Depop beginner guide
How to sell on Depop when the feed is the storefront
Depop isn’t a marketplace you list on. It’s a feed you perform on. Setup, photos, the 5-hashtag formula, offer culture and payouts, with the fee math shown honestly.
yourshop
9 items · beginner grid
On this page
- What actually sells on Depop
- Your first Depop sale in five steps
- The 5-hashtag formula, built for you
- Buyers will offer less. Have your answer ready.
- Watch a flat lay become a feed-worthy shot.
- Shipping and the payout nobody warns you about
- Four things that kill beginner Depop shops
- Selling on Depop: answered
| Depop at a glance | Detail |
|---|---|
| Active buyers | 7 million (31 Dec 2025), nearly 90% under 34 |
| Active sellers | 3 million+ (31 Dec 2025) |
| Audience | Young, Gen Z-heavy |
| Owner | eBay (since 30 July 2026) |
| Commission (US/UK) | 0%, processing only (≈3.3% + $0.45) |
| You keep on a $50 sale | ≈$47.90 |
| First payout | Up to 10 business days |
One recent change first: eBay completed its acquisition of Depop on 30 July 2026, but Depop still runs as its own app with its own fees.
Most beginner Depop advice stops at “take good photos and use hashtags.” True, but useless without specifics. Which photos? Which hashtags? What do you say when someone offers half your price? And why does the first payout take so long? This guide answers the questions sellers actually run into in their first ninety days, including the parts the platform doesn’t explain.
What actually sells on Depop
Four categories own the platform. If your closet doesn’t match them, Vinted is probably your better home.
01 · The core of the platform
Vintage
Genuine 80s, 90s and 00s pieces with a story. Faded band tees, Carhartt workwear, Levi’s 501s. Buyers pay for authenticity and they can spot a reproduction from three photos away.
02 · The trend engine
Y2K
Baby tees, low-rise denim, velour tracksuits, tiny shoulder bags. The 2000s revival lives on Depop, and pieces tagged right move within days.
03 · The steady seller
Streetwear
Hoodies, cargos, sneakers and graphic tees from the last two decades. Stussy, Nike, Supreme, Palace. Condition and sizing info make or break these listings.
04 · The differentiator
Reworked & one-offs
Upcycled, cropped, re-dyed, custom. If nobody else has it, Depop wants it. One-of-one pieces build a shop’s reputation faster than any other stock.
Your first Depop sale in five steps
From blank profile to first payout. Step two decides more than the other four combined.
- 1
Set up a shop with an identity
Your username is your shop name, so pick one that fits your niche. Add a profile photo and a bio that says exactly what you stock: “90s vintage denim and Y2K tops” tells a buyer whether to follow in three seconds. Depop buyers follow shops the way they follow accounts. A clear identity is what earns the follow.
- 2
Photograph for the feed, not the form
Depop is visual-first. Its audience is young and Gen Z-heavy, and they scroll it like a social feed. Modeled shots usually stand out in that feed far more than flat lays. Shoot in daylight, style the piece the way your buyer would wear it, and capture the details: label, fabric, any flaws. On Depop, the photo isn’t decoration. It is the listing.
- 3
Write for search: title, description, 5 hashtags
Put the words buyers type into your title and first line of the description: brand, item, style, era, size, condition. Then use all 5 hashtags. Mix one brand tag, one style tag (vintage, Y2K, streetwear), one decade tag (90s, 00s) and a category tag. Irrelevant tags get penalized by Depop’s algorithm, so keep every one honest. Try the builder below.
- 4
Price for the offer culture
Depop buyers negotiate through the built-in offer tool, and most sellers expect it. Check sold listings for the same brand and style, then list 10 to 20% above the number you’d happily accept. That headroom turns a lowball into a sale instead of an insult.
- 5
Ship fast and survive the first payout
US and UK sellers pay no commission since 2024, only about 3.3% plus $0.45 in processing. Ship within a few days using a Depop label or your own tracked service. One honest warning: new sellers can wait up to 10 business days for the first payout while Depop verifies the account. It speeds up after that.
The 5-hashtag formula, built for you
Depop gives you 5 hashtags per listing. The winning mix: one brand, one style, one era, one category, one wildcard. Tap to build a set.
Your tag set
#nike #y2k #90s #cargopants #fashionfinds
Title this set would support
Nike cargo pants 90s y2k · size M · great condition
Swap the words for your actual item. Keep every tag honest or the algorithm punishes you.
Buyers will offer less. Have your answer ready.
Negotiation is built into Depop, and freezing on an offer loses the sale. Three real scenarios and the counter that works.
Scenario 01 · Listed $25, offered $18
→ Counter $22
You keep the margin, the buyer feels the win. Most counters in this range get accepted within hours.
Scenario 02 · Listed $40, offered $20
→ Counter $32
A 50% lowball isn’t an insult, it’s an opening. Meet in the upper middle and hold. If they walk, the item was never theirs.
Scenario 03 · “What’s your lowest?”
→ Answer with a number, not a shrug
Try: “I’d take $27 today.” Vague replies kill momentum. Buyers asking this question are ready to pay.
- Never ignore an offer.
- Counter the same day.
- Bundle deals close hesitant buyers.
- Price with 10–20% headroom.
Watch a flat lay become a feed-worthy shot.
Depop’s top sellers will all tell you the same thing: the on-model shot is what stops the scroll. Buyers shop with their eyes, and a garment on a body (fit, drape, styling) outsells the same garment on a hanger, every time.
No model, no mannequin, no photography skills? Vintefy generates the shot for you. Upload one phone photo and get a studio-quality on-model image in about 30 seconds, plus a title and description. It’s the fastest way to give your whole shop the consistent look Depop rewards with follows and repeat sales. See also AI photos for Depop.
Cotton T-shirt · Clone mode · real Vintefy output
Shipping and the payout nobody warns you about
Shipping
- Use a Depop shipping label or your own tracked service. Untracked parcels leave you exposed in disputes.
- Ship within two to three days. Buyers on Depop are young and impatient, and fast shipping shows up in your reviews.
- Package like a person, not a warehouse. Tissue, a thank-you note, a sticker. This audience reviews the experience, not just the item.
Four things that kill beginner Depop shops
01
The wrinkled flat lay
A creased tee on a bedsheet tells buyers you don’t care, so they don’t either. Depop’s feed is visual; the photo does most of the selling.
02
Hashtag stuffing
Tagging #nike on a vintage dress to borrow traffic gets your listing penalized, not seen. Five honest tags beat thirty greedy ones.
03
Ghosting messages
Buyers on Depop often message before purchasing. A reply two days later is a sale lost. Answer within a few hours, even if the answer is no.
04
List and abandon
Shops that post twenty items once and vanish sink. Depop rewards rhythm: a few listings every few days, plus edits to refresh what sits.
Independent guide. Not affiliated with, sponsored by, or endorsed by Depop. Fees and features checked against Depop’s published information.
Selling on Depop: answered
Is Depop free to sell on?
Listing is free and there’s no monthly fee. Since 2024, US and UK sellers pay no selling commission either. The only cost is payment processing: about 3.3% plus $0.45 per sale. On a $50 sale you keep roughly $47.90.
How much does Depop take from sellers?
For US and UK sellers, just the payment processing of around 3.3% plus $0.45. Depop scrapped its 10% selling fee for those markets in 2024, making it the second-cheapest major resale app after Vinted (which charges sellers nothing).
What sells best on Depop?
Vintage, Y2K, streetwear and reworked one-offs. Depop’s young, Gen Z-heavy audience opens the app to hunt pieces nobody else has. Everyday high-street basics usually do better on Vinted.
How do Depop payouts work?
Money from a sale lands in your Depop balance and pays out to your linked bank account. New sellers should expect the first payout to take up to 10 business days while the account gets verified. After that, payouts arrive much faster.
How many hashtags should I use on Depop?
Up to 5 per listing, and use them all. Mix a brand tag, a style tag, a decade tag and a category tag. Never stuff irrelevant hashtags: Depop’s algorithm penalizes listings that do.
Do I need model photos on Depop?
You don’t need a model, but you need the look. On Depop’s visual feed, modeled shots usually stand out far more than flat lays. If you don’t have someone to wear the pieces, tools like Vintefy generate a studio-quality on-model photo from one phone shot in about 30 seconds.
Is Depop or Vinted better for selling clothes?
Different stock, different app. Vintage, Y2K and streetwear perform best on Depop. Everyday brands and wardrobe clearouts sell faster on Vinted, with zero seller fees. Many sellers list on both. Our best app to sell clothes guide compares all five platforms.
How do I get more views on Depop?
Strong cover photos first (they’re what buyers see in the feed), then relevant keywords with all 5 hashtags, then a steady listing rhythm. Editing older listings bumps them back into search. Depop rewards shops that look active and coherent.