If you received a baby diaper in your mailbox, you’d probably be confused (or maybe even enraged), but for some people who shopped for secondhand clothes online, that’s exactly what happened.
Vinted, a second-hand app where people can buy and sell old items on an online marketplace, has had a meteoric rise to success, quickly becoming a billion-euro company taking on other e-commerce sites. rivals such as Depop and eBay.
And while many sellers may take unusual routes to sell their items, such as using a cardboard David Attenborough to model their clothes, some have also taken a rather unusual approach to packaging their items.
From purses wrapped in baby diapers to crisp packets and even pizza boxes, it seems like anything goes when it comes to the packaging in which items are shipped.
A large number of videos have appeared on TikTok in which shoppers, who were probably expecting a standard brown package, are completely amazed by their deliveries.
With the meteoric success of Vinted, a flood of strange packaging methods has emerged on the site (pictured: a package of Vinted packaged in a pizza box).
From purses wrapped in baby diapers (left) to packets of crisps (right) and even pizza boxes, there seems to be no holes when it comes to shipping an item.
A series of strange videos have appeared on TikTok of amazed Vinted customers sharing their packages (pictured: an item in an Alpen box)
Some have revealed that their items were wrapped in cereal and Cornetto boxes, as well as Barilla pasta containers.
Martina Darling from Suffolk was not very happy when she discovered her item arrived on her doorstep packaged in plastic rubbish bags.
“I just picked up two packages from Vinted and I honestly don’t know why I worry when I send packages,” he fumed.
Pointing to the clear bag on his passenger seat, he added: “This is obviously just a paper bag with cling film, round like an Aldi bag and this is just a rubbish bag.”
“Honestly, I don’t know why I try so hard to get pretty packaging for people.”
However, others burst out laughing after coming across their strange Vinted packages.
Sophie, 30, from South Wales, laughed when a dress she had ordered on the e-commerce site arrived in a clear takeaway box.
“I love Vinted, but I just picked up a package and it was delivered to me in a to-go box, it’s a dress,” the mother laughed: “It’s great.”
Some customers have managed to see the funny side, like Sophie (pictured) from South Wales, who laughed after receiving a dress in a clear takeaway box.
Beth Howen, 22, set the bar even higher and collected her new pair of sneakers in two separate Boots pharmacy bags (left).
However, Martina Darling from Suffolk wasn’t too happy when she discovered her item arrived on her doorstep packaged in plastic bin bags (pictured).
‘It’s literally in a takeaway box. What’s the strangest thing you’ve had your packages delivered to? Because this is by far the strangest thing I’ve ever been given.”
Several of his followers chimed in, joking that it was “ok to send stuff from Vinted.”
To which Sophie replied: “There are NO rules when it comes to Vinted packaging.”
Another added: “I used to buy mailer bags until someone sent me something in an ASDA bag so now I do the same.”
But a takeaway tin may not be the strangest Vinted packaging yet, as Beth Howen, 22, picked up her new pair of trainers in two separate Boots pharmacy bags.
“No, I’m sorry, but this Vinted packaging is the best yet,” the surprised young man wrote: “I’m intrigued to see if anyone can top this.”
I had previously received another pair of shoes from the site enclosed in two thin, bright green plastic co-op bags.
People also flocked to the comments section of his clip to share their own strange experiences with the site.
“I work at a store that ships Vinted packages and someone literally left their package in a Greggs pie bag,” one shared.
A second joked: “I got a bad review because I wrapped it in Christmas paper like???”
“Someone wrapped my parcel in two GCSE maths books,” another Vinted shopper revealed, while one said: “They sent me a coat in a dog food box and it rang so loud.”
While the use of pizza boxes and nappies may be comical to some, Tiny Box Company founder Rachel Watkyn OBE advises against sending items in food boxes due to the impact waste can have on your products.
One woman even received her bag from the e-commerce site in a Cornetto box.
Tiny Box Company founder Rachel Watkyn OBE advised Vinted sellers to repurpose their old Amazon bozes (pictured: a Vinted item packaged in a Barilla pasta box)
Vinted’s rules say that packages must be placed in “sturdy outer packaging,” such as a cardboard box (pictured: a Vinted dress that was shipped in a pasta box)
She told MailOnline: ‘Your last Amazon box or the last box you received something in is the perfect packaging to reuse.
“You should reuse whenever you can instead of buying containers no matter how ugly or strange they may seem.”
Rachel instructed sellers to inform their customers if they were going to reuse less conventional forms of packaging.
According to Vinted’s standards, packages must be placed in “strong outer packaging”, such as a cardboard box, so that the delivery can arrive in good condition and be protected from dirt during transport.
The e-commerce site also requires users to wrap items with proper inner packaging to prevent deliveries from shifting and breaking.