Most likely a good few of you will be surprised to read my post (I hope there will be at least one person to read it 馃槵) but if not, that's fine as well.
Some of you may remember that I posted about what I've been doing for the past year and a half in a couple of my posts. It was in September 2024, when I finally decided to start reorganizing the things I have and get rid of what I don't use anymore.
Vinted must be a familiar app for most of the Europeans on Hive. It's a widely known platform making supply and demand of used items meet. I saw a good opportunity to give a second chance, a second life if you want, to my things I don't need and use and am not giving to charity either as those are not destined for charity. Recycling, reusing, repurposing is very important for me, especially if we're talking about items in totally perfect condition.
When I told my dad what I'm doing, he said something like "so much work for just a little money" but what does he know, right? The truth is, you won't get rich out of it although you can make nice money if you're good. You need to get the items/clothes in shape, take good photos as being online sales, that's what the buyer is looking at, the photo you take. It takes time indeed, but totally worth it knowing someone else is going to enjoy your product.
Knowing what sells and establishing a fair price is key in this business, as in every business in fact and I'm pretty good at it. For me, this passion started quite early, when I was still a teenager, we used to go to the flea market and sell clothes and things we didn't need anymore and I loved it.
Today everything has been moved online and the face to face contact between the buyer and the seller has long been gone. You list your products, establish a price and wait. But what would sell? That's the big question.
During the covid lockdown, I used my little spare time I had to learn sewing. YouTube helped me a lot, I was lucky to find some good tutorials and started creating shoulder bags reusing jeans and shirts I bought for pennies from the charity shop. Recycling old clothes was really good for several reasons, but there was a lot of byproduct, that I didn't want to throw away, so those got stored and now their time has come.
One of the byproducts that I got a lot were buttons. Each shirt had around 11 or 13 buttons, good quality, nice ones, looked like new and I didn't have the heart to throw them away.
I got like quarter of kilo of buttons and this week someone bought this pack. I don't know what they are going to be using them for, but I could not be happier. Brand new buttons cost a fortune, so it's a win win for both parties.
Another byproduct (if I can use this expression) I got with each pair of jeans was the zipper. Very good quality, metal zippers, so I had no heart to throw them away, I thought I'd use these at some point for some project, but my life has taken a different turn and have no time for sewing, so I have listed these for sale.
I got some offers for the zippers, but the right buyer has not come yet. No worries as there's time, I'm not in a hurry.
The most shocking item I've seen listed (AND SOLD!!!!) on Vinted is egg holders. When I first spotted a lot listed, my first reaction was: "Seriously?", so I added to Favorites to see if there's a demand for it and in a day the lot was sold. My jaw dropped, as who would pay the fee and the shipping, plus the price for these that you can buy for free, but it seems there are people who want them.
I had like 12 at home, have been collecting them as they are excellent for protecting books if you have to send some, but now I'm redirecting them and will be listing my lot soon.
It's amazing how many things you don't even consider have value. Yes, they say "One man's trash is another man's treasure". I wouldn't call trash as there are good things someone can still use and the biggest win is that this way waste can be limited to some extent.
I've seen users selling leftover fabrics, threads, toys kids don't use anymore, vintage items, you name it. This app (not trying to advertise it) has really connected supply with demand and they have the best infrastructure so far.
In almost two years I'm using the app, managed to get rid of quite a lot of things and I'm glad those items found a new owner. It's also healthy to declutter your home, get rid of the things you don't need and give space for new things.
If you're a newbie, you may want to check out these guides:
