Vinted tackles counterfeiting with verification service

Buyers on second-hand fashion platform Vinted can now have more authenticity of expensive items verified by experts. The service is already available for hundreds of designer and streetwear brands.

Cost: 10 euros

The expertise of German luxury platform Rebelle, which Vinted acquired last year, is put to good use: a team of experts examines the pieces at a verification hub in Hamburg. Vinted hopes the verification by trained experts can make it easier to sell more expensive items. 

Buyers will see a diamond badge when they click on an ad that qualifies for verification. During checkout on the platform, they can then choose to pay to have the item verified. That costs ten euros, which includes both the service itself and shipping to Vinted’s verification hub. For sellers, it is free.

More than 200 brands

If an item is found to be counterfeit, Vinted sends it back to the seller, who then cannot upload the item again. If sellers repeatedly offer counterfeit items, their account will be permanently blocked. The buyer receives a full refund of the purchase, service and shipping costs.

The Vinted article verification service is currently available in Belgium, France, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands for bags, shoes, accessories, jewellery and watches worth over 100 euros. More than 200 brands are already available for verification: among them Bottega Veneta, Celine and Jacquemus or Adidas and New Balance. Gradually, Vinted will add more brands.