I sell my kids’ old school uniforms on Vinted – items cost just £1 and there’s a little-known way to search for them
A SAVVY mum has revealed a little known way to search for school uniform bargains on Vinted.
Rachel Beech, 43, uses the app to sell bundles of clothing including trousers, shorts and shirts at the end of the school year.
The woman, from London, said buying used uniforms can help parents save money.
However, she stressed that if you want to sell you children’s kit, you need to keep in mind that timing is key.
To have the best chances of selling, Rachel said she tried to post all the items on Vinted as soon as the school holidays began.
She listed five pairs of grey trousers, five pairs of grey shorts and four white shirts on the app – and they all sold quickly.
All the items were priced at £1 each, so the buyer got new uniforms for their children at a bargain price.
Parents usually have to spend hundreds of pounds buying new items for school uniforms.
And there’s a little-known way to search for them.
Vinted doesn’t have a specific section to sell or buy school uniforms, the mum explained these are easy to find by typing “school” in the search bar.
Rachel, who runs Fetching, an app helping parents to share the school run with their friends and family whilst keeping the school informed, made £14 in total from her recent sale.
The mum told The Sun: “I will say that timing’s pretty key here – I definitely made an effort to get everything listed quickly after the schools broke up.
“I have previously sold shorts and trousers although the white shirts are not always in the best state by the end of the year!”
She added: “I have found that there are some years when the school uniform has a really hard life and it barely makes it to the end of term in one piece.
“Other years though, the children grow so quickly that the uniform has only been worn for a few months.”
Rachel said that when parents don’t know anyone they might donate their children’s uniforms to, listing them online – as she did on Vinted – is a good option.
Not only does this reduce waste, but it’s a way for parents to help each other and save some money ahead of the school return, Rachel said.
She added: “School uniform is an annual cost that most parents dread and I am a big believer in the collective power of parents when they work together.
“If you don’t know someone that you can donate your old uniform to, I would definitely list it.
“The technology exists to reduce waste and help each other – let’s make the most of it.”
Rachel's top tips for selling on Vinted
Rachel shared some tips for parents to sell or buy school uniforms on Vinted:
- How to search for items: School uniform isn’t a category on Vinted but you can search by it, so make sure you use ‘school’ in your item title or description.
- Price realistically: Unless the item is “new with tags”, people are looking for a bargain on Vinted.
- Accepting offers: There are mixed feeling on accepting offers, Rachel said, as she explained: “My view is that an item is only worth what someone is prepared to pay for it, so I would usually accept an offer provided it wasn’t unreasonable.”
- Clean everything: The mum said: “This probably goes without saying, but grubby clothes are definitely a turn off.”
- Remove any name tags from the uniforms you sell.
- Add more items: Rachel said that if you have bundle discounts on your Vinted store, it might be a good time to list any unused notepad or stationery set that’s been sitting in a drawer for some time.
- Think broadly: Rachel said: “Back To School shopping is about more than just uniform, it’s a good time to sell items like football boots, plain coloured trainers and swimming trunks as well.”
The mum said she previously worked with the parents-teacher association (PTA) to sell uniforms over Christmas and during summer events.
She explained that parents would collect school uniforms at the gate, sort it and then sell it.
However, she said this initiative, usually raising money for the school, doesn’t always make a lot of profit as not many parents are willing to pay for second-hand uniforms.
Rachel added: “Also, a lot of parents shared uniform within their friend groups but, where many people make friends within their own year group, this is not always possible because the children are the same size.”
The mum also shared a few tips that parents could consider to save money when buying uniforms.
This includes buying branded uniform in a group with other parents to save on postage.
She said: “We take it in turns to place an order or go to the shop and take orders from the others so we don’t all have to pay for delivery.”
Rachel said she also doesn’t recommend buying branded uniform unless it’s required by the school.
She said: “Many school uniform shops will offer trousers/skirts, bags and shirts, but high street shops and supermarkets are more affordable and good quality.”
EXTRA HELP WITH SCHOOL UNIFORM COSTS
IF you can't get targeted help from your council, you might have some other options available to you.
In some areas, you can talk directly to your school, which might be able to offer you clothing.
Or, you might be able to get cheap garments from low-budget shops or charity stores.
Some charities offer help to families in need too.
But bear in mind charities often have a limited amount of money to give and usually have specific criteria which must be met in order to get a grant.
Charity Turn2Us has a free grants search tool on its website which you can use to find out what help is available to you.
Meanwhile, you can always try approaching your nearest Citizens’ Advice branch.
If you don’t know where your nearest Citizens’ Advice branch is, you can find out by visiting www.citizensadvice.org.uk/about-us/contact-us/nearby/.
If you’re not eligible for a school uniform grant you might be able to get help through the Household Support Fund.
It comes as a study found that the average child will lose, damage or destroy £236 worth of school uniform during their time at primary school.
A survey of 1,200 parents with children aged four to 16, found 45 per cent of kids will lose a jumper, while 25 per cent will permanently misplace a jacket.
And 22 per cent will even lose shoes before they reach secondary school age – with boys twice as likely to lose a pair than girls.
Water bottles are the most commonly lost or broken items during the early school years, followed by pens and pencils, and clothing.
Shoe retailer Deichmann commissioned the study to launch its ‘Back To School’ campaign, which is offering buy one get one half price across all school shoes.
Simon Wilson, director at the footwear chain, said: “It’s understandable that parents – and kids – can find the back-to-school shop time consuming and stressful, customers want speed and ease.
“Our research shows parents have to fork out more than £200 on lost or broken school items. And parents say for more than 40 per cent of kids, they find the school shop boring.
“By having stock available ready to select on the shop floor, it helps minimise stress when shopping with children.”
The study found the cost-of-living crisis has made shopping for back-to-school “harder than ever”.
As such many parents are sacrificing their own needs with 41 per cent forgoing purchases for themselves in order to replace a vital school item.
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