Methodology: how VTD BOT works out value, margin and gems

What this page covers

VTD BOT is an independent Vinted alert tool. It answers one question: once every cost is paid, does this item leave a margin? The robot runs four steps: read public listings, estimate a value from comparable listings, calculate the full buying cost and then the net margin, and finally flag the items that clear fixed thresholds.

We publish the principles and the thresholds, not internal coefficients. The rules that govern our content are in our editorial policy and sources.

Collection: what the robot reads

The robot reads only the public pages of the Vinted catalogue, sorted by newest first: vinted.fr, vinted.co.uk, vinted.com, vinted.com.au, vinted.es, vinted.it, vinted.de, vinted.nl and vinted.pt. It uses no Vinted account and never logs in to anyone's account.

Its reading comes from three kinds of search:

• the alerts that subscribers create;
• broad sweeps by item family (sneakers, streetwear, outdoor, luxury, vintage jeans, football shirts, bags, ready-to-wear, sport);
• reference searches on specific models, to measure their market.

A market is only read if it has at least one active subscriber. The robot pauses at night (local time of the market) and spaces out its passes irregularly, by a few tens of minutes.

Every listing it sees is recorded: price, title, brand, size, condition, the dates of first and last sighting, and the price at first sighting, which shows price drops. This data stays on our server. Only derived values and alerts go to subscribers' workspace.

Estimated value: the comparables principle

An item's value is never guessed from its asking price alone. The robot builds a group of comparable listings: same brand, same model (or same type of item), same size when it is known, and same condition class (used, new, damaged). For phones, storage capacity is a separate dimension.

• Minimum sample: at least 8 comparable listings are needed to estimate a value. Below that there is no value, so no “good deal” alert. No value is better than a wrong one.
• Window: the last 30 days, widened up to 120 days if the sample is too thin. Listings published more than 90 days ago and still online are discarded, because their price is not finding a buyer.
• Robust median: extreme prices are discarded before the calculation, whether too high (overpriced listings that linger) or too low (broken items, errors, scams).
• Asking price versus selling price: a cautious discount moves from the displayed price to the likely selling price.

When a title is ambiguous (broken item, single part, bundle), the robot also checks the description before flagging the item. Some items are deliberately left out of automatic estimates: high-end luxury, where counterfeits make an automatic value dangerous. On some models, a reference value checked by hand by our team acts as a ceiling. To do the estimate yourself: how to check sold prices on Vinted.

The “disappeared” signal

When a listing vanishes from a search that the robot did read again, that is a confirmed disappearance: the item was sold or removed. The robot uses it like this:

• a fast disappearance weighs more in the value than a listing that lingers;
• an unconfirmed disappearance (the search was not read again) weighs little;
• a price drop before the disappearance strengthens the presumption of a sale;
• once at least 8 confirmed disappearances exist, the value computed from the sold signal takes priority over the simple median of asking prices.

A disappearance is not always a sale (removal, reservation): it is a clue, not proof.

Full buying cost and net margin

The full buying cost adds up three things: the item price, the Vinted fees paid by the buyer and the estimated delivery.

• Vinted fees: the official formula for the market. In France and the euro zone it is generally 5% of the price + €0.70. In the UK it is 5% + £0.70 on most items and 8% + £0.30 on children's items. In the US it is 5% + $0.70. In Australia it is 5% + A$1.00, as observed on listings. Where Vinted shows the fees on the listing page (markets outside France), those fees take priority over the formula.
• Delivery: an estimate by parcel size based on the item's value, from an indicative grid. The real price depends on the parcel and carrier chosen at checkout.
• Private sellers: they pay Vinted no commission on a sale.

The net margin is the cautious resale price (a little below the estimated value) minus the full buying cost. It is therefore calculated after costs, never gross. The gap as a percentage is (estimated value minus price) divided by the estimated value. To check the sums by hand, see our Vinted fees page and the guide to finding underpriced items on Vinted.

Good deals, score and profitability index

The robot flags a good deal when two conditions are both met: the item is at least 15% below the estimated value, and the net margin reaches at least €10 in France (the equivalent in the currency of the other markets). Both are required, because on a low price the fees often swallow the whole gap. In your workspace, the “Gem” badge is kept for items at least 18% below the estimated value, with the same minimum net margin.

Every alert carries a score from 0 to 100. It starts from the gap to the value, adds a bonus if the item is “new with tags”, another if it already has many favourites, and applies a heavy penalty if the net margin is negative.

The profitability index, shown out of 10, combines the net margin in percent with how rare the size is: a rare size sells more slowly, so the index drops. Score and index help you sort your alerts; they do not predict a resale.

Limits and what we do not publish

We would rather say it plainly:

• An estimated value is an estimate, not a guarantee of resale. Real condition, photos, season and size all change the price.
• The robot only sees what it reads, meaning the searches it watches, not all of Vinted.
• We publish no value per model on public pages: they change every day and are only reliable when dated and recalculated inside the tool.
• The Vinted Barometer publishes aggregates from the same database: volumes by family and country, price spread between comparable listings, observed price drops and fees by country. It is updated weekly, with the date of the reading shown.
• VTD BOT is independent and not affiliated with Vinted. This content is general information, not financial, legal or tax advice.

Frequently asked questions