If you’ve got any extra clothes that you no longer wear and plan to get rid of, an online marketplace like eBay is usually the first option that comes to mind. eBay is the undisputed OG in online selling and for anyone looking to make extra cash with their old clothes.
But eBay is not the only marketplace out there. In fact, you’ll find many other specialty online marketplaces where you could find potential customers looking for the specific items you are selling, such as your old clothes.
So, if you’ve had zero luck with eBay or are looking for alternatives for selling second hand clothes, you’ve come to the right place.
eBay is such a giant online marketplace that many small sellers find it difficult to stand out. If you don’t have the budget for promoted listings and to cover various eBay fees, you could lose out on profits!
Join me as we explore the various online marketplaces where you can sell clothes and make extra cash!
Article Overview
Why Sell on eBay?
There are now many platforms online that allow you to sell clothes, or just about anything. But unlike eBay, these smaller platforms don’t offer sellers the high level of traffic.
This explains why many sellers deal with the eBay fees, such as the listing fee and the final value fees. They are willing to pay the extra money because they can leverage the popularity of the eBay selling platform.
The eBay traffic is truly one of the biggest draws for anyone wanting to sell online, whether for seasoned or new sellers. It has 187 million users globally, which you can target for selling online.
In addition to the number of global users, sellers can also target a wide demographic on eBay. According to this source, 61% of eBay users are between the age of 35 to 64.
Therefore, you can target users across multiple age groups for any kind of business.
At first glance, it seems that eBay is similar to various other online marketplaces. But its auction-style listing is one of its unique features.
Sellers can set up an auction period for specific items that potential customers can bid for. It’s a great tool for sellers that want to sell an item for a much higher price than the fixed listings!
Meanwhile, the eBay fees are frowned upon by old and new sellers alike. But that is part of the deal of selling through this platform, which gives you access to millions of buyers online.
And access to more buyers mean more opportunities to make money!
Shipping on eBay works two ways. You can offer free shipping, or you can have the shipping fee calculated upon checkout.
Why Sell on Depop?
Depop is like the child of eBay and Instagram. It is a social media platform and online marketplace at the same time.
The Depop app was launched in London in 2010.
To use the platform for selling, you must first download the Depop app. You can use the Depop app to start selling second hand clothes or fashion items.
In particular, old clothes that are edgy, offbeat, and with a hint of vintage appeal most to the users of the Depop app.
A potential buyer doesn’t need an account to browse the items you are selling, but they need to register if they decide to make a purchase.
Depop is essentially a social shopping app. It’s one of the best platforms in existence for selling old clothes.
The best part about is that the more unique your clothes are, the more likely you are able to sell it for twice the price compared to anywhere else.
Since it’s a social shopping app, the Depop users are the Gen Zs. If you are planning to sell second hand clothes, consider this demographic since they are pretty targeted.
It would be best to sell trendy and vintage items that would appeal to this demographic, especially those who want to express themselves.
Unlike eBay, Depop allows sellers to negotiate items and prices with the buyer. You can even swap items with other sellers through the platform!
The Depop fees is also something to consider when you’re choosing where to sell second hand clothes, especially in comparison to the eBay fees. Fortunately, you can list items on Depop for free.
You won’t be paying any Depop fees except when you sell an item successfully. In this case, Depop will charge a 10% fee for every successful transaction.
Finally, shipping with Depop enables you to offer the same options available for eBay: free shipping and paid options for the buyer.
eBay vs Depop
Now that you know a bit about each of these online marketplaces, the next step is to examine them closely. To compare eBay vs Depop, let’s take a look at the common features for selling clothes online so you can determine which ones appeal most to you.
Setup
Both eBay and Depop makes it easy for aspiring sellers to register their account on their respective online selling platforms.
If you’ve been selling online for a long time, you must have an eBay account for selling through the platform. But new sellers can easily register an account to the platform.
Simply go to the Registration page and then provided the required information for your account.
Depop account setup is also as easy as eBay’s. It takes only a few minutes to set up an account so you can get started on your way to list items.
Listing
Listing items for sale on eBay vs Depop are largely the same with some minor differences.
With eBay, the listing of items is straightforward. It also allows your listings to auto-populate the descriptions and offer price references, especially when you’ve listed similar items before.
It can save you time and make listing items for sale much easier.
On Depop, it was also pretty straightforward. But unlike eBay, you have to manually select the similar items and add the relevant hashtags. For those who are familiar with using Instagram, this shouldn’t be a challenge.
Selling
The selling process is the most critical part of choosing between eBay vs Depop.
With eBay, you can access millions of buyers worldwide, potentially helping you make a sale in a short amount of time. However, that isn’t guaranteed since you also have to optimize your listings title and description.
It is also important to add high-quality and relevant photos to your listings to make them more enticing to buyers.
With Depop, you can get inquiries about your items for sale almost immediately after posting. But it also depends on the time interacting with potential buyers because that will help bring more awareness to your store.
The downside with Depop is that it allows negotiation between the sellers and buyers. As a result, it is common to get low price offers on Depop.
Make sure you set a limit for the price of your second hand clothes so that you can sell them at a reasonable price.
eBay also gets the advantage because of the auction format. It is different from a normal listing since you can customize the auction period and get a potentially higher price for your clothes.
Depending on the demand, you can get twice the price of the original value.
App Functionality
Both apps are easy to use and highly functional. Therefore, they make a good extension of your online store, allowing you to interact with potential customers and respond to messages on the go.
Customer Service
eBay is an ecommerce OG and they have an excellent customer support team. Therefore, sellers can expect a high-quality customer service in case of disputes or if you have any issues with payments.
They have a 24/7 customer support team that is available to offer support when you need it.
On the other hand, Depop customer support team is also easily accessible. They are highly responsive, should you encounter any troubles using the website and app.
Fees
The selling fees is one of the major factors to consider when choosing between eBay vs Depop.
Depop wins by a slight margin simply because you can list items for sale on eBay for free. They only charge you a percentage of sold listings made through the website, so you can keep most of your money.
The good thing is you can list as many items as you want and you won’t be charged for each of them.
On the other hand, eBay fees can be quite steep for some people. It is free to set up an eBay account but you can pay for a store subscription to list more items on your store.
The store subscription fees are paid monthly, even if you did not have sold items. You have to pay various fees to make money selling clothes on eBay, such as the listing fee and final value fee.
eBay vs Depop: Summary
Now, let’s go back to the question at the start: which is better – eBay vs Depop?
Each of these online marketplaces for selling clothes have its benefits and drawbacks. eBay is a trusted name with a reputable brand. Therefore, it’s a great platform for selling clothes because it is easy for a buyer to trust you, the seller.
They also have various policies to protect buyers, which means the sold listings are safer through the platform. In addition, the flexible pricing and selling strategies appeal to sellers wanting to make the most money from the eBay platform, whether selling clothes or something else.
On the other hand, Depop offers many reasons to consider it if you want to sell clothes online. It is where targeted buyers – mostly Gen Zs – come to buy trendy and unique clothes.
Therefore, it’s the best place to go if you want hard-to-find items that showcase your personal style. The app is also easy-to-use and offers a social shopping experience.
So, the choice between eBay vs Depop for selling clothes online depends on your target audience and the type of clothes you are selling. But Depop is a fashion-centric selling platform, which makes it more appealing to sellers that want to focus on selling these items for money.
You could potentially find eager fashionistas who want to buy your items as addition to their unique wardrobe!
Want to know about some other platforms that you can sell on other than eBay?
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