We have been reselling for over 25 years on almost every marketplace out there, and new marketplaces are launching daily. The big question is, can you make money by selling on Depop? Absolutely! Whether you want to add a little extra cash in your pocket or start an entire business, selling on Depop can do just that. It will take some work, but the guide below should get you in the right direction.

Before you begin selling, you will need to create your Depop account and link your bank account.

If this is your first marketplace, choose a profile name you can brand across other marketplaces for consistency.

Depop’s platform comprises the majority Gen Z and millennial community and has helped popularise preloved style and drive resale culture forward in the UK, US, and Australia. Founded in London, Depop is a clothing reselling-driven marketplace.

Depop is a clothing and beauty-driven marketplace; recently, Depop has added other categories such as electronics, home, music, and art.  Unlike eBay and other marketplaces like Mercari, electronics, and household items are allowed, but you will not see many users on Depop listing those items. Over the years, we have narrowed down to selling shoes as our niche. When selling clothing, popular branded items will always sell well, even in used condition. Selling clothing items such as jeans can be very lucrative and challenging. Every pair of jeans fits a little differently. Your listing must include measurements to help buyers decide to hit the buy button.

We love shoes for one reason: my feet have stayed the same size since high school, and shoe sizes are much more consistent from brand to brand.

When deciding to become a niche reseller, you can become an expert in that area. However, you do not need to be a niche reseller.

Many new resellers will begin listing items they have around their homes. We all have clothing items we have yet to wear or have outgrown. 

Thrift Stores, Flea markets, and yard sales are also famous for resellers to source items.

Another favorite of ours is clearance items from online or brick-and-mortar stores.  This is also known as Retail Arbitrage (RA) and Online Arbitrage (OA). RA involves sourcing items from a retail store with the intent to resell them, while OA involves sourcing items from online stores with the same purpose.

Outlet stores can also be an option. However, be careful, as items in outlets are often manufactured with the intent of being sold exclusively in outlet stores.

Lastly, as you grow your business, purchasing liquidation lots may be the key to expanding and taking it to the next level.

Check out our complete sourcing guide: Sourcing Guide

When a buyer searches for an item on Depop, they see the photo, price, size, and brand of the item before that buyer selects your listing.

We have all heard a picture is worth a thousand words. You can spend time sourcing items, listing items, and photographing, but you’re losing sales if your listings are filled with BAD photos. In order to sell items, your photos will need to catch your buyer’s eye. Photos are a buyer’s first impression before even clicking your listing. When I am searching for an item, I will filter the Brand, Size, Etc. Those with the best photos are viewed first; I rarely ever look at a listing with a horrible photo. 

A recent survey of online consumers revealed that 93% of their purchases were based on product images alone.

On Depop, uploaded photos will need to be taken in the square mode. I like to take photos in the normal camera mode on my iPhone, leaving space on the sides so they fit when cropped on Depop. This will also be helpful if you’re using the same photos for multiple marketplaces.

As of 2024, you can upload 8 photos to each listing.

You have taken excellent photos for your listings. However, pricing your items competitively is crucial. Overpricing compared to your competitors will lead to slow sales.

UPDATE: In a recent update on Depop, Depop removed the title field. Titles on listings are now self-generated from the information you provide to Depop in the description and info drop-down fields. With this update, it’s very important to build the best description and select appropriate drop-downs relevant to your items.

You want to use as many words as possible and clear, precise words that describe what you’re selling!

Optimizing your Depop description

When selling on Depop, optimizing your description is very important. Without a well-written description, buyers may never find the items you’re selling on Depop. What should be included in your description? At minimum, you should include:

• Start with a headline

• Add measurements

• Describe the condition of the item

• Be specific and relevant

Description Templates

We love to use templates when building descriptions on marketplaces such as Depop. Building templates, either in Microsoft Word or Excel, prior speeds up the listing process and provides a streamlined look throughout your listings. Providing a clear and precise description will not only increase Depop sales but will also offer a level of protection against claims if they arise. The more information provided, the fewer questions buyers will have.

Tip : Don’t include irrelevant or repetitive keywords, hashtags, brands or tags.

When selling shoes, I would like to include the following information:

Title/Headline

Brand :

Size:

MSRP:

Color:

Style Type:

Heel:

Platform Height:

Material:

Condition Note:

If you sell shirts or jeans, include relevant measurements such as inseam, waist, and length.

Listing Information Fields

As previously mentioned, select appropriate drop-downs that are relevant to your items. Fill and select as many fields as you can. Filling all fields will optimize your listings to make your items found when buyers are searching.

• Item location

• Category and subcategory

• Brand

• Size

• Quantity

• Condition

• Price

• Color

• Style

When pricing, if you price yourself out of the market, buyers will browse right by your listings. To price competitively, check the SOLD comps, not the live listings. On Depop, you can not search for sold listings like on eBay or Poshmark. I recommend checking the sold listings on eBay and Poshmark when selling on Depop. Checking comps for items can be done by searching for an item you are about to list; with those results, you want to filter for the SOLD listings. Once you have filtered the sold listings, look for items that are similar to yours. Do not spend too much time. A quick review will give you a great idea of where you should enter the market on pricing. 

On some marketplaces, shipping items can seem overwhelming, but on Depop, shipping is straightforward.

Shipping Materials

When selling on Depop, it’s essential to factor in the cost of shipping materials. We’ve found that using poly bags for nonbreakable items like clothing is practical and cost-effective.

Depending on the volume you order, you can purchase these bags on Amazon or eBay for as little as $0.05-0.10 each. When shipping heavier, breakable, and odd-shaped items, I like to save Amazon boxes throughout the year for shipping items. Ask friends and family to save boxes for you. I always see people on facebook marketplace giving away boxes after moving. Another great place to grab boxes when you have a large item is from Home Depot or Lowe’s.

Depop Shipping Rates

Here are some items to consider

Shipping Scale

Bakers Math Kitchen Scale by My Weight – KD8000

-Package Tape

Duck HD Packaging Tape

Grizzly Brand Clear Packaging Tape

-Tape Gun

Uline H-150 2-Inch Hand-Held Tape Dispenser

-Printer

Dymo 4XL Label Printer

-Shipping Boxes and Poly Bags

Poly Mailers for Poshmark

Heat Gun (Removing Stickers)

Wagner 2 Temp Setting Heat Gun

Update July 2024 – Depop removed seller fees for sellers in the US and UK.

Below are the fees that apply when selling on Depop. Unless you use boosted listings, you will have a:

The United States

• Final Processing Fee: ( 3.3% + $0.45)

United Kingdom

• Final Processing Fee: ( 2.9% + 0.30)

If you have boosted your Depop listing an additional 8% fee will be charged on the final item value.

To receive your payout, you’ll first need to ensure you have linked a valid bank account. This will require you to provide the full account details so we know where to send your payouts.

Payments are sent directly to your bank account after a sale is completed.

Much like Poshmark when selling on Depop, there is a social aspect to the platform. The most recent listing are shown first in the search results. We recommend that you refresh your listings daily so that people are seeing the items you list.

How To Refresh a Listing?

From your active listings Select Edit then Save Changes.

I decided to place this section last on this post, although it is not entirely relevant to selling on Depop. Most resellers sell on multiple marketplaces, so I like to keep my listings consistent. This allows me to cross-list the same listing from marketplace to marketplace. Below is the format I use for titles.

Brand– The first key to building a title to attract a buyer is the brand. I have seen numerous listings where the brand is missing or misspelled. I have also seen where some users will attempt to use a popular brand such as LuLulemon to attract a buyer on an unbranded, nonrelated item. I immediately skip past those listings for the simple fact that if you are trying to deceive me with a title, what else are you trying to deceive me on?

Name of Item – The second priority in the title is the name of the item you are selling. If you are selling LuLuLemon leggings you want to find the name of those leggings. Example “Wunder Under” “All the Right Places“

Style – Next we like to build our listings with the style of the item we are selling. Sticking with our example above you would use something like “High Rise“, “Crop“, or “Low Rise“.

Category– The 4th element of the title is the category. This is the question you will ask yourself: Is this a Pants, Leggings, or shorts?

Color– At this point in your title you are running very low on space. Your listing should have the correct color built into the actual listing. For those potential buyers not using color filters to search for items placing the color in the title will benefit if the buyer searches a term such as “LuLulemon black legging”. Be cautious when listing a color different from the color in the actual listing. Using a term such as “Slate“ in your listing when you selected black could come back to haunt you if a buyer opens a case claiming they thought the item was slate and its black. The Moral of the story use consistency.`

Size– If space is available adding the size to the title is recommended. Instead of writing out the word “Size,” you can abbreviate it “Sz.” 

Descriptive- Lastly, if you still have space available, you will use any other words you feel a buyer may search for.

What Does a great Title Look like

LuLuLemon + Wunder Under + Crop + Leggings + Black + Sz 6

What if you do not know the name of an item?

You can search the brand’s website and Depop listings for that brand and category for similar listings or ask a reseller group or brand group for help.

You can also find information on items by reviewing the tags on the items.

How to Find the Brand

If you have a clothing item with a tag, search for the RN number. RN stands for Registered Identification Number. The FTC issues this number to U.S. businesses that manufacture, import, distribute, or sell products covered by the Textile, Wool, and Fur Acts. Businesses can use this number on product labels instead of the company name.

RN Search DataBase

https://rn.ftc.gov/Account/BasicSearch

How To Find the Style

All brands are different in where you can find the style number. On tops, typically, you will find an additional tag on a side seam—you know, the ones that are itchy! On that tag, you will find the style number. A simple Google search of the brand and number will most likely result in the correct name of that item.

Happy Selling!

Follow Us On:

Welcome to our blog!

Hello! We are Meghan and Ryan; we have been resellers for over 25 years. Our tips guarantee you will learn from our experience as sellers. We share our knowledge of building a full-time business throughout our blog post.

In 2019, we started Closet Assistant, which offers a series of automated tools for Poshmark sellers and resellers. The main components of Closet Assistant are its auto-sharer Poshmark Bot and Cross lister. The Poshmark share bot will share your closet and other Poshmark users’ closets with a single click. With our Poshmark bot, you will no longer need to spend countless hours a day sharing your closet. Spend more time where it counts in your Poshmark business! Unlike other services, Closet Assistant is run by a husband and wife team who are actually resellers on Poshmark. Try our auto closet sharer today for a free 7-day trial!