How to Navigate Vinted; “Confessions of a Vinted-holic”

By Victoria Ponte

Instagram has been knocked off its top spot as screen no.2 when watching TV. Vinted has become my new favourite doom scrolling app. Seemingly endless, affordable and ‘one-of-a-kind’ pieces that have been sat in other peoples’ drawers collecting dust. It is the definition of ‘one man’s trash is another man’s treasure’.

Image Credits: Getty Images

In fact, Vinted was created with this exact aforementioned thought in mind. Vinted was born in a bar in Lithuania in 2008 after a conversation between two 21-year-old students- Milda Mitkutė and Justas Janauskas. A discussion about those ‘why did I buy that?’ items piled up, led to the launch of the Vinted app. Initially created for clothing swapping it is now one of the biggest online marketplaces for second hand clothing.

Interestingly after they raised €25 million in 2015 to attempt to expand out of Europe to the US, they were unable to find success. Shutting down their San Francisco office and hiring a new CEO, they began to recover (Failory, 2023).

In 2019, Vinted became Lithuania’s first Unicorn company. A Unicorn company is a term used in finance to describe a private startup that is valued at over $1 billion. Privately owned meaning they are not listed on the stock market. Considering for the first 3 years of its existence, Vinted made no money and relied heavily on word-of-mouth, this was a feat. By 2020, the boost in demand due to COVID led to Vinted making a full comeback.

Am I Making a Difference by Shopping on Vinted?

You may ask yourself this question when deciding whether to buy the most recent funnel neck coat from Zara or a vintage Morgan De Toi peacoat on Vinted for your winter jacket.

A 2025 study (DEKHILI et al.) suggests that the low price of clothing on Vinted seems to result in increased impulse buying and over-consumption leading to Vinted (amongst other second-hand platforms) contributing to all the problems that fast-fashion create. The irony of this conclusion is disappointing and frustrating; however, this is not necessarily a problem with Vinted but rather the way in which we view fashion as a society. Therefore, if you are asking yourself if Vinted is overall better for the environment than buying from a fast fashion brand directly the answer is still yes.

Vinted themselves quoted over 600,000 tonnes of Co2e emissions avoided in 2023 (Vinted, 2023a). Which is apparently the equivalent of flying between London and LA over 500,000 times. All the influencers that shop on Vinted can take a deep sigh of relief, I guess. The point is that Vinted is not inherently problematic but rather generally impulse buying that is the issue. My best advice, the most revolutionary advice you have ever heard, is to buy something you will wear for another 5 years…if not, leave it for another happy home.

How to Navigate Vinted:

Want to make your homepage enviable and find those one-of-a-kind pieces? The algorithm for Vinted works by taking into account some of the following factors: time since upload, level of interaction an item already has, item price and the filters of the buyer as well as user history. This gives us a bit of context as to how we can make the algorithm work in our favour. I often find that the best items show up on my homepage in the days after searching for a specific item.

Here are my top 6 tips on how to navigate Vinted (as someone with an unhealthy obsession):

1) Include key words in your search and be specific

With over 800 million items on Vinted globally, you are sifting through a ridiculous amount of clothing. Do not be afraid to specific that you want a taupe, mid-calf, stiletto heel boot. It is true that you miss some items due to lack of description from the sellers, however the algorithm includes the listing images and should hopefully recommend these items in due time.

2) Offer as much as you are willing to pay and use the price filter

Image Credit: Screenshot of Personal Messages

Even if it feels like low-balling, offering more than you will pay won’t get you anywhere and is a waste of both your time and the seller’s time. Don’t bother. I find that starting a conversation with sellers is a brilliant way to humanise yourself and increases their likelihood of accepting your offer. I have even ended up conversing with sellers, for example I once mentioned that I was planning to get my belly button pierced and the seller kindly provided her advice (pic below). Obviously adhere to the safety guidelines and don’t give any personal information.

In addition to being realistic with offers, don’t forget about the price filter in the search bar! It also helps you determine if you will be able to find a pair of diesel flare jeans for less than £12 or if that just isn’t possible.

3) Adding vintage to the search can make a world of difference

When searching for certain items, such as when I am looking for an evening top, I often add the word vintage to the search e.g. vintage silk cami. This allows you to find unique pieces.

4) If many people are selling the same item, don’t buy it

Take this advice with a grain of salt; it doesn’t apply to everything. If you see the same specific sequin top or dress being sold by numerous different sellers it is increases the likelihood that the item fits poorly or doesn’t fit well in most people’s wardrobes. It is probably a trendy item that everyone is now trying to offload. However, this also happens with items that were just extremely popular and if you personally know that you like it, this advice doesn’t apply. For example, if you search up ‘Skims maxi dress’ there are 500+ results.

Image Credit: Getty Images

Example images include off-the-shoulder jumpers - they are so annoying because they always slip up- , polka dots- some of those skirts are completely sheer and you just aren’t going to wear it enough- as well as that sequin top from Edyisa that is shapeless. I hope no one is feeling like I called them out (sorry)!

5) Boots and Blouses

I am aware I do not by any means have the algorithm desired by everyone, however my flat mates have been keen to know how I find specifically my boots, blouses and camisoles. Therefore, for people with a specific taste I thought I would include this.

I have attached some images of my purchases from the last 6 months to (hopefully) provide some credentials.

Image Credit: Authors Vinted

My main methods of finding cute blouses that are cheaper is to avoid known brands but rather obscure names. I search for, for example, ‘vintage silk cami’ and filter for only silk material. Then I spend about 7 minutes scrolling, specific I know but that is about how long it takes to scroll past the uglier items or big sellers that are more expensive. For boots, the ones above are from Faith and Banana Republic, and I have found that Vinted is a brilliant location for shoes in general. Beware of how worn down the sole is- I can feel every piece of gravel and old lump of gum on the ground in the buckled boots.

6) A list of brands that I like to search up when lacking inspiration

This isn’t advice per se; however, these brands are, for the most part, no longer on the high street and often times associated with cute pieces! Most of them you will probably already be familiar with, but I thought it would be useful to have a somewhat comprehensive list.

• Amaranto

• Atmosphere

• Bay

• BCBGMAXAZRIA

• Bench

• Coast

• Diane Von Furstenberg (DVF)

• DKNY

• Esprit

• Etam

• Faith (boots)

• French Connection

• Guess (vintage)

• Jane Norman

• Karen Millen

• Kookai

• Miss Selfridges

• Miss Sixty

• Morgan De Toi

• Per Una

• Pimkie

• Topshop

• United Colours of Benetton

• Warehouse

These are all on the more affordable side, of course brands like Save The Queen and Roberto Cavalli provide many gems to Vinted, but usually sell for upwards of £60

Vinted is less curated than Depop, it is more like going to a thrift warehouse than an organised vintage shop. It is the perfect to buy trends a few years later when you are sure you still like it, leather items or revival items from the 2000s and 90s.

Some of the quirkiest things people have been found selling on Vinted include homemade jam, seashells, revision notes and coffee creamer. Majority of these aren’t unlawful but not considered safe to sell or do not meet the Vinted guidelines. It is definitely jungle out there at times, but the challenge is part of the fun.

As a company, Vinted continues to flourish: in 2024 Vinted revenue increased by 36% from 2023 to 2024 and is expanding to Greece, Ireland and Croatia. The average number of employees grew by 19% in 2024. (Vinted, 2025) Next time you are debating whether to head out to the bar with your friends to catch up, I say: go for it! because you never know if it might lead to the next best thing…