Research shows that fashion challenger Vinted has been rated the highest by buyers and sellers, outperforming its rivals among second-hand marketplaces, including Amazon (AMZN), eBay and Facebook.
The platform has been praised by sellers and buyers, achieving an overall customer rating of 75%, according to new analysis from Which?.
Vinted, a fashion and home decor marketplace, also received five stars for its search function and ease of contacting sellers, making offers and listing items for sale.
Social media giant Facebook’s marketplace and Gumtree, both more established platforms offering a wider range of items, came in second place with a customer rating of 68%. Facebook’s ease of listing items was rated five stars and paying for items was rated two stars. Gumtree received either three or four stars in each category.
Closely followed by eBay and the community company The Freecycle Network with 67%.
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Amazon’s marketplace came in fourth with a customer rating of 64%. However, satisfaction with the tech giant’s marketplace and people’s likelihood of recommending it fell compared to its competitors and the average customer rating across all platforms, which was 66%. Amazon received five stars for its search function and ease of making an offer or purchase.
Like Vinted, Depop specializes in fashion and home decor and is popular with younger people, who make up 90 percent of the global user base, but the platform received a customer rating of 61 percent.
Classifieds veteran Preloved had the lowest customer rating at 56%, receiving just two stars for contacting the seller and two stars for paying for items.
The consumer group said 66% of the 4,000 people it surveyed about buying had used an online marketplace and 63% of those surveyed about selling had sold something used since January 2020.
Despite this, over the past two years, 10% of buyers have filed a complaint with their chosen platform, stating that the goods were counterfeit or did not match the description and that they were unable to contact customer service if a problem arose.
A fifth (18%) of buyers and 23% of sellers said they opened accounts in the past year as the cost of living crisis put pressure on household budgets and people looked for more sustainable ways to shop.
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Another Which? survey found that 59% of consumers had to make some kind of adjustment in the last month, including selling items to cover necessary expenses.
Natalie Hitchins, head of home products and services at Which?, said: “People are looking for new ways to save money and shop more sustainably in the face of the cost of living crisis, so it’s perhaps no surprise that shoppers are flocking to second-hand marketplaces.
“Our research shows that some lesser-known platforms are highly rated by consumers and could be a good option for buying and selling used items. However, it’s worth checking the buyer protection offered by different marketplaces before parting with your hard-earned cash.”
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