Shipping Deadlines and Rules on Vinted, OLX and Allegro Lokalnie

Why shipping deadlines matter more than speed

A slow parcel annoys a buyer, but a missed deadline ends the sale. On Vinted and OLX, the platform cancels the order when the time runs out, with no one deciding. By then you have often taken the item off your other marketplaces as well.

A cancelled order can also waste money you've already spent, such as a promotion or packaging. Hidden costs of reselling shows how to count them. The inventory management guide shows how shipped items fit into your stock records.

Vinted: 5 business days, then automatic cancellation

Help page 753 gives the same rule in the UK, Poland, France and Germany: ship within 5 business days, or the order is cancelled automatically. Vinted's UK Terms put the same limit on the prepaid label: "if not, the Transaction will be cancelled". Per the UK help page, the buyer pays for shipping and chooses the method, from the carriers the seller has enabled in settings. The carriers and prices on vinted.pl weren't verified.

If you can't ship in time, ask the buyer for 3 or 5 extra business days before the deadline. They can refuse.

OLX: confirm within 72 hours, ship within 3 working days

OLX delivery works with Płatności OLX, so the buyer pays first. Parcels are organised through Alsendo sp. z o.o., and Annex 9 covers carrier liability, including InPost's rules. Under §11.8 of the Terms (effective 27 April 2026), the buyer is refunded automatically if you don't confirm within 72 hours, if you reject the order, or if you don't hand the parcel over within 3 working days of accepting.

The two deadlines are chained: the 3 working days start when you accept. If you can't get to a drop-off point for a day or two, confirm once your drop-off is planned, but always within the 72 hours.

When OLX pays you, the 48-hour claim window and what a lost claim costs are covered in OLX delivery and Pakiet Ochronny for sellers.

Allegro Lokalnie: carriers, prices and Smart!

Allegro's Lokalnie fee page lists Allegro Paczkomaty InPost at 10.95 zł and Allegro One Box at 10.49 zł, both gross. These are the only two carriers that count for Smart!. The commission is charged once the buyer pays within 72 hours or fills in the delivery form. That's your signal to pack. After that, the pages give no seller deadline. The buyer's fallback is a non-delivery claim under Allegro Ochrona Kupujących after 14 days. If a claim goes against you, your account may be suspended and you may have to repay Allegro.

Smart! from the seller's side:

• If both sides have Smart!, Allegro pays for your first 6 parcels a quarter. Unused ones don't carry over.
• A buyer without Smart!, or with an order under 45 zł (49.90 zł for Smart! activated after 1 March 2026), pays a flat 10.95 zł.
• On Smart! bez limitu, each free Smart! sale beyond that pool costs you 4.99 zł.

Example: a 30 zł book still costs a Smart! buyer 10.95 zł to ship, because the order is under 45 zł. On cheap items, mention the 45 zł threshold in your listing so buyers aren't surprised.

Our rule, not Allegro's: ship paid Lokalnie orders within 3 working days, as on OLX. Don't treat the 14-day claim window as your deadline. For accounts and fees, see selling on Allegro Lokalnie.

Pickup windows for returned parcels

A return has its own deadline, and it's short. OLX's deadlines help page gives the pickup windows in the table above. It doesn't say what happens if you miss one. On an accepted OLX claim, the item comes back through Zwroty OLX at your cost, and you have 72 hours to fill in the return form and pay (Annex 8).

On Vinted, UK help page 272 gives a private seller's buyer 5 business days to send the item back after your request. You then have 2 days after it arrives to inspect it. We found no pickup window for Vinted or Lokalnie returns.

Decision rule: collect an InPost return the day the notice arrives, or the next day. A notice that arrives on Friday evening expires on Sunday evening. The Vinted claim process is covered in Vinted returns and not-as-described claims. Whether you have to accept a return at all is in do private sellers have to accept returns?

Packing that stands up to a claim

Pack against the list of things a buyer can claim. OLX's Annex 8 covers an empty parcel, an incomplete set, and an item that doesn't match its listing. Vinted's UK Buyer Protection page covers an item that doesn't arrive, arrives damaged, or is significantly not as described.

• Photograph the item in the open box, then the sealed box with its label showing (for an "empty parcel" claim)
• Lay out every part of a set and photograph it before packing (for an "incomplete" claim)
• Pad fragile items until nothing moves when you shake the box (for an "arrived damaged" claim)
• Keep the drop-off confirmation until the payout reaches your account

Carrier size and weight limits weren't researched for this page, so check them before you buy boxes in bulk. Many claims start earlier, with a flaw you missed when you bought the item. reva's Scout shows a photo-based condition check for each find on Vinted, OLX and Allegro Lokalnie. It's an estimate from the seller's photos, so still inspect the item in your hands before you list it.

A daily routine for marketplace shipping deadlines

Sort the day by time left, not by marketplace. The OLX confirmation deadline is in hours, while handover deadlines are in business or working days.

• Morning: confirm or reject OLX orders that are close to 72 hours
• Take each item off your other marketplaces before you pack it
• Pack Vinted orders with the fewest days left first; ask for more time on any you can't make
• Pack paid Lokalnie orders with the OLX batch
• Photograph each parcel, then note the date it shipped and the carrier
• Do one drop-off run before your locker's last collection
• Evening: check for return notices and plan tomorrow's pickups

Example: 8 parcels at 4 minutes each is 32 minutes of packing, not counting the drop-off. If that doesn't fit your day, set a daily cut-off: anything sold after it goes into tomorrow's batch. The inventory management guide shows how to set up a packing station and the "sold, to pack" status.