Buying something on Vinted? By paying attention to this, you know that you are being scammed.

Suddenly I was fed up with that attic full of junk. So I started decluttering. That kind of thing happens to you spontaneously when you're almost 35.

Silly but true. I wanted to get rid of all that clutter. Clothes that I no longer wear. Clothes that I no longer fit after three kids. Everything went on Vinted. What a relief. Hop, another stack of packages to other people. Someone else is happy with it and my attic became emptier and emptier. By the way, I had never sold anything on Vinted before. I always thought it was a hassle, walking all the way to a package point for those two euros. A whole new world opened up for me: I was making money by cleaning up.

But as it goes with women: as soon as we earn money, we also think we can shop. That's practically free, right? They call it girl math so beautifully. So I went to spend my credit on Vinted right away. A nice sweater for the kids, a lovely cardigan with golden heart buttons with the price tag still on for me... Searching, looking: delightful. I did discover one thing: you can get scammed on Vinted and that mainly happens with branded clothing. And with more expensive items, like a Celine cap, for example. It seemed just right: such a black cap with that Celine logo on it. I almost made a bid when I noticed: this person had zero reviews. Zero.

And then alarm bells should start ringing, because that's absolutely not a good sign. If someone has no reviews from previous successful sales but puts expensive items up, it's usually fake. Too good to be true also applies on this platform. If you see a beautiful Loewe bag for an eighth of the normal price, it's often fake too. So just think a little logically and always use item verification. Then you can be sure that if you buy something expensive from a nice brand, it really is from that brand and not some knockoff junk. The last thing I want is to have that attic full of almost-purchases again. So I embrace the capsule wardrobe, focus on timeless and neutral items that you can combine well, and I leave that dark side of Vinted alone. Better you are warned now too.

FACTS

• Vinted has 65 million users worldwide, in France the app is used the most
• The most popular categories on Vinted are women's and children's clothing
• You don't have to pay taxes if you sell on Vinted as a hobby.