clothes now display two different prices

Since its creation in 2008, Vinted has become one of the most known and used platforms for the sale of
second hand products. However, this application is far from without flaws. Many scams are in fact regularly reported, whether on the sellers’ or buyers’ side. The European Commission also asked the company to improve its transparency on the prices charged.

At first glance, the composition of the price of items sold by Vinted may seem simple. Seller in fact sets an amount, to which the application adds a commission to remunerate itself. The problem is that insurance is generally also included in the costs which are displayed on the platform. And Vinted did not inform its customers until recently.

Vinted changes the display of its prices under pressure from the European Commission

If you have used the Vinted platform lately, you have certainly noticed that two prices
are displayed. The second corresponds to the total paid by the customer at the time of purchasing their item. As for the first, this is the price invoiced, less costs relating to an insurance imposed by the application on its consumers. This insurance actually corresponds to a buyer protection. But if its principle has not been called into question by the European authorities, the transparency of the prices charged has on the other hand been strongly contested.

The insurance in question is not new. The only change lies in displaying its price on Vinted. Previously, the platform did not detail how much this insurance cost to customers at the time of purchase. In fact, most buyers were unaware that they were paying it. However, this situation has led national authorities to file Complaints against the company. This matter was escalated to the level of the European Commission, which asked Vinted to comply with EU law since 2021.

Vinted now shows two different prices on its website

It is now done. This year, Vinted finally agreed to improve transparency in the display of its prices. To achieve this, the platform simply displayed the sale price without this buyer protection, and the one with insurance included. More precisely, this protection is billed 70 cents + 5% of the price including tax of the item purchased. Beyond 500 euros, this percentage is reduced to 2%.

Here again, Vinted’s new display could be confusing. Consumers would in fact risk understanding that they have the choice of subscribing to this insurance or not. However, protection is indeed imposed by
the platform. Vinted does not offer it as an optional supplement, but as compulsory insurance. You will therefore have no choice but to pay the amount as indicated by the second price.

The European Commission welcomes Vinted’s compliance with EU law

Discussions had been underway for years between
European authorities and Vinted on this subject. Now that the platform for selling second-hand products has complied with their demands, the European Commission has welcomed this decision. On her site, she published
a statement to emphasize the importance of this progress.

According to the Commission, Vinted has finally complied with European Union law on consumer protection. Vinted didn’t just change its price display. Also to comply with EU law, the application also removed advertisements which gave the impression of purchasing articles for free.