Tips to take you higher

Ingredients for Success

The key to success on Depop comes down to three things: making sales, getting good reviews and building your brand. Make sure you’re doing all of these and soon you’ll be climbing to the top.

It’s the extra 10% that turns a good Depop seller into a great Depop seller: put an extra 10% of effort here and there into your shop and you will reap the rewards. There are clear and easy ways to find out where your effort and energy can have the most impact - here’s a list of top tips to make your Depop shop even more successful.

Key Tips to take you to the top

We’ve compiled a list of our top tips for Depop sellers below, so take some time to read through them all as there’s lots to learn. From practical listing tips like using natural lighting for photos and uploading at peak times, to convenient selling tips like keeping proof of postage – you’ll discover lots of straightforward ways to enhance the overall experience of your store.

Please note: Whilst we are able to share our top tips for growing your Depop shop on the basis of our experiences and the feedback we get from our sellers, we do not make any guarantee or representation or accept any liability in relation to the sales or revenues to be gained as a Depop seller.

Listing tips

• Set regular targets: Many Top Sellers set weekly targets of how many items to list. This means there’s always fresh stock on their shop. And remember: The more you have listed, the more there is for buyers to find.

• Use natural lighting: It makes your photos look cleaner and gives the buyer a better idea of the true colour. It also makes your item more likely to sell. That’s a fact.

• Provide measurements: Add them to your item’s description to build trust and confidence in your buyers. If a buyer knows the true size of the item, they’re not going to feel like they’re taking a risk on an item that might not fit. 

• Be strategic: As the seasons change, so do people’s tastes. In summer, make sure you have relevant stock to what buyers are going to be looking for, but also bear in mind that winter stock might be cheaper to purchase in summer months when stockists are looking to offload it. Be season-savvy.

• Make a calendar of upcoming events: At Christmas, Halloween or New Years, buyers will be looking for items appropriate for the occasion. But you can also add in festivals, sports events, prom season to your calendar. Check out what movie releases or big-name concerts are coming up - this can increase demand for items with a pop culture link. Bear these things in mind and capitalize on the spikes we see in searches around these times. Plan ahead and think about what your buyers might be looking for in the coming months.

• Learn about peak times: Monitor timings and activity after you upload an item. You might learn that there are better times of the day, week or month to upload your items and get them sold faster.

Selling tips

• Respond quickly: The more time buyers spend waiting for you to respond, the more likely they are to find something else they like and move on.

• Only accept payments in-app: Accepting payments outside of Depop is against our Terms of Service. And doing so also means you’ll miss out on great reviews and sales that’ll help you climb to the top. To increase your chances of becoming a Top Seller, make sure all your sales go through the app.

• Keep proof of postage: Selling something expensive or sought after? Upload some pictures with the labels or proof of postage to ensure any potential buyers are confident they can trust the authenticity of the item.

• Selling vintage? Make sure that your item is over 20 years old as anything younger is technically not classified as vintage. Using the wrong keywords can be very frustrating for buyers and will also lead to a rise in the number of disputes you get.

• Refresh old listings: If you’ve got items you’re struggling to sell, try updating the description and reshooting the item. Add more relevant keywords and update the description to match current trends. This can help get your items more exposure.

• Offer a discount: You can set up an in-app discount for items that have not sold yet. Give them a new lease of life and make them more appealing for buyers by dropping the price.

• Follow up with your buyer: After you know your item has arrived, send the buyer a message asking how they like the item. If they have any concerns, offer to solve them, and if they’re happy, ask them to leave you feedback on your shop.

Branding tips

• Keep your feed clean: Whatever the aesthetic of your shop, it should be consistent and tidy. Having a mix of items, photography styles and descriptions makes it hard for buyers to browse and find the right item in your shop. If you have a consistent aesthetic, buyers will also become familiar and loyal to your shop at the same time.

• Use Shop Share: This feature is a great way to use social media to drive sales in your shop. Pick items that are worth showing off and share them with your followers. It’s a great way to gain exposure and build your brand following at the same time.

• Reshoot your items: Update your photos through the seasons to keep them relevant to current trends and styles. It’ll also make your shop look fresher. 

• Don’t use borders: They look messy in Depop’s square feed and search function.  Plus they won’t get featured on Explore no matter how good the photo is.

• Plan a drop: Many Top Sellers find greater success by planning drops. This is when they curate a collection of similar items (example: Mom shorts) and then tease out the drop on social media to build anticipation.

• Package your items nicely: Buyers love it and are more likely to leave you a five-star review if you take care to put love into their order.