If you sell on Vinted, you've had them: an offer of £3 on a £15 jacket, or "would you take half?" before anyone has even said hello. Lowballing is part of Vinted culture. It helps to understand why buyers do it, because then you can price and respond in a way that stops it eating into your margin.
Why Vinted buyers lowball
1. The checkout total is higher than the listed price
Buyers on Vinted pay a buyer protection fee and shipping on top of the item price. A £10 item becomes noticeably more at checkout. Many buyers offer low to bring the total back to what they think the item is worth. See Vinted selling fees explained.
2. Vinted is seen as the bargain app
Vinted's reputation is cheap secondhand clothes. Buyers come expecting deals, and some assume every price is inflated.
3. It costs nothing to try
Sending an offer takes a second. If one in ten sellers accepts a lowball, it's worth it for the buyer to send ten.
4. Sellers often accept
Some sellers, especially people clearing a wardrobe rather than reselling, accept low offers just to get rid of things. That teaches buyers lowballing works.
5. Some buyers are resellers
Resellers source on Vinted to sell elsewhere. They need a low buying price to make their margin, so they offer low on anything underpriced or desirable.
6. Offer limits encourage starting low
Vinted limits how many offers a buyer can send. Some buyers open low to leave room for a second offer. See when Vinted offers reset.
How sellers can stop losing out
Price with room built in
If you expect offers, list a little above your minimum. A 10–20% cushion lets you accept a reasonable offer and still hit your target. Know your floor before you list. See how to price Vinted items for profit.
Counter, don't just decline
A polite counter at a fair price turns many lowballs into sales. Buyers who opened low often accept a middle figure.
Use bundle discounts
Encourage buyers to buy several items for a discount instead of haggling on one. You pay shipping once and move more stock. See how to price Vinted bundles for profit.
Make the listing justify the price
Clear photos, measurements and an honest description make a price feel fair. A vague listing invites "what's your lowest?" See Vinted listing tips and the Vinted description template.
Don't take it personally
Ignore offers that are obviously too low, or reply with your best price. Arguing doesn't make a sale.
How to handle lowball offers on Vinted has replies you can copy.
Know your floor, automatically
You can only decide quickly whether to accept an offer if you know the item's real margin. DepopAutomation.com's profit tracker logs what each item cost you and the fee-adjusted profit when it sells, so you know which offers still make money.
Good listings also attract fewer lowballs. The AI Vinted lister writes detailed listings from your photos and uses Google's Nano Banana model to clean up the images, the Vinted bulk upload tool lists a whole haul at once, and relisting refreshes items that have sat for a while.
Conclusion
People lowball on Vinted because buyer fees push the checkout total up, the app has a bargain reputation, offers cost nothing, sellers often accept, and resellers need cheap stock. Sellers can protect their margin by pricing with room, countering politely, encouraging bundles and making listings that justify the price.