Nowadays, it is becoming more “trendy” to invest in circular economy, which is basically the approach, which benefits the society and the environment by reducing the waste and in this case reusing the already produced materials or products.
Vinted is an IT platform or simply a computer application, where everyone is able to trade the clothes they do not wear or use anymore. This app has existed since 2012, however it is now at its peak since its owners started advertising it on the TV and introduced many new functions that make it easier to buy and sell.
Vinted is now present in 11 countries including Poland, the US and the UK. To use Vinted you do not need to pay any fee whether you are a buyer or a seller, you only pay for the item itself and the delivery cost, which definitely makes the platform very attractive and more popular than the competitors. As the “Burda Principal Investments” website quotes “Vinted has created a dominant European consumer platform for a circular economy, helping empower millions of consumers across the continent to give their clothes a second life.[1]
“Vinted’s mission is to make second-hand fashion the first choice worldwide. It offers over 180 million second-hand fashion items and provides great chances to sell and buy quickly, safely, and easily across 11 European markets. In financial terms Vined already has been a success. In 2019 alone, €1.3 billion of gross merchandise volume is expected to be transacted on Vinted – going back into the pockets of its members.[2]” Another thing is that due to having more users the brand itself is making a lot of money on it. People can promote their items by paying, Vinted also has many advertisements on their page. Additionally, Vinted is expanding very quickly by hiring new employees and opening up to new markets. “This investment underlines the growing consumer appeal of second-hand fashion worldwide, with a market opportunity estimated at €13 billion across Europe.”
Looking at the environmental values, many people decided to somehow contribute to help our planet, one of the easy steps to do this is to give up fast fashion. It is therefore becoming very popular to shop at second hand shops or purchase from Vinted. It allows buyers find very unique pieces at affordable prices, but also the sellers to get rid of the clothes they do not need any more without throwing them away, which making them reusable, zero waste and eco-friendly at the same time and ticking the boxes of circular economy.
I believe that one factor that also really helped Vinted get more popular is the coronavirus situation. Some people, who wanted to invest in already used clothes were scared of going to second hand shops or just felt like it is more “clean” to purchase online and many of them actually made a Vinted account. Additionally, it is much easier and effortless to buy something online rather than go and buy it in person. Vinted offers post office or InPost delivery, which means that in some cases you do not even need to see anyone to send or pick up your pieces.
I personally use the app and see how fast and easy it is to sell something. At first, I did not really take it seriously but with time I realized that I actually have a few customers and I decided to develop my account a bit further and also resell some items from other brands or second-hand shops. I feel like I am doing something good for the environment, someone else is enjoying my old clothes, I have more space at home and I even get some money from it. Additionally, I really like playing with fashion and Vinted is a perfect place to do it. Many of my friends also use and know Vinted and sometimes we even sell our clothes to each other. I really like this app and everyone that I talked to about it also has rather positive opinions about it.
I think that Vinted has the potential to be an example for other brands on being eco-friendly but also it can help develop the circular economy sector.
[1] https://www.burdaprincipalinvestments.com/2019/11/28/vinted-raises-e128-million-accelerate-growth/
[2] https://www.burdaprincipalinvestments.com/2019/11/28/vinted-raises-e128-million-accelerate-growth/
Vinted is a very good concept, but there are a lot of other apps like the “less app” or other which are promoting selling used garments that we do not want anymore. I think that it is great we have a variety of them depending on our needs. Especially in our era. They are showing that buying used (or sometimes even brand new) pieces is cool. Great post!
I agree with Sandra that vented is very good concept, but not unique. For example Zalando buys used clothes directly from its users. This way is much useful for customers, because they don’t have to wait for anyone to buy their items. The person who sends his or her clothes to Zalando will always have them sold.
Although Vinted is presented very well, it’s actually not worth a try for now. I’ve been trying to use it but it seems people don’t know this app to good and don’t take it serious. It’s hard to sell anything there or buy. Better use trusted and well known apps which everyone use such as Allegro, OLX, EBAY, AMAZON. You can sell second hand clothes there too.
I guess that it depends on the person because I use vinted a lot to both sell and buy
Very good application for selling old garments. I have been using it for a long time and I highly recommend it