Is Vestiaire Collective Legit?

Vestiaire Collective has been around for many years, yet many sellers aren't quite familiar with this platform. What does selling look like here, and is Vestiaire Collective legit? If you've just opened your account, this marketplace may look confusing, but we're here to help. Here's all the information you need to figure out whether Vestiaire Collective is an authentic platform for selling pre-loved items. 

Is Vestiaire Collective Legit for Sellers?

Vestiaire Collective was founded in 2009 with the goal of promoting sustainability and circular fashion. This is not an ordinary online marketplace – it's so much more. Vestiaire is dedicated to the reselling of luxury fashion goods. Sellers on this platform can list the following items from high-end brands:

• Clothes, 
• Bags, 
• Shoes, 
• Watches, 
• Jewellery. 

Plenty of well-known fast fashion labels are forbidden on Vestiaire. This tells you everything you need to know about the type of community you can find here. But does it necessarily mean that the items you find here are legit? Is Vestiaire Collective authentic? 

Just like with all other online selling platforms, things are never black and white. However, we can say that most experiences on Vestiaire are positive ones. The platform is legit, but it's not without its downsides. The listing and authentication processes are somewhat unusual for e-commerce platforms, but that's precisely what sets this community apart from dozens of other multi-vendor marketplace platforms. 

Don't Be Scared of the Complex Listing Process

The first issue new sellers face when they start using Vestiaire Collective is the very difficult listing process. It's not complicated in technical aspects, but creating a listing requires providing a lot of information about the item. This is obviously necessary so that the platform can ensure a quality user experience for its buyers. Luckily, the platform tells you what information to type in – you just have to fill in the fields of the listing form. 

Next up, you need to post photos of your item, and they must be top-quality. The platform asks you to submit photos showcasing the item from all angles. These will be reviewed by Vestiaire's quality control specialists, so you want to make sure they are good. 

Keep in mind that Vestiaire Collective has to approve your listing before it's published. If it's not up to the platform standards, the listing can be refused or returned, so you can add information it lacked before. 

Is Vestiaire Collective Authentication Reliable?

Now, let's break down the core of this platform. The authentication process is what makes Vestiaire truly unique. The platform claims to have rigorous authentication that guarantees the quality of each item listed. But is Vestiaire Collective authentication legit? Can counterfeits slip through the cracks? 

The short answer would be – yes, Vestiaire Collective is trustworthy when it comes to screening for fakes. The chances that you'll find a counterfeit item listed on this platform are really low. However, they aren't zero. There have been reports of cases where items have passed the check even though they were counterfeits.

Sellers have also reported instances where Vestiaire's moderators have changed their listing descriptions without their consent, leading to confusion. However, no marketplace is perfect, and occurrences like these are quite rare. All in all, Vestiaire's authentication process is considered quite good.

What Does the Authentication Process Look Like?

Vestiaire takes security on the platform very seriously. It uses a combination of human verification and machine learning to filter out suspicious accounts, reducing the chances of counterfeit goods making it to the platform.

Before your listing goes live, Vestiaire's AI tools check the details of the listing to make sure the item is authentic. Additionally, human experts perform an authenticity check for selected brands to ensure peace of mind. To put this into perspective, Vestiaire's team of digital authenticators has rejected more than 360 million euros worth of items since 2020.

What Happens When You Sell an Item? 

If the buyer has checked Authentication & Quality Control in their order, Vestiaire Collective will provide a full physical verification of the item. When a seller packs up the order, it is sent to Vestiaire's warehouse first, where the authentication experts check it. 

This is a complex task – every little detail of the item is inspected. From the materials and stitching to the serial number, engraving, and typography, nothing is left to chance. After the authentication, Vestiaire's experts conduct enhanced quality control checks to ensure the item matches its listing. Only then will the order be sent to the buyer. 

Where Is Vestiaire Collective Authentication Done?

Vestiaire Collective has over 100 authentication experts internationally. They are based in authentication hubs in the UK, the US, Singapore, Hong Kong, and France. Every expert specialises in specific brands and has undergone extensive training. 

Start Selling Online on Vestiaire, But Don't Forget to Crosspost

Now that you know Vestiaire Collective is legit, you can post your items here with peace of mind and enjoy the income earned from your reselling business. However, remember that Vestiaire isn't the only quality marketplace platform out there. So, why not crosslist your items on other online selling platforms?

If your answer is the lack of time and energy to manage selling on multiple platforms, we have the perfect solution for you. Sign up for our excellent crossposting tool, Zipsale, and see how easy it is to manage numerous listings on different platforms when you have reliable multichannel listing software working to your advantage.