Guides · Car seats · Vinted messages
What questions should I message a Vinted seller about a second-hand child car seat?
What do eBay and Vinted actually publish — and what does RoSPA say?
MayTally does not invent marketplace rules. Two published lines are easy to check, and they are not the same.
Swipe sideways for the full table
| Source | What it says (as published) | What that does not mean |
|---|---|---|
| eBay UK product-safety policy | New child car seats that meet UN R44 or R129 may be listed by eligible sellers. The same page states: "Used car seats aren't allowed." | A listing that slipped through is not a clearance from RoSPA |
| The Sun, quoting an eBay spokesperson | "Pre-owned or used car seats are prohibited from our site" and eBay says it uses block-filter algorithms | Filters can miss a listing; the policy is still a ban on used seats |
| The Sun, quoting a Vinted spokesperson | Items must be lawfully placed on the UK market before listing; if the item came with instructions or safety warnings, include them | That is a market-placement rule, not a crash-history check |
| Vinted UK Catalogue Rules (checked 10 September 2026) | Name specific banned baby items (for example some sleep products). They do not spell out a used-car-seat ban in the same words as eBay | Listings can still appear; appearance is not an official all-clear |
| RoSPA child car seats | Do not buy a second-hand seat online. Only consider one from family or a friend if you know the history, have the original instructions and it is not too old | A polite Vinted thread does not turn a stranger into family |
Which? lists Vinted-style marketplaces in the same risk group as other unknown sellers: you will not know if the seat has hidden crash damage. GOV.UK (OPSS, 3 June 2025) says do not buy second-hand baby car seats.
Which questions should I paste into the Vinted chat?
Send these as one message before you offer postage or a meet. You are collecting facts RoSPA already lists: history, instructions, age, suitability, and whether you can try the seat in your car.
- Crash history "Has this seat ever been in a car during a collision or parking bump, even if no child was sitting in it and you cannot see damage? Please answer yes, no, or I do not know."
- Exact model "Please send a daylight photo of the brand and model name on the seat or label — not the listing title. I need the exact model to find the official PDF."
- Approval label "Please photograph the approval / E-mark label so the text is readable. If that label is missing I will not buy."
- All original parts "Does it include every part it left the shop with: base, support leg, inserts, lock-off clips, crotch pad, and any Isofix guides? List anything missing."
- Instructions "Do you still have the paper booklet? If not, can you send a link or file of the manufacturer's PDF for this exact model?"
- Age and storage "When was it bought, how many children used it, and where has it been stored (house, loft, garage, shed)?"
- Try-before-pay "I need to fit it in my car before I pay. A posted parcel or porch pickup will not work for me."
If any answer is "not sure", "probably not", or they refuse photos of the label, treat that as RoSPA's unknown-history problem. Do not fill the gap with a guess.
How do I read a seller's reply without treating it as an all-clear?
- "Never in a crash" from someone who bought it used themselves — they cannot know the first owner's cars. RoSPA wants you certain of the history.
- A first-name listing title ("Joie spinny seat") without a model photo — you cannot match the official manual or a Which? Don't Buy name.
- "Manual is online somewhere" — ask them to send the exact PDF. Lullaby Trust says you can usually download instructions from the maker; that still needs the correct model.
- "Posted only" — you cannot try the seat in your car. RoSPA: if you cannot get it to fit securely, do not buy it.
- A price well below a new seat of the same name — that is not evidence the seat was unused. Official pages worry about hidden damage, not the bargain.
This page does not cover recall searches. If you have a model name, run it on the GOV.UK Product Safety Alerts list yourself. No listing means no recall on file, not that the seat has a known crash history.
Should I accept Vinted postage for a child car seat?
Postage gives you a box, not a fit check and not a history. RoSPA's before-you-accept list includes examining the seat and trying it in your car. A courier cannot do either. If the seller will only post, you are buying an online stranger's seat — the situation RoSPA tells you not to use.
A local meet is only useful if you bring the car and the questions above have already been answered in writing. It does not turn the seller into "family" on RoSPA's test.
What if the seller ghosts the crash-history question?
Silence is an answer. People who know a seat has never been in a car collision can usually say so in one line. Which? says if you have any doubts about provenance, do not buy. MayTally does not grade the seat; we only note that the official check you needed did not arrive.
In shortPaste the crash, model, parts and manual questions first. eBay's published UK rule bans used car seats; Vinted still shows listings and tells sellers to include manuals. Neither chat nor a posted parcel replaces RoSPA's rule: do not buy a second-hand child seat online.
I already bought one on Vinted — what now?
Identify the model from the label. Download the maker's instructions for that model only. Search the model on GOV.UK recalls. Try the seat in every car it must fit. If the label is gone, you cannot match a manual — stop at that fact rather than inventing a fit. If you will not use the seat, do not relist it as "Vinted-checked".
Questions parents ask
- Is it against Vinted's rules to list a used child car seat?
- Do not take a listing as proof either way. eBay's UK product-safety policy says used car seats are not allowed. Vinted's Catalogue Rules, checked on 10 September 2026, do not use that same sentence; a Vinted spokesperson told The Sun that items must have been lawfully placed on the UK market and that manuals should be included. RoSPA's advice does not depend on the app: do not buy a second-hand seat online.
- The seller sent a PDF from a random file host. Is that enough?
- Use the manufacturer's own UK or brand support page and match the model name on the seat. A renamed file from chat can be the wrong generation of the seat. If you cannot find the official PDF for that exact model, you do not have the instructions RoSPA asks for.
- Can I ask them to post it and return it if it does not fit?
- Vinted buyer-protection terms are the platform's, not a crash test. RoSPA still wants a try-in-car before you accept the seat. Postage plus a later return does not tell you the seat's history.
- They say it was only used for six months. Does that settle age?
- Ask when it was manufactured or first bought, not how long the current seller used it. RoSPA says check the maker's advice on how old the seat should be before replacement, and do not accept a seat that is too old. A short recent use does not reset the clock.
Sources
Official pages first. If this page and the official page disagree, the official page wins.
- RoSPA / Child Car Seats — Second-hand child seats — checked 10 September 2026
- eBay UK — Product safety policy (used car seats aren't allowed) — checked 10 September 2026
- The Sun — Warning for parents buying second-hand kids’ essentials on Vinted and eBay — checked 10 September 2026
- Vinted UK — Catalogue Rules — checked 10 September 2026
- Which? — Don't Buy child car seats (second-hand checklist) — checked 10 September 2026
- GOV.UK OPSS — Consumer products: buying second-hand goods — checked 10 September 2026
This is information, not a guarantee of any payment, and not medical, legal or product-safety advice for your home. Prices and rules change; figures carry the date they were checked. Recall status comes from official records only — a product we cannot find is not a safety all-clear. Tell us if we got a fact wrong.