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Secondhand marketplaces have gained a lot of traction in recent years, and Depop has been one of the major players in this online thrifting boom. With over 35 million active users in 2022, Depop's demographics skew young and trendy, making it the perfect platform for reselling everything from secondhand clothes to vintage purses. If you're looking to sell on Depop, you've probably tried to make sense of Depop fees to approximate how much you can expect to make selling on the platform. This guide is designed to make Depop fees easier for sellers to understand, so you can calculate your own Depop fees and know how much it will cost you to sell on Depop before taking the plunge. Furthermore, we'll take a look at what happens to fees when you've issued an order refund, how to review your Depop fees, and how fees work with Depop bundles. Keep reading for a complete overview of all things sellers need to know about Depop selling fees in 2024!
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What is Depop and How Does It Work?
Depop is an online marketplace for selling new and used secondhand fashion. It was founded in 2011 in Italy, and offers its users a social commerce platform where they can interact, sell, and buy secondhand items in a similar way as they would interact with other users on social media platforms. True to its social-media-inspired roots, Depop's UI draws heavily on Instagram's, with heavy emphasis on item images and an interactive community feel.
Depop itself works by facilitating sales between users on the marketplace. It offers a platform for users to list their items, a payment structure that enables users to send and accept payments securely, and a logistics program that provides sellers with a simple and cost-effective way to fulfill orders. Unlike major retail sites like Amazon and Walmart, Depop doesn’t sell anything itself; all items bought and sold on the platform are bought and sold between Depop users.
How Much Does It Cost to Sell on Depop?
The selling fees you pay to Depop will depend on which services you use on the platform when you make a sale. Depop fees for sellers include a flat fee paid to Depop for every sale you make, a payment processing fee that's calculated based on the method you use to accept payments, and shipping fees that you may be liable for if you choose to purchase a label through Depop. As of March 2024, UK-based sellers are exempt from the Depop selling fee when they make a sale in GBP. In this section, we'll take a look at the different selling fees on Depop and explain each one, what it's for, and how much you can expect to pay.
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Depop Seller Fees
With the exception of UK-based sellers who sell in GPB, all sellers who sell on Depop are liable for a 10% selling fee, which is Depop's commission for each sale made on the platform. There are no listing fees on Depop, so this is how Depop charges sellers for selling something via their marketplace. This 10% fee is calculated on the entire transaction amount – including shipping costs and before other fees are deducted – making it the most significant fee you can expect to pay for your Depop sales. Depop charges this fee for using the platform and facilitating sales between users.
Payment Processing Fees
Payment processing fees on Depop will depend on your method of accepting payments on your listings. You'll have two ways to accept payments on Depop: through Depop's payment system, known as Depop Payments, or through PayPal. On Depop, they're referred to as transaction fees, and are simply the fee you pay to either Depop or PayPal for processing your buyer's payment.
Fees for Using Depop Payments
Depop Payments is an integrated payment system operated by Stripe Connect for processing payments on Depop. When you choose to accept payments with Depop Payments, your buyers will be able to pay for their orders with Apple Pay, Google Pay, credit/debit cards, and Klarna. As of October 2023, all sellers in the UK and US are required to use Depop Payments when they sell on Depop.
Sellers based in the US will pay a transaction fee of 3.3% + $0.45 for every sale they make on Depop, while sellers based in the UK can expect a slightly lower transaction fee of 2.9% + £0.30.
Fees for Using PayPal
Sellers based outside of the US and UK will need to use PayPal to accept buyer payments. PayPal transaction processing fees are determined by PayPal, and vary according to where you're based. Additionally, if you're based in the EU and use PayPal for payment processing, Depop charges an additional 1.29% service fee for sales you make to buyers in the UK. Find exactly how much you can expect to pay in payment processing fees directly through PayPal.
Shipping Fees
On Depop, sellers can choose to either ship orders on their own or purchase shipping labels to fulfill their orders through Depop. You'll be able to select which shipping method you prefer on a per-item basis. How much you can expect to pay depends on the item you're selling, your buyer's location, whether you chose to offer free shipping, and the shipping method you opt for.
Fees for Using Depop Shipping
US sellers on Depop can choose to purchase a USPS shipping label though Depop for shipping in the contiguous United States (i.e. everywhere in the United States except Hawaii, Alaska, and US territories). Depending on the weight and size of the item, you can expect to pay anywhere from $4.39 to $13.49 for your shipping label.
If you choose to cover shipping costs, the amount will be deducted from the transaction along with the rest of your Depop selling fees. If you've opted to charge the buyer for shipping, Depop will transfer you the transaction amount plus shipping costs initially, then deduct the shipping fee along with the rest of your Depop fees.
Fees for Using Your Own Shipping Methods
If you arrange your own shipping, you won't be liable for any additional Depop fees. Your shipping costs will depend on the service you use, where you’re shipping your item to, and your item's weight and dimensions. That said, you won't be able to choose the cheapest possible shipping method – Depop requires sellers to provide a valid tracking number in order to mark their orders as shipped.
Boosted Listings Fee
Unlike shipping fees and payment processing fees, Boosted Listing fees are optional. You will only pay these if you've decided to use Boost to promote your listings on Depop, and have made a sale as a result of the Boost. Boosted Listing fees are calculated as 8% of the entire transaction amount, making them one of the steeper Depop fees. If you were to sell an item for $100 through Boosted Listings, you'd pay $10 in selling fees, $3.75 in payment processing fees, plus an additional $8 in Boosted Listings fees. That's a total of $21.75 in fees directly to Depop, before accounting for shipping.
How to Calculate Your Depop Seller Fees
Depop seller fees are reasonably simple to calculate, as long as you remember to account for all of them. Here, we'll divide Depop seller fees into 2 categories: required fees and optional fees. The former are fees that all sales will incur, while the latter are for fees for services you can opt into.
Required Fees
Selling Fees:
- US Sellers: [Transaction Total] x 0.10
- * UK-based sellers selling in GPB exempt.
Transaction Fees:
- US Sellers: [Transaction Total] x 0.033, then add $0.45
- UK Sellers: [Transaction Total] x 0.029, then add £0.30
Add these together, and you'll have the required Depop fees for your order.
Optional Fees
Shipping Fees: $0 to $13.49 (if purchasing shipping through Depop)
Boosted Listing Fees: [Transaction Total] x 0.08
If you've opted to purchase postage through Depop Shipping and/or to promote your listing with Depop Boosted Listings, calculate and add these to the previous amount. This will give you the total Depop fees for your order.
How to Review Your Depop Fees
Depop fees can sometimes get a bit convoluted, especially when you use Depop Shipping to fulfill your orders, and even more so when you have to process a refund or return. That's why it's so important to review your Depop fees regularly to ensure that there are no mistakes.
If your transactions are processed by Depop Payments, you can see the fees that have been deducted for each transaction either through the Depop app or by logging into your Depop account on Depop.com, then going to "Payments" and clicking "Latest Transactions." If you sell with PayPal, simply log into your PayPal account to review your transactions.
The best way to check your Depop fees is to calculate them ahead of time, as shown in the section above, so you know exactly how much you can expect to pay in Depop fees for each item you sell. Review your fees once they've been deducted from your balance by checking that they match up with what you've calculated. If you spot a discrepancy, reach out to Depop through their contact form.
Does Depop Charge a Fee for a Sale Refund?
You will be charged Depop fees as outlined above for every sale you make on the platform, but if you refund a sale, you're eligible to receive a refund of the fees you paid to Depop. There is no additional fee for processing a refund.
If you sell with Depop Payments, your fees will automatically be refunded. If you accept payments through PayPal, you'll need to contact Depop through the contact form and provide the following identifying information in order to receive your refund:
- your Depop registered email address
- your Depop username
- the buyer's Depop username
- a screenshot of the refund from PayPal
Note that you will not receive a refund of your PayPal transaction fee.
In general, you're not required to accept returns on Depop as a private seller. The only exceptions are for items that aren't as described in the listing. As a business seller, however, you will need to comply with local consumer protection laws.
Fees for Selling Bundles
There are no special fees on Depop for selling bundles; in fact, bundles work much the same as single item sales on Depop. That said, there are a few key differences.
Firstly, you'll pay your Depop fees per item. Added up, they'll amount to your Depop fees for the bundle.
Secondly, you'll have an additional shipping option – buyer pays highest shipping price. This simply means that you'll split the costs of the bundle shipping with your buyer, such that they pay the highest shipping cost of one of the items in the bundle, and you pay the rest. Generally, sellers are encouraged to offer free shipping on bundles to encourage buyers to buy more items in each bundle.
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Final Thoughts on Depop Fees
Like its main competing secondhand selling marketplaces, Poshmark and Mercari, Depop's selling fees are straightforward and comparatively steep. It's relatively easy to calculate how much your Depop fees will come out to for each transaction ahead of time, and equally easy to review and check after they've been deducted.
Understanding your Depop fees before you begin listing and selling on Depop is an important step in figuring out your bottom line and understanding whether selling on Depop is right for you. If you're already selling secondhand items online, or if you're interested in giving secondhand selling platforms a try but not sure which one to choose, ExportYourStore offers you a simple solution to selling on multiple secondhand marketplaces simultaneously. With simple one-click integration, you'll be able to link your Poshmark or Mercari store to instantly start selling on Depop.
From our experience, each one of the major secondhand marketplaces has a distinct customer base; Depop's buyers skew young and look for a more authentic thrifting experience, Poshmark attracts an older crowd looking for high-ticket items at a discount, and Mercari attracts vintage aficionados that go beyond fashion items. For this reason, and especially since there are no listing fees on any of these platforms, we recommend listing your items on all three marketplaces in order to reach the widest possible audience. Plus, listing and selling on all three is as simple as selling on one with ExportYourStore!
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