Selling Pokémon Cards on Vinted UK: Fees, Rules, Safety

Can you sell Pokémon cards on Vinted UK?

Yes, if they are your own cards. Vinted's Catalogue Rules list "trading cards" among the hobbies and collectables that standard and Pro sellers may sell, and Pokémon is not singled out. What is banned is counterfeit cards, graded cards without authenticity certificates, and reselling new items you bought in order to resell them.

That last rule decides who Vinted suits. It works for a collector clearing duplicates, or a parent selling a childhood binder. It does not work as a way to buy cards or sealed product and flip them. If that is your plan, read the section on commercial selling below first.

How much does Vinted charge to sell Pokémon cards?

Sellers pay nothing to list or sell. Vinted's Help Centre says "there are no fees for uploading your items or selling them on Vinted", and you receive the full payment for your item in your Vinted Balance. The buyer pays the Vinted fee, which the price list gives as "usually 3% to 8% + £0.3 to £0.8", plus postage.

The Vinted fee is charged on orders placed with the "Buy now" button, and Vinted says it covers platform costs including safety measures, member support and the refund policy for items bought from non-professional sellers. Vinted says the rename from Buyer Protection fee to Vinted fee is "not a new or additional fee".

So the price you set is the price you get, but the buyer sees a higher total. For how that compares with other routes, see our guide to selling Pokémon cards in the UK and our eBay UK guide.

How and when do you get paid on Vinted?

Vinted sends your payment within 2 days of the order completing, moving it from "Pending balance" to "Available balance". An order completes when the buyer confirms "Everything is OK", or 2 days after delivery if they confirm nothing and report nothing. You then withdraw to a UK bank account, which can take up to 5 business days.

1. 1.

   The buyer receives the card

   The buyer has 2 days from Vinted's delivery notification to confirm the order or report a problem.

2. 2.

   The order completes

   Either the buyer presses "Everything is OK", or the order completes automatically 2 days after delivery. Orders from Pro sellers complete automatically 14 days after the buyer receives them instead.

3. 3.

   Your money moves to Available balance

   Vinted says "You will receive your payment within 2 days", and the payment moves from "Pending balance" to "Available balance". Only earnings from completed orders can be withdrawn.

4. 4.

   Withdraw to your bank

   Add your bank details, open your Vinted Balance and choose the bank withdrawal. Vinted requires biometric authentication first, or phone verification if your device does not support it.

5. 5.

   Wait for it to arrive

   Withdrawals can take up to 5 business days (Monday to Friday, excluding weekends and bank holidays). Your Balance history shows each withdrawal and its expected arrival date.

Details that catch people out, all from Vinted's withdrawal page: withdrawals must be in pounds sterling to an account with an account number and sort code; you cannot use one bank account to withdraw from different Vinted accounts; the minimum withdrawal is £0.10; and if the payment provider asks for an identity check, your withdrawals are paused until you complete it.

How does postage work when you sell a card on Vinted?

The buyer pays for postage at checkout and picks the carrier, and Vinted sends you a prepaid label. You must use that label and carrier, and you must ship within 5 business days of receiving the order or it is cancelled automatically. Vinted lists Evri, InPost, DPD, Royal Mail, Relay, AnyVan and DHL Express as carriers.

• The buyer chooses the carrier. Vinted says it cannot track a parcel sent with a different provider than the order shows, and using a different label or the wrong shipping option cancels the order automatically.
• You choose which options to offer. In Settings, then Postage, you can switch providers on or off, although Vinted says not every provider can be disabled.
• The 5-business-day deadline can be extended. You can ask the buyer for 3 or 5 more business days, and they can accept or decline.
• Compensation exists but the limits are not on the pages we read. Vinted says sellers are "compensated for lost or damaged parcels depending on the set compensation limits". Check the limit for your carrier in the app before you post anything valuable.

Because the buyer picks the carrier and Vinted generates the label, you cannot choose a service to match the card's value the way you can when you post yourself. What you can control is the packing. Our postage guide shows the penny sleeve, toploader and card-sandwich method, and it applies whichever carrier the label is for.

What does Vinted ban, and does that include Pokémon cards?

Pokémon cards are allowed, but five rules matter to card sellers. Counterfeits are banned, graded cards need authenticity certificates, standard accounts are private only, new items bought to resell are banned for everyone, and items must already be lawfully on the Great Britain market. Vinted can restrict or permanently ban an account that breaks them.

The rules do not mention sealed Pokémon products by name. Our reading is that the "new items bought specifically to resell" rule covers them, because sealed boxes and packs bought from a shop or wholesaler are retail purchases resold for profit. If you are unsure about a particular item, ask Vinted before listing it. Our scams guide and fake-card guide help you avoid selling a counterfeit by accident.

When do you need a Vinted Pro account?

Vinted says you need a Pro account if you have a legal status as a business, act on behalf of one, or sell on Vinted to make a profit. Standard accounts cannot be used for buying and reselling at a profit.

Pro registration is open to sole traders, charities and registered companies, and Vinted lists the UK and several EU countries. A Pro account does not lift the stock rule, so it is no loophole for card flipping. Pro sellers also get paid later: their orders complete automatically 14 days after the buyer receives them. Sole traders registering need a National Insurance number and business details, and Vinted runs identity and business checks. You cannot convert a standard account while orders are ongoing, and you must withdraw your balance first.

Whether your selling counts as trading for tax is a separate question that Vinted does not decide. Our tax guide explains the difference between selling a collection and trading, and the £1,000 trading allowance.

What happens if the buyer says the card is not as described?

The buyer has 2 calendar days to report an issue and request a refund, and the order is suspended and your payment held until it is resolved. Refunds are for items that are significantly not as described, or damaged or lost in transit. You can offer a full or partial refund, or ask for the item back.

• Where the buyer pays return postage: Vinted's refund policy says buyers pay return shipping, but sellers may provide a Vinted-generated return label.
• If the buyer does nothing: after the 2 days, or once they confirm they accept the order, the payment is sent to you and Vinted cannot support a refund.
• Avoid the disputes you can see coming. A listing that says Near Mint for a creased card, or a photo of a different copy, invites a claim. Describe condition using the words in our condition guide and show every flaw in the photos, which is Vinted's own advice.

How should you photograph and list Pokémon cards on Vinted?

Use your own photos of the actual card, front and back, with the whole card in the first picture and any flaws shown. Vinted allows up to 20 photos, bans collages, and says not to use stock, watermarked or found images. Name the card, set, number and condition in the listing.

1. 1.

   Identify the card

   Note the name, set, number and variant. Our guides to which set a card is from and how to read a card cover symbols, numbers and set codes.

2. 2.

   Grade the condition honestly

   Use Mint, Near Mint, Lightly Played, Played or Damaged, as in our condition guide, and err on the low side.

3. 3.

   Photograph the card itself

   Take the front and back in natural light with no flash or filters, with the entire card in the first picture, and add close-ups of any whitening, creases or scratches.

4. 4.

   Protect it for the post

   Sleeve and toploader it, and sandwich it between rigid card. See the postage guide.

How do you avoid scams when selling on Vinted?

Keep the whole sale on Vinted. Vinted tells members to avoid leaving the platform to contact others or send payments, to be wary of messages that push you elsewhere, and not to open suspicious links. You never need to leave Vinted to confirm a payment or receive an order.

• Be wary of pressure. Treat any urgent message that demands you click a link or move to another app as suspect.
• Use the prepaid label. A "better" courier or a request to post to a different address than the order shows is a red flag.
• If you are phished: report it to Vinted through "Contact us" or [email protected], change passwords, turn on multi-factor authentication, and ask your bank whether a payment can be reversed.

Our guide to avoiding Pokémon card scams in the UK covers the buyer side.

Does Vinted report your sales to HMRC?

Vinted must pass seller information to HMRC under UK reporting rules, and it contacts you if you complete 30 or more sales, or sell over €2,000 (about £1,700), in a calendar year. Vinted's page states that completing a seller report does not mean you are obliged to pay tax.

Staying under those numbers does not make income tax-free, and passing them does not make it taxable. The rules that matter are covered in our guide to Pokémon card tax in the UK, which cites gov.uk.

Is Vinted the best place to sell Pokémon cards?

It depends what you are selling. Vinted suits casual sales of your own cards, with no seller fee and a ready-made label. It is a weaker fit for valuable single cards, because the buyer picks the carrier and you cannot match the service to the card's value, and it is not allowed for reselling stock you bought.

For a whole collection in one go, our sell your cards page has a form where you list what you have. We sell on eBay as techtrotree as well as in our own singles shop, where every card is photographed as sold, and our eBay guide covers that route for sellers.