Vinted vs. Willhaben — hooked on one, rooting for the other
I recently found myself at a random cafe at the airport, having time to kill, but little energy. Out of the blue, in my sleepless haze, I see her pass by, folded in a triangle, floral design, earthy colours. The definition of class. She was a beautiful silk foulard, a type of scarf with colourful, usually symmetrical designs, that became a fashion item in France in the mid 30’s and was later popularised by brands such as Hermes, Dior and Balmain.
There it was, my hook to jump right away on Vinted: I had started this search a while ago, now I was ready to dive in with even more passion. Sitting on the plane 2 hours later, I had to acknowledge I was developing a mild addiction on this app. It provided me with an endless collection of visual stimuli I can fantasise about, just like Instagram does, plus joy of hunting with a purpose. Isn’t that what Willhaben does, for Austria-based folks? I decided to look a bit deeper on the user experience of the two apps, as I am a user, a clothes afficionado and a user experience designer, all-in-one.
Disclaimer: in my analysis below, we have to factor in that the two apps are designed for different purposes. Willhaben was designed as a general classifieds platform, not specifically for fashion. Its most popular category is real estate, followed by vehicles and clothes are just a small part of its wide offering. On the other hand, Vinted started and remains primarily a clothes marketplace and later has extended to other product categories. Moreover, I focused exclusively on my experience as a buyer on the mobile app, focusing mostly on the home feed. My analysis is by no means exhaustive, so feel free to add your points, I’d be glad to see them!
Ethics or why I root for Willhaben
Willhaben offers a service that anyone can use, regardless of their financial situation. There is a section dedicated to free stuff. This is how my former couch ended up at a refugee shelter in Budapest.
Moreover, willhaben generously offers the platform for unmediated human to human interactions. A few years ago, while exploring another temporary obsession of mine — folklore ceramic plates— I ended up taking long walks in several of Vienna’s beautiful districts to collect the plates and even was offered fresh fruit from a garden of a kind lady, along with the plate I bought. Another time, I traveled with a friend to Klagenfurt to get a handpan, a unique handcrafted music instrument and ended up having coffee with the seller who showed us all his instruments and played Didgeridoo for us! As an expat, these micro-exchanges made feel more connected to the social fabric that surrounds me.
Willhaben is reliably honoring the thrift culture in Austria since 2006. Thus, the brand carries some serious coolness vibes. How familiar (and sweet) does it sound to your ears “I’m busy, I’m gonna pick up something I found on willhaben later”? No need to say more, I think you know what I mean.
I see two downsides in Willhaben’s loose mediation policy: As chats are not closely monitored and translated, scamming gets easier and speaking german becomes necessary and that might block newcomers from using the app comfortably.
Vinted on the other side, mediates all interactions strongly. Chats are translated; sending phone numbers is discouraged and you cannot filter based on location of the seller. This practically means that if my neighbour next door has the perfect foulard for me, I will have to bump on her, by chance and might still have to pay postage and buyer protection fees to Vinted. Primary CTAs dictate the desired interaction — “make an offer” or “buy” — with secondary “ask a question”. In comparison, Willhaben’s default primary CTA is “send a message”.
UX or why I am hooked on Vinted
Vinted home feed feels like the facade of a store that has exactly what you are looking for. It features a two-column grid, subtle and compact typography, and allows only four images above the fold — giving them the space to shine through. Home only has one category “selected for you” and contains items that match your recent searches. Items that make it there, seem to be new uploads or hits (have many hearts) and — importantly, they tend to have good photos. You can scroll down endlessly and you get a nice little refresh every time you drag down the top of the home feed.
To create a sense of urgency — and arguably, a manipulative trigger — Vinted uses the label “inquired” on an item, that means a user has interacted with the seller for the item. When combined with the visible count of hearts, it sends a signal to the interested user that others want this too, which can lead to a FOMO feeling and to faster, impulsive purchases.
Willhaben’s home feed, on the other hand, feels more cluttered. It features ads, a “Favorites” section, and several categories — some of which I don’t recall ever searching for. Browsing within these categories is slightly uncomfortable: horizontal scrolling on small rows strains my thumb and does not allow me to enjoy what I see. Images are smaller than on Vinted, and their size varies between categories. The viewport displays four full and two cropped images, competing with larger, darker typography (compared to Vinted) and multiple bold purple “Paylivery” labels mixed in with the listings. Willhaben seems to not use urgency to motivate sales.
One feature that really stands out for me while shopping in Vinted are the filters, particularly for material and brands. Better materials is the reason I switched from fast fashion to second-hand shopping, so it’s absolutely a must for me and unfortunately does not exist in Willhaben. I also missed having a brand filter for foulards — while you can type the brand name in the search bar, it’s not quite the same.
My final verdict
For the time being, I find Vinted more pleasurable, but I am team Willhaben. Therefore, the ideas below address Willhaben and reflect only my perspective as a user and designer. Let’s hook those shopaholics and window shoppers up!
The home feed should be the shop facade that serves only your recent searches. Adapt the experience as much as possible to the user’s most recent quest and hide all clutter from the home feed away, behind a visible banner or button. Quests such as shopping for a silk scarf take multiple sessions, for users like me and I’d enjoy to be hooked right from the start, before performing any action on the app. When the user changes quest (or obsession!), then taking action is more justified; you can go back to the menu and switch category. Everyone knows by now in Austria that Willhaben is the place for everything, from renting a flat to buying a sweater, so giving less saliency to the variety offerings and more to my previous quest, serves (my) scattered mind.
Moreover, the platform could motivate users to upload high-quality product photos by prominently featuring the best images on the home feed. I’m not sure if Vinted uses some sort of AI to select the best photos, but it’s clear that the app’s aesthetic and overall user experience is shaped by the content users provide. Better photos lead to faster sales and more revenue for the platform, with Airbnb being perhaps the most well-known case where product photography boosted conversion.
In the end, Vinted gaves me a lot of joy shopping — and that joy is immense, no doubt about it. It’s visually curated, seamless, and stimulating, a near-perfect machine for discovery and purchase. But Willhaben, by offering unmediated space to connect, has enabled me and others to create little stories of kindness and connection and has supported low-income people to find objects they need. And perhaps, that’s the kind of design we need now more than ever; one that doesn’t only cater to transactions, but fosters human connections.
Article can be found also on my Medium stories.