Vinted returns and refunds: how they work (2026)

Updated 19 October 2026 · 5 min read

Vinted isn’t a shop with a 30-day returns policy. A buyer can send an item back only in a few cases, and the clock is short. Here’s how returns and refunds work on both sides of the order, from Vinted’s own help centre, read in October 2026.

When a return is possible

• Bought with the Buy now button. These orders fall under Vinted’s Refund Policy. Anything paid outside Vinted isn’t covered, and any return is between you and the other person.
• Significantly not as described, damaged, lost or never sent. These are the cases the Refund Policy covers.
• Doesn’t fit or don’t like it. Not covered. The buyer can ask, but the seller decides. Vinted suggests relisting the item instead.
• Bought from a Pro seller. Different rules: the buyer can return for any reason within 14 days of receiving the item.

What counts as “significantly not as described”

Vinted calls it SNAD. An item counts when it doesn’t match its photos or description: wrong colour or size, missing parts the listing didn’t mention, a bundle with items missing, stains, tears or damage that weren’t shown, main materials that differ from the listing, a counterfeit, or a fault the listing didn’t mention.

It doesn’t count when the buyer simply doesn’t like it or it doesn’t fit, or for small differences that don’t change how the item looks or works, such as a slight colour shift from lighting.

How a return works, step by step

1. The buyer reports it within 2 days. After Vinted says the parcel has arrived, the buyer taps “I have an issue” in the order and adds photos. Without a report, the order completes by itself and the seller is paid.
2. The order is suspended. The payment stays on hold, shown as pending in the seller’s balance.
3. The seller answers. They can offer a partial refund so the buyer keeps the item, give a full refund, or ask for the item back.
4. The buyer sends it back within 5 working days of the seller’s request, unwashed and unused, with everything that came with it. Miss that and the request closes and the seller is paid.
5. The seller checks it within 2 days of the return being delivered. After that, the refund goes out automatically.
6. The refund covers the item price, the Vinted fee and the original postage. Return postage isn’t refunded if the buyer paid for it.

Who pays for return postage

The buyer, by default, even when the item isn’t as described. A seller can choose to pay for it by sending a Vinted return label. The buyer picks how to send it back: a Vinted shipping option, a label Vinted generates, or their own tracked service. With their own service, they share the tracking number and photos of the packed parcel and label.

If you’re the seller

• Talk first. Vinted recommends finding a solution with the buyer. A small partial refund often costs less than the return trip.
• Dispute if you disagree. You have 14 days from the moment the order is suspended. You can’t dispute once you’ve agreed to a refund or asked for a return.
• Send evidence. Your listing photos, photos of the item and the packed parcel before you sent it, and your proof of postage. Keep that receipt until the sale completes.
• Don’t cancel to make it go away. Vinted warns that a seller who cancels gets no payment and no compensation.
• Check the return within 2 days. If what comes back isn’t your item, or isn’t in the condition you sent it, contact Vinted from the order before that deadline.

If you’re the buyer

• Open the parcel straight away and check it against the listing photos before you tap that everything is OK.
• Photograph the problem, the item and the packaging, and keep the packaging until it’s settled.
• Report within 2 days. After that, Vinted can’t refund you.

Most returns start with a photo

Look at the list above again: wrong colour, hidden stains, a size that doesn’t match. Those are listing problems, and the seller fixes them before the sale. Shoot in daylight so the colour is true, photograph every flaw up close, show the size label and the material label, and add measurements. Our guide to the worst Vinted photos shows what to avoid.

If you add a worn photo made with AI, it has to show the same item. Vintsee checks each photo against your garment and keeps colour, print, logos and visible wear, but keep your own photos of the real item in the listing too. They’re your evidence if a buyer opens a dispute.