Depop buyer fees higher than Vinted

Depop’s fee shift helps it compete for seller supply, but it still monetizes each order more aggressively than Vinted. In practice, both apps moved the visible marketplace charge to checkout, where buyers pay for protection and platform services, but Vinted’s core buyer fee is a fixed $0.70 plus 5% of item price in the US, while Depop charges buyers up to 5% plus up to $1 and still keeps payment processing fees on sellers in the UK and US. That leaves Depop with a meaningfully heavier total toll on a sale even after dropping its 10% seller commission in those markets.

• The strategic reason for the change is supply. Removing the 10% seller fee in the UK on March 20, 2024 and in the US on July 15, 2024 lowers the friction to list casual closet inventory, which is exactly where Vinted’s zero seller fee model has been strongest.
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• The buyer side still looks more expensive on Depop. Its marketplace fee is up to 5% plus up to £ or $1, excluding shipping and taxes, versus Vinted’s US buyer protection fee of $0.70 plus 5%. On lower priced fashion items, that extra fixed dollar matters a lot because it lifts the effective take rate.
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• Depop also has more ways to monetize beyond the basic checkout fee. Sellers in the UK and US still pay payment processing, and sellers can pay extra for Boosted Listings, which adds another performance based fee on sales influenced by promoted placement. Vinted also sells promotion tools, but its core positioning remains lower friction for ordinary sellers.
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The next step in this market is a fight over who can keep seller fees at zero while making buyer fees feel acceptable. Vinted is better positioned if resale keeps moving toward everyday low priced items, because its lighter checkout economics preserve more room for buyers to say yes and for sellers to keep more of each sale.