7 Depop Tips from sellers that you should ignore

Just because a handful of sellers agree, that doesn't make it right.

What I've learned since I started selling on Depop is that many sellers fit into these categories:

• Literal kids

• People who have never worked in a customer-facing job.

• Sellers who see themselves as “just earning extra cash,” not running a business

These groups tend to give the worst advice to new sellers, and they're so freakin' loud about it.

I’m not just speaking as a seller. I’m a Customer Experience professional, which means I literally get paid to measure how good (or not-so-good) customer support teams are for companies you know and love. And when they’re not good, I get paid to make them better.

I also moderate a Depop seller group on Facebook, and I see a lot of the same questions come through-- which means I see a lot of the same bad advice offered. Advice that will make your time on Depop harder.

So I put together a list of these tips, and used my background to break down why they're bad, and how you can handle them in a smarter way.

Bad Advice #1: Measurements aren't necessary

“I stopped giving measurements because every time someone asked, they didn’t end up buying. It’s a waste of my time.” -A Depop seller that wasted their own time by not including measurements

People will swear up and down that

including measurements in their listings hasn't impacted their sales. As a former e-commerce consultant (and consumer), I can tell you that it absolutely does and there are studies to back that up.

Measurements help customers feel confident purchasing an item. You're less likely to have your item abandoned in a cart, and you're more likely to get a 5-star review.

I've been a loyal Gap fan since I was in high school, and I don't need a size guide for their clothing. But I’d never buy from a London-based brand like Damson Madder without a chart, and I sure as hell wouldn't reach out to customer support to ask for measurements. That’s a 1-3 business day wait, and by then I've already moved on.

Every extra step you force a buyer to take increases the chances of them abandoning their cart. So invest in two yardsticks, lay them on the item, and snap a picture. Takes 10 seconds and speeds up sales.

Bad Advice #2: “It’s Fine to Sell Fakes if You Say They’re Fake”

No. You can't sell fakes/replicas in any way, on any platform. This is illegal.

People will say ‘dupes’ or ‘look-alikes’ are a gray area, but they’re really not. Certain fabrics, logos, and even styles (like the Birkin) are trademarked, and selling anything made in their likeness is illegal.

These excuses don't work either:

• “I see people do it all the time.”  That doesn’t make it legal. That's a risk they're choosing to take.

• “Buyers should know it’s fake because I priced it low.” Sure, maybe. Maybe not. It doesn't matter.

Depop will side with the customer if they decide to open a dispute. Not only will they get refunded, but you could potentially lose your account.

Bad Advice #3: Block people who don't pay after you accept their offer

Blocking over a non-payment is petty and unnecessary.

Depop offers aren’t binding, so people aren’t obligated to follow through. I don’t block them because they might buy later. Give the buyer the benefit of the doubt:

• Unlike eBay, Depop does not give customers the full breakdown of total costs with an offer. An offer of $20 can still include an additional $10 in shipping and fees, which the buyer can't see until it’s in their cart.

• They sent offers on similar items to multiple people, and purchased the one who accepted first, or the one they wanted the most.

• They want to see if you'd accept, but they're waiting for payday.

Some sellers message buyers after accepting an offer with a friendly “Hey, I accepted your offer. If you buy today, I can ship by [date].” Give a nudge, but don't block them.

Bad Advice #4: “Ignore Cancellations, Just Ship It”

"Someone bought a shirt from me, and 15 minutes later they asked me to cancel it. I have 'no refunds' in my profile. What should I do?"

Just refund them.

You won't lose any money, but you might get melodramatics from the customer. If you ignore a cancellation, buyers can still leave a review or open a claim and lie about the item’s condition. Save yourself the headache. You sold it once, you will sell it again.

Bad Advice #5: Choose the smallest weight for shipping.

A bit of a moot point now, but also, this is how we got AI shipping. There were too many people abusing Depop's shipping process.

There is no reason to choose the smallest weight because it only benefits the customer and puts your item at risk of being held at the post office. I’ve never lost a sale because I refused to undercut real shipping costs. Plus, eventually you'll want to cross-list, and you'll need to know the exact weight for eBay. Package scales are relatively cheap and a great investment for serious sellers.

Bad Advice #6: Any hack to get you out of paying the boosting fee

Trying to circumvent the boosting fee is against TOS. I do think it's rare that anyone actually gets in trouble for this, but like selling fakes, it is a risk you choose to take.

It's easier to just consider the 8% when you set the price or accept an offer. The boosting fee is nothing compared to what eBay takes from their regular listings (let alone their ad campaign fees).

Keep in mind:

• You're only charged the fee if a customer clicks on the listing. I boost my entire shop and less than 50% of them are billed for boosts.

• You can't "unboost" the listing before someone buys the item. Items hold the fee for 30 days after unboosting. The only way to get around the fee is to make a completely new listing for a customer to buy.

And remember what I said about extra steps leading to abandoned carts? Having a customer message you first so that you can create a new listing for them is very...that.

Bad Advice #7: Four stars is a good review

I’ve sold over 1,000 items across Depop, Whatnot, and eBay, and I’ve only ever received one four-star review. The entire review was just the word “cute.” I don’t know why, and I don’t care. It’s still a good review.

And good luck even finding it, because like every four-star or even one-star review you’ll ever get, it gets buried under the hundreds of five-star reviews.

I'm not sure why these reviews send sellers into a spiral, but it doesn't have to be that way. Here’s what to do instead:

• Don’t panic. Take a breath and try to move on.

• Don’t message the buyer demanding an explanation. (Save that for three stars and under, if at all.)

• Don't email Depop asking them to remove it (unless it actually violates TOS), because they will not remove anything that is three stars or above, and it just floods their support for everyone else.

• Don’t get petty with a retaliatory review. Instead, use this to invite them to a conversation. Leave them 5 stars and write something like, “Thank you for your purchase! We’d love to hear your feedback. Please message us with what we could do to earn that extra star.” That shows future buyers you actually act on feedback.

• Don’t beg or demand that they remove the review. Once you’ve made it right, it’s their call if they want to update it.

And if the issue was something out of your control, like a shipping delay, just explain that politely and let it go. Most buyers who read that review understand the difference between a seller mistake and a USPS issue.

And yes, your rating will get back to 5.0. But honestly, as a shopper, I can’t think of a single time I decided not to buy something because a seller had 4.5 stars instead of 5.

And if you avoid bad advice #1 through #6, you'll rarely run into #7.