Vinted vs Depop: Which Platform Should UK Resellers Choose in 2024?

You’ve spent a productive Saturday morning at a car boot sale in Coventry, bagged three vintage denim jackets for £2 each, and now you’re standing in your kitchen wondering where on earth to list them. Vinted or Depop? Both platforms promise buyers, both are free to download, and both have millions of UK users — but they are very different beasts, and choosing the wrong one could mean your finds sit unlisted for weeks while the right buyer scrolls straight past you on the other app.

This guide is written specifically for UK resellers — the kind who hunt through Oxfam rails in Manchester, haggle at Portobello Road, and know the difference between a genuine 1980s Levi’s tag and a modern reproduction. Whether you sell a few items a month to fund your next charity shop run or you’re building a serious secondhand business, understanding these two platforms in detail will save you time, money, and frustration.

A Quick Overview of Each Platform

What Is Vinted?

Vinted is a Lithuanian-founded marketplace that has become the UK’s most downloaded secondhand fashion app. It launched in the UK in 2013 but saw explosive growth during the cost-of-living crisis. Vinted’s key selling point for sellers is that it charges no selling fees to the seller. Instead, buyers pay a small buyer protection fee on top of the purchase price. As a seller, you list for free, you sell for free, and the full sale price lands in your Vinted wallet.

Vinted attracts a broad demographic — families clearing wardrobes, professionals downsizing, and resellers alike. The platform leans towards everyday fashion, children’s clothing, accessories, and homewares. It is practical, straightforward, and enormous.

What Is Depop?

Depop was founded in London in 2011 and sold to Etsy in 2021 for $1.6 billion. It began as a social shopping app — closer to Instagram than eBay — and built its reputation on vintage, streetwear, and curated individual style. It has long been associated with younger sellers, particularly those aged 18 to 30, who treat their Depop shop as a personal brand rather than just a place to shift old clothes.

In 2024, Depop removed its 10% seller fee in the UK for most transactions, making it far more competitive on price. It still maintains its identity as a destination for the unusual, the vintage, and the highly curated — which makes it an excellent platform for the kind of items you find at Oxfam boutiques, vintage fairs in Brighton, or specialist British Heart Foundation furniture shops.

Fees and Payments: The Numbers UK Sellers Actually Care About

Vinted’s Fee Structure

Vinted charges sellers precisely nothing in fees. List 500 items if you want — you will not be billed for a single one. The buyer pays a “buyer protection fee” of roughly 5% plus a flat service charge (which scales with item price), so the buyer pays slightly over the listed price, but you receive exactly what you asked for.

Payments are held in your Vinted wallet and can be transferred to your UK bank account. Transfers are free and typically arrive within one to five business days. There is no PayPal involved, which removes a layer of complication that has historically caused issues for eBay resellers.

Depop’s Fee Structure

Following Depop’s 2024 fee changes for UK sellers, there are no selling fees on personal sales when you accept payment via Depop Payments. However, standard payment processing fees apply (currently around 2.9% + £0.30 per transaction through Depop Payments). If you are selling as a registered business on Depop, a fee structure does apply, so check the current Depop seller guidelines if you operate as a sole trader or limited company.

It is worth noting that HMRC’s side of this picture matters a great deal for UK resellers. Since January 2024, platforms including Vinted, Depop, and eBay are legally required to collect and report seller data to HMRC under the DAC7 regulations. If you sell more than 30 items a year or earn over €2,000 (roughly £1,700) annually across platforms, the platform must report your earnings. This does not automatically mean you owe tax — selling personal possessions at a profit under certain thresholds may not be taxable — but it does mean you should keep records and, if in doubt, consult the HMRC guidance on online selling or speak to an accountant.

What Sells Best on Each Platform

What Moves on Vinted

• Everyday high street brands — Zara, H&M, Marks & Spencer, Next, Joules, Fat Face, Boden
• Children’s clothing — This is enormous on Vinted. Bundles of kids’ clothes from brands like Mini Boden, John Lewis, and Vertbaudet sell extremely well
• Sportswear — Nike, Adidas, Under Armour, and similar brands in good condition
• Accessories and handbags — Particularly mid-range brands
• Homewares and books — Vinted expanded beyond fashion and these categories are growing
• Maternity wear — A surprisingly active niche with repeat buyers

The Vinted buyer is often a practical shopper. They know what they want, they search specifically for it, and they want a fair price and reliable postage. They are less likely to be drawn in by aesthetic photography or a beautifully crafted listing description.

What Moves on Depop

• Genuine vintage clothing — Pre-2000s pieces, particularly 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s garments, perform extremely well
• Reworked and upcycled items — If you customise charity shop finds, Depop is your market
• Streetwear and hype brands — Supreme, Palace, Stone Island, Carhartt WIP
• Rare band and tour T-shirts — A huge market on Depop, particularly for British acts
• Y2K and 2000s fashion — Currently one of the hottest categories
• Designer secondhand — Burberry, Paul Smith, Vivienne Westwood
• Statement pieces — Unusual coats, bold prints, anything with personality

The Depop buyer is often looking for something specific they cannot find elsewhere. They will scroll a seller’s profile, read the description, zoom into photographs, and ask questions before buying. They are buying a piece of a story as much as a garment.

Photography and Presentation: Where Your Effort Pays Off

Vinted Photography

Vinted’s algorithm and buyer behaviour both reward clear, accurate photography over stylised shots. A clean white background or a plain wall works well. Show the front, back, any logos, any flaws, and the label. Buyers on Vinted are often searching by keyword and filtering by size, condition, and price — they will click your listing because it matched their search, not because your photos are beautiful.

That said, good lighting is always worth the effort. Natural light from a north-facing window (to avoid harsh shadows) is free and effective. Iron the garment before photographing — a creased jumper looks cheap even when it is not.

Depop Photography

On Depop, photography is a genuine competitive advantage. The platform’s home feed is visual and social, and buyers scroll it similarly to how they scroll Instagram. A listing with strong, creative photography will get more views, more likes, and more followers for your shop than a technically identical listing with dull photos.

Many successful UK Depop sellers use flat lays on interesting backgrounds (vintage wallpaper, tiles, wooden floors), or photograph items on a model or mannequin. Showing scale and fit matters — a vintage 1970s sheepskin coat needs to be seen on a person to understand its drama. Invest time here. It genuinely affects your conversion rate.

Postage and Shipping: A Critical UK Consideration

Vinted’s Integrated Postage

Vinted offers an integrated postage system using partners including Evri, InPost, and Yodel. The buyer pays for postage at checkout, and you receive a pre-paid label to print or use via a QR code. This removes all the faff of buying postage separately and is one of Vinted’s strongest practical advantages for casual and regular sellers alike.

InPost lockers in particular have become enormously popular with UK Vinted sellers — you can drop a parcel at a locker at any hour, no queue, no counter staff, no awkward conversations about whether your parcel is above 2kg. There are now over 5,000 InPost lockers in the UK, including locations in Tesco, Asda, and various other supermarkets and convenience stores.

Depop’s Postage Options

Depop offers integrated shipping labels through Evri and CollectPlus for UK domestic sales, but sellers also have the option to arrange their own postage and self-ship. This gives more experienced sellers the flexibility to use Royal Mail, Parcelforce, or other couriers — particularly useful for large or heavy vintage items like coats or boots.

If you are posting fragile or high-value items, Royal Mail’s Special Delivery Guaranteed service offers insurance up to £750 and next-day delivery — worth considering for designer pieces or higher-value vintage finds from specialist shops like the British Heart Foundation’s furniture and electrical stores.

Moving Forward

Once you have the fundamentals in place, the possibilities open up considerably. The UK offers fantastic opportunities for anyone interested in this hobby, and with the right foundation you will be well placed to make the most of them.