Depop Launches US Balance Wallet, Tests Northeast Shipping Promo
Depop is introducing its Depop Balance wallet to U.S. users and running a shipping promotion in the Northeast as the soon to be eBay-owned resale platform looks to drive sales and strengthen its position against rival Vinted.
Buyers and sellers were pleasantly surprised by the shipping promotion, which provides flat rate $1.99 shipping for orders using Depop shipping under 10 lbs., but there's a catch - the buyer or seller must be located in New York, New Jersey, or Connecticut.
For buyers in those locations, the promo runs from March 9 - May 7, while U.S. buyers outside of those locations will receive the flat shipping price for items purchased from sellers in those states from March 23 - May 7.
Marketplace fees still apply, items that are not shipped using Depop Shipping are excluded, and the offer is available for single-item and bundle orders - but as always, buyers and sellers are encouraged to read the full terms and conditions.
Some sellers on Reddit suggested the shipping promotion was intentionally timed around the same time as Boosted Listing fees are set to rise as a pre-emptive measure to counteract the fact that some may raise item prices to account for the increasing advertising fees.
Liz Morton
Others wondered whether the promotion was being done at eBay's urging, despite the fact that their acquisition of Depop is not yet complete and is expected to close sometime in Q2 2026.
Coincidentally, eBay is running their own promotion targeting select sellers with an offer for 0% final value fees on 25 items in Fashion, Baby, and Home Decor categories - also marketed around the New York area.
Liz Morton
But that geographical focus is likely no coincidence - Vinted recently made a splash opening a New York location as part of their big push into the U.S. market and eBay is worried about the competition it may bring in key categories.
Vinted
Vinted does not charge sellers listing or commission fees, instead their model is based on a mandatory Buyer Protection fee of 5% + $0.70 paid by the buyer and optional advertising and upgrades that sellers can choose to pay for.
eBay has faced stiff competition from Vinted in the UK market, with many sellers believing that pressure was a primary driver for eBay's decision to drop selling fees for private sellers in the UK, starting in fashion and then extending to most other categories in late 2024 and introducing a Buyer Protection Fee in early 2025.
Liz Morton
Building a moat to defend against competition from Vinted is also likely one of the main reasons eBay is acquiring Depop from Etsy, making these moves even more interesting as the companies work to officially complete the deal.
Depop also announced today that they'll start a slow rollout of their wallet feature, Depop Balance, to U.S. sellers beginning March 29, 2026.
Per the terms of service update:
4.Depop Balance. This section applies if you’re a seller based in the US and you choose to spend your Depop balance on Depop. This functionality will be rolled out gradually, starting from March 29, 2026.
Depop enables its sellers to re-use funds on the platform via their Depop Balance for business purposes, including acquiring goods for sale at a later point. The goal of this program is to support your growth as a seller on Depop.
By activating your wallet, you accept the Stripe Treasury Agreement and the Stripe Services Agreement and acknowledge that your data will be transferred to Stripe.
Stripe, per their terms and conditions, reserve the right to limit or reduce your use of the wallet solution, should their risk assessments deem necessary and if this is the case, your wallet balance will be promptly transferred by Stripe to your registered bank account.
You further agree that by activating your Depop wallet, you accept that you may be subject to identify verification checks (KYC) performed by Stripe at a later stage.
Refunds for purchases using Depop Balance will be returned to your Depop Balance. You can withdraw your available Depop Balance to your bank account at any time.
eBay has long touted the importance of the "sell to buy flywheel" where enabling use of funds from selling for purchases powers repeat business on the site. That flywheel effect was critical for eBay's early growth but was setback by the split with PayPal and transition to Managed Payments.
eBay has since introduced Spendable Funds/eBay Balance in several markets, though many sellers say they still miss how it used to work with PayPal.
The move to bring a wallet functionality to the U.S. market for Depop also coincidentally comes just a few months after Vinted rolled out their own wallet solution, Vinted Pay, in Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Finland, Greece, Slovakia, Slovenia and Croatia, with plans to expand to additional countries soon.
While eBay may not officially be in charge yet, it's clear they plan to waste no time leveraging the Depop acquisition to consolidate and maintain their dominant market position in key categories as part of their larger C2C strategy.
What do you think of Depop's shipping promotion and Depop Wallet coming to the US? Let us know in the comments below!
