Which brands will rise in 2023? How to turn 80 euros into 300? What items to buy in winter to resell them in summer? Advice on buying/reselling second-hand clothing is flourishing on TikTok. Whether they go through a wholesaler or have subscribed to a bot that tells them as soon as a good deal is published, Vinted's pros have built an empire and inspire many high school and university students every day. We find them on Vinted obviously, but also and especially on TikTok #achatreventevinted, in Discord... and wholesalers.
"At first, I started buying and selling on Vinted to make capital, by selling personal clothes that I no longer wore. Then I looked for bargains directly on Vinted, I bought cheap to resell at a good price. I turned up the pace and then went through a wholesaler. Timothé is 18 years old and started two years ago. His business? The brands that everyone (or almost) wears on the street like Carhartt and Ralph Lauren. "New, they are quite expensive", while on Vinted, "people do not know the prices or want to get rid of their clothes quickly, so put them cheap". With incomes between 1,500 and 1,900 euros net per month, Timothé is a little happy, but for now prefers to either reinvest or set aside.
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A goal that Corentin, a Vinted user since 2017, originally "to buy cheaper clothes" has also set himself. He transforms his personal strategy into a real business at the beginning of 2021, with shorts: "It cost 60 euros in store, I bought it 14 and I knew it was a good deal. As it was too big, I sold it directly, at 20 or 25 euros. I made 10 euros at 17 years old while I had 40 euros of pocket money per month! At first, he resells playmobils of his little brother and earns 60 euros. With this sale, he buys 4 shorts, on which he made a margin. "I've reinvested everything and I'm just starting to pay myself! The first months, out of 800 euros of turnover, I took 100 for a restaurant with my girlfriend, and I spent nothing. »
"I just want to be free to refuse a permanent contract"
At just 19 years old, his business on Vinted is mainly used to "build capital": "I saw a guy on Vinted who earned nearly 8,000 euros and put them in shares. I use it rather to buy a studio to renovate and rent. But the success of his business did not go to his brain. "When you turn on TikTok, you see business influencers generating huge amounts of money! And at just 22 years old, they are already in Dubai. I just want to be free to refuse a permanent contract. Freedom motivates me more than lifestyle! »
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Cautious, Corentin diversifies his sources of income and works on weekends at a caterer, "even if I don't necessarily need it": "If tomorrow it stops, I have another student job". In the first five months of the year, he managed to earn 5,000 euros per month, for about 2,500 in profits. "2,000 euros net, once all expenses have been deducted," he says. A monthly sum that Timothé reaches almost with 3,500 to 4,000 euros in turnover. Its profit is based on a well-honed strategy: "Even if I see good deals or I can make a profit on them, I take the one that allows me to do two or three times."
"I turned one of the bathrooms into a laundry room"
Behind the numbers are hours of work. You have to buy the clothes, pick them up at the relay point, sort them, wash them, estimate their price and... write the ads, "with beautiful photos that make you want to buy," says Timothé. Even if he considers that "it's relatively easy to get started", you have to know the right items and the right brands, those that are bought for little and resell with a margin. As he is still in high school, it is on weekends that the pace is dense: "People put a lot on sale on weekends and there are a lot of offers at that time. "
Among the other characteristics of the business, the need for space. When he is not buying from Vinted, Timothé buys from a wholesaler and receives orders for 50 to 100 pieces. The future graphic design student uses his room to store before selling his stock. "I can tidy up well, but it takes up space," says the high school student.
An observation also made by Corentin's parents, whose stock has invaded the second family bathroom. "They are proud of what I do, but I have 600 items at home and one of the bathrooms has become a laundry room," laughs the young man who irons there and stores the clothes in the bathtub. Like Timothé, he was able to find a wholesaler easily and who allows him to avoid counterfeiting problems or unexpected customs fees: "I was lucky, it's a start-up incubated in my school. But to avoid dishonest wholesalers, just go to the search bar on TikTok and choose! »
"On TikTok, we see some who are being fooled"
Timothy
"All the people who start buying and reselling want to buy from wholesalers," says Timothé. "On TikTok, we see people who are fooled and never receive their package. I had the chance to test one that suited me directly. Because TikTok accounts promising anyone to make a lot of money didn't seem honest to him, Emeric specialized in wholesale test video. At 23, he has made buying his main business and can earn up to 3,000 euros net per month. "A lot of people highlight wholesalers with an affiliate code and do that for a percentage," warns the video editor, who specializes in "brands that you find on the street, like Nike, Lacoste or Ralph Lauren, that sell the most."
"You can buy two down jackets for 15 euros and sell them for 60 euros each"
To support business, tech is also a good helping hand. Bots connected to Discord or Telegram groups indicate in real time the articles posted online at too low prices. The goal is to allow the pros of the purchase-resale to quickly buy the second-hand clothes that they will resell much more expensive without much effort. Even more profitable than the wholesaler. "70% of my turnover comes from this tool, because it allows me to make better margins," calculates Corentin: "With a bot, you can buy two down jackets for 15 euros and resell them for 60 euros each, margins that you can not make at wholesalers. "
The consequence? While a few years ago, good deals existed on Vinted, it is more difficult to find them. "Before, we found Levi's at 7 or 8 euros. Now it's 25 to 30 euros, "says Corentin, who fears Vinted's decision to fight bots by modifying its GTC at the end of May.
For its part, the company, which intends to remain "above all a C2C platform with a large majority of private sellers who sell their second-hand clothes" created the Vinted Pro feature in May 2021. The goal? Getting more and more people to sell second-hand: "We think a greater diversity of sellers can help more people choose second hand."
"With Shein, we hit rock bottom"
And the offer is great: "Today, there are so many clothes on earth that we could stop producing them and dress anyway!" says Emeric: "We have to stop with Zara and Asos! And with Shein, we hit rock bottom. When people resell it on Vinted, they cut the label to change the brand to 'boutique parisienne' or 'vintage dressing'. Second-hand is a growing business, because there is an economic interest first, but also an ecological one. Between buying a quarter of Ralph Lauren zip at 200 euros and another four times cheaper but used, it is better to buy the cheapest. »
As a result, another risk hangs over the business of Corentin, Timothé, Émeric and the others: the saturation of the market, such as that of Sneakers. "Today, there's a lot of demand compared to supply, so it's easy to get the clothes and sell them," says Timothé, who specializes in Carhartt, Ralph Lauren and Dickies pants. And is unbeatable on the pricing of the brands it follows. "Before starting, you have to be well informed, to avoid buying parts that will never be resold at big prices!"
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And once you're launched, declare your turnover. "When you sell very little, you can pass it off as a personal sale, but several thousand euros a month, no," warns Corentin. "Two years later, taxes are knocking on your door!" Not only according to the pro seller's guide published by Vinted, which specifies from the outset the prohibition of misleading commercial practices with a penalty of two years imprisonment and 300,000 euros in fines. Enough to cool some to play with the platform.