Secondhand fashion apps like Depop and Vinted once stood as beacons for budget-conscious style lovers, offering unique finds and a chance to recycle fashion responsibly. But by late 2024 and into 2025, those promises have frayed at the seams. A Which? survey of 1,300 British buyers uncovered that 57% of Depop users and 22% of Vinted users have reported being scammed in the past two years, signaling a serious crisis in the secondhand marketplace.
The methods are as creative as they are devastating. Buyers shell out for "gently used" luxury goods, only to receive low-grade fakes—or worse, nothing at all. Sellers, meanwhile, are often baited into bypassing platform protections through off-site payment apps like Venmo or Cash App. Once the money moves off the platform, it vanishes along with the scammer, leaving little to no recourse for the victim.
Some scams are even more elaborate. Fraudsters build trust by successfully selling low-cost items, then, once comfortable, offer bigger-ticket deals through private messaging, luring victims into unsafe payment methods. A 23-year-old university student confessed to The Guardian she lost £40 trying to score a pair of designer jeans. “I thought I was beating the system,” she said. “Instead, I got played.”
The sellers aren’t immune either. One case involved a Vinted seller who shipped a rare vintage jacket after a buyer faked a confirmation message. The real platform had no record of payment—and the jacket was long gone.
Experts attribute the rise in scams to a combination of anonymity and scale. Millions of listings flood these apps, making moderation a herculean task. Despite AI-powered scans and manual reviews, many fraudulent profiles slip through, opening new scams daily.
There's also a psychological angle. In the thrill of scoring a deal or a rare fashion find, caution tends to fly out the window. Scammers know this and exploit it expertly, weaving just enough authenticity into their scams to fool even seasoned shoppers.
The good news? Awareness is growing. Which? emphasizes that buyers who stick strictly to platform-based messaging and payments dramatically lower their risk. Community-driven initiatives, such as scam-warning pages and buyer protection groups, are gaining traction. Meanwhile, both Depop and Vinted have announced enhanced verification systems and updated payment warnings to better protect their users in 2025.
But until these defenses fully take hold, secondhand shoppers must tread carefully. Vet sellers, demand proof photos, never leave the platform to pay, and remember: if the deal seems too good to be true, it probably is.
In the fast-moving world of resale fashion, it takes just one careless click for everything to blow up.