Vinted users sell Shein clothing as vintage at inflated prices

Users on the resale app Vinted are selling clothing that appears identical to products from Chinese ultra fast fashion retailer Shein while describing it as vintage, DR has found. The items are typically listed at prices far above what they cost on Shein.

One younger woman from Aarhus has listed a grey top as a “finest vintage top from Barcelona”. Just weeks earlier, she sold an identical-looking top described as a “vintage T-shirt bought in Paris”. Both tops closely resemble a grey top sold by Shein.

Reviews of the woman’s previous Vinted listings show that this is not the first time she has sold clothing described as vintage that appears identical to Shein products. DR found several other users who systematically list similar clothing as vintage.

One user had 15 items listed that appeared identical to Shein clothing. None of the garments appeared to have a visible brand label. As with the other profiles reviewed by DR, the items were generally listed on Vinted for substantially more than their prices on Shein.

Daniel Mathias Bager, a senior legal adviser at the Danish Consumer Council, said some sellers appeared to be exploiting the price difference by buying clothing from Shein and reselling it as vintage.

“It is misleading” to describe Shein clothing as vintage, he said. Buyers may choose second-hand clothing to reduce their environmental and climate impact, but could instead indirectly contribute to further production if people buy more Shein clothing for resale.

In one listing reviewed by DR, a “vintage” grey top was priced at 350 kroner. An identical top was available from Shein for 85 kroner.

“That is quite serious. In percentage terms, it is a very high additional price,” Bager said.

Possible sanctions

Shein is a Chinese online retailer selling what is known as ultra fast fashion. The term refers to the constant arrival of new products, at an even faster pace than at fast fashion chains such as H&M and Zara.

Bager said sellers who sell enough clothing, or who buy it with resale and profit in mind, could risk sanctions under Denmark’s marketing law. That would require the Consumer Ombudsman to determine that the person was operating as a business, which would be assessed from case to case.

He urged buyers to complain to Vinted and demand a refund if they discover that an item bought as vintage is actually from Shein.

Seller says she acted in good faith

After DR previously reported examples of Shein clothing being sold as vintage on Vinted, several sellers said they had bought the items second-hand without labels and did not know they were from Shein.

A younger woman who, according to her profile, lives north of Copenhagen gave the same explanation. She said she had listed a top “in good faith” based on the information she had received when she bought it, and that if it was actually from Shein, she had herself been misinformed.

However, her previous listings show that she had earlier sold an identical top, also categorised as vintage. She had also sold several other items resembling Shein products as vintage, including a black top listed three times.

She declined to be interviewed. The other users who systematically sell Shein clothing as vintage did not respond to DR’s inquiries.

The Danish dictionary defines vintage as something older and of particularly good quality. Bager said it was misleading to use the term for Shein clothing because buyers may believe they are purchasing older second-hand clothing, but instead receive items from the lowest end of the scale in terms of quality and environmental impact.

DR reviewed current and previous Vinted listings from several users that were categorised as vintage and compared their images with results from Google Lens.