Skyrocket Your Sales: How to Increase Your Depop Sales and Drive Growth in 2025

As a marketplace heavily influenced by trends, Depop has earned somewhat of a reputation among ecommerce sellers as an unpredictable place to sell. Sales on Depop can fluctuate dramatically and quickly, and slow sales can be just as alarming if you're a new seller just starting out or a veteran seller experiencing a dip in sales. Luckily, there are many ways to increase your sales on Depop, ranging from listing strategies to promotion methods; all you need to do is incorporate good selling and listing practices into your workflows to improve your Depop selling strategy. In this guide, we'll teach you how to do just that by drawing on years of experience with Depop, and help you increase your sales on Depop through ten tried and true methods designed to not only boost your sales, but improve your overall performance as a seller on Depop through better listing practices and better customer experiences. Keep reading for a step-by-step guide to increasing sales on Depop, and start selling more on Depop today!

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Depop: Key Marketplace Features

In order to understand how to increase sales on Depop, we first need to understand what distinguishes Depop from other marketplaces. Below, we explore a few key questions regarding Depop to better understand the platform, its demographics, and what sets it apart from secondhand platforms and online retail marketplaces alike.

- Who Uses Depop?

Depop's demographics skew young, with nearly a quarter of its users between the ages of 18 and 25, and an additional 31% between the ages of 25 and 34. Just over 60% are female, with the overwhelming majority of the site's traffic coming from major anglophone countries: the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia [Source: Similarweb].

- How Much Money Can You Make on Depop?

While there's no shortage of articles about 20-somethings making five and even six figures a month on Depop, the reality is that most sellers on Depop don't sell anywhere near that much. That being said, most sellers on Depop aren't business sellers; more often than not, they're regular people trying to clear out their closet while making some money on the side. If you're a business seller, however, how much you can make on Depop will depend heavily on what you sell, although you could indeed make a living by selling on Depop. In our experience, however, it's never wise to rely only on one income stream in the world of ecommerce, especially when that income stream comes from a marketplace.

- What Makes Depop Different from Other Reselling Platforms?

In terms of function, Depop is very similar to other reselling platforms like Poshmark. What makes it unique, however, is its demographic – a young, trend-savvy userbase that wants to shop sustainably while still keeping up with today's ever-changing microtrends. Furthermore, while the majority of items listed on Depop are secondhand fashion, Depop is actually not exclusively a secondhand marketplace. In fact, many small indie brands choose to list their pieces on Depop, too, leveraging of the platform's trend-focused (and trend-setting) customers to get the word out about their brand.

- How Much are Depop Selling Fees?

Depop's selling fees are straightforward for the most part, and relatively high in comparison to ecommerce marketplaces. While it's free to list on Depop, you'll pay a commission of 10% for every sale you make, plus a variable payment processing fee. If you ship with Depop, you'll also pay for a shipping label. Additionally, if you promote a listing with Boosted Listings, you'll pay an additional 8%. Learn more about the costs of selling on Depop with our comprehensive guide to Depop selling fees.

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10 Proven Strategies to Increase Your Depop Sales

Now that we've got a good understanding of Depop, we'll go over ten tried-and-true methods for increasing your sales on Depop. You'll notice that the majority of these methods focus on either listing promotion/marketing or listing optimization, and for good reason – these two approaches reinforce one another, and help you get more sales on Depop organically. The reason for this is simple: an optimized listing is one worth promoting, since it's more likely to result in a sale. Now, with this in mind, check out these ten ways to level up your selling strategy and get more sales on Depop.

1. It's all About the Photos

As a fashion-oriented marketplace, aesthetics matter on Depop, and in lieu of a real storefront, product photos are your only opportunity to make an impression. Creating a set of quality photos for each item you list may seem daunting, but it's actually pretty simple once you understand the core principles of good product photography. Check out these tips for taking the best photos of your items, and give every listing the best possible chance of resulting in a sale.  

Tips for Taking High-Quality Photos

Unlike traditional retail marketplaces, which tend to have highly-specific guidelines for product images, Depop leaves the details up to sellers. While this allows for more freedom and artistic leeway, it also leaves far more room for error, and renders what constitutes a "good" product photo rather subjective. Nevertheless, there are some general good practices for taking high-quality product photos of your Depop items. Below, we share a few helpful product image tips based on our experience selling on Depop.

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Do…

• Use a consistent background
• Ensure that photos are well-lit and clear
• Arrange items by color and category
• If you employ the help of a model, position them in a consistent pose for every main picture.

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Don't…

• Use stock images of the item.
• Use old photos of you wearing the item.
• Present the item from the side or back in the main photo

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1. Consistency matters. When taking photos of your items to upload to Depop, keep in mind that an item's main item photo functions not only an image of the listed item, but also a part of your Depop storefront. When buyers view your Depop profile, you want your product images to make a good impression, and one important way to do that is by ensuring that your main images are consistently styled and aesthetically cohesive.
2. Focus on the item. This seems straightforward, but many sellers on Depop nevertheless manage to take listing pictures that don't put the listed item front and center. There are many ways sellers get this wrong, with the most common one being the use of an old photo, usually pulled from socials, of the seller wearing the item as part of an outfit. Pictures like these, aside from not making for the most professional-looking product images, don't make it clear which item is actually for sale. Buyers will more often than not choose to scroll past listings like these, causing you to miss out on potential sales.
3. Adhere to an aesthetic. As discussed above, product photos don't exist in a vacuum; they're part of the overarching aesthetic of your Depop store, which is why it's so important to ensure that they all adhere to the same aesthetic. Keep the staging, posing, and background for every main photo you take consistent and cohesive, and ensure they work together to create an aesthetically pleasing page for your Depop store.
4. Cover all angles. While aesthetics are important for increasing sales on Depop, the main function of product images is to showcase the item in question to potential buyers. As such, it's important to take photos of the item from multiple angles and perspectives, so buyers understand exactly what it is they'll be buying. Don't upload just one picture of a garment folded up; show it from the front, the back, and for garments like coats, which have internal pockets and linings, from the inside, too.
5. Show defects and wear. As a marketplace focused on secondhand fashion, the majority of items on Depop have some degree of wear, use, and possible damage. Buyers accept that this is part of the deal, but they do want to know the condition of the item they'll get before they commit to a purchase. If your item has any defects, no matter how minor, include them in your photos and mention them in the description.

2. Mastering Depop's Search Algorithm

Depop's search algorithm dictates your listing's visibility, which can make or break your sales on the platform. Depop is fundamentally different from traditional retail ecommerce platforms, and so too is its search algorithm. In this section, we'll explore two key methods for improving your listings' visibility on Depop: implementing keywords and utilizing hashtags effectively.

Utilize Keywords in Your Listings

Keywords are the backbone of any search algorithm, and Depop's algorithm is no different. On Depop, there are three types of keywords which you'll want to incorporate into the beginning of every item description: brand, item type, and color. Additionally, if possible, try to include an applicable aesthetic, such as "Y2K" or "Cottage Goth." The reason for this is that Depop's search algorithm assess your item description in order to match it with relevant buyer searches, so you want your search terms (keywords) to be where the algorithm can find them.  

How to Use Hashtags Effectively

Depop initially billed itself as a king of shoppable version of Instagram, long before selling on Instagram was a thing. But Instagram didn't just have a major influence on how Depop looks, it's also had a significant effect on how it works. Hashtags on Depop work much like they do on Instagram, with buyers often searching for things by hashtag, and sellers using them to get their listings noticed by the algorithm.

To use hashtags effectively in your Depop listings, you need to think of them as another way to add keywords. Hashtags work best for very general and aesthetic-focused keywords, such as "#grunge" or "#barbiecore," as well as unique garment attributes such as "floral" or "puff sleeve."

Unfortunately, many sellers misuse hashtags by adding trending yet entirely irrelevant ones just to get included in a wider range of searches. This method is neither effective nor useful for increasing sales on Depop, because all it does is get a listing to appear in searches by buyers who are looking to purchase something else, making the odds of conversion close to zero. Additionally, Depop has been known to penalize sellers who misuse hashtags by lowering their overall listing visibility, so you could very well end up doing harm by tacking on irrelevant keywords onto your product descriptions.

3. Engage with the Depop Community

Depop functions not only as a marketplace, but as a community. The platform itself places emphasis on user interaction with features like messaging, offers, followers, as well as listing saves and likes. The better your engagement with the community on Depop, the better your seller reputation will be, and the better your chances of increasing your Depop sales. Be active and engaged with other Depop users by negotiating with buyers via the Offers to Likers feature, answering buyer messages promptly, and consistently striving to get more followers on Depop, and the sales will quickly follow.

4. Offer Bundle Deals and Discounts

Like many secondhand marketplaces, Depop actively encourages sellers to offer bundles from their store at a discount. Sellers who choose to take advantage of this functionality can increase their Depop sales volume dramatically, simply because it increases the likelihood that a single buyer will purchase multiple items in their order instead of buying just one.

Depop also has a unique system in place whenever sellers discount their items. When you lower an item's price on Depop, shoppers who have liked, saved, or added it to their cart will be instantly notified of the price drop. Shoppers who come across the listing in searches will also be able to see that it's discounted with strikethrough pricing that's visible both in search view and inside the listing itself.

5. Offer Free and Fast Shipping

Unlike on traditional online retail platforms, sellers on Depop don't have to specify handling time for their items. But while there's no set deadline for how long Depop sellers have to ship, there is still an expectation that sellers ship out their items within a reasonable time frame. In fact, Depop lets potential buyers know how long it typically takes you to ship by displaying it on your active listings. The faster you ship, the more likely buyers are to buy from you, not just because they know you'll get their item to them quickly, but they'll be more confident that you're a reliable seller on a platform rife with amateur sellers who offer a less-than-ideal shopping experience.

In terms of how much to charge for shipping, we don't recommend offering free shipping on individual items, since the shipping costs you'll have to pay will likely take too big of a chunk out of your revenue. Instead, offer free shipping on bundles – this encourages buyers to buy more from you, increasing your revenue, and in most cases, shipping two or three items will cost you the same as shipping just one.

6. Share Your Listings on Social Media

As you've probably noticed by now, Depop's relationship with social media is a little different than retail marketplaces like Walmart or Amazon. Depop not only allows, but actively encourages sellers to promote their Depop listings on social media. In fact, you can even link to your socials from your Depop profile, and we strongly recommend taking full advantage of this feature.

To effectively promote your listings on social media, you'll want to create separate social media accounts for your Depop shop. Unless you are an established influencer in the secondhand fashion niche (in which case your socials are probably already an integral part of your business), we don't recommend promoting your Depop listings on your personal social media because that's simply not where your customers are. In fact, you're far more likely to annoy your friends than increase your Depop sales if you share your Depop listings on your personal accounts!

7. Use Trending Keywords and Styles

We've discussed how to utilize keywords and hashtags in your Depop listings, but it's important to remember that keywords are not an exact science. Fashion is always changing, aesthetics are subjective, and the entire fashion industry runs on cyclical trends. As a seller on Depop, you'll need to stay on top of what's fashionable and trending, and use it to your advantage to increase your sales on Depop.

Aesthetics, as an incredibly fashionable concept in the realm of online fashion, function as keywords in and of themselves on Depop. But unlike traditional keywords, which describe a product's attributes, aesthetic-oriented keywords are far more nebulous and subjective. This creates a unique opportunity to utilize trending aesthetics as keywords, without having to resort to irrelevant keywords or hashtags. For example, if you listed a simple cardigan like the one pictured below, you could use a wide range of aesthetic hashtags, since an item like this could suit a broad range of aesthetics. In the example below, style hashtags like #grandmacore, #90s, #corpcore, #cottagecore, and #darkacademia all apply. When you include all of these on the listing, your listing will be visible to buyers who search for any one of these aesthetics, thereby getting you seen by a larger pool of shoppers and increasing the likelihood of making a sale.

8. Relist Your Items for Better Visibility

An interesting quirk of Depop's algorithm is that tends to prioritize new listings over old ones, simply by virtue of them being new. Newer listings overwhelmingly rank better in search results, resulting in increased impressions and higher chances of conversion. To take advantage of this, sellers on Depop will often delist and relist items that have been listed for a while but aren't getting much traction. While this can of course be done manually, if you manage a significant number of listings, it can become difficult to delist and relist items one-by-one. To more easily take down and relist items on Depop, many professional sellers opt to use a listing manager tool like ExportYourStore. With ExportYourStore, you'll be able to delist and relist items in bulk, saving you time and helping you prevent mistakes, so you can get better visibility for your listings more easily.

9.  Collaborate with Social Media Influencers

Social media can be a powerful promotion tool when used correctly. Influencers know exactly how to leverage a social media following to drive sales, so if the DIY route mentioned above isn't your thing, consider a collaboration with social media influencers. There are a variety of niches relevant to secondhand fashion, from sustainability to styling to mending, so you can find influencers with a variety of followings. Of course, some will have a more monetizable audience than others, so finding the right influencer to partner with will require a bit of research.

10. Provide Excellent Customer Service

The best way to get more sales on Depop is to show potential buyers on Depop that with you, they can shop with confidence. The simplest way to do this is by consistently providing your buyers excellent customer service and earning as many positive reviews as you can. Fulfill orders promptly, answer messages in a timely manner, and be professional, especially since Depop is not known for its community of professional sellers. Think of a buyer's entire experience with you, and consider ways to make it better at every step.

From our experience, there's one thing in particular that goes a long way towards a good shopping experience is making the effort to package items in a unique and personalized way. Although Depop shoppers know they're buying secondhand, they don't want to feel like they're buying something that has just been pulled from the Goodwill clearance bin. Every item you ship out absolutely must be freshly laundered at a bare minimum, and securely packaged to ensure it arrives with the buyer safely. We recommend including a short thank you note, and maybe even a surprise gift item, and encouraging buyers to leave you positive feedback.

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Bonus Tip for Depop Success: Go Multi-Channel

Ultimately, no matter how much you work towards increasing your sales on Depop, you'll inevitably hit the same glass ceiling: shoppers on Depop. Selling only on Depop limits you to a relatively small pool of buyers, thereby limiting your sales and profits. Instead of limiting yourself to a single marketplace with a limited pool of buyers, consider expanding to new sales channels with the help of multichannel selling tools like ExportYourStore.

ExportYourStore enables you to integrate your Depop store with a variety of leading sales channels, including marketplaces like eBay and Poshmark, social media platforms like TikTok and Facebook, and shopping cart solutions like Shopify and BigCommerce, so you can diversify your ecommerce business and expand your reach. ExportYourStore's unique approach to multichannel selling allows you to designate your Depop store as your single source of truth, which effectively means that you can manage your entire multichannel ecommerce business directly from your Depop store. With ExportYourStore, you can diversify your sales channels, expand your reach, and increase your profits on Depop and beyond.

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Final Thoughts: Increasing Your Depop Sales in 2025 and Beyond

No matter how long you've been selling on Depop, increasing your sales is something you'll need to constantly work towards and maintain. Your selling strategy will need to adapt to trends, and you'll need to focus on different strategies at different times to maintain steady growth for your Depop business.

To future-proof your business, consider expanding to additional sales channels along with Depop. Diversifying your sales channels is a safe move that helps you avoid placing all your eggs in one basket, while also enabling you to reach more buyers than you ever could on a single platform. Additionally, multichannel selling makes your ecommerce business more robust in the face of larger trends, and ensures you'll be able to continue growing and selling for many years to come.