The empty package scam can cost both sellers and buyers money, between disputes, contested refunds, and lost sales. A seller reveals a simple method to thwart the scam and secure every transaction.
It sounds like the beginning of a bad joke. Between February and March 2026, Steve wanted to sell a few comic books on Vinted. Five transactions that could have earned him at least 400 euros. But the promising deal turned into a string of bad luck. All five customers complained: every package arrived practically empty. Instead of the five to ten comics they expected, they received only one or two.
“For over a month now, some of my buyers have been receiving only 10% of their order,” the disillusioned seller wrote on the social media platform Reddit. Without understanding what is happening, Steve is losing both his comic books and a good portion of the 400 euros he was hoping to make.
This is what is known as the “empty package scam,” a technique that involves removing the contents of a box to make it appear as though it was shipped empty. It’s hard to say whether the buyer or the carrier is the scammer. Nevertheless, reports from disillusioned sellers are on the rise, and many are looking for ways to protect themselves. In the comments, one man is proud of himself: he’s found the solution.
Pascal Mugen is a retrogaming enthusiast (old video games). On Vinted, this experienced seller, with over 400 sales to his credit, offers “mainly electronics and video games. Generally, these are packages with high market value.” A user of the platform since “the very beginning in France,” he had to adapt after a few bad experiences.
“Because I had a few issues with customers and read stories on Reddit, I decided to reinforce my packages,” he tells JDN. The goal: to secure his box with a few identifiable elements that will prove the package was opened after shipment.
For high-value packages, he uses a well-established technique: “I secure my packages with custom adhesive tape. Not only is it very strong, but it’s impossible for a dishonest buyer to open the package, remove the product, and reseal the box without it being noticeable.”
A ten-euro trick that saved him a sale six months ago. “A buyer claimed the package had arrived empty. So Vinted asked him to send photos or videos of the empty package. The problem: in the photos, you could clearly see that the tape wasn’t the same. The buyer had resealed it with generic tape.”
Pascal Mugen must have taken a certain pleasure in sending a video of the box being packed, which clearly showed that the custom tape wasn’t the same.” Filming the packaging process is, in fact, his second technique for proving his good faith. But even here, Pascal Mugen doesn’t just settle for filming.
“To guarantee the video’s integrity, I film the entire packing process without any cuts. To prove that the video hasn’t been altered through editing, I place a stopwatch next to the package and play background music to demonstrate the seamless continuity of the process,” he explains.
Final safeguard: “I wrap the box in an opaque bag, securely taped shut, to prevent anyone from recognizing the contents from the outside.” A small box containing a phone, for example, is easily identifiable, he says.
It’s a restrictive procedure that he regrets having to implement: “I really think it’s a shame that we have to go to such extremes to protect ourselves from dishonest people.”
This restrictive procedure is also motivated by Pascal Mugen’s loss of confidence in the arbitration of secondhand platforms. “In 95% of cases, Vinted rules in favor of the buyer, whether they’re honest or not.” This figure is often cited on social media, though it’s impossible to verify. When contacted by our editorial team to ask whether Vinted does indeed favor buyers over sellers, the Lithuanian company had not responded by the time this article was published.
