Are you in need of some new clothes but on a budget?
Wanna shop for brands all in one place?
Well then... you have come to the right place! I have an amazing app to share with you, one that has been a favourite of mine for many months now. Being a student and only having a small income is hard to shop all the time. However, being a fashion lover and a previous fashion student I want to stay on trend and have plenty of outfit options in my wardrobe. Shopping regular on the high street can be a real issue as I have to budget my shops, meaning a lot of beautiful pieces have to be left in the stores (the worst feeling ever!). I wanted a way to stay on trend, have a full wardrobe with lots of options but also earn a bit of money at the same time.
This is where Vinted caught my eye...
Setting up:
Vinted is a buying and selling clothing app. You can download it on your phone or use it on the internet. Simply go to the app store or your web browser and type in 'Vinted'. It should then bring up an app with a white dress inside a blue speech bubble:
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| Vinted App |
Once the app has downloaded you simply have to create an account, add your card details and then customise your shopping profile (put in your sizes) and your ready to shop. Please feel free to follow me and check out the clothing items I have for sale.
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| My Profile |
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| Selecting my sizes |
Purchasing Items:
Once your account is all set up and your have selected your sizes, you can then start searching for items, following other Vinties (name used for other Vinted users, it's like a community), have a browse and then shop, shop, shop!
If you spot an item that you like but don't want to buy it straight away; you can favourite the item and save it for when you are ready to buy (but remember there is only one item so be quick). When you find items you like you can click on them and it brings up more information on the item. You can see more pictures of the item, the size and price of the item and a brief description. It will also tell you if the item is brand new or used (if used it will tell you the condition it is in) and it also has the shipping cost. You also have the option to message the seller about any questions you may have about the item. You can also make offers on items to get them cheaper (some people except, others don't but its worth a try) and you have to option to meet up with the seller to exchange item/money if you live near them to save on shipping costs and time.
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| Searching for specific items |
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| Browsing recently uploaded items |
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| Favorited Items |
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| Item Information |
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| Seller Location for pickup option |
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| Making an offer |
Selling Items:
I know we all love to shop and get a good bargain but we need the money to do so. Vinted isn't all about the shopping it's a way for you to sell items you no longer want to give them a new, loving home. When you are ready to sell a item you simply click the plus button (+) on the bottom of the screen and it will take you to a page where you simply fill in the details of your items. Once you have filled out all the boxes and clicked save, the item will be on your profile for people to buy. People may send you offers for the item (just like you can do to other people, now it's up to you whether you want to accept or decline). If you think the offer is too low for the item can decline and offer them a new price slightly higher than their offer but cheaper that what you originally put it up for. Then it's up to them whether they want to go ahead and buy it or not.
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| Item information |
Shipping an item:
CONGRATULATIONS! You sold your first item! When you sell an item you have to package up the item securely, add the address onto it and take it to the post office to be shipped to the buyer. You have a week to ship the item or the purchase gets cancelled and the money will be refunded to the buyer. Make sure to mark the item as shipped once you have posted it to stop this from happening. Simply go to your messages, click on the correct message for the item and click the button at the bottom of the chat saying 'Mark as Posted'. Once the buyer has received the item they will need to mark it as received and give you feedback on the item and your service. It will also ask you to give feedback on the buyer too. Once the buyer has confirmed everything is fine with the item you will received your money. It will go into your Vinted balance ready for a item you decided to purchased on the app or you can transfer it to your bank account.
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| Vinted balance |
Other Information:
If you find yourself liking a particular Vinties wardrobe give them a follow and use the 'Bundle' option to buy more than one of their items at the same time. The buyer can set discount offers such as: 10% off when you buy 2 items. So... say both items you like are £10 each, the total cost would be £20. However, with the bundle option you would get 10% off the total price making it £18 for both the items instead. The items MUST be from the same buyer though for the bundle option to work.
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| Bundle Discount Option |
Another great feature is the holiday mode. When you go away you don't want people to be buying your items as you wont be there to ship. This would mean the order will be cancelled and you will get negative feedback. However, all you have to do is switch on holiday mode and your items will be hidden from everyone so they can't buy them. Then as soon as you return home you can switch it off and everybody can view and buy you items again. It's as simple as a click of a button.
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Holiday Mode
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Another thing to remember is you don't have to have money in your Vinted account to buy an item. If you don't have enough money in it or have nothing at all, the money will come out of your bank account instead (the one you added to the app when setting it up.
My Experience:
I have been using this app for over a year now and it's not hard to say that I LOVE it! It's so easy to use and you can really find some amazing bargains. I have probably purchased over 30 items off this app and sold a good 20. Throughout my time on Vinted I have only had a few issues. A couple of my items were never shipped so I had to get a refund. However, I never checked the sellers reviews beforehand (I would recommend doing this to see if you can trust the Vintie) as they both had a few bad reviews from not shipping out items. Another thing to look out for is when the seller last logged in to the app. If it was months before you go to buy the item the chances are they wont see you have brought the item so wont ship it out to you. Apart from that, I have had great experiences and have gained many amazing items from this app. Although some items didn't fit me when I received them (returns aren't accepted on app)it was easy enough to upload them onto my profile for other people to buy.
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| Last logged in |
So I think that's all you need to know about the app. It really is a life saver when it comes to being a student or on a budget. You can get super stylish and on-trend pieces for amazing prices. I would definitely recommend it if you are looking for a way of saving money but still want to buy new clothes. Let me know how you get on...
Emma Victoria
