Photos and titles: the conversion layer
Sourcing decides whether a sale is possible. The listing decides whether it happens, and how fast. It is the cheapest lever in the whole operation and the one most consistently under-worked.
Titles are a search problem, not a copywriting one
Buyers find items by typing what they want. Your title's only job is to contain those words. Brand, model, category, colour, size — in the order a person would actually search — beats anything clever, because clever does not match a query.
This is the direct inverse of the mispricing signal from chapter 6. The listings you buy cheaply are the ones with vague titles; the listings you sell well are the ones with precise ones. Getting the model name right is worth more than every other listing optimisation combined, because it is the difference between appearing in the right search and not existing.
As of 14 September 2026, across the brands we watch leave Vinted's shelf, a Stone Island Hoodie departed at an average of €55 (433 watched departures in seven days) and a Fred Perry Shirt at €14 (460). At that volume the title is a search problem: leave out the brand or the category noun and the listing is not in the results those buyers are already typing.
- —Brand first — it is the most common opening search term
- —Model name, spelled the way buyers spell it
- —Category noun, so category browsers reach you
- —Colour and size, which are frequent filter terms
- —No filler: "rare", "vintage", "must have" match nothing anyone searches
A repeatable photo set
Consistency matters more than production value. Use the same spot, the same light, the same framing every time, and the listing stops being a creative task and becomes a two-minute routine you can do forty times in an evening.
The set that works: full garment flat or hung in daylight, a back shot, a close-up of the brand label, a close-up of the size label, a texture or fabric shot, and an honest photo of any flaw. That last one is not a concession — it is the single most effective return-prevention measure available.
Descriptions prevent problems, they do not persuade
Nobody buys because of the description. But plenty of people return because of what it left out. Measurements, exact condition, fabric, and any flaw with a photo — stated plainly — is the whole job. Persuasive adjectives add nothing and set expectations the item then has to meet.
Measurements deserve emphasis, particularly across borders. Sizing conventions differ between markets and brands, and a buyer working from a label alone is guessing. Pit-to-pit and length take fifteen seconds with a tape measure and remove the most common reason a garment comes back.
- ✓Titles exist to match searches: brand, model, category, colour, size. Nothing else.
- ✓A fixed photo routine beats occasional high-effort photography.
- ✓Photograph flaws deliberately — it is the cheapest return prevention there is.
- ✓Measurements in centimetres prevent more returns than any other single line of text.
Questions
Brand, model, category, colour, size — in the order a buyer would search. Filler like "rare" or "must have" matches nothing anyone types.
Five to seven covers it: full front, back, brand label, size label, fabric close-up, and any flaw. More than that adds effort without adding conversion; fewer than four leaves the buyer guessing about something.
No. They prevent returns. Measurements, exact condition, fabric, and a photo of any flaw — stated plainly — is the whole job. Persuasive adjectives add nothing and set expectations the item then has to meet.
For a cross-border listing it helps materially, because buyers search in their own language. A pragmatic middle ground is to keep the title's brand and model in their original form — those are searched identically everywhere — and translate the category noun and description.
Resale IQ turns a Vinted listing into one answer: BUY, WATCH, or SKIP — with buy-below price and best sizes.
Try a live check — Balenciaga Track →