A woman who spent £300 on a designer Coach handbag through Vinted was left fuming after the item arrived in nothing more than a flimsy plastic carrier bag, knotted at the top with no tape securing it. The buyer had been tracking the international parcel and was shocked to find the high-value purchase vulnerable to the elements and theft during its long journey.
Reddit Outcry Over Packaging
Taking to the R/Vinted community on Reddit, the disgruntled shopper vented: "Which sane person puts such a high-value item in a plastic shopping bag, with NO TAPE, just ties a knot on top and says 'Yep, looks good to me' and sends it? I have yet to open this, but I'm really hoping that it's complete. Like, ANYONE could open this bag while in transit. How can someone do this? Just how? Ugh... I'm so upset."
Eventually, the buyer opened the un-taped bag and discovered the Coach handbag appeared undamaged and intact. Despite the relief, the near-catastrophe left her dissatisfied with the seller's handling.
Rating Dilemma
The shopper turned to Reddit for advice on how to rate the transaction, questioning whether knocking off a star for the anxiety-inducing packaging would be fair. She said: "Okay, so the bag seems to be ok, but I'm still not satisfied with how the seller handled the packaging. I really wish to give 4 stars because of this. What do we think?"
Commenters overwhelmingly felt four stars was too generous. One wrote: "I think 4 stars is generous. That's absolutely crazy." Another added: "Unbelievable! And meanwhile I drive myself crazy gift wrapping the items I sell for $5. For $300 item could at least get a box from DT or a free box from a store." A third commented: "This is way less than 4 stars. I personally would give 1 star based on the cost of the item and the absolutely appalling packaging. Future buyers need to be made aware of this behaviour. Make it stand out."
