Here’s a sentence I never thought I would be writing: people are selling their used knickers on Vinted.
No, not sneakily listing a pair of lightly worn Calvin Kleins as ‘New’, but deliberately worn and unwashed underwear intended for a very specific type of customer: fetishists.
If you have been reading my blog for a while you will know that I love Vinted and use it almost daily, so I am obviously shocked and appalled at this behaviour 🤭
Not really, I’m actually really enjoying going through the dodgy listings for research a bit of a laugh. Selling used underwear on Vinted is obviously against the terms and conditions, but that has never stopped the internet before, has it?
Anyway, as a fan of the platform, I couldn’t not dig into this, so here is what I found.
How it Works
If you have been on the Vinted app for more than 5 minutes, you will know it is supposed to be a place to sell your old jumpers, impulse buys, and those Zara pants that looked great on the model but make you look like you have a gunt.
Technically, you can sell underwear on the platform, but it has to be brand new with tags. Used underwear is absolutely not allowed. Banned. Forbidden.
But where there is a naughty niche there is always a sneaky workaround.
In this case, that sneaky workaround comes in the form of this little hashtag: #iykyk
This stands for If You Know You Know (if you didn’t already know), and it is doing a lot of heavy lifting here. It is a sort of wink wink nudge nudge to the sort of pervert – sorry, I mean buyer – who likes sniffing other people underpants.
Actually, maybe I did mean pervert after all.
A listing for a lacey pair of panties might say something like:
“New, never worn. DM before buying. #iykyk Check bio”
Then if you go to the bio you will see something like:
“A girl’s gotta eat 🫶 TG – Luckygirlxx / SC – Luckygirlxox”
Which loosely translates as: These pants aren’t actually new, you little rascal, and if you want to talk business, hit me up on Telegram or Snapchat.
So you see, it really is a case of ‘if you know you know’.
It’s Not Really About Selling the Item
There is a bigger picture here, and these enterprising undie entrepreneurs are being pretty savvy. I suppose some of them do actually sell the listed items via Vinted’s platform, but what they really advertising for is the buyer.
You see, a lot of these pant sniffers are repeat buyers, so if the seller can get them to send a message via Telegram (TG) or Snapchat (SC), they have found a regular customer.
So in actual fact, the Vinted listing is just the start. It’s a sales funnel. The seller is using it like a personals ad. It’s similar to Tinder, but instead of meeting someone who “Likes dogs, long walks, and travel”, you’re matching with someone who “Likes sleeping with fragrant lacey French knickers under my pillow”.
Once the ‘relationship’ has been established, the two parties can arrange ongoing sales privately. Some even offer a subscription service. I kid you not. At our house, we have a subscription to Hello Fresh and Disney Plus. Meanwhile, Barry from Milton Keynes has a monthly standing order with xSweatyGymGirlx for her workout knickers.
Who is Buying This Stuff?
Be it underwear, lingerie, bikinis or gym shorts, there are seemingly buyers aplenty for this stuff. That goes for men and women by the way, this fetish isn’t exclusive to women’s undies.
The question I want an answer to, is who is buying this stuff? Who is the customer? Is there a ‘type’ or do fans of unwashed pants come in all shapes and sizes? I would hazard a guess that 90% of them are men, but maybe I am showing my own biases there.
Whoever they are, there are clearly a lot of them. But what on earth are they doing with the pants they buy? I mean, I’m a woman of the world so I have a pretty good idea, but what about afterwards – do they just throw them away? Frame them? Keep them in a locked box?
I want to know but I’m sure as hell not going to Google it 🤣
Each to their own I suppose. No one is getting hurt, no one is being taken advantage of, everyone understands what they are buying and selling. It’s only underwear at the end of the day, it’s not uranium.
I do feel a bit bad for the unsuspecting bargain hunter innocently shopping for budget briefs though. I bet they get a shock when they send that DM.
Thinking About Selling Your Own Used Undies?
Look, I’m not going to judge you. I might not be selling my own worn panties on the internet, but that doesn’t mean I don’t admire the creative hustle of people who do.
We live in an expensive world, and everyone tries to monetise things when they can. Some people sell old tech or old books, some do dog walking on the side, some moonlight as private tutors, others offer babysitting services. And some? Some sell their pants to Barry in Milton Keynes. Gently worn. Using secret codes and hashtags.
I suppose you should be aware that it is against Vinted’s terms and conditions, and they will probably close your account if they catch you. But that would require someone taking the trouble to report you, and even if they did, I’m not sure Vinted are all that incentivised to act.
It’s a huge platform operating in loads of countries, and nothing happening here is illegal. So policing the #iykyk thing isn’t easy, or perhaps even worthwhile. Plus, what’s to stop someone simply opening another account?
We’ve all got a drawer full of pants we never wear anymore. So if MK_Barry wants to pay £20 a pop for them, why not let him?
That said, I want to make it clear that this is not something I want to do. So if you see a MillieSellsKnickers flogging her wares on Telegram or Snapchat, it’s 100% definitely not me. Ok? 😇