"Would it be possible to have a photo worn?" : these requests that annoy on Vinted

Joy, 38, sales manager in Paris, heaves a sigh of satisfaction.

In her order, her jeans are there, and above all consistent with the description of the Vinted ad where she made the purchase.

On the other hand, she is surprised to also find there a lipstick that has been worn off, a rubber band for slightly tired hair, and two sachets of “slimming” herbal tea, all accompanied by a note scribbled in pen and signed with a smiley.

Obviously, a small attention with sympathetic aim.

But whose effect falls short.

“I can clearly see the idea and the crucial issue of evaluation behind these little 'homemade' gifts, but here, we still come close to cra-cra.

The injunction to slim body even in my Vinted package, it tires me!

I wanted jeans, period.

The buyer, registered since 2017,

- straight out of corporate marketing codes - are increasingly common in the packages she receives.

“I don't need someone to pour out their pocket or add yet another t-shirt to my order… I'm a minimalist, it all ends up in the trash.

If everything is in order and the exchange was polite, there is no reason for me to refrain from giving five stars.

Read alsoThe mental load of Vinted: they ended up dropping the app

“It's as if everyone had a little power over the other.

»

Charlotte, 32 years old.

Involvement and communication

With its 19 million users in France, we no longer present Vinted.

The second-hand platform is a hit.

And with its success, evolves according to a well-established modus operandi.

We owe it to its operating system, but above all to the users themselves, who are very keen to get five stars (best rating on the application) after each transaction.

Their reputation and trust index are at stake, essential to continue sales and purchases without arousing mistrust among users.

But this rating, which has become widespread on the Internet, generates a phenomenon of involvement and communication that sometimes turns into the tyranny of courtesy.

"It's as if everyone had a little power over the other," analyzes Charlotte, 32, a graphic designer in Brussels.

This young mother sells and buys on Vinted to renew the wardrobe of her two children.

Its (small) defect: leave in "seen" messages that await a response.

“I have a very advanced procrastination syndrome.

I receive a lot of emails and Whatsapp messages every day, so I mentally sort them out.

In my daily load, it goes without saying that Vinted comes last, especially overly involving requests like the eternal “would it be possible to have a worn photo?”.

For a two-euro T-shirt, I give up.

But behind, if the garment is sold, I pay for it with a dirty comment...".

There is also its variant: "How many centimeters from the waist to the neckline?".

Émeline, a 40-year-old Lyonnaise, gets annoyed.

This fan of second-hand clothes sees through this site a way to get rid of her “overflow of clothes”.

She does not intend to make any way to sell them and hopes that her clients, accustomed to the commercial services of companies, will lower their expectations.

"I'm not a sales professional, which means I don't know how to answer a typical question, 'How big is it?'

I practice really low prices, so if you want to make a deal, you have to accept to take a little risk.

Abusive negotiations

“Once the offer has been accepted, there is no longer any question of talking about price.

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Samia, 40 years old.

If the expectations of Emeline and Charlottes' clients are sometimes difficult to manage, for Zoé, the exasperation comes from "abusive negotiations".

This 32-year-old Parisian is sorry to see the bargain-hunter's philosophy reduced to dust.

"Negotiations are part of the game, but when I am offered an offer at a price almost halved when I am offering a brand new garment, with tags, at 50% of the original price, I feel insulted".

In this negotiation process, a few good souls systematically agree to lower the price.

This is the case of Samia, 40, always ready to play the game of “negotiation”.

Provided you follow a few rules.

“Once the offer has been accepted, there is no longer any question of talking about price.

It happened to me that we come back to the charge to lower the price a little more,

but what rudeness!

Ditto for those who do not say “hello”, negotiate directly, ask for a photo worn.

I do it, I send it, and no response.

No thanks, no nothing.

It's painful."

Despite everything, she relativizes: “Fortunately, it remains a minority of people.”

The Lithuanian unicorn does not interfere in these interactions.

But having at heart to regularly evolve its platform - we saw it again recently with the installation of lockers in supermarkets in Paris and Île-de-France -, perhaps it will consider new improvements .

And who knows, a charter of good conduct.

she relativizes: “Fortunately, it remains a minority of people.”

The Lithuanian unicorn does not interfere in these interactions.

But having at heart to regularly evolve its platform - we saw it again recently with the installation of lockers in supermarkets in Paris and Île-de-France -, perhaps it will consider new improvements .

And who knows, a charter of good conduct.

she relativizes: “Fortunately, it remains a minority of people.”

The Lithuanian unicorn does not interfere in these interactions.

But having at heart to regularly evolve its platform - we saw it again recently with the installation of lockers in supermarkets in Paris and Île-de-France -, perhaps it will consider new improvements .

And who knows, a charter of good conduct.