App Review: Depop vs. Ebay

Hello there lovelies,

First of all, a huge thank you for stopping by my first blog post! :D I hope you enjoy my journey within the blogosphere as much as I'm sure I will!

I have forever been a bargain hunter, and when it comes to internet shopping it can all get a little out of hand.

So no surprises when the shiny new app 'Depop' was released (actually in 2011, but I only heard about it early this year), I quickly jumped onto the bandwagon. It claims to be a cross between Ebay and Instagram, and available for iOS and Android users. There are many small businesses and personal sellers who share items on both Ebay and Depop so I thought it would useful to compare the two.


From personal experiences, there are a few fundamental differences:
- Depop is purely mobile, and can only be accessed on smart phones and tablets with iOS and Android operating systems
- there is no official bidding process or reserve price option
- there are no listing or selling fees (such as the "10% final value fee" on Ebay) unless PayPal is used
- users can publicly rate, 'like', comment, tag and use hashtags on any item
- you can only sell one of each item at a time, so not ideal for bulk sales
(but there are ways to get round this)
- there are no 'categories' of items to browse through, only a search option
- it is much more difficult to claim money back from scammers, especially if paid through the 'Friends & Family' option on PayPal, or through direct debit/bank transfers

Used my own profile in case the privacy police come find me! Please note I have the Android version, which is still being improved to match the iOS app

Products are usually all second hand, and 'bundles' or a combination of different items are common

... And quite a few similarities:
- each seller's galleries are fully visible to anyone
- you can directly contact sellers about items (this is much freer on Depop, the messaging service resembles FB chat)
- you can sell/purchase items either directly via PayPal, or more privately
- post & packaging fees can be added separately or included in quoted price
- there will be scammers, but they can be reported and blocked (!)

All in all, Depop is a cute little app where you can browse to your heart's content by using their search engine, or chat to other sellers to negotiate prices and deals. It is extremely simple and quick to start selling items, and more casual and personal if compared with Ebay. However there are downsides to being much less 'official' and strict with selling/buying rules and conditions. Be VERY aware of the lack of a 'security scan' regarding sellers sticking to their promises, or indeed spammers. (I will be uploading a post soon about how to stay safe on Depop!)

Mini haul: Hearts & Bows shorts (~£10, @amyb4th), boutique skorts (£11, @jessbannisterxx), Christian Dior lipstick (£10, @ambarsyed95), Body Shop lipstick (£5, @maliyalfc)

Happy shopping everyone! And until next time,

Yang xo