Your thrift haul might carry germs for 90 days.

By VaKoop team

Is buying second-hand clothes safe in South Africa?

South Africa is in the middle of a quiet preloved boom. The second-hand clothing market here is now worth roughly R10 billion, and 9.1% of every rand spent on apparel in 2024 was second-hand. By 2026, the SA secondhand market is forecast to grow another 127%. The drivers are simple: middle-class budgets are tight, fast fashion has saturated the wardrobe, and a generation of South Africans who grew up on Depop and Instagram resale see preloved as default rather than fallback.

That's the upside. The harder question, the one that keeps casual buyers and casual sellers on the sidelines, is whether second-hand clothes are actually safe. Two real concerns sit at the centre of it: hygiene (what is living on a stranger's clothes?) and trust (will the deal even happen?). This guide answers both with research and SA-specific data, then shows what marketplace protections actually do under the hood.

Short version: hygiene risk is real but small and manageable at home with one wash and a little discipline. Transaction risk is real and bigger, but it is the part marketplaces can engineer around. With basic steps on both fronts, the combined risk of buying second-hand in SA is comparable to other ordinary risks of buying online here.

Hygiene safety: what the research actually says

Research published in the National Institutes of Health PubMed Central archive examined unwashed second-hand clothes and found 2.7% positive for parasites, predominantly Enterobius eggs, lice, and Sarcoptes scabiei (scabies mites). The same study tested washed clothes and found zero contamination across the entire sample.

A separate body of research, summarised by The Conversation in 2024, notes that pathogens can survive on cotton and mixed-fibre clothes for up to 90 days at room temperature, and on polyester for up to 200 days. The reliable kill: machine wash at 60°C / 140°F or higher, or use a sanitiser cycle.

For odour and gentler fabrics, a vinegar soak works. A Sustainable Closet's hygiene guide and Today's "Refresh, revive, rewear" feature both recommend about 1 cup of white vinegar per 5 litres of water, soak 2-3 hours before washing. Cheaper and gentler than commercial sanitisers.

Practical protocol: bag the items in a sealed plastic bag for 48 hours (kills lice and mites). Wash separately from your regular laundry the first time. If the fabric tag allows, use the hottest setting your machine has. Air-dry in direct sunlight where possible. UV is a powerful natural bactericide. For wool, silk, leather, and structured pieces that can't take heat, a 48-hour freeze in a sealed bag handles parasites without damaging fabric. Steam from a clothing steamer also kills most bacteria when held close enough to make the surface hot to the touch for 30 seconds per panel.

One often-missed step: the buttons, zips, and inside seams are where the dirt actually lives. Pay attention to the trims and pockets when you check a piece on arrival. Empty pockets, brush out lint, and clean metal hardware with a damp cloth before laundering. Most second-hand returns sit on a shelf for a few weeks before they reach you, so you are also dealing with shelf dust, not just previous-owner residue.

Transaction safety: where SA scams actually happen

This is where the bigger risk sits. SA security firm ESET's regular roundups and IOL's personal-finance desk document the same patterns repeatedly. The most common scams targeting SA online sellers in 2025-2026:

The overpayment scam. The buyer sends a fake "I paid more by accident" screenshot and asks you to refund the difference. There was no original payment.

The fake-courier link. The buyer insists on arranging delivery themselves, then sends a phishing link that looks like a real courier site, asking for a small "insurance fee". The link is actually harvesting banking details.

Two-factor code request. The buyer claims they need to verify the listing and asks you to read aloud the SMS code your bank just sent. That code is bypassing your real authentication.

Fake POP email. The buyer forwards a "proof of payment" email that looks like FNB or Capitec but never reflects in your account.

All four scams share a single feature: they push the conversation OFF the marketplace platform. To WhatsApp, to email, to a fake delivery website. Keep the conversation and the payment ON the platform, and almost none of these can complete.

There's a fifth pattern worth flagging: the courier-impersonation pickup. A stranger arrives at the address, claims to be the courier, and walks off with the parcel. Legitimate SA couriers (PUDO, Pargo, Aramex, The Courier Guy) all carry official ID and use either branded vehicles or official tracking codes. If you can't verify both, don't hand over the parcel; reschedule through the marketplace's integrated booking instead.

Most SA scam reports we see also cluster on a few times of year: matric jacket season, festive shopping, and back-to-campus week. Volume of new buyers and new sellers is at its highest, and the scam patterns above hit hardest on people who are using a marketplace for the first time. If you are introducing a friend to second-hand shopping, walk them through the platform's built-in protections before they list or pay.

What marketplace protections actually mean

SA has multiple online marketplaces. The protection mechanism that actually works is escrow. Funds held by the marketplace until the buyer confirms receipt. Marketplaces without escrow leave you fully exposed to the scams above.

A working escrow flow looks like this: the buyer pays through the platform's payment processor (not direct EFT to the seller). Funds sit in an escrow account, not the seller's bank account. The seller ships. The buyer receives, inspects, and confirms. Funds release to the seller. If anything is wrong, the buyer opens a dispute BEFORE confirming, and the platform investigates.

VaKoop runs this exact flow. Courier integration with PUDO, Pargo, Aramex and The Courier Guy is built into checkout, so the fake-courier-link scam is structurally impossible. Buyers don't pay sellers directly; they pay VaKoop. Disputes get a 5-business-day investigation window per our published Returns and Refunds policy.

That doesn't make us bulletproof. It makes the common scams harder. The remaining risk, a seller misrepresenting an item, is what condition tags, multi-photo listings, in-app messaging, and the dispute process are designed to surface BEFORE you confirm receipt.

What a real dispute looks like in practice: you receive a piece, open the parcel on camera, notice the condition does not match the listing. Within 7 days you tap Open Return in the order screen, attach photos, write a short description. The seller is notified, you both have 48 hours to discuss in-app. If you cannot agree, VaKoop reviews the evidence (listing photos, your unboxing photos, in-app messages) and decides within 5 business days. Outcome options: full refund, partial refund, release to seller, or order cancelled. Refunds go to your VaKoop wallet, from which you can withdraw to your bank in 2 to 5 working days. Nothing in the policy limits your rights under the SA Consumer Protection Act 68 of 2008 or the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act 25 of 2002.

A buyer's pre-purchase checklist for any SA marketplace

Read the condition tag (new / like-new / used). Listings without one deserve a question first.

Look at the photos. Real multi-angle photos including any wear marks. Stock images are a flag.

Check the seller profile. Profile age, rating count, and the variety of their other listings give you reliability data.

Use in-app messaging only. Don't move to WhatsApp or email until after the deal completes.

Pay through the platform. Direct EFT to a stranger's account means no protection if the deal goes wrong.

Choose the platform's integrated courier where possible. Means there's a tracking record.

Don't confirm receipt until you've inspected the item. Confirmation releases funds; you can't undo it after.

Open a dispute IN-APP if anything's off. Take photos at unboxing.

A seller's pre-listing checklist

Wash the item first. Photograph it after.

Tag the condition honestly. "Used" sells; "Like-new with one stain" sells faster than "perfect" with a hidden stain.

Take 4 to 8 photos. Front, back, both sides, tag, any wear, plus a flat-lay or hung shot.

Set a fair price. Research the same model on multiple marketplaces; price for the actual condition.

Don't accept off-platform payment requests. Ever.

Don't share two-factor codes with buyers. Banks don't ask buyers to verify SMS codes.

Use the platform's courier integration so tracking exists.

The bottom line for SA preloved buyers

Hygiene risk is small and almost fully solved by one wash before wear. Transaction risk is bigger but solved by staying on the marketplace, paying through escrow, and using integrated couriers. The combination is what makes online preloved fashion in SA actually work.

If you are buying for the first time, start small. A R200 to R500 piece is a low-risk way to experience the dispute and confirmation flow before you commit to a higher-value purchase. Buyer protection is the same regardless of price; only the lessons get more expensive.

If you are selling for the first time, list a piece you would buy yourself. The reputation you build on early sales is what protects you on later ones. SA preloved is a small market by global standards, and good sellers get repeat buyers fast.