Vinted: How dropshipping is blurring the promise of circularity

In less than a decade, Vinted has established itself as a go-to for millions of Europeans. However, behind the stated ideal of a shared wardrobe, a more ambiguous reality is emerging. Disguised commerce is taking hold, with new ultra-fast fashion stock saturating virtual wardrobes. This article analyses a system being tested by its own excesses.

When the promise of circularity begins to crack

Buying and selling second-hand clothing, extending product lifecycles and consuming differently are the platform's core principles. It was built on an ambition as intuitive as it is effective: to make second-hand fashion a central pillar of the circular economy. However, beneath the apparent simplicity of peer-to-peer exchanges, the lines are blurring.

An ambiguous space has been created where occasional reselling merges with structured commercial practices. An investigation by the Dutch daily newspaper NRC Handelsblad has highlighted the scale of this phenomenon. Sellers on Vinted are offloading large volumes of new products from ultra-fast fashion brands, notably Shein or Temu, presenting them as second-hand items. This shift is not trivial; it questions the platform's ability to preserve the integrity of its model.

Second-hand that looks like organised commerce

Regular users have already noticed that some accounts feature “wardrobes” containing several hundred, or even thousands, of identical items. These products are often new, sometimes without tags, but are clearly from low-cost industrial supply chains. These sellers are not reselling their personal clothing; they are operating more like genuine retailers.

In practice, these activities face few operational obstacles. Listings remain online, high volumes are not systematically penalised and the line between personal use and professional activity is becoming blurred. As one industry observer summarises, “the platform imposes rules, but their enforcement seems inconsistent”.

Anatomy of a workaround: how to spot 'fake accounts'

The dropshipping mechanism is well-known in e-commerce. The seller does not hold the product; they wait for an order, then purchase it from a third-party platform which ships it directly to the buyer. For the user, the challenge is learning to detect these invisible supply chains.

Several recurring signs help to identify these disguised commercial accounts: listing volumes incompatible with personal use; systematically new or standardised products; visuals taken from catalogues or generated artificially; and a lack of purchase history coupled with automated responses. Taken together, these clues point to a structured business exploiting the environmental credibility of second-hand fashion to offload mass-produced textiles.

Structural ambiguity surrounding 'vintage'

The economic incentive is also clear. An item bought for a few euros on an ultra-fast fashion platform can be resold for three or four times the price under the labels “vintage” or “rare”. While the term “vintage” is not legally protected, its use creates an implicit expectation for the buyer that the product has had a previous life.

When these terms are used to sell new products in bulk, the ambiguity becomes deceptive. This situation highlights a central, albeit rhetorical, tension: what constitutes second-hand when an item has never been worn, was bought solely for resale, or comes directly from an industrial production line?

Position of the DGCCRF: no legal ambiguity

To clarify the framework, it is necessary to consider the position of the DGCCRF, the French General Directorate for Competition Policy, Consumer Affairs and Fraud Control. This French administrative authority, responsible for ensuring fair trading practices and consumer protection, was contacted for this article.

Contrary to popular belief, dropshipping is not illegal, but it must operate within a declared professional framework. A seller using this model must be a registered business and comply with all obligations under the Consumer Code. These obligations include transparency on identity, contact details, prices including VAT and withdrawal procedures.

The problem, therefore, lies in applying this model to a platform designed for private individuals. The DGCCRF is explicit: “Falsely presenting oneself as a consumer or providing false information about the essential characteristics of the product is likely to constitute a misleading commercial practice.” In short, an individual can become a dropshipper, but they then legally cease to be a private individual. Failure to comply with this status is heavily penalised, with penalties of up to two years' imprisonment and a 300,000 euro fine.

Platform responsibility and public reporting

With the implementation of the Digital Services Act (DSA), the responsibilities of marketplaces have increased. They must now be able to identify professional sellers and remove listings reported as illicit. The DGCCRF reports that it has already audited around twenty platforms on this basis.

However, a key distinction is made based on audience size. For ‘Very Large Online Platforms’ (VLOPs), defined as having more than 45 million unique monthly users in the European Union, potential infringements fall under the direct jurisdiction of the European Commission. This category now includes Vinted alongside giants like Amazon, Shein and TikTok. For smaller platforms, national authorities like the DGCCRF manage audits and forward reports to the relevant member states.

Beyond internal moderation, users have a proactive role to play. In cases of suspected disguised commerce or misleading practices, it is strongly recommended to file a report on SignalConso. This public system allows users to officially notify the administration of a breach, helping the DGCCRF to target its investigations and clean up second-hand platforms.

Critical risk for second-hand fashion

Beyond legal penalties, the very coherence of the model is at stake. By tolerating this mix of reuse and disguised commerce, Vinted is undermining its most valuable asset: the trust of its community. The danger lies not so much in the presence of fast fashion as in the erosion of sincerity in the act of buying second-hand. If these lines continue to blur, what was once an alternative to the mass market could become just another distribution channel, distorting the very spirit of responsible consumption.

Editor's note: Despite multiple enquiries from our editorial team to their HR and marketing departments, the various brands and fashion houses contacted had not responded to our requests at the time of publication.

This article was translated to English using an AI tool.

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