Which secondhand marketplaces are best for buying online?

SECOND-hand marketplaces have been rated from best to worst when it comes to shopping online.

It comes as Which? revealed a third of buyers have been scammed on many popular buying and selling platforms in the past two years.

The consumer champion surveyed more than 1,000 second-hand marketplace buyers and sellers.

The sites were rated on categories such as customer service, ease of listing items for sale, choice of postage options and seller fees.

Vinted took the top spot and was found to be the highest-rated second-hand marketplace for buyers and sellers with a customer score of 75% and 78% respectively.

It was the only platform to score four stars out of five for 14 out of 17 ratings across both surveys.

Vinted scored highly when it came to being user-friendly, ease of payment and delivery options, and having good communication between the buyer and seller.

However, Which? has concerns that Vinted customers only have a two-day window for raising issues – which may explain its low ratings for complaints handling.

In second place for buyers was eBay with 72%, it only dropped points against Vinted when it came to ease of contacting the seller and its choice of postage options.

However, Preloved just pipped eBay to the post for second place when it came to buyers, with a customer score of 69% – nine percentage points less than winner, Vinted.

When it came to the worst places to buy and sell, Facebook Marketplace came bottom of the list with buyers rating it a customer score of 66%.

Meanwhile, Depop was voted bottom of the list for sellers, with a customer score of 62%.

There are fees for selling online and it all depends on which platform you use, recently, eBay scrapped charges on April 8 for sellers of pre-owned fashion. 

Also, Rival Depop also axed its 10% selling fee for new UK listings on March 20 and Vinted hasn’t charged seller fees in eight years.

What about online scams?

The data revealed that a third of buyers (32%) and a fifth (22%) of sellers told Which? they had experienced a scam on a second-hand marketplace in two years.

Typically buyers reported experiencing receiving incorrect goods, no goods at all and some even said they had received counterfeit goods.

With the increase in popularity of buying and selling pre-loved items online, it is important to make sure that you properly check the seller’s profile and reviews.

The data found that some platforms are more prone to scammers than others, with nearly six in ten (57%) Depop buyers saying they had experienced a scam on the site.

The responsibility should not fall wholly on consumers to protect themselves from scammers.

Rocio Concha, Which?

This is compared to 22% of Vinted buyers surveyed who had experienced a scam in two years to January 2024.

Rocio Concha, director of policy and advocacy, said that these figures are “worrying”.

She added: “When buying and selling second-hand goods online, it’s important that people properly check the seller’s reviews and profile.

“However, the responsibility should not fall wholly on consumers to protect themselves from scammers.

“Second-hand marketplaces need to ensure there are proper checks in place to prevent scammers from advertising in the first place and that any scam profiles are quickly removed.

What did the platforms say?

Which? gave all of the platforms a chance to comment on the findings of the survey.

Facebook Marketplace declined to provide a comment to Which?

Preloved and Shpock did not respond to the consumer champions’ request for comment.

An Amazon spokesperson said: “This survey is deeply flawed, the findings inaccurate and does not reflect our own internal data or the experiences of our customers and sellers.

This survey is deeply flawed

Amazon spokesperson

“We take these issues incredibly seriously and last year we invested more than $1.2 billion and employed more than 15,000 people dedicated to protecting customers, brands, selling partners, and our store from abuse.”

Depop said that the safety and trust of its community is of “top priority” and they have a “wide range of measures in place to protect users from fraudulent behaviour.”

A spokesperson from eBay said: “We protect all users from scams by using multiple layers of technology and specialist investigative teams.

“We also have buyer protection programs like the eBay Money Back Guarantee, which means that if a buyer has any issue with their purchase, we will support them to get a refund.”

We take all reports of fraudulent and scam behaviour seriously

Simon Bungey, Nextdoor

Gumtree responded to Which? and said: “Illegal activity is never tolerated on Gumtree, and we do not hesitate to swiftly act against users who fall outside our strict posting policies.”

Simon Bungey, UK country manager for Nextdoor said: “We take all reports of fraudulent and scam behaviour seriously and pride ourselves in offering a safe place for neighbours to buy, sell and give away items in their local community

Finally Vinted responded to Which, it said: “The safety of members has always been a top priority at Vinted and the security teams work hard to ensure the best possible protection for the community.

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