Depop shipping: how sellers ship orders and who pays

How Depop shipping works

Under Depop's US shipping policy, the seller is responsible for packaging and dispatching sold items. What you choose is how the label is bought. In the US there are two methods: Depop Shipping, which is Depop's prepaid USPS label, and shipping your own way, which the app shows as Other or My own Shipping.

You set the method on each listing before the item sells. The table shows what changes with that choice.

How to set up shipping when you sell on Depop

You set up shipping while you list. These steps follow Depop's listing and shipping guides for US sellers.

1. Add the item details

   The listing form asks for the category, shipping price, brand and condition, so decide how you will ship before you post.

2. Choose Depop Shipping or your own

   Pick Depop Shipping to get a prepaid USPS label, or choose your own shipping and type the price the buyer will pay. Check the default first: Android users are automatically set to buy a USPS label through Depop when they list. You can switch a listing under Domestic, then My own Shipping.

3. Pick an accurate parcel size

   With Depop Shipping, the parcel size you specify in the listing calculates the shipping cost. Weigh the item packed, not loose, and choose the size it fits. A package heavier than its label costs you extra, as the limits section below explains.

4. Decide on a shipping discount

   A shipping discount lets you take $2, $3 or $4 off, or free shipping for the buyer. Right now only US sellers on iOS can set one.

5. Choose whether to ship worldwide

   International shipping is set per listing and off by default. Turn it on under Shipping, then Worldwide, only if you are ready to arrange tracked international postage and customs paperwork yourself.

Who pays for shipping on Depop

On Depop the buyer pays for shipping: Depop's terms say the buyer pays an additional amount on top of the item price for shipping. With Depop Shipping, postage is prepaid by the buyer at checkout, so the label is not a cost to the seller.

When you ship your own way, the buyer pays the price you set on the listing, and you receive the shipping cost with the sale and arrange the shipping yourself. If your carrier charges more than you asked for, you pay the difference.

The seller ends up paying for shipping in four cases:

• You add a shipping discount or free shipping to a Depop Shipping listing, so the seller covers some or all of the shipping cost.
• You ship your own way and set the shipping price to zero. Depop's fee guide says you can offer free shipping, but you then cover the shipping cost.
• The packed item is heavier than the parcel size you picked, which triggers the extra carrier charges covered under package limits below.
• A bundle with free shipping sells with a Depop label, and the seller is charged for the cost of the entire label.

Shipping also changes the fees on a sale. US sellers pay no selling fee, but the payment processing fee of 3.3% + $0.45 is charged on the item sale price plus shipping costs and any applicable taxes. Example: if a buyer pays $8 for shipping, the percentage part of the processing fee is charged on that $8 as well.

The buyer's marketplace fee is charged on the item price, excluding taxes and shipping costs, so shipping does not raise it. Refunds undo the fees: all fees are reversed when the sale is refunded.

Depop also runs an offer for new buyers: free shipping on a new US user's first order within 7 days of sign-up, on items listed with Depop Shipping. Listings that use your own shipping are outside the offer.

How to ship an order with a Depop prepaid label

These steps apply to US sales listed with Depop Shipping. Most sellers ship within 2 days.

1. Pack the item

   Use sturdy packaging sized to the item. Remove or cover old shipping labels, barcodes and hazmat stickers with blank paper, because USPS could delay, return or charge a hazmat fee if the package is categorized incorrectly.

2. Get the label

   After the sale, Depop gives you an emailed QR code you show at a USPS drop-off location, plus a label you can print at home. You can also open both from Sold under My Depop on iOS, Sold items in the Selling Hub on Android, or Your selling hub on depop.com.

3. Use that label and no other

   Depop's rule is that you must use the label generated on Depop to ship the item. If you ship another way, you lose Depop Protection and the order may be canceled and refunded. Labels are tied to orders: each label may only be used to send its matching Depop order, and labels may not be transferred or sold to a third party.

4. Drop it off

   Take the package to a USPS drop-off location and show the QR code, or attach the printed label. Depop Shipping is fully tracked, so there is no need to add tracking or mark the order as shipped.

5. Get paid

   Depop sends the money to your Depop Balance 2 business days after the item shows as delivered or 10 business days after the sale, whichever comes first.

Depop package size and weight limits

In the US, each Depop label is priced by parcel size. Depop's US shipping policy says the parcel size you specify in the listing calculates the shipping cost, and you agree to specify the size accurately. The US help pages we read do not list the weight range of each size, so check the sizes the app offers when you list.

Getting the size wrong costs the seller. Under Depop's terms, the seller reimburses Depop for extra carrier charges, for example when the item weighs more than the label maximum. The terms also note that Depop's shipping rates may change from time to time.

Bundles get one label. When a buyer buys several items listed with Depop Shipping, one shipping label covers the whole bundle, and the label size is based on the combined weight of the items. If a bundle mixes items listed with Depop Shipping and your own shipping, the manual order is converted to Depop Shipping with one label for all items.

Depop's UK shipping policy, which uses Evri, does publish hard limits. They apply only to UK labels. In Australia, Depop Shipping is a beta with Australia Post for a small group of invited sellers, starting on 23 September 2026.

Shipping Depop orders your own way

Shipping your own way means you organize and pay for shipping yourself, with no prepaid label. It comes with more rules and less cover than a Depop label.

• Tracking is required: you must use tracked shipping and add the tracking info to the receipt.
• Add the tracking within 10 days of the sale, or the order is canceled and the buyer is refunded.
• Check the tracking number before you save it, because tracking information cannot be changed once added.
• Boosted sales cost more: the boosting fee of 12% on new listings from 23 March 2026 is charged on the item price, plus the shipping cost if you did not use a Depop Shipping label.

The bigger difference is protection. Orders shipped your own way are not covered by Depop Protection. If the parcel is lost, you claim from your carrier and refund the buyer in full.

Depop Protection, lost parcels and returns

Depop Protection for sellers is available to sellers in the UK, US and Australia who ship with a Depop Shipping label. In the US it covers sales up to $300, and that limit includes the item price, shipping fees and applicable taxes. To qualify, the item must go out with the Depop label within 5 days of the transaction date, which is a shorter window than the cancellation deadline.

If tracking stops moving, contact Depop Support once it has not updated 10 days after shipping. For a lost Depop Shipping parcel that qualifies, Depop says it will compensate up to $300.

Returns also use shipping. When a return is agreed, the item must be sent back within 7 days of the return being agreed, and US buyers get a prepaid return label. Meeting a buyer in person skips shipping altogether, but meet-in-person transactions are not covered by Depop Protection.

Shipping Depop orders to other countries

International shipping is set per listing and off by default. Because the buyer's country is unknown when you list, the worldwide shipping price is an estimate based on the size and weight of the item. For these orders, Depop's worldwide guide says to always use a tracked shipping method and add the tracking info to complete the sale.

Sellers outside the US who ship to US buyers may face tariffs. Depop notes that the US has removed the $800 de minimis exemption on incoming goods, and its guidance is that the buyer pays tariffs before receiving the item, unless you pay them upfront through your carrier. To spare the buyer a charge on delivery, you can pay the tariff when you buy the label. In that case you need to calculate the tariff cost and include it in the price before the item is sold.

Where Nation fits

Questions about Depop shipping