Vinted has rolled back a proposed update on shipping options after protests from sellers in the United Kingdom. The recommerce marketplace wanted to offer consumers more choices in receiving products, but merchants struggled with this increased freedom.
Vinted had made it impossible for UK sellers to deselect certain shipping options when listing items. As a result, they were forced to work with various shipping companies.
Shipping options
Having more shipping options is convenient for the customer, who likes to have control over who delivers their products at a time and place that suits them. However, it is not as convenient for individual sellers, who often manage their Vinted business outside of working hours.
“Unfortunately”, reports British ChannelX, “Vinted forgot that their sellers are largely consumer sellers and some shipping options present challenges that they just can not cope with”.
‘Vinted forgot that their sellers are largely consumers.’
One of the problems is that many of the 16 million sellers on Vinted in the United Kingdom do not have access to a printer. Therefore, they depend on couriers and parcel shops for labels, and they select their shipping partners based on this. Another drawback of certain mandated shipping companies is the distance sellers have to travel to a drop-off point, which can be up to 50 kilometers.
Logistical efficiency
Sellers, who often use Vinted to generate additional income, want to operate efficiently from a logistical perspective. It is important for them to drop off packages in one go, at one location, at one time.
Sellers want to drop off packages in one go.
They do not have the time to visit multiple drop-off points, nor do they want to be dependent on the schedules of multiple companies picking up packages from their homes. The practical realities make it difficult to meet specific logistical customer demands.
Profitable recommerce exponent
As a specialized marketplace, Vinted has made significant international strides in recent years. The company, headquartered in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius, is an exponent of the booming recommerce market. Vinted generated a revenue of 596.3 million euros last year, 61 percent more than the year before. The second-hand fashion marketplace also reached profitability in that year.
