Vestiaire Collective is a massive global marketplace for designer, luxury, and vintage fashion brands.
Unlocking the World of Vestiaire Collective: A Comprehensive Guide to Luxury Resale
In the bustling realm of fashion commerce, Vestiaire Collective stands as a global staple for designer, luxury, and vintage. Vestiaire is the leading global online marketplace for luxury resale. With a mission to revolutionize the industry into a more sustainable force, Vestiaire champions the circular fashion movement. This blog is your backstage pass, unraveling the intricate tapestry of Vestiaire Collective—from the stringent authentication rituals to the best practices for crafting the perfect listing, navigating the unique photo requirements, and even delving into the financial intricacies of selling on this exclusive platform. Whether you're a seasoned seller or contemplating your debut, consider this your go-to guide for navigating Vestiaire Collective and the world of high-end fashion resale.
Empowering Sustainability: Vestiaire Collective's Mission
Vestiaire’s mission is “transforming the industry for a more sustainable future by promoting the circular fashion movement as an alternative to overproduction, overconsumption, and the wasteful practices” of the fashion sector.”
In late 2023, Vestiaire recently announced the removal of thirty additional brands from their marketplace including H&M, Gap, Zara, and Urban Outfitters. Vestiaire is taking a stand against overproduction and overconsumption by banning fast fashion brands from their marketplace.
Vestiaire Collective is a global favorite, as their authentication process, quality control standards, and buyer experience are unparalleled on other peer-to-peer marketplaces.
This article will cover everything you need to know to start selling on Vestiaire Collective, including what you can sell, listing requirements, the authentication process, making sales, shipping, getting paid, and expert tips and tricks.
What is Vestiaire Collective?
Vestiaire Collective is the leading global marketplace for designer and luxury pre-loved fashion. Vestiaire reports 23 million members worldwide in 78 countries, with 20,000 products added daily.
Fun fact: Vestiaire acquired the Tradesy marketplace in late 2022. Scroll down to learn about Tradesy vs. Vestiaire Collective.
Choosing Excellence: The Unmatched World of Vestiaire Collective
What sets Vestiaire apart? Buyers and sellers love Vestiaire due to the unique customer experience; all items are reviewed for condition, quality, fair pricing, and authenticity. Vestiaire also provides unparalleled customer support, safety in delivery, and the largest online collection of exquisite designer and luxury fashion.
Many rules and regulations are imposed on Vestiaire sellers, such as pricing standards and condition grading guidelines. These efforts ensure buyer satisfaction and allow Vestiaire to maintain it’s status as the largest secondhand luxury empire in the world.
What Can You Sell on Vestiaire Collective?
Vestiaire Collective is the largest global marketplace for new and pre-loved designer, luxury, vintage secondhand clothes and fashion accessories.
Looking for a Vestiaire coupon? Receive $30 off your first purchase with the welcome code: WELCOMEVC
Vestiaire is exclusive and exquisite, they allow only higher-end brands in acceptable condition. Click here for the list of accepted brands on Vestiaire Collective.
Vestiaire Collective rejects overconsumption, poor quality, and overproduction, and has explicitly banned fast fashion brands to reinforce the idea of quality over quantity.
Vestiaire also has some strict condition requirements, we will talk about condition and flaw requirements below! Buyers can shop with confidence, knowing that all items on Vestiaire are in acceptable and wearable condition.
Vintage sellers, “American Vintage” is an accepted brand on Vestiaire! Even if your vintage isn’t a well-known brand, you can use this “brand” for your qualifying vintage items.
Considering selling on Vestiaire Collective? Check out this blog: Top Selling Items on Vestiaire Collective in 2023
Dive into Success: A Guide to Selling on Vestiaire Collective
Image source: VC
You can create an account on Vestiaire Collective’s website or mobile app.
Vestiaire’s listing process is unique (in comparison with eBay, Poshmark, Mercari, Tradesy, etc.), and they require a bit more information due to their quality control and authenticity guarantee.
The Unique Listing Process on Vestiaire Collective.
While Vestiaire requires some specific information, the listing process is straightforward.
You will simply follow the prompts to enter the information about your item, draft a description, determine a condition, add photographs, set a price, and enter shipping information.
Crafting the Perfect Listing: Vestiaire Collective's Unique Process
Listing your items for sale is simple: you will just fill in the fields on the listing form.
It is important to note that all listings are reviewed by Vestiaire before being officially published. Be sure to include as much information as possible to avoid the listing being refused or requesting more information.
The required information is dependent upon the item but generally includes, as applicable, category, category specifics, style name, serial number, brand, size, material, condition, measurements, and a few additional details.
Resellers note that all of this information is required on Vestiaire, whereas a lot of it is optional, on other Marketplaces.
You can also type a written description, that includes all of that, and any additional information or description of your item’s condition.
Here are some required listing fields that are unique to Vestiaire that you’ll want to know about:
1. The Proof of Origin Field on Vestiaire
Vestiaire requires proof of origin which can include proof of purchase, an authenticity card or certificate, or a photograph of the internal tags including the serial number.
2. The Condition Field & Vestiaire's Condition Requirements
Vestiaire does not accept everything. All items must meet their quality control standards and the appropriate corresponding condition must be selected on the listing form.
If your item has imperfections, check out this form to be sure that you can sell it, and how to select the correct condition.
3. Measurements in Your Vestiaire Listings
Relevant measurements are required for many categories on Vestiaire Collective. They’re what you would expect- nothing too crazy. For example, I recently listed a Coach handbag and it required height, width, and depth.
4. The Price Field: How to Price Your Items on Vestiaire Collective
Although it is a helpful tool, you do not need to follow the Vestiaire recommended pricing. However, your listing will be rejected if Vestiaire determines that it is too high or too low, based loosely in consideration of comps on Vestiaire Collective.
Want more info? For expert tips on how to create the perfect listing for Vestiaire Collective, click here.
Picture-Perfect: Navigating Vestiaire Collective Photo Standards
Vestiaire has unique photo requirements, and they require them in a specific order for their quality control and authenticity review.
The purpose of this is two-fold: to ensure that Vestiaire's Quality Control specialists have all of the photographs that they need for preliminary review and authentication and to allow buyers to shop with confidence.
When you list on Vestiaire and crosslist from Vendoo, you will be prompted with the required photos and order for your listings.
For example, here is what the form looks like for a handbag:
Each required image (front side photo, back side photo, inside brand tag photo, photo of underneath, photo of inside) must be submitted in the order requested for the listing to be approved. This is to ensure that listings can be properly reviewed by the moderation team prior to publication.
Note that you can also add additional photos (up to ten photos in total). While this is optional, it is a requirement, depending upon the condition to show any wear or flaws to the item.
Vestiaire Tip: I have had a few images rejected because they are too dark. Be sure that your photos are well-lit and that all wording and serial numbers are visible.
How Long Does it Take for Vestiaire to Approve My Item?
All listings are reviewed by Vestiaire before being officially published. The listing review may take up to 48 hours.
You will be notified via email and app notification when your listing is approved or if additional information is required.
If your listing is rejected, it is likely a matter of missing information, the condition not selected appropriately, or additional photos required to determine authenticity. Learn more about why listings are commonly rejected in this article.
Vestiaire does not compromise its standards of quality control and authenticity. While the form is exhaustive, sellers and buyers love the trustworthy reputation that Vestiaire has established globally.
Once your listing is published, you will likely see instant activity from the huge global community of buyers!
How to Make Sales on Vestiaire Collective
Vestiaire provides sellers with many tools to increase visibility and sales: namely sending offers to likers and doing flash price drops.
How to Send Offers to Likers on Vestiaire
You can send offers to likers on Vestiaire and opt-in to receive offers from potential buyers.
Sending offers is simple. In the newsfeed, you will see likers, and you can click the notification to send them an offer:
Sending offers is a simple way to make quick sales!
You can also opt-in to receive offers from buyers, and buyers will be able to send offers to you (they can only be up to 30% lower than your sale price, Thank you, Vestiaire). You can turn this on
How to Do a Flash Price Drop on Vestiaire
Flash price drop is a feature that you can use as a “last chance” to make a sale. If an offer that you have extended is rejected or times out, Vestiaire gives you a chance to honor that offer price, making it available to all of Vestiaire for 48 hours only!
During this time, your item will be featured in the Best Deals feed on the app!
Decoding Fees: Understanding the Cost of Selling on Vestiaire Collective
What are Vestiaire Collective selling fees? How much does it cost to sell on Vestiaire? How much does Vestiaire take? Let’s decode the complicated Vestiaire fee structure:
It is free to list on Vestiaire Collective, and you don’t pay any fees until a sale is made. Vestiaire selling fees depend on the sale price:
Vestiaire fees are 15% of the final sale price of your item for items sold between $80 and $13,000 USD.
Items sold below $80 have a fixed selling fee of $12. Items priced above $13,000 have a fixed selling fee of $2,000.
There is a payment processing fee of 3% (or a flat fee of $3 for items sold under $80).
Are Vestiaire Fees Worth It?
Fees are very high when you’re selling lower-priced items but very low if you’re selling higher-priced items.
Here is a breakdown of how much you will make per sale:
- If you sell an item for $50, the Vestiaire fees will be $15 (a flat $12 selling fee and a flat $3 payment processing fee. You’ll make $35. This is actually 30%
- If you sell an item for $100, Vestiaire fees will be $18 (15% plus a 3% processing fee. You’ll make $82
- If you sell an item for $15,000, fees will be $2,450 (flat $2,000 fee and a 3% payment processing fee. You’ll make $12,550.
Note that these fees are current as of February 2023, for more information about Vestiaire Collective selling fees, click here.
Also, you do not have to pay for shipping! Vestiaire covers all shipping costs from the United States. See more below!
Note that Vestiaire does not accept items for sale priced under $18, but you wouldn’t want to sell those there, anyways, because of the fee structure.
Overall, the Vestiaire fees are amazing for items priced above $80, and you will want to focus on inventory that can sell for at least that amount.
You might also be interested in 10 Great Marketplaces Every Reseller Should Consider
Seamless Shipping: The Vestiaire Collective Shipping Process
How do you ship on Vestiaire Collective? Who pays for shipping? Here is everything you need to know about shipping on the world’s largest luxury resale marketplace:
Good news! If you’re in the United States, or any of the countries listed here, Vestiaire Collective covers all shipping costs. For other countries, shipping methods and costs vary.
Vestiaire’s shipping process is very simple: you will receive a prepaid shipping label available for download.
It is important to know that you must ship orders within 7 days or they will be automatically canceled.
The shipping service will depend upon the item, its weight, and your location. You just download the label from your email or your sales details page, print it out, stick it on your package, and ship it!
Is Vestiaire Collective Authentic? Setting Benchmarks in Quality and Safety on Vestiaire Collective
Buy Most sales on Vestiaire will go directly to Vestiaire’s offices for authentication before being shipped to the buyer. This is true of all international sales and all sales over $1,000.
Vestiaire Collective's authentication standards are the cornerstone of its reputation for quality and trust in the world of luxury resale. Renowned for its meticulous process, Vestiaire diligently ensures the authenticity of each item on its platform. The authentication process begins at the time a product listing is submitted for review. Employing a team of seasoned experts with an astute eye for detail, Vestiaire meticulously examines every piece for signs of counterfeiting, assessing elements such as craftsmanship, materials, and hardware. Beyond visual inspection, the platform often goes a step further, requiring sellers to submit proof of origin—whether it be through purchase receipts, authenticity cards, or detailed photographs of internal tags and serial numbers. Thereafter, many sales are intercepted for hand-inspection prior to final delivery to the buyer. This multi-faceted approach not only safeguards buyers from counterfeit risks but also underscores Vestiaire Collective's commitment to upholding the integrity of the luxury resale market.
How to do Direct Shipping on Vestiaire Collective
Direct shipping, when you ship the item directly to the buyer, is only available for some sales at the buyer’s discretion. Direct shipping is available to national sales within the United States when the sale price is under $1,000, and the buyer has declined Vestiaire’s authentication services and selected direct shipping.
You cannot opt-in or opt-out of direct shipping. You simply use the label they provide based on their rules and the buyer’s selections. You can learn more about shipping on Vestiaire here.
From Sale to Payout: Understanding Vestiaire Collective's Payment System
How do you withdraw your balance from Vestiaire Collective? When do sellers get paid on Vestiaire? Here is everything you need to know:
You will be paid quickly by Vestiaire, but it is entirely dependent upon the sale price and shipping type selected by the buyer.
Here is how it works:
Photo from the Vestiaire Collective Help Center
If your item is being authenticated, you’re paid as soon as authentication is completed by Vestiaire (usually within 5 business days).
If your item is shipped directly to the buyer, you will be paid 72 hours after delivery if there are no issues.
You can choose to have your funds immediately released to your Paypal account or directly deposited into your bank account in your account settings.
Selling on Vestiaire Collective vs. The Tradesy Website
If you sold on Tradesy marketplace, you probably know that Vestiaire Collective acquired Tradesy in 2022.
Vestiaire Collective has over ten times the amount of users that Tradesy did. This means that you have expanded your chances of sales significantly by moving over to Vestiaire!
Used Designer bags are among the top-selling categories on both Tradesy and Vestiaire Collective. That said, not all Tradesy items are eligible for Vestiaire. Here are some of the main differences between them:
- Unlike Tradesy, Vestiaire is not just for women. You can sell men’s and children's on Vestiaire, too!
- Vestiaire does not allow stock images or photos from the internet, whereas Tradesy did.
- Vestiaire does not allow as many brands and designers as Tradesy did, they are more exclusive in what you can sell.
- Vestiaire has more stringent photo requirements and guidelines: you must provide what they require, or your items will not be listed.
- Vestiaire does not publish listings immediately, they are all subject to internal review.
- Most sales on Vestiaire go to Vestiaire itself for authentication and quality control, whereas sales on Tradesy went directly to the buyer.
- On Vestiaire, you cannot edit a live listing. To add more information, you’re required to email them or submit more details for their review.
- Vestiaire fees are better (or worse) depending on the sale price.
Mastering Success: Strategies for Making Sales on Vestiaire Collective
In some ways, selling on Vestiaire is like selling anywhere: for best results, we recommend that you list consistently, take amazing photographs, use descriptive titles, maximize your descriptions for keywords, and promptly engage with likers.
In the Vestiaire Collective Help Center, you’ll find even more tips and tricks to help you make more sales.
Secrets to Success: Vestiaire Collective Tips and Tricks Revealed
Here are some expert selling tips directly from Vestiaire Collective. Essentially, they emphasize the importance of consistent listing, high-quality photographs, and strategic pricing.
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Consistency is key. To optimize your success on Vestiaire Collective, make it a habit to list items daily.
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Strategically select your brands. Vestiaire advises focusing on premium luxury brands like Hermès and Louis Vuitton for optimal profits.
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Stay in tune with trends. Keep your finger on the pulse of fashion by exploring platforms like Instagram, TikTok, and other social media channels.
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Align with the seasons. Recognize that shoppers often seek items for the upcoming season. Plan your listings accordingly to meet this demand.
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Capture attention with high-quality images. Looks matter, so use top-notch product images to attract a broader audience of potential buyers.
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Price Competitively. Vestiaire Collective emphasizes the importance of striking a balance in pricing—high enough to reflect your item's value, yet low enough to ensure a swift sale. Leverage Vestiaire's price recommendations based on comparable items.
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Embrace the convenience of the Vestiaire Collective Mobile App. Enhance your experience and stay seamlessly connected to likes and inquiries by downloading the Vestiaire mobile app.
Seamless Integration for Success: Elevate Your Vestiaire Collective Experience with Vendoo
In conclusion, as you embark on your journey into the world of Vestiaire Collective, armed with the comprehensive knowledge provided in this guide, remember that success lies in the details. Vestiaire, with its commitment to authenticity, quality, and sustainability, offers a unique platform for buyers and sellers alike.
Now, to streamline your experience and reach a broader audience effortlessly, consider crosslisting your items to Vestiaire with Vendoo. Vendoo simplifies the crosslisting process, ensuring that your products seamlessly reach the discerning community of Vestiaire Collective.
Take the plunge into the lucrative realm of luxury resale, contribute to a more sustainable future, and let Vendoo be your trusted companion in effortlessly expanding your reach on Vestiaire Collective. Elevate your selling experience—crosslist with Vendoo and confidently embrace the world of Vestiaire Collective!
Do you sell on Vestiaire Collective? Share your experience, tips, and tricks below! 👇🏽
