E-commerce business is one of the fastest-growing industries in the world with a growth rate of 27.38%. Almost everyone is trying their hand at this profitable source of income. Even though it is very easy to choose an online selling platform and sign up to start your own small business, it is often difficult to stand out among the tough competition especially when it comes to reselling used clothes.
Fashion and attractive outfits are the most important feature to describe one’s taste and personality at first glance, so we always try to avoid wearing the same clothes every other day and experiment with different styles. Even though it is not practical to spend money on new clothes every day, however, a cheaper alternative is buying and selling used clothes to keep up with the trend.
Depop and Facebook Marketplace are both popular e-commerce platforms that are used by millions of users every day. Even though both are used for similar purposes, they have their own rules and features that the customers need to follow to do legitimate business. Let us understand the pros and cons of both platforms and how they differ from each other.
1. Listing
Listing items on both platforms are very easy and the process is also similar. To list the item appropriately, start with the title of the product and then add a description and price of the product.
Before listing a product, make sure to take clear and bright images of the product from different angles. Product images represent the product listing and it is the first thing that the buyer looks for. Facebook and Depop have different rules for product images. To create attractive product images for any platform without wasting money on expensive equipment or professional photographers, download Blend, and boost your profit.
Facebook Marketplace
Sellers can add up to 10 product photos for each listing. The photos and background should be clear. The simpler the better.
Depop
Depop is stricter in the case of product photos and only allows up to 4 photos and videos for each listing. The first photo is the featured image so it should show the whole product without any watermark. Click here to learn more.
2. Shipping
Facebook Marketplace
Facebook Marketplace mainly focuses on local businesses therefore it does not provide any shipping feature. In order to sell your product you can either ship it through a third-party shipping company or personally meet your buyer to hand over the good.
Depop
The shipping feature of the depop depends on the region the product is sold from. To learn more about the shipping cost and shipping process, read this article on how to ship with depop.
3.Tools
Facebook Marketplace
Various tools can be used as a seller to boost conversion on any e-commerce platform and some are not exclusive such as photo editing tools like Blend to enhance the product images to attract more customers. Facebook marketplace does not have any exclusive tools to sell a product therefore anyone can sell items without worrying about purchasing compulsory tools.
Depop
However, Depop has exclusive tools that may help increase sales but those are not compulsory either. The Bulk Listing Tool helps professional sellers to list multiple items in bulk by Google Sheet Template without wasting time on listing them individually. There are various other tools and bots that can be purchased and used to increase sales.
3. Commission
Facebook Marketplace
Facebook Marketplace does not charge any commission fee for listing any product and it is absolutely free of cost. But only after selling a product, the seller needs to pay 5% of the price of the product as a commission.
Depop
To buy or sell an item from Depop, the user must have a Paypal account linked to their bank account and Depop account. This platform does not let the user have direct transactions as a means of security and charges 10% of the selling price of each item as a commission. This charge is also paid only after selling an item and like Fcaebook Marketplace listing on Depop is also free. Once the selling process is over and the charges are paid you can transfer your money from Depop Balance to your Paypal account.
4. Audience
By following the rules and using proper hashtags and descriptions, reaching a wider audience is not an issue on any e-commerce platform.
Facebook Marketplace
Facebook is originally a social media platform where anyone can sign in. Similarly, any Facebook user can post items in the Facebook Marketplace to start selling. However, you can hide the listing from your friends or specific accounts if you wish.
Depop
Anyone can find your product in depop. To increase views, use appropriate hashtags. The more more followers you get the more you sell. This is how you can get more followers in Depop.
Conclusion
Depop is an original e-commerce platform made exclusively for reselling and buying used and vintage clothes and other items. Therefore, it consists of all the necessary features and tools that help users to go through a smooth e-commerce experience. However, due to special features like shipping labels, an in-built wallet, user security, and many more, the commission rate on this platform is almost double that of the Facebook Marketplace.
On the other hand, Facebook Marketplace is a subsidiary feature of the social media Facebook. Even though it does not come with the above-mentioned features, the commission rate is low and relatively easy to use.
Hence, it is hard to justify which of the two platforms is more effective to use and comes with more profit. It totally depends on the user’s personal preference and the size of the brand. In this article, we laid out the important features that both the platforms serve, and comparing them can make the viewer get a better idea of which of them suits their intention better.