Last Updated on January 2, 2021 by Stiletto Socialite
I started Depop as an afterthought as a second place to sell items besides Poshmark. At first, I didn’t give Depop much attention, and it was second place in my eyes for selling. However, I soon began to notice that I was selling faster on Depop than Poshmark, to the point that I wouldn’t even bother cross listing certain items to Poshmark because I knew it would sell faster on Depop at a better price. Poshmark still provides sales and some items definitely work better for this platform. There are many pros and cons of selling with Poshmark vs. Depop as both apps have many similarities but also many differences.
Depop vs Poshmark who pays faster?
Depop: One of the key aspects about Depop that makes me heart the app is that I get my money up front, as soon as a customer purchases an item the money goes right into my PayPal account. Even if I let the money sit there before I use it, its just nice to see “money in the bank.” To me the sale is done, I can officially move on.
Poshmark: With Poshmark, you have to wait until the item is shipped to the customer and the customer accepts the item. Poshmark will release the money to you within 3 days of delivery. At this point the money will be available in either two forms you can get a check delivered or you can deposit it into your checking account, and the amount of time varies from each banking institution but per Poshmark typically arrives into your account within 2-3 business days.
So let’s say it takes 3 days for your funds to be released and then another 3 days for your banking institution to come thru you are talking about 6 days to get your money with Poshmark vs. the instantaneous payment with Depop.
Depop vs Poshmark Fees
Poshmark: Probably the number #1 complaint about Poshmark you will see from the users is the 20% fee that they charge. So you have to put some work into pricing constantly on this app not only due to the 20% cut they take but also the low balling–which is rampant on this app. The 20% cut that Poshmark take is the total amount, some people like this way because it’s a clean and simple approach. If you are buying for resale getting your costs of goods (the items you are selling) as low as possible will be so important to make a profit. Street Savvy, a popular Poshmark YouTuber, has mastered this concept by getting her costs of goods around $1-2 by shopping at the bins so that it is easier to make a profit. However, note that you must make sure that the goods fit the trends of Poshmark or it won’t matter if you paid 1.00 for it.
POSHMARK FEE BREAKDOWN
So to do the math, if you sell an item for $50.00
Less Poshmark Fee (20%) -$10.00
Total $40.00
Depop: I see people complain about low balling on Depop and I seriously roll my eyes because yes it does occur on Depop but not at the rate of Poshmark. One aspect of Poshmark that leads to higher rates of lower balling is I think the shipping structure of the app. Poshmark shipping is a flat fee of $6.79 priority shipping for up to 5 lbs, whereas Depop has a tiered approach to shipping. So for the person utilizing bundles the $6.79 shipping is great however for the person who doesn’t need to purchase several tops from one person $6.79 to ship something small can be a cost some customers do not want to swallow, as a result the buyers will then try to reduce their offers taking in account the shipping so if you have an item listed for $30 they will give you an offer for $23.
DEPOP FEE BREAKDOWN
The Depop fees are 10% + Paypal fees
Paypal fees are 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction (US)
Doing the math, if you sell an item for $25.00
Shipping (paid by the customer is $9.00)
Total Cost $34.00
Depop fee is 2.50 (10% of 25.00)
Paypal fees are Total Cost $34.00 (2.9%)=.986 +.30=1.29
So from a $25.00 sale you minus 1.29 and 2.50 and you receive $21.21
Lowballing on Depop vs Poshmark
Poshmark: has an offer button that customers can use to make you an offer, but I wish it was like Ebay where the system will autodecline offers so that way I wouldn’t get an ‘yay new offer” notice for an offer I would never be interested in!
I do however like Poshmark’s offer to likers button, where you can make offers to likers. Prior to this button being enacted I think people just liked things like they would on Instagram or Pinterest, however it wasn’t necessarily translating into sales. However, I think now that people realize “offer to likers” exist more people are liking with purpose. The purpose being to like with a “maybe” to buy in the future if the price is right and those who don’t want to get offers they won’t bother liking.
In Depop, there is no such button for “offers to likers” and this might be a worthwhile option for Depop to explore.
However, I do appreciate the fact that I don’t get annoying lowball emails like Poshmark so that’s a plus.
I feel there are other reasons that lowballing is different on Depop vs. Poshmark and that is that direct messages are not allowed on Poshmark. Therefore, with the emailed offer the customer gets to hide behind the email with a lowball offer of which I can accept, decline, counter offer, or ignore. However, whenever a person wants to lowball you on Depop they have to have a conversation with you. They have to slide into your DM to make the offensive offer and sometimes that makes all the difference with the type of offer you receive, because you are having a one to one conversation with the potential customer.
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Do you want to sell on Depop or Poshmark but don’t have the time?
Negotiations on Depop vs Poshmark
On Depop I get more outright purchases when the price is right vs. Poshmark, a good majority of my sales on Poshmark are negotiated, if I get a sale notification without an offer on Poshmark I am typically surprised.
Poshmark is on a growth curve, they are doing a lot of marketing and expanding and the market is becoming more and more saturated with buyers which I think is doing a further downward pressure on prices, its basic economics, as supply increases, prices drop. Negotiating on Poshmark is done via an offer button typically because most sellers do not like to negotiate via comments because what happens is that you may agree on the price then the customer flakes out and then you are stuck at that price. When another customer might have purchased in the future at your asking price.
With Poshmark you can’t delete your comments like on Depop so all your future customers will see all your negotiating conversations you’ve had. Comments are really the only way to communicate on Poshmark and there is no direct messaging system like on Depop. The cool thing about Poshmark is that when an offer is made, it shows you right there what your take home is, I know you can easily calculate it yourself, but its something about seeing your take home while you are negotiating. You can make a decision right there if its your walk away number.
Whenever you make a counter offer you have to be ready to walk way from the sale, because you may not get another counter, and three months from now when the item is still in your closet you maybe thinking its the one that got away! Don’t walk over dollars to pick up pennies.
Even though I have more flexibility with Depop for having conversations via the comments or direct messages, I prefer a one to one conversation with customers. Whatever offers I make I don’t want others to see them because people also flake out on Depop as well. I have a message on my shop header page to DM offers, when people send me offers via comments I just politely reply via DM.
Depop vs Poshmark: Explore Page vs Host Pick
Being on Depop’s Explore page is a great boost for your shop to increase followers and also to bring attention to your items. Like Tupac say ‘All Eyez on Me’ that is whats its like when you have an item appear on the Explore page. It doesn’t mean you will automatically get a sale but it greatly increases your chances.
When I first started Poshmark I thought nothing mattered more than getting a host pick there was so much hype around it.
Poshmark has different virtual parties throughout the day that are hosted by different users. When a host picks your item it goes into the showroom in a special area as a “host pick” which highlights your item above all other items that are being pushed into the feed.
Host picks do not guarantee a sale, I have had plenty of them and I only immediately had a sale one time. After that most of my sales were months after my items was picked. There are many of sellers that report this via Facebook groups, YouTube, etc that they did not have an immediate sale after getting a host pick–so it appears that this is a pretty common occurrence in the Poshmark community. The only change in the future to take advantage of the additional attention on my closet with a host pick is to make a closet wide sale, @Solange Mina on YouTube suggested this and I think it is a good idea to consider.
What’s easiest? Poshmark host pick or Depop’s Explore Page?
I feel that it is easier to get a host pick because you can directly appeal to the host to pick your item. I would send messages to the hosts for them to review my closet and I constantly received host picks. On the other hand, the Explore Page is curated by Depop’s Editorial Team based on the style quotient they are promoting. They are guidelines that you have to follow to be considered but there is no real way that you can directly appeal to them to pick you. Of course you can stalk them and send messages but I cant tell you that has actually worked or not. At least, its not broadcasted that they are willing to take submissions, with Poshmark the host lets you know how to submit your items for review.
Depop vs Poshmark Trends
Poshmark is catering toward a millennial crowd, they have contemporary brands like Madewell, Lululemon, Anthropolgie brands, current streetwear like Champion, Adidas, mall brands like Victoria Secret, and designer brands as well.
According to Tech Crunch, Depop caters to a Gen Z and younger millennial customers with 90% of its active users are under the age of 26. They want something different, maybe even a little quirky. They are not afraid to color outside of the lines, and do not want the item that somebody else’s has. To curate a look that is all your own, they realize the best way is to cement your look with a piece that no one has, or at least the chances are greatly reduced that someone will have the oversized 80s Sweater with metallic fringe and unicorns. Vintage, DIY styles, 90s, Y2k, alt fashions are all popular themes
Breaking it down doll wise, Barbie would be Poshmark and Bratz would be Depop.
Both beautiful…both put together…
Barbie with her posh look
Bratz with her crazy, sexy, cool look
People value the vintage esthestic better on Depop, on Poshmark they may see a vintage item but they are like its cute but its old tho so I am not going to pay you “50” for an old item and as a result I tended to get more low ball offers on my vintage which was the catalyst for me to open my Depop shop. Honestly, I have sold some vintage items on Poshmark for a profit, however I feel that my vintage inventory turns over faster at Depop, so much so that certain items I will not post to Poshmark because I know it will sell quicker on Depop.
Depop vs Poshmark Followers
When you get a follower the perceived advantage is that your item will go directly into their feed which means they will be more likely to purchase from you.
To me, I have not achieved this advantage on either platform however there are exceptions to the rule.
On Poshmark: I have 53K followers and that doesn’t give me ANY boost in sales. I actually think the Poshmark feed is to cluttered and junky for anyone to find it conducive for shopping.
Depop: I have 1606 followers and I feel like I have had continuous sales from the beginning even when I had a small amount of followers.
On Depop, followers will come with time, bumping or sharing your closet matters more than followers.
Bumping on Depop is moving your item to the top of the feed.
Sharing on Poshmark is moving your item to the top of the feed.
On Poshmark the platform advocates for you to “share other people’s closets.” This is great way to be a good teamplayer, however, above everything else your closet comes first for sharing, that is the best way to get your item seen. Bumping and Sharing are more important than followers that is the number one way, that is in your span of control, to ensure your items get good visibility! If followers mattered I would have way more sales on Poshmark because I have 53K followers. Most people who are shopping on Poshmark are shopping via the search, they are not shopping through the feed which would matter if you have a follower. On Depop, most of the customers are liking my items, purchasing, and then becoming a follower. I do like Depop’s feed better as it is cleaner and so I think that a follower would more likely shop from the feed with Depop vs. Poshmark, but at this time having followers have not equaled more sells.
Poshmark vs Depop Support
I really try to stay away from asking for support. I have always prided myself on being a self starter and researching a topic before asking any questions. I feel that both support responses are adequate and timely overall. However, I do not have high expectations as both apps are growing and whenever companies are on a growth curve, staff is typically smaller with high demands as they adjust to their ever changing business model.
Depop vs Poshmark Shipping
Poshmark wants items shipped fast within two days of purchase. As a matter of fact if you have not shipped by the 7th day, the buyer can cancel the order. With Depop you set the criteria for how long it takes you to ship. I can tell you that quick shipping can go a long way for making sure you get good ratings. In my case, I was already conditioned by Poshmark to ship fast so it really helped me to get high ratings when I first started. On Depop the app shows how long you generally take to ship, and the customer will see that metric.
Depop you have one shipping option of the USPS for a flat fee of 6.79 up to 5 lbs
Depop has tiered shipping as seen in the chart below:
| Package Size | Price | Weight Allowance |
| Small | $4.75 | (max .5 ozs or 1/2 lb) |
| Medium | $9 | (max 2 lb) |
| Large | $12 | (max 10 lb) |
| Extra Large | $17 | (max 20 lb) |
Now the only cost advantage for Depop over Poshmark for shipping is for the first class shipping which is $4.75 after that, Depop to me is more expensive because I can ship up to 5 lbs with Poshmark for only $6.79 with a priority box, which also means free boxes. First class USPS shipping allows you to ship up to 15.99 ozs so I ship a lot of things first class with Depop (shorts, tops, lighweight sweaters, etc).
Depop or Poshmark & Shipping Pro vs. Con
Having that cheaper shipping option on Depop is an added plus whereas having the one price for Poshmark is good for bundling.
So if a customer buys a $10 top for me with Depop its $14.75 vs. 16.79 with shipping. On the other hand is a customer purchases 4 pair of jeans with Poshmark its $6.79 whereas with Depop it will be $12 for the large shipping option.
Transactions with Depop vs. Poshmark
Poshmark is a final sale platform and there are many people who flock away from Ebay to sell on Poshmark for that reason alone. However, there are times a sale could be returned if you do not provide the customer the item as described. However I can tell you from personal experience that the process for review can be unfair. Whenever a customer disputes an item, a case will be opened. It kind of mirrors a virtual small claims courtroom like you see on Judge Judy. You submit your side and evidence and the buyer submits their side and evidence. Then Poshmark (the judge) makes the final decision. The problem arises when an unknowledgeable case handler makes a decision, which does occur.
I personally had a case that I feel was grossly unfair because the customer wanted to return them due to fit. As such, Poshmark ask her the measurement pictures. I provided the measurements and then they asked the buyer to present their version of the measurements and the buyer purposely did the measurements wrong–she covered her thumb over the beginning of the tape, then made it loose instead of tight, then she opened the shorts button and took the rear of the short with the front of the shorts opened which totally skewed the measurement. I advised Poshmark that the girl was incorrectly measuring the item and was not done according to industry guidelines but they still allowed the return. Many people find cases to be very adversarial on Poshmark to the point some sellers wont even comment they just will let Poshmark make whatever decision they feel is fair.
With Depop you are the shop owner you set the conditions of your shop, which the majority of the shops are final sale. If there is a problem, a customer will typically come to you first before sending a message to Depop. This maybe challenging for those who are not used to being the boss. However, I have been in a position of ownership and management before and so I have no problem handling grievances or disputes myself. When dealing with customer disputes consider the cost benefit analysis of the situation. Some people cost too much to serve and time is money! Time and time again it’s the customer that has sent you 10k messages and wants to get everything for $5 that can cause you the most headaches. Ultimately, for any bad transaction you can have 100 more with no issues, so do your best to fix the issue and to try to salvage what you can and then move on. Don’t get hung up worrying about a bad review either as long as you treat the customer with respect, integrity, and honor the terms and conditions of the app and your shop policies then you have done your job as a good seller! One bad review will not outweigh all the good ones you have coming your way.
Depop vs Poshmark International selling
You can’t sell internationally on Poshmark, just domestic. Depop you can’t ship with Depop’s structured shipping rate system with their prepaid labels when you ship internationally.
Depop vs. Poshmark Shop Pictures
Depop only has a place for 4 pics, so if your item needs a lot of details then you will have to typically use a pic collage maker such as Moldiv or Pic Collage to get all your pictures listed. If you want to get on the Explore Page however, I would stay away from using a collage on your cover photo if that is your goal. Poshmark allows 8 pictures so more opportunity to show your product. However, I don’t always put 8 pictures if its not needed. The higher the price of the item, the more detailed your pictures need to be.
Questions you will get on Poshmark or Depop
| Depop | Poshmark | |
| Can you try this on? Model? | X | X |
| Do you do trades or swaps? | X | |
| Can you do holds? | X | |
| Will you do Paypal? | N/A | X |
Depop form of payment is via PayPal
Update: As of 11/8/2019 they have also opened up their own Depop Payments to a few select sellers and it will be gradually be released to more of the community.
Will you do PP (PayPal): People want you to transact offline because they feel they can get a better price especially on Poshmark due to higher selling fee. Please note, you lose Depop and Poshmark protection for transacting offline.
Where can you find your success at Poshmark or Depop?
For me Poshmark vs. Depop reminds me of the high school movie plot you seen a thousand times the girl doesn’t pay attention to the guy that’s right in front of her but instead seeks out the jock to find out the boy next door was right for her all along. In the beginning I wasn’t giving Depop the time and attention I was chasing Poshmark dollars because they seem well so “posh” and all of the hype I was reading. However it turns out that I found a better home with Depop. When I put my time and attention in the app, bump my items, etc I see the benefits.
I do believe that Poshmark has a group of people that can find success especially if your are selling their on trend items and you can get them at a good low price. When you can sell trendy or designer items at a competitive enough pricing is one of the key competitive advantages you will need in order to succeed at Poshmark. For example, taking a look at StreetSaavy she has been able to get items like Bape, Prada shoes, Fendi bag, Lululemon, etc at the Goodwill Outlet which allows her to build profit whereas even if she took a low ball offer there is so much room for profit margin, due to her costs of goods being around $1-2 that inevitably she will make a profit.
With Poshmark, you have to have room to build your desired profit margin or risk not selling because the lower offers you get may not be for you. However, if you are selling vintage items especially items that resonate with the younger Millennials and Gen Z (ie. Y2K, Vintage Streetwear, Alt-fashion, etc) Depop maybe a better home for you. Right now, I still sell items on Poshmark and Depop, some I cross list, many I don’t.
