If you are looking to make some extra money and sell online, Depop is a great platform to start or to expand on. Known for its street style and a majority of Gen Z user base, it offers a social media-like platform to sell. With its low fees and option to sell internationally, Depop offers plenty of potential for a profitable sale. So let’s go over how to start selling on Depop for beginners.
What To Know About Selling On Depop
- According to Statista, about 83% of its users are under the age of 30. Knowing the age range of users will give you an idea of who your potential customers are.
- You will need a PayPal account to sell on Depop.
- Depop’s selling fee is 10%. PayPal will take their fee of 2.9% plus $0.30 per sale.
- Shipping is easy when you ship with Depop. We will go over this.
- You do not have to use Depop’s shipping. It will actually be cheaper to ship on your own. We show you a step-by-step guide here.
- You can offer international shipping but you will have to ship on your own. It is easier than you’d think. We show you how to ship internationally with Depop here.
- Check here for more tips about selling on Depop.
Selling On Depop For Beginners: How To List On Depop
Listing is extremely easy on Depop. Once you download the Depop app, make sure to link your PayPal account to it.
- To start listing, click on the small house icon on the bottom. Then select “List an item”.
2. Click on the camera icon to start taking photos.
3. This will pull your image gallery. You can select photos that you have taken already. Otherwise, click on the camera icon again.
4. Move and scale your photo around to get the best lighting and angles. You can crop as you wish. Then click on the check mark once you’re satisfied with the photo.
5. Enter your descriptions. Be as descriptive as possible.
6. Once you entered all the description, info, and price scroll down to shipping. Click on the arrow to select shipping with Depop.
7. Select the weight. Pro tip: Get a shipping scale so you don’t have to deal with shipping cost discrepancies once you actually have to ship. It will also save you money. For example, this example item actually weighs less than 4 oz with packaging. But without a scale, you may have chosen the “Small” parcel size.
8. If you want to be able to ship worldwide, you simply just have turned on the button for it. Go ahead and set a price for it. Find our guide for how to ship internationally with Depop here.
9. Once all the fields are entered, your listing is ready! Select Post listing to finish.
Depop Selling Tips For Beginners
As a beginner selling on any platform, you may not make a sale right away. With Depop, there are a couple of things you will have to actively do in order for your listings to be found. A big part of how to sell on Depop involves a few fundamentals.
Quality Listings
As with selling anything online, it is crucial that you have a quality listing. What does that mean? Make sure you have clear pictures of your items in a well-lit and clean background. You don’t want a bunch of clutter in the background. You can use a fun backdrop and incorporate your own style.
Depop unfortunately only allows four photos. However, you can use a video feature. You can also use an app that can take 2 photos and place them in one frame. We use a free app called Layout.
Your description is crucial to people being able to find your listing. Be descriptive of the brand, condition, style, and category. Don’t list a vintage T-shirt as just a “vintage T-shirt” or a dress as a “Purple dress”. Describe the print if it has a print and any other detail. Because if someone is searching for a particular item, those descriptions are what they will be typing.
To make it easier to manage questions regarding your item, include measurements if you can. This will save you the time of going back and forth with messaging if someone is needing to know it. A measuring tape is very handy to have.
Know Your Price Range
Other than your description, the price of your item is the most important part of selling. You need to be realistic about the demand for your item, no matter what you have paid for it. There are certain brands that cost a lot of money retail but hardly sell for a fraction on the resell market.
Meanwhile, other brands retain their value well and can at least sell for half of retail. One example is Lululemon. To know how much to price your item, search similar listings. There are sellers that overprice their items while others underprice them.
Choose a price that is about 15% to 25% above the bottom price that you’re willing to sell your item for. This will give you some room to negotiate with a potential buyer. You will also be able to run a “Sale” on your page occasionally.
Bump Your Listings
“Bump” your listings a couple of times a day or once a day. Bumping means going to each listing, selecting “Edit”, and then clicking “Save” without actually changing anything on your post. Why? This brings your listing to the top of the feed.
If bumping several times a day is too much work, choose a time of day or evening where people would be on their phones. For example, people are more likely to be relaxing at home, browsing on their phones in the evening before bedtime. So if you can take a short time to bump your listings, it will help with sales.
Engage With Other Accounts
As a brand new account, it is important to search and follow similar listings or accounts. Even if that does not translate to immediate sales, engaging with other accounts will give you an idea of how others list and price. You will also be able to see their following and how much their items sell for.
Do Not Take Your Sale Outside Depop
There are many spam and scammers on Depop as there is with other platforms. When you start listing, you may get messages from supposed users asking you to text them. Ignore and report those accounts.
You may also get people trying to buy your item outside of the app to avoid Depop fees. It is not worth the risk of Depop removing your account or you getting scammed. Stick with selling on the app. Depop’s fees are a lot more reasonable than other platforms like Poshmark that take 20%. One sale is not the risk to you being able to sell many more sales.
Getting Paid On Depop
As we mentioned earlier, you will need a PayPal account to sell on Depop. As soon as the buyer makes a purchase, it will go to your PayPal account. If your PayPal is a brand new account, it may take several sales before you can access your fund. Your first couple of sales may require that the buyer accepts the item before PayPal releases the money.
This is to make sure that you’re a legit seller. If you run into other PayPal issues with Depop, check this post here.
How To Ship With Depop
Once your item sells, check that you receive 3 emails before shipping. The first email will be from Depop with the shipping label and sale confirmation. Then you will receive two from PayPal; one with the receipt of your payment to Depop for their 10% fee and the other for notification of payment received from your buyer.
Then, go to the email from Depop that will have a USPS shipping label.
It will have instructions on what to do next. Scroll down and download your shipping label by clicking on “View shipping label”.
You can use your phone or computer to print this label. If you’re using an iPhone and set up your printer to be able to print from it, you can click the bottom to select print. Then tape this label onto your package.
You can then drop the package off at the post office. Since you already have a shipping label on it, you don’t have to wait in line. You can drop it off at the lobby drop box or you can go up to the counter. Most post offices will have a counter for packages with a shipping label purchased.
IMPORTANT: If your package weighs less than a pound, Depop will send you a label with USPS First Class. If you drop your package off at a drop box or counter, the post office may not scan them right away. This is because USPS will prioritize packages that are Priority Mail over First Class mail. Do not worry if the package does not get scanned in a few days. Give it a few days for tracking to show.
Communicate this with your buyer as well so they can also have peace of mind. If you would like a receipt, you can stand in line and have the counter scan your package.
Selling On Depop For Beginners: Last Thoughts
While we have been selling on other platforms like eBay, Poshmark, and Mercari, we have slowly been increasing our sales on Depop. In fact, Depop can be one of the most profitable places to sell on due to how the platform is arranged and its low fees.