How to sell on Depop: Top tips to help boost your sales and followers.
Summary/Overview
Second-hand selling is becoming big business in the UK. In fact, a survey from Statista found that 63% of UK online shoppers bought secondhand between April 2023 and March 2024. One of the ways they did this was through online platforms and secondhand marketplaces, such as Depop.
Depop was founded in 2011 to fill a gap in the fashion marketplace and encourage a more circular process of buying and selling your secondhand clothes. The platform has since grown and is now considered one of the most popular reselling platforms in the UK.
With approximately 35 million users registered to the platform, Depop offers a great space to showcase and sell your pre-loved items. Whether you’re looking for a side hustle or a way to break your small vintage business into a new market, selling on Depop could be the answer.
This guide will cover how Adobe Express can help you make the most of your Depop shop and enhance your business offering, to help increase sales, boost positive reviews and gain followers.
How does Depop work?
Depop is a fashion reselling marketplace app. It allows users to buy and sell clothing and fashion items simply and quickly – without the need to create a website, set up a payment process or rent a retail space. Depop works a lot like a social media app – users can create an account to start following other sellers and listing their own items at the click of a button.
Depop can not only support regular people re-selling their old clothes, but also small businesses and vintage clothing brands looking for a lively platform to sell their secondhand or handmade items.
Lots of sellers have cultivated their own brands on Depop, curating items that fit a specific aesthetic or fashion from a particular era. From hand-picked 90s and Y2K fashion to upcycled, reworked and handcrafted pieces, Depop sellers are making the platform their own.
Why use Depop to sell your clothes?
There are plenty of benefits of having a Depop shop as a secondhand small business, start-up clothing brand or an individual.
- Reach different audiences. With 35 million registered users in 2024, you’ll reach a lot more people on Depop than you might with your own website.
- Promote your carbon-friendly values. Reselling on Depop keeps clothing in circulation and encourages more people to choose pre-loved items over fast fashion.
- Save money on your own purchases. Depop lets you spend the balance you’ve accumulated from selling items to buy on the platform. So the money you make from your old clothes can go towards new pieces for your own wardrobe.
- Build a community of likeminded fashion fans. Whether you’re a lover of a vintage band tee or a fan of the 70s aethetic, you’ll find fellow fans on Depop. Build a loyal follower base and it’ll be even easier to sell items.
Free Depop shop logo ideas.
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How to sell on Depop.
Ready to start selling on Depop? Whether you’re having a wardrobe clear out or starting your own vintage shop, the process for creating an account and listing items is the same.
1. Sign up to Depop.
Download the Depop app in the App Store or Google Play. Once it’s installed, open the app on your device. You’ll need to sign up with your email or use your Facebook, Google or Apple account.
Choose a unique username – you want something memorable that relates to the kind of items you’ll be selling. You’ll also need to create a password and choose a profile picture. You can use a photo of yourself to add a face to your Depop shop, or create your own logo to showcase your brand.
2. Personalise your seller profile.
If you want your Depop shop to be a success, it’s important to consider your clothing brand. Branding your shop is a must if you want buyers to know what your shop represents, the kinds of things you sell, and for it to stick in their mind so they remember you when they’re shopping in future.
If you’re selling hand made clothing items, consider creating a clothing logo that buyers can associate with you. Add it to your main profile, as well as any photos you add to your listings. Not only does this make your items look more professional, but it can help build brand recognition too. A memorable brand logo is eyecatching, simple and relates to the products you sell – like the Nike swoosh or the Louis Vuitton Damier pattern.
3. Set up your payment options.
You’ll need to set up your payment preferences to get paid for your Depop sales. You can do this in your Depop account settings.
4. Photograph your items.
The photos you upload could be the difference between making a quick sale and items sitting on your page for weeks or even months. With online selling people aren’t able to touch, feel or try on your clothes until their parcels arrive, so it’s important to provide lots of photos.
Here are a few ideas of photos you should include:
- Full length photos.
- Front and back.
- Labels including the brand, size and care labels.
- Design details like pockets, buttons, zips, hems, embroidery or beading.
- Any imperfections like missing sequins or loose threads.
- Close ups of the fabric and pattern.
- Photos of the item being worn.
Sometimes it can help to edit your photos to improve the quality of the image or create a more cohesive look on your profile. For example, you might want to remove the background, add your branding or adjust the lighting to show the colours more accurately. Just be careful not to change them too much or you might mislead customers.
5. Create and publish your listings.
It’s not just the photos that can help your items sell. A detailed description can also add value, increase visibility and boost sales. When creating your listing, make sure to include information like:
- The era it’s from.
- What condition it’s in.
- The fabric it’s made from.
- Size.
- Measurements.
- Any imperfections.
- Ideas on how to style it.
- What occasion it’s suitable for – such as a wedding or a Christmas party.
Try to be fair with pricing. If it’s a one-off or rare piece made from expensive fabrics, this will justify a higher price tag. But fast-fashion that’s been worn lots already is unlikely to sell for the RRP – so adjust your pricing accordingly.
6. Wait for buyers and look out for any offers.
Buyers can make offers on items and it’s not uncommon to haggle a bit over the price. Keep an eye on your Depop inbox and try to respond to offers in a timely manner. If someone likes one of your items, you might also want to reach out and let them know you’re open to offers.
7. Post your items.
Once you’ve made a sale, it’s time to package up your item and send it to its new owner. You can package the item however you choose as long as it will arrive in the same condition it was posted. Some people on Depop reuse packaging, while others opt for bespoke postage bags, custom labels and wrap items for an exciting unboxing experience.
You have two shipping options when using Depop – use Depop’s shipping label via Evri, or arrange tracked shipping yourself through a third party service. With Depop and Evri, the tracking is taken care of.
If you’re using a third party, make sure to share the tracking information with the buyer once you send the item. To mark an item as shipped on Depop, navigate to the Receipts tab, select the item sold, tap ‘Mark as shipped’ and enter the tracking number.
8. Keep an eye out for reviews.
Once the buyer receives the item, Depop will ask them to leave a review. Hopefully they will be happy with their purchase and leave five stars, but if a buyer leaves neutral or negative feedback, you can contact them to try and come to a resolution. Buyers can’t edit feedback but they can delete it.
Editable Depop banner examples.
Collection ID
(To pull in manually curated templates if needed)
Orientation
(Horizontal/Vertical)
Width
(Full, Std, sixcols)
Limit
(number of templates to load each pagination. Min. 5)
Sort
Most Viewed
Rare & Original
Newest to Oldest
Oldest to Newest
Premium
(true, false, all) true or false will limit to premium only or free only.
Top tips to get more sales and followers on Depop.
If you’ve set up your shop but nobody’s buying, there could be a simple solution. Here’s how to get more followers and sales on Depop.
- Prioritise your image quality. Help buyers out with lots of high-quality images of your items. Photograph the front, back, labels, detailing and fabric so anyone viewing your items knows what they’re getting. Blurry, out of focus or poorly lit photos are sure to put buyers off.
- Optimise your listing copy. Writing a detailed description of your items not only helps buyers understand what they’re shopping for, but it can increase reach and views too. Include keywords that people might search for to maximise eyeballs on your items.
- Think about the full customer journey experience. From the moment they land on the first item to when they try on their purchase at home, think about how you can make the experience as easy and pleasant as possible. That means creating detailed listings, responding to messages and sending items out in a clean and nicely presented way so buyers want to shop with you again.
- Make the most of social media. While Depop might be considered a social media app in itself, you can still make the most of other channels to market your brand. Post photos of some of your best items on Instagram, film teaser content on TikTok and build hype around your next drop so your customers are excited to shop with you again.
- Pay attention to your reviews. Positive reviews are so important when it comes to selling on Depop. Negative reviews could impact sales, so do everything you can to keep your five star rating!
Useful things to know.
How can you boost an item on Depop?
Boosting listings can help you shift items that are struggling to sell. You can boost Depop listings in the Selling Hub. There are no upfront costs to boosting an item, but when it sells you’ll be charged an 8% boosting fee on the total transaction amount.
How do you get verified on Depop?
A verified badge is a small blue tick on a user’s profile image. This status is reserved for brands, public figures and celebrities that need to be verified, as well as users that are considered a Top Seller.
If you want to reach “Top Seller” status and get verified on Depop, you’ll need to meet the criteria. This includes maintaining at least 50 active listings, having a minimum 4.5 star rating, shipping 90% of items within 5 days and earning at least £1,000 each month from sales.
How do you refund an item on Depop?
To refund an item on Depop, navigate to Settings, then Selling then Sold items. Select the item you want to refund and click Refund sale. You can send a full or partial refund depending on what you’ve agreed with the buyer.