A woman who spent £160 on a package from Vinted has shared her horror the product that arrived on her doorstep, as she says the parcel was not at all what she expected12:17, 26 Jul 2026Buying secondhand items online is always a bit of a gamble. There are some huge positives to shopping on sites like Vinted, eBay, and Depop, as not only can you often find bargains on the reselling platforms, but you'll also be doing your bit to stop the items from ending up in landfill.‌However, there are risks that come with secondhand shopping, too. Buying from strangers online means you're never completely sure whether they're telling the truth about what they're selling, and as one woman on social media has discovered, you can't always trust that your Vinted items will arrive in good condition.‌A woman who regularly shares her thrifting finds and tips on reselling items posted a video on TikTok in which she explained she spent £160 on a set of plates and bowls, but when the parcel arrived on her doorstep, she knew she'd be disappointed.‌Despite the sellers writing "fragile" on every side of the box, they had failed to package the items correctly, so almost every single piece of the £160 set was smashed to pieces.Opening up the first of two boxes, the woman was shocked to find that her four Emma Bridgewater plates, which were priced at £40, had been stuffed into a bag for life and loosely wrapped in bubble wrap. But instead of wrapping each plate individually, the seller had decided to wrap all four plates together, meaning they smashed inside the bubble wrap.Content cannot be displayed without consent‌She said: "I did ask this person to wrap [the items] really well, and they did confirm they were going to."She then showed messages between herself and the seller, where the seller said they had told their husband to make sure they were packed safely, and said they "definitely will" be extra careful with the shipment.However, another package containing six plates, which she paid £90 for, was packaged in a similar way and resulted in every single one of the plates arriving smashed to pieces.‌The third part of the order, which contained a collection of Emma Bridgewater bowls, was also packaged with nothing protecting each individual item, meaning several of the bowls were also broken when they arrived.The woman said: "You're telling me they put this in the post, thinking it would survive? Let this be your reminder that writing 'fragile' on a box doesn't mean anything!"She also showed a screenshot of her Vinted order, which has now been cancelled, and a refund is being processed. However, as of the time of writing, it's unclear whether she will be getting her money back for the broken items.‌Commenters on the post were heartbroken for her, as many of them said it was an oversight on the seller's part, as more should have been done to protect the delicate items from being smashed.One person said: "Every plate should be wrapped in bubble wrap separately, and then the whole thing should also be wrapped in bubble wrap, like come on, you could do better!"Another added: "Personally, [with] something like that, I would wrap [them] separately in bubble wrap and stuff the box with bubble wrap and newspaper to stop it from moving. Such a shame for you and the seller. Hope you got your money back, as [that's definitely the] seller's fault."Article continues belowA third wrote: "So annoying and preventable. [I've] had this happen a few times. [The] last one was a mirror wrapped in one sheet of brown paper and a carrier bag."