Selling on Depop vs. Poshmark

Marketplaces 101
By
Selling on Depop vs. Poshmark

The great debate, Depop vs. Poshmark! There are so many marketplaces to sell your items online for a profit. Poshmark and Depop are my two favorite marketplaces where I make the most sales. However, they could not be more different. 

 

Selling on Depop has broadened my sourcing and revenue potential. Because Depop is so different from Poshmark, the items I purchase for Depop are totally different, too! I find myself selling funky, brandless, and unique pieces that I would have never sourced to sell on Poshmark. Selling on Depop has been so much fun! 

 

Here is a guide to selling on Poshmark vs. selling on Depop and the main differences between each marketplace. 

 

Poshmark & Depop Audiences 

 

Poshmark reports having a large audience of 60 million active users. On Poshmark, you can sell fashion, accessories, new personal care products, home goods, and select pet items. Poshmark is best known for women’s fashion, trendy brands, and higher-end clothing and accessories. Poshmark is available in the U.S., Canada, India, and Australia, but at this time Poshers cannot buy or sell outside of their country. 

 

Depop reports having over 30 million registered users in over 150 countries. On Depop, you can sell almost anything that is not illegal, medical, or perishable. Top-selling categories on Depop are Vintage, Streetwear, One-of-a-kind, and Y2k.



Reseller Tip: Poshmark listings rank well in Google Search, whereas Depop listings do not. This means that Poshmark promotes listings on Google, widening their audience even more!



What to Sell on Poshmark vs. What to Sell on Depop 

 

If you are familiar with what to source for Poshmark, you know that Poshmark prefers higher-end, trendy, pieces. Based on the Poshmark 2021 Winter Trend Report their best-selling brands include Lululemon Athletica, Nike, Free People, Victoria’s Secret, and Coach. Poshmark BOLO brands include Nordstrom brands, Revolve brands, Anthropologie brands, and higher-end fashion. 

 

Depop couldn’t be more different. Scrolling through Depop, you will notice that it is not your typical reselling platform, but instead, a vivid assortment of unique, funky, vintage, and trendy fashion flourishing with artistic expression. When considering what to source for Depop, the older and funkier, the better. Depop is far more about style and aesthetics than brand. In fact, brands don’t matter much on Depop.  My personal top-selling items on Depop include Levi’s jeans, vintage costume jewelry, vintage sweaters and blazers, and trendy pieces from mall brands such as Forever 21. 



Listing Process 

 

The listing process is easy and straightforward on both Poshmark and Depop. Both require images of the item, optional video media, a description, drop-down selections as to the item’s category, size, brand, color(s), condition, price, tags, and a few optional drop-down fields. The process is relatively equivalent, excluding the extra shipping information in each listing with Depop.

 

Depop only allows four images in your listing. Utilize the video feature to showcase your items in your listing. Further, while style tags aren’t incredibly significant on Poshmark, hashtags are crucial on Depop. The hashtags are one of the most important components of your Depop listings. I recommend browsing the Depop Explore Page to familiarize yourself with trending hashtags to use in your listings.



Poshmark Community vs. Depop Culture

 

The Poshmark community is much different than the Depop culture. 90% of Depop users are under the age of 26, and it shows. Poshmark users often utilize formal listing styles, professional demeanors, and chic photographs. Depop is younger and cooler.   On Depop, you don’t see as many boring images of preppy clothing on clear hangers with a plain white background. In fact, you’ll see the opposite- funky styles modeled in vibrant locations, with unique aesthetics. Depop is about artistic expression. 

 

Note that Depop strictly disallows stock images. While using images you do not own the rights to technically isn’t allowed anywhere, Depop zealously enforces the no stock photo policy. Depop does not wait until or unless a brand complains about the use of their photos, but they proactively and regularly remove listings with stock photos. Depop's preferred photography styles are self-modeled and flat lay photographs.



Making Sales on Poshmark vs. Making Sales on Depop

 

The main similarity between Poshmark and Depop is that both marketplaces require that users  “share” or “refresh” their listings. This advances listings to the top of newsfeeds and search results and is crucial to making sales on either platform (arguably more crucial on Depop as their search forum is not as sophisticated and their Google ranking is far inferior). 

 

On Poshmark, to share your listings, you click the “share” icon below each and select “share to followers.” On Depop, to refresh your listings, you open your listing, select “edit,” and select “save.” Manually sharing becomes ridiculous as your Poshmark Closet and Depop Shop grow. I use PosherVA to share my Poshmark listings and SellerAider to refresh my Depop listings. Both extensions allow you to schedule shares, make automatic offers, follow and unfollow, and much more. Use third-party softwares at your own risk as they are not all allowed by the reselling marketplaces. 

 

Poshmark provides sellers with more tools. On Poshmark, buyers can make binding offers on your items, and sellers can make bulk offers to all likers. Depop recently rolled out an offer feature, but only buyers can make offers, and they are not binding.


You may also enjoy reading: 10 Steps to Increase Your Sales on Depop

 

How to Ship on Poshmark vs. How to Ship on Depop.

 

Poshmark offers the most simplified shipping process compared to all of the other reselling platforms. It is so easy! On Poshmark, a USPS priority mail shipping label is emailed to the seller at the time of sale. Posh labels can be affixed to any parcel, and you can use the free Priority Mail packaging available at USPS. Tracking information automatically updates for the buyer upon shipment. Generally, the buyer pays a flat rate of $7.55 shipping for all orders under 5lbs. The bundle feature allows a buyer to purchase multiple items simultaneously and pay shipping only once.

On Depop, there are many shipping selections available to sellers. When listing, you must select whether to:

  1. Ship with Depop or ship on your own;

  2. Offer free shipping or charge shipping; and

  3. Use USPS, FedEx, or UPS.

 

Each Depop listing has a shipping section for this information.  If you elect to ship with Depop, Depop will email a USPS label upon sale (similar to the Poshmark model). However, the item’s approximate weight (including packaging) is required at the time of listing to select the label tier. Electing to ship on your own requires purchasing your own shipping label and providing Depop with the tracking information for the package.

 

You have the choice to offer free shipping (pay it yourself) or charge your buyers. You can also select the shipping carrier you are most comfortable with based on your items, location, and business preferences. My business model is offering low or free shipping on all items (accounting for the same in my listing prices) and shipping on my own using Pirate Ship for the best rates.

 

Which is better? Usually, Poshmark… but it really depends on what you are selling and how you would like to ship it. The shipping process on Poshmark is the easiest thing, and it is also an incredible deal! $7.55 shipping on 5lb orders to anywhere in the United States is an amazingly low rate, especially for heavier items. However, this deal is not so amazing for lightweight items under 1lb.

 

You may also enjoy reading: A Reseller's Guide to Poshmark: Tips to Make More Sales


Poshmark Fees vs. Depop Fees 

 

Depop fees are better than Poshmark fees.

 

Poshmark fees are a 20% commission on all items sold for a final sale price of over $15.00, and a flat-rate fee of $2.95 for all sales under $15.00

 

Depop fees are approximately 12%-13% depending on how the buyer pays. When a buyer pays with Depop payments (credit card, Apple pay, Google pay), the fee is approximately 12%. When a buyer pays with Paypal, the seller incurs the Depop fee (12%) in addition to the Paypal fee (at this time, it is 2.9% plus $0.30).

 

For example, if I sell an item for $20.00 (without any shipping discounts), the fees will be as follows: Poshmark fees will be $4.00, and I will make $16.00 on the sale. If I sell an item for $20.00 on Depop, I will make between $17.12  and $17.60  depending upon the buyer’s mode of payment. 

Overall, I love selling on Poshmark and Depop. Because I use Vendoo, I cross-list some of my items to both Depop and Poshmark, and it is interesting to see which sells where. 

 

I hope this helped breakdown of Depop vs. Poshmark helped guide you on your reseller journey! Have you sold on these two platforms? If so which one do you like the most? Leave your comments below! 

Vendoo Subscribe Blog!