How Vinted got me money and more active!

It helped me to declutter my life and home while saving me money and making me some cash too.

I know this is a break from the usual blogs I write, but I was just ruminating the other day about how my new Vinted habit has got me out for regular walks almost every day, even days when I really don’t feel like venturing out. An unexpected benefit of thrifting.

What is vinted?

Vinted is an online phone app that allows you to sell and buy old pre-loved items in seconds. It’s so easy to use, much simpler and faster than Ebay and you don’t pay any fees.

How did I discover Vinted and why?

As someone who loves a good charity shop I’ve always passed on clothes that no longer fit me or fulfill me to local chazza shops and I also love browsing for new things for me too. So this app immediately appealed to me.

Add to that my current financially strapped status and it seemed like a no brainer.

It was my lovely TSW friend Sasha who suggested it and I’ve been remarkably successful so far. I seem to sell at least one item every day and am getting better and hitting the right note and photographing items to their best.

I started with just a few items and they sold. So I kept going.

Top 10 benefits of using Vinted

I love Vinted for many reasons but here are my top 10

1. So easy to use
2. Quick to add your items
3. You don’t pay any fees
4. The buyer pays the postage
5. Tracking is effective and I’ve not had too many issues (Royal mail lost one item)
6. Drop off and collection points with Evri and Yodel are close to home
7. I’ve found some bargains
8. So far made about £100
9. You can keep your vinted balance in the app and use to buy items you need or transfer to your bank
10. Refunding is quick an easy
11. I’ve been going out for walks every day to post my sold items

It’s safe to say I’m enjoying using this cool new app and it’s still working well for me. You can sell clothes, homeware items, books, games and more. Since getting my new kitchen I lost two large cupboards and Vinted has helped me find new homes for most of the excess stuff I had stored.

These walks and why they are so important

Since going through topical steroid withdrawal, now just passing the four year mark, I often don’t feel like venturing out. I hide away at home despite how much I know even a short walk around the block in the rain can improve my mood. I find things of beauty even in a leaf stuck to the pavement, spring flowers, an oil rainbow in a puddle.

I have a tendency to get stuck into my work and not prioritise activities that I know are good for me. If I don’t have something booked and commitment made I often won’t get organised in time.

If I can keep making Vinted work for me I will continue to get out, get moving and often end up going for a longer walk once the parcel has been dropped off.

And once my finances recover from the kitchen money pit I can book some classes and maybe even join the gym or a walking group. For now it’s tightening the belt, making savings where I can and cutting back. A walk costs nothing and gives back so much, a I walk to deliver my Vinted sales which are usually handled at local newsagents or the post office. Or if I buy something, likewise, I walk. It seems that I sell something every day so it’s been really good to have reasons to get out, even when I don’t want to.

Are there any drawbacks to using Vinted?

There are always pros and cons to everything but overall it’s a great app. Here are just a few areas they could improve on

• Sizing is very annoying. For women’s clothing a 10 is a medium and 12 is a large. I hate this kind of labelling. Anything larger than a 12 and you’re counting the XLs. I find it insulting and unnecessary to use this small, medium and large, larger and even larger wording. We can work with the numbers thanks. Society needs to change, stop fat shaming and stop labelling like this. It makes me feel like larger sizes have a negative connotation but maybe I’m just being over sensitive. HATE it though.
• Getting paid takes time – sometimes it can take weeks for funds to get into your usable balance. It feels like Vinted have made this over complicated and the cynical side of me thinks this is so that they can be earning interest while funds are in their bank and not yours. However since there are no fees perhaps we can forgive them for this.
• Lots of checks and confirmations over complicate messaging – You get so many notifications every time someone favourites an item and when anyone buys, offers, an item is shipped, tracking changes, it arrives, they mark it as received, they confirm is OK etc. It means there are so many things going on you can miss an item being sold and I like to be organised and keep on top of my shipping so it’s fast and efficient.
• People want a bargain – I don’t actually mind this and am selling a lot of my stuff for less than £5 if I can. I mostly want to declutter and shift stuff but if I can make a bit on the side it helps me pay the bills at the moment. However some people will barter over a £3 item and I guess you have to make the call.
• Process is complicated – I don’t think people fully understand that they need to do all these little tick box tasks, like marking as arrived and marking as OK. This may be why money takes a while to come through. However on the whole it works great and you do need this option in case something is not sold as seen. I’ve so far had really good experiences.

I’ve also had a few minor issues and lost sales when certain lockers are chosen because I’ve not found a locker that had space yet. However on the whole it’s a great working app.

What bargains have I found so far?

I’ve found some great little bargains so far for very low amounts of money. So far I’ve bought:

• A couple of new 100% egyptian cotton duvet sets that are colourful (to replace old bedding that is stained and shows the signs of 4 years TSW)
• Some darker colour 100% cotton fitted sheets as I struggle to keep white ones looking clean and fresh despite regular bed linen changes and washing on high temps.
• A back scratcher
• Cute little kitchen tongs for my new kitchen
• West Labs dead sea salts for a song
• An Ikea metal intray for my office
• A lovely winter parka with LOADS of deep big pockets for just £10
• I browse for brands that I know are better for the environment, sustainable and made from soft materials like Thought and Brakeburn. I’ve bought a cardigan and pair of smart trousers.

It’s teaching me that a lot of my possessions are just stuff, and I don’t need so much. I have so many clothes that I hold onto for silly reasons and I wear a tiny percentage of regularly. Some of it’s never going to fit again so it’s now going to a new home.

Will you be giving Vinted a go?

Have you discovered Vinted? Do you love it too? I’ve been using it now since December 2022 and I’m going to keep going till I’ve decluttered the whole flat.

Download the Vinted app today and start to declutter your home.

I also still take bags to the charity shops and pass stuff on to neighbours, but adding this to my decluttering life admin has just given me a little bit of spending money each month when I don’t have any spare cash for anything.

This is not an advert, I was not paid to write this, I just felt drawn to share.

I’m off out to post a pink straw hat that I wore once to a wedding in 1999!

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