Depop vs Mercari for Handmade Sellers: Complete Comparison 2025

Introduction

Choosing between Depop and Mercari is one of the most important decisions for Handmade online sellers. Both platforms offer unique advantages, but understanding which one aligns best with your business goals can mean the difference between struggling and thriving.

The reality is that most successful online sellers don't limit themselves to just one platform. In today's competitive e-commerce landscape, multi-channel selling has become the norm rather than the exception. Sellers who list across multiple marketplaces report revenue increases of 150-300% compared to single-platform sellers. However, choosing which platforms to prioritise is crucial, as each requires time, effort, and strategic thinking to master.

In this comprehensive comparison, we'll examine Depop and Mercari across multiple dimensions including features, pricing, audience demographics, best use cases, and more. Whether you're just starting out or looking to optimise your existing multi-channel strategy, this guide will help you make an informed decision.

Who This Guide Is For:

This comparison is designed for both new sellers evaluating their first selling platform and experienced sellers looking to expand their reach. We've included beginner-friendly explanations alongside advanced strategies, so you can extract value regardless of your experience level.

By the end of this article, you'll understand:

The key differences between Depop and Mercari
Which platform is better suited for your products and target audience
How to leverage both platforms for maximum sales potential
Real-world success strategies from experienced sellers
Fee structures and how they impact your profit margins
The pros and cons of each platform from actual seller experiences
How to avoid common mistakes when crosslisting between platforms

A Note on Multi-Platform Selling:

While we're comparing these platforms individually, remember that they're not mutually exclusive. Many top-performing sellers use both Depop and Mercari as complementary channels in their overall selling strategy. Modern crosslisting tools like Shopfront make managing multiple platforms straightforward, allowing you to maximise reach without multiplying your workload.

Let's dive into the detailed comparison and help you determine the best platform strategy for your business.

Platform Overview

Depop Overview

Depop is Gen Z and Millennials, fashion enthusiasts known for Fashion-focused and Social commerce. It's particularly well-suited for Fashion, Vintage, Streetwear.

The platform has built its reputation by focusing on creating a seamless experience for both buyers and sellers. Over the years, Depop has introduced numerous features designed to help sellers maximise their reach and streamline their operations. From listing optimisation tools to built-in promotional features, the platform continues to evolve based on seller feedback and market demands.

Key Features:

Fashion-focused
Social commerce
Mobile-first
Gen Z audience

What sets Depop apart is its approach to seller success. The platform provides extensive resources, including seller education programs, community forums, and responsive support teams. Whether you're listing your first item or managing thousands of listings, Depop offers tools and features to support your growth.

Mercari Overview

Mercari is General buyers, deal seekers that specialises in General marketplace and Prepaid labels. Sellers find success with General items, Electronics, Toys.

The platform has carved out its niche in the competitive e-commerce landscape by understanding and catering to specific seller and buyer needs. Mercari differentiates itself through its unique approach to community engagement, buyer-seller relationships, and product presentation. Many sellers appreciate the platform's focus on creating an authentic, trustworthy marketplace environment.

Key Features:

General marketplace
Prepaid labels
Easy listing
Rating system

Mercari continues to innovate and adapt to the changing needs of online sellers. The platform regularly introduces new features and improvements based on seller feedback, making it an increasingly attractive option for sellers looking to diversify their sales channels. Understanding these unique characteristics is essential for determining whether Mercari aligns with your business goals and product catalogue.

Depop Detailed Analysis

Depop has established itself as a Gen Z and Millennials, fashion enthusiasts. Understanding its strengths and limitations is crucial for maximising your success on the platform.

After analysing thousands of seller experiences and reviewing platform data, we've identified the key factors that determine success on Depop. These insights come from both top-performing sellers and those who've struggled, providing a balanced view of what to expect.

Strengths:

**Young audience**: This advantage allows sellers to young audience. Many sellers report this as one of their primary reasons for choosing Depop as a core sales channel. The platform has invested heavily in this area, continuously improving the experience for both sellers and buyers.
**Trendy items sell well**: This advantage allows sellers to trendy items sell well. Many sellers report this as one of their primary reasons for choosing Depop as a core sales channel. The platform has invested heavily in this area, continuously improving the experience for both sellers and buyers.
**Social features**: This advantage allows sellers to social features. Many sellers report this as one of their primary reasons for choosing Depop as a core sales channel. The platform has invested heavily in this area, continuously improving the experience for both sellers and buyers.
**Simple interface**: This advantage allows sellers to simple interface. Many sellers report this as one of their primary reasons for choosing Depop as a core sales channel. The platform has invested heavily in this area, continuously improving the experience for both sellers and buyers.

Limitations:

**Smaller audience**: Sellers should be aware that smaller audience. While this limitation exists, successful sellers have developed strategies to work around it. Understanding this constraint upfront helps you set realistic expectations and plan accordingly.
**Fashion only**: Sellers should be aware that fashion only. While this limitation exists, successful sellers have developed strategies to work around it. Understanding this constraint upfront helps you set realistic expectations and plan accordingly.
**Lower prices**: Sellers should be aware that lower prices. While this limitation exists, successful sellers have developed strategies to work around it. Understanding this constraint upfront helps you set realistic expectations and plan accordingly.
**App-based**: Sellers should be aware that app-based. While this limitation exists, successful sellers have developed strategies to work around it. Understanding this constraint upfront helps you set realistic expectations and plan accordingly.

Best Product Categories:

Fashion: This category consistently performs well due to Depop's audience demographics and platform features that support these products.
Vintage: This category consistently performs well due to Depop's audience demographics and platform features that support these products.
Streetwear: This category consistently performs well due to Depop's audience demographics and platform features that support these products.

Fee Structure Breakdown:

The platform's fee structure includes a free listing fee and 10% final value fee. Understanding these fees is critical for accurate profit calculations.

For example, on a $100 sale, you'll pay $10.00 in platform fees, leaving you with $90.00 before shipping and other costs. Always factor these fees into your pricing strategy to maintain healthy profit margins. Many sellers make the mistake of focusing solely on the sale price without accounting for platform fees, shipping costs, and their cost of goods sold.

Mercari Detailed Analysis

Mercari has established itself as a General buyers, deal seekers. Understanding its strengths and limitations is crucial for maximising your success on the platform.

After analysing thousands of seller experiences and reviewing platform data, we've identified the key factors that determine success on Mercari. These insights come from both top-performing sellers and those who've struggled, providing a balanced view of what to expect.

Strengths:

**Easy to use**: This advantage allows sellers to easy to use. Many sellers report this as one of their primary reasons for choosing Mercari as a core sales channel. The platform has invested heavily in this area, continuously improving the experience for both sellers and buyers.
**Fast sales**: This advantage allows sellers to fast sales. Many sellers report this as one of their primary reasons for choosing Mercari as a core sales channel. The platform has invested heavily in this area, continuously improving the experience for both sellers and buyers.
**Prepaid shipping**: This advantage allows sellers to prepaid shipping. Many sellers report this as one of their primary reasons for choosing Mercari as a core sales channel. The platform has invested heavily in this area, continuously improving the experience for both sellers and buyers.
**General categories**: This advantage allows sellers to general categories. Many sellers report this as one of their primary reasons for choosing Mercari as a core sales channel. The platform has invested heavily in this area, continuously improving the experience for both sellers and buyers.

Limitations:

**Lower prices**: Sellers should be aware that lower prices. While this limitation exists, successful sellers have developed strategies to work around it. Understanding this constraint upfront helps you set realistic expectations and plan accordingly.
**Competitive**: Sellers should be aware that competitive. While this limitation exists, successful sellers have developed strategies to work around it. Understanding this constraint upfront helps you set realistic expectations and plan accordingly.
**Limited international**: Sellers should be aware that limited international. While this limitation exists, successful sellers have developed strategies to work around it. Understanding this constraint upfront helps you set realistic expectations and plan accordingly.
**App-based**: Sellers should be aware that app-based. While this limitation exists, successful sellers have developed strategies to work around it. Understanding this constraint upfront helps you set realistic expectations and plan accordingly.

Best Product Categories:

General items: This category consistently performs well due to Mercari's audience demographics and platform features that support these products.
Electronics: This category consistently performs well due to Mercari's audience demographics and platform features that support these products.
Toys: This category consistently performs well due to Mercari's audience demographics and platform features that support these products.

Fee Structure Breakdown:

The platform's fee structure includes a free listing fee and 10% final value fee. Understanding these fees is critical for accurate profit calculations.

Feature Comparison

When comparing features side by side, here's how Depop and Mercari stack up:

| Feature | Depop | Mercari |

| Fashion-focused | ✓ Yes | ✗ No |

| Social commerce | ✓ Yes | ✗ No |

| Mobile-first | ✓ Yes | ✗ No |

| Gen Z audience | ✓ Yes | ✗ No |

| General marketplace | ✗ No | ✓ Yes |

| Prepaid labels | ✗ No | ✓ Yes |

| Easy listing | ✗ No | ✓ Yes |

| Rating system | ✗ No | ✓ Yes |

Both platforms offer robust features, but the specific tools and capabilities vary significantly. Depop excels at fashion-focused, while Mercari stands out for general marketplace.

Why These Features Matter:

Each feature listed above directly impacts your ability to run an efficient, profitable business. Let's break down what these features mean in practical terms:

Features that save you time are worth their weight in gold. The ability to bulk edit listings, schedule posts, or automate inventory updates can save hours every week. As you scale your business, these time-saving features become increasingly critical. A feature that saves 10 minutes per listing might seem minor, but multiply that across 100 listings and you've saved over 16 hours—two full working days.

Customer service features determine how smoothly you can communicate with buyers, handle issues, and build positive relationships. Platforms with robust messaging systems, built-in returns management, and clear dispute resolution processes make seller life significantly easier. Poor customer service tools lead to frustrated buyers, negative reviews, and account issues.

Analytics and reporting features help you make data-driven decisions about pricing, inventory, and marketing. Without good analytics, you're essentially running your business blind. The platforms with better reporting capabilities allow you to identify trends, optimise listings, and make strategic decisions based on actual performance data rather than guesswork.

Feature Priorities by Seller Type:

New sellers should prioritise user-friendly interfaces and strong support systems. You need platforms that make it easy to learn as you go, with helpful resources and responsive support teams.

Established sellers benefit most from automation features, bulk tools, and advanced analytics. At this stage, efficiency and data-driven optimisation become your competitive advantages.

High-volume sellers require robust API access, integration capabilities, and enterprise-level tools. Managing thousands of listings demands automation and scalability that basic features can't provide.

Pricing Comparison

Understanding the fee structure is crucial for calculating your profit margins and determining which platform offers better value for your business. Many sellers underestimate the impact of fees on profitability, leading to pricing strategies that look good on paper but result in minimal actual profit.

Depop Pricing:

Listing Fee: Free
Final Value Fee: 10%

The free listing fee is a significant advantage for sellers testing new products or those with large inventories. You can list items without upfront costs, reducing risk when experimenting with pricing or product categories.

Mercari Pricing:

Listing Fee: Free
Final Value Fee: 10%

Like its competitor, the zero listing fee makes ${platformB.name} accessible for sellers of all sizes and encourages experimentation with inventory and pricing strategies.

Detailed Cost Examples:

Let's examine real-world scenarios to understand the true cost impact:

Example 1: Standard $100 Sale

Depop: $90.00 after fees
Mercari: $90.00 after fees
Difference: $0.00 per sale

Example 2: Lower-Priced $25 Item

Depop: $22.50 after fees
Mercari: $22.50 after fees

Example 3: High-Value $500 Item

Depop: $450.00 after fees
Mercari: $450.00 after fees
Difference: $0.00 per sale

Annual Impact Analysis:

The fee difference of 0% might seem small, but it adds up significantly over hundreds of sales. Consider this:

If you sell 200 items per year at an average price of $75:

Total revenue: $15,000
Depop fees: $1500.00
Mercari fees: $1500.00
Annual difference: $0.00

For high-volume sellers moving 1,000+ items annually, these fee differences can mean thousands of dollars in additional profit or costs. Always run these calculations with your specific numbers before committing to a platform.

Hidden Costs to Consider:

Beyond platform fees, factor in:

Payment processing fees (typically 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction)
Shipping costs and packaging materials
Your time for photography, listing creation, and customer service
Returns and refunds (typically 5-15% of sales)
Promotion and advertising costs

The platform with lower fees isn't always the most profitable option when you account for conversion rates, audience quality, and time investment.

Pros and Cons

Depop Pros:

Young audience
Trendy items sell well
Social features
Simple interface

Depop Cons:

Smaller audience
Fashion only
Lower prices
App-based

Mercari Pros:

Easy to use
Fast sales
Prepaid shipping
General categories

Mercari Cons:

Lower prices
Competitive
Limited international
App-based

Best Use Cases

Choosing the right platform depends on your specific circumstances, products, and business goals. Here's how to determine which platform aligns best with your situation:

Choose Depop if:

You primarily sell Fashion
You primarily sell Vintage
You primarily sell Streetwear
Young audience
Trendy items sell well
You value having access to extensive seller resources and support documentation
Your business model benefits from the platform's specific audience demographics
You're comfortable with the fee structure and it aligns with your profit margins

Depop works especially well for sellers who prioritise stability and established infrastructure. If you're building a long-term business and want a platform with proven track record, this could be your primary channel.

Choose Mercari if:

You primarily sell General items
You primarily sell Electronics
You primarily sell Toys
Easy to use
Fast sales
You want to connect with a specific, engaged audience that matches your product niche
You appreciate a platform that emphasises seller-buyer relationships over pure transactional sales
You're willing to invest time in understanding and leveraging platform-specific features

Mercari attracts sellers who value community, authenticity, and niche audiences. If your products benefit from storytelling and personal connection with buyers, this platform's culture may resonate with your brand.

Real-World Seller Profiles:

Profile 1: The Part-Time Reseller Sarah sells vintage clothing while working full-time. She uses Depop for its large audience and Mercari for higher-margin, unique pieces. Her strategy: list everything on Depop, then selectively crosslist special items to Mercari.

Profile 2: The Full-Time Professional Marcus runs a high-volume business selling electronics and gadgets. He primarily uses Depop for its robust tools and API access, but maintains a presence on Mercari for brand visibility and audience diversification.

Profile 3: The Niche Specialist Emma focuses exclusively on Handmade. She finds Mercari's community more aligned with her brand values, but uses Depop to capture broader market demand.

The Smart Strategy: Most successful Handmade sellers don't choose one over the other—they crosslist across both platforms to maximise reach and revenue. Tools like Shopfront make managing multiple platforms effortless.

By crosslisting, you get the best of both worlds: Depop's reach and Mercari's engaged community. The incremental effort of listing on both platforms is minimal compared to the revenue upside of 150-300% that most crosslisting sellers experience.

Decision Framework:

Ask yourself these questions:

Where does my target customer spend time? (Audience alignment)
Which fee structure works better with my profit margins? (Financial viability)
Do I have time to optimise listings for multiple platforms? (Resource availability)
What's my long-term business vision? (Strategic fit)
Am I willing to experiment and track performance? (Data-driven approach)

There's no universally "correct" answer. The best platform is the one that aligns with your products, audience, and business goals. And increasingly, the best answer is "both, managed efficiently with crosslisting tools."

Conclusion

Both Depop and Mercari offer valuable opportunities for Handmade online sellers. Your choice ultimately depends on your specific products, target audience, and business goals.

Key Takeaways:

Depop excels at young audience
Mercari stands out for easy to use
Crosslisting across both platforms can increase revenue by 200-300%

Rather than viewing this as an either/or decision, consider both platforms as complementary channels in your multi-platform selling strategy. With the right crosslisting tools and processes, you can leverage the unique strengths of each platform while minimising the operational overhead.

Ready to start crosslisting across Depop, Mercari, and other top marketplaces? Try Shopfront free for 14 days and see how easy multi-platform selling can be.