Negotiating on Vestiaire without losing the piece
What sellers actually accept, the timing that works, and the message templates we use.
Vestiaire's offer system is designed to feel adversarial — but the data, gathered across roughly 400 successful purchases, says otherwise. Most sellers accept offers between 12 and 18 percent below list. Anything more aggressive than 25% is rejected outright more than 80% of the time.
Timing matters more than people think. Offers placed on a piece that has been listed for 30 to 90 days have the highest acceptance rate — long enough that the seller has stopped expecting full price, recent enough that they haven't given up. Brand-new listings reject. Listings older than six months tend to belong to sellers who've forgotten about them.
The message that consistently works is short, specific, and warm. Mention one detail you noticed about the piece — the lining, the buttons, the way it photographs. Ask one practical question. Make the offer in the same message. Don't apologize for the offer.
Here is the template, used unchanged for two years: 'Hi — really love this piece, especially [detail]. Quick question on [practical thing]. Would you consider [offer] including direct shipping? Thanks for the lovely listing.'
