Last Updated on December 13, 2020 by Stiletto Socialite
It’s unfortunate that there is so much talk that Depop is a scam with articles, forums, and Facebook groups all pointing with screen shot evidence how Depop safety is an issue.
However, I would like to take this moment to say I am a real human being not a bot and I don’t scam anyone on Depop.
Like any app if there are enough users inevitably there are scammers.
However scammers exist everywhere corporate America, government, your scamming behind EX!!!!
So, today I will go over the precautions you can take as a buyer and a seller to lessen the chances of a scam happening to you on Depop!
So let’s dive right in!
In this post:
Depop Is it safe to buy from Depop?
A Depop Safety Must: Depop Buyer Protection
Depop Safety: Is Depop legit?
Depop Safety: Designer Items
How not to get scammed: Selling and Buying
Depop Safety: Delivery Verification
Depop Fake Buyer
Can I buy on Depop without PayPal?
What percentage does Depop take?
How much is Depop worth?
Does Depop refund fake items?
Depop Is it safe to buy from Depop?
Ummmm how about yes! Depop is safe to buy from!
Review my shop to see that I am a real seller getting real reviews and I am safe to buy from and so are millions of other Depop sellers. One of the most important things you can do to see if a seller is legit is to look at the sellers reviews. However, if the seller is new, don’t be afraid to buy from them and I can tell you why in a moment.
You can get a feel from what type of person you are dealing with just by messaging them. Sometimes you can get a feel for their personality. I know people can be fake sometimes online, but you can get a general idea of their responsiveness, attentiveness, etc.
For example, you know how some of those online pushy people are–and they remind you of the used cars salesman and you immediately know in your gut you don’t want to deal with this person? That’s the feeling you get, I know I get it when some customers hit me up on the DM, like I can tell from “jump” they are a bug a boo, that is going to get on my nerves.
I am very sensitive to writing a person off just because they are a new seller because I was a new seller at one time, we all had to start from somewhere. Plus new people are more anxious to sell with better deals typically.
When I was a new seller, I cut deals on Depop on things I knew I could sell for more somewhere else just so I could build my sales on Depop and get my social proof via reviews. For more information about how I was able to build sales quickly with no followers check out this article.
A Depop Safety Must: Depop Buyer Protection
Like a lot of people I read online about “Is Depop a scam?” so I knew that I needed to prove myself as a legit and trustworthy seller from jump. Another reason you shouldn’t fear buying from a new seller is that if something does go wrong that you have buyer protection.
This is the importance of staying within the app for your purchases so you can have Depop + PayPal protection. The worst that could happen is that you spend money that eventually will be refunded and your time is wasted. PayPal especially doesnt play that mess with scamming and is very sensitive to this kind of thing!
NOTE: Prior all purchases on Depop were made via PayPal now this has recently changed, stay tuned more on that letter!
Depop Safety: Is Depop legit?
Depop is a legit and trustworthy business that has been in operating since 2011, so around nine years, so think about it in a social media age where one tweet can devastate a company or a person or galvinize a movement, a company as big as Depop with 13 million plus users would not be able to get away with a platform with a lot of scammers. They would cease to exist!
Remember, scammers exits on any platform so the next time you read a post about how scammy Depop is, remember that Depop is a peer to peer platform and the users are the scammers not the platform.
Pretty much everyone starts at “0” when they join and then its up to Depop to review their behavior and filter out the bad apples.
So trust Depop does not want people on the app scamming their customers that nspend money marketing dollars to come to the app. The sellers wouldn’t last long due to the reviews they would get, the customer who got scammed would blast the bad seller and yes of course Depop could shut down the shop and start a new one, but that’s a lot of effort also.
There is no repeat business when a seller scams, so most of the people are legit sellers. The best way to determine if the person you are dealing with is legit and trustworthy is deal only within the app because if they are not, you will get refunded. Next, you need to guard and insulate yourself with a protective barrier–if scamming is your concern to decrease the chances of a scam on Depop occurring.
Depop Safety: Designer Items
Depop has recently announced they have teamed up with Real Authentication.com to authenticate designer items. You can check out the process and the brands here. I know when I thrift stuff and its designer I disclose that “I cannot verify the authenticity as I was not the original owner. Right there the buyer knows that its possible it could be a fake. Since I disclosed it and show the tags therefore they cannot go back and say I sold them a fake. I’ve never had any issues conducting business in this upfront way.
Transparency is the key to success when conducting business online!
How not to get scammed: Selling and Buying
Whenever I have a high priced item or have a general sense that I am dealing with a flakey person I video record my shipments, so that there is proof that it was packaged in the condition sold.
Thankfully, I have never had to use any of my footage but its my insurance to protect myself from scammers.
From a buyer perspective you could also video record and document your unboxing of the shipment so that you have proof that what you received was not as described and there can be no back and forth about from the seller that “it was not sent in that condition”
Here is a low key scam that did not happen here but is part of the reason I don’t do international shipments at this time. I had a international customer in the EU (which has certain rules about returns, etc) return a package to me due to buyers remorse.
Most people on Depop are final sale so return to sender is the passive aggressive way to send the package back to force the seller into a return. Well boo you shouldn’t waste your time buying it then, I would have much rather NOT dealt with you as a customer and let that item sit for eternity before dealing with you.
Again, this situation did not occur on Depop but its something you should think about when reselling.
Here is my step by step process that I use as a seller to make sure I do not get scammed
I’ve sold hundereds of packages on Depop and I conduct all my transactions via the app. I’ve never had any issues regarding receiving payments, etc because it is so simple to do business when you do it the right way.
DEPOP SAFETY: DELIVERY VERIFICATION
- When I get notification of a sale then I review that my payment has been received then I ship.
- I use a Depop shipping label so that the tracking # will automatically update in the app and the customer can see their tracking status
- Depending on the circumstances I may video record me, packaging my shipment
- If I am not hand delivering my USPS packages to a USPS worker then I usually video record me dropping off my packages at USPS that way I have proof that the package is within USPS hands
After that I am done, the customer has their tracking and I expect USPS to do their job. If for some reason there is a problem with the item being delivered, etc trust me the customer will contact you. I don’t spend my time monitoring tracking except on rare occasion. Every time a customer has had an issue with delivery it has not been my fault or USPS it has been the customer’s and it usually had to do with their delivery address information being wrong.
Depop Fake Buyer
There are some fake buyers and I notice that they come and go into spells. There are times I will get back to back messages from these buyers and then I wont hear from any of the spammy buyers from months. Almost always the messages are for my higher priced items. This is how I handle the fake buyers on Depop. I block them. Depop gets plenty of messages they know they exist so I block them and move on.
All this talk about scam and you would think that’s all there is to Depop, but I assure you its not. There are wonderful sellers out there ready to service your needs. Honestly, if you go in thinking negative often time the universe will deliver just what you asked for. So as a seller there are too many scams out there to keep track of you can spend a whole day reading the various reddits about scamming on Depop or instead you can go purchase the item, hope for the best, and go an conquer the world because honestly ]it really its not that serious!
Can I buy on Depop without PayPal?
Previously all Depop purchases were powered via PayPal, hwoever recently this has changed and they have are rolling out Depop payments.
I recently got an email to get early access and I have gotten a few sales via Depop payments.
The kicker is that Depop payments come to my account later versus PayPal, PayPal payments are immediately available in the account.
What percentage does Depop take?
Depop takes 10% of you transaction.
Here is a calculator to help calculate your transactions and how much profit you will make.
How much is Depop worth?
Depop is experiencing steady growth and have raised 62M in Series C funding to expand its US base and tech presence. A Forbes article even states that in 2018, Depop users were on track to sell $460 million so a 10% cut of that I is pretty good for a niche reselling app.
Does Depop refund fake items?
Depop has a buyer protection policy so if you get a fake item that you thought was authentic and was not delivered as described you are covered and you can get refunded if that is the case.
Conclusion….
So again with that Question???
“IS IT SAFE TO BUY FROM DEPOP”
Depop is trying to make money they are also investing a lot into infrastructure to build a formidable platform to last for some years and also now they have investors who will be looking for profits in the short term so trust and believe they are going to try to make…
Depop safety a number one priority!
Depop as legit as possible
Depop as trustworthy as possible
So they can make bank! PERIOT!
