that was significantly different from the description and that they would contact the seller to find a solution.

Just one day later, I received another message saying that Vinted had reviewed the case and decided that the item was not significantly different from the description, and they released my money to the seller.

I honestly don't understand how a blade advertised as new and unused, but arriving heavily used and covered in dents and weighing more than 8g (10%) than he said, can be considered to match the description.
What makes this even more frustrating is that, after checking the seller's previous reviews, I found that other buyers had reported similar problems with this seller.

So my question is, what exactly are we paying the Buyer Protection fee for if this is how disputes are handled?

Buyer Protection should mean that when an item is clearly not as described and you provide photographic evidence, there is actually some protection for the buyer.
It honestly feels like Buyer Protection is only there to take your money, and that this is part of Vinted's business model.

I'm closing my Vinted account and I won't be spending another cent there.

What I've heard from several people selling things it is not really working good from the other side. My friend was selling some handmade stuff and then buyer claimed it was not as it should be and provided AI altered photos of the item showing it being in bad really shape. They froze the payment. So apparently it may be much better oriented for such crappy sellers/byuers than honest ones.

 

[evelynwang]

I've bought and sold dozens of pieces of TT equipment on Vinted, but, after my latest experience, I've decided that I'm done with Vinted.

I bought a blade that was advertised as new, unused and weighing 85g.

TBH, the seller did add some photos where you can maybe see some dents, but they were taken with flash, which hides the smaller dents and the real condition of the blade. And because the description clearly said "new, unused and 85g", I basically did not pay too much attention to the details in the photos. Obviously, this makes me wonder if the way the photos and description were presented was intended to mislead buyers and make them not pay too much attention to the details.

What I received was completely different, a heavily used blade in very poor condition, with multiple dents and other clear signs of wear. The actual weight was 93 g. It is one of the worst condition table tennis blades I've seen in my more than 30 years of playing.

I contacted Vinted Support, provided photos showing the condition and asked for a refund. I even offered to return the blade at my own expense.

The first response from Vinted was actually encouraging. They said they could see that I had reported an item that was significantly different from the description and that they would contact the seller to find a solution.

Just one day later, I received another message saying that Vinted had reviewed the case and decided that the item was not significantly different from the description, and they released my money to the seller.

I honestly don't understand how a blade advertised as new and unused, but arriving heavily used and covered in dents and weighing more than 8g (10%) than he said, can be considered to match the description.
What makes this even more frustrating is that, after checking the seller's previous reviews, I found that other buyers had reported similar problems with this seller.

So my question is, what exactly are we paying the Buyer Protection fee for if this is how disputes are handled?

Buyer Protection should mean that when an item is clearly not as described and you provide photographic evidence, there is actually some protection for the buyer.
It honestly feels like Buyer Protection is only there to take your money, and that this is part of Vinted's business model.

I'm closing my Vinted account and I won't be spending another cent there. az games

That sounds incredibly frustrating, especially with such a clear difference between “new, unused” and what you actually received. An 8 g weight difference on an 85 g blade is also significant enough that I can understand why you would expect Vinted to take the evidence seriously. The fact that you found similar complaints in the seller’s previous reviews makes the decision even harder to understand.

I think your point about Buyer Protection is fair. If buyers still have to absorb the loss when an item is demonstrably not as described, it really makes you question what level of protection the fee actually provides. I’d be reluctant to buy higher-value or condition-sensitive table tennis equipment through the platform after an experience like this too.

 

[Tyce]

To be honest Vinted is hardly a TT expert, so I expect them to not understand much about weights. However, the cosmetic state of the product *is* something they should be able to recognize.

 

[NetProphet]

To be honest Vinted is hardly a TT expert, so I expect them to not understand much about weights. However, the cosmetic state of the product *is* something they should be able to recognize.

To not understand the importance of the weight is fine but to not know that 85 is different from 93 is not excusable at all.
I won't be using it again either if this is the way buyers are treated 🤷

 

[Tyce]

To not understand the importance of the weight is fine but to not know that 85 is different from 93 is not excusable at all.
I won't be using it again either if this is the way buyers are treated 🤷

It's originally a marketplace platform for clothing, handbags, vintage fashion stuff. My wife bought a coat once that turned out to smell like wet dog, and by the good grace of the seller we were able to return it.

Buyer protection is bullshit regardless of the platform. It's just another way to earn money and it works like shit because otherwise it would be too expensive to operate. These people are not qualified to judge the state of anything, let alone specialist equipment.

Use common sense, don't buy expensive things from people you don't know, without the ability to have a physical inspection before making the deal.