WRAPPING up a designer Moschino scarf in specially bought unicorn-pattered paper and popping a ‘thank you’ card along with the accessory inside a parcel bag, Stef Jones smiled.
It brought Stef’s Vinted ‘income’ up to £800 that month – and each item only takes minutes to sell.
Stef, from Torquay, Devon, who is founder of a poverty charity called Punk Against Poverty, aims to make £800 every month – or nearly £10k a year – selling old clothes on Vinted.
As well as selling her old designer clothes – which she has a penchant for and ‘impulsively buys’ regularly – she flogs her sons’ Brody and Romeo’s items.
“They’re 11 and seven and grow really quickly,” she said. “Plus they are totally different body shapes and have really different styles so don’t mind.”
She donates all her profits to her charity which supports people struggling with poverty in the local area.
Stef's top tips
- Make sure the item is clean and well presented in the pictures
- Use good lighting – I would never photograph things at night
- Take loads of pictures – front, back, label and a close up of the fabric
- Do an honest description – if there is a flaw admit that
- If there is an error and you don’t notice, admit it and deal with it
- Never take items of items on the floor or somewhere grubby
- Send the item in nice packaging – you’ll get brilliant reviews
- Always give people feedback – it works both ways
- Send the item as quickly as you can – you have 5 days, but I like to do it on the day
- Communicate with the buyer – as soon as they say they’ve bought it, say ‘thanks’
“It is such a rush seeing the money rise and rise and knowing I am helping poorer families who don’t have much,” she said.
Single mum Stef started selling on Vinted in October 2022 and quickly realised she could make money selling her old, expensive outfits including a Ted Baker bag for £75, a Marks & Spencer green shirt dress for £5 and the scarf for £20 (she bought it second hand for £30).
She also sold brand new football boots of her son’s for £12.50 which she had bought for £30. “But in this situation they were no longer appropriate as he needed different ones, having changed schools, and I had lost the receipt,” she explained.
Whereas her original plan was just to flog her old stuff, she quickly realised – if you were clever – you could sell basically anything. “So I thought ‘why not get rid of the boys’ stuff too,” she said. “I am not greedy and don’t overprice. I will put things in bundles and mark things as they should be marked.”
Better get something than nothing
She added: “I have loads of clothes so it makes so much sense.
“I’m willing to haggle because I would rather sell them for a few quid than nothing.”
She has more than a thousand 5* reviews and attributes this to a few things – including her honesty about the condition of the garment, the speed at which she posts the items and the packaging it arrives in.
“I don’t just package it up in an old bin bag,” she said. “I make an effort. So I’ll post a ‘thank you’ card in and use a proper label maker.”
But what are her views on the tax rule?
Asked about how much time it takes a week, she said it was about three hours. “The label maker is a Godsend,” she said. “It’s really sped things up.
“It’s still time-consuming but I’ve put my heart and soul into my charity so I don’t mind.”
She’s disappointed in tax rules which means sellers will have to pay if they earn £1k-plus.
“I’ve already paid tax on the original item,” she said. “And it’s going to charity. Generally people don’t start side-hustles like this because they’re rolling in it.
“But I have been self-employed before so I am aware of what I am doing so I won’t stop – my charity needs it.”
