I started selling on Depop about 2 years ago, when I was moving and realized I had too many clothes to fit into the closet at my new apartment. What was thought to be a one-time thing then has led me to become a Depop seller now with 11k followers and nearly 100 5-star reviews. Selling on Depop not only rewarded me with some extra cash but also gave me the invaluable experience of running a small business. I highly recommend anyone with extra stuff on the hands to sell to start a Depop shop, if not for the $ but for the experience (for things you just cannot learn from business books).
It is hard to get started. It is even harder to push through when your shop doesn’t get any tractions. I have put together the below Q & A — hope they can help you along the way. Read on!
Why you should sell on Depop vs. other platforms?
- Low commission fee: This allows you to actually get the majority of the revenue compared to other platforms (For every transaction, Depop takes 10%, Poshmark: 20%, eBay: around 10% , The RealReal: 50 -70% of the selling amount).
- A safe marketplace: Depop has a very strict policy on scams, fakes, and sellers that violate terms. I say this because (i) I have reported scams and have seen those users removed immediately. I have not seen any scams pop up for the past several months (ii) My own listings have been removed several times.
- Easy-to-use UI: You can only do listings through the Depop app. But setting up a listing is so much easier, faster, and more intuitive than on Poshmark.
- Excellent customer service: If you run into any issues, Depop makes it easy to get in touch with them within the app and they respond very fast.
What do you need to start a Depop shop?
- Anything in decent conditions you want to sell (Depop doesn’t allow selling heavily used skincare/makeups).
- A camera/phone to take photos.
- A PayPal account to receive payments.
- A printer to print shipping labels.
- Shipping boxes/envelopes (I reuse my boxes of the packages I receive and rarely buy new ones).
What are some of the tips on selling on Depop?
- The most important thing — take clear photos: This is important for showcasing the details of the products but also can immediately make your shop looks more legit. And it is extremely important especially when you first get started with no reviews to prove you are a trustworthy seller. If you sell clothes, either show photos of you wearing them or find photos online of models wearing them to help buyers visualize. And if what you are selling was seen on celebrities — pick one of those as the cover photo (a great opportunity to use social proof & authority to convert buyers ).
- To get viewed — refresh your listings: Depop ranks items by recency when a user does searches. Doing a daily update of your listing by simply clicking edit and update can put your listing on top of the search result every day. This will helps tremendously in terms of the ‘impressions’ your shop gets.
- To grow followers — follow/message your target buyer: This is my proven way to get the attention of your target audience and grow followers! For example, if you sell a lot of luxury brands, find users that have liked similar items and follow them to get your shop noticed by them. If you sell the exact same item they liked at a lower price or a better condition, message them and let them know the great offer **
**Should be used with extreme caution to not spam and annoy people!
