Depop Ends Independent Shipping For New US Listings
Depop is eliminating independent shipping for US sellers, ending a longstanding exception that allowed older accounts to purchase their own postage labels as new owner eBay expands managed shipping across its marketplaces.
The change took effect October 28, requiring all new listings to use Depop Shipping through USPS, with buyers paying for shipping and sellers receiving prepaid labels or QR codes after a sale.
According to Depop's updated US shipping guidance, listings created before October 28 using the independent shipping option, labeled "Other," will retain that setting until they sell. However, deleting and relisting those items will automatically switch them to Depop Shipping, and sellers can no longer select independent shipping when creating new listings.
From October 28, 2026, 'Other' is no longer available for new listings. Everything you list from that date uses Depop Shipping. If you set a listing to 'Other' before October 28, 2026, it stays that way until it sells. If you delete and relist it, it'll switch to Depop Shipping.
Sellers who still have grandfathered listings must continue purchasing tracked postage and uploading tracking information themselves, while those using Depop Shipping are required to use the label provided by the platform. Depop warns that shipping an order using another method can invalidate seller protection and potentially result in the order being canceled and refunded.
In a Reddit discussion about the October 28 requirement, one seller who manages both a personal account and a vintage store's business account said the store had been using Pirate Ship for more than a year because it offered cheaper shipping. The seller also reported that Depop was only allowing Large or Extra Large package sizes when listing a lightweight pair of pants, increasing the cost for buyers despite the item weighing only a few ounces.
i just tried to post a pair of pants that weigh only a few ounces and it is only giving me the option between large and xl package. this is not good at all
The seller said Depop support acknowledged that smaller package sizes should have been available, but the options were still missing. Others raised concerns about losing the flexibility to split shipping costs with buyers or offer less expensive delivery on lower-priced items, where postage can represent a substantial percentage of the total purchase price.
Those complaints echo problems reported in July 2025, when Depop was testing automatic parcel-size calculations that removed some sellers' ability to manually select the appropriate shipping weight. Sellers reported that the system was assigning labels that were too expensive for lightweight merchandise or insufficient to cover the actual package weight.
Liz Morton
While Depop was already moving toward greater control over shipping before the acquisition, the latest mandate comes as eBay is leveraging its own carrier relationships to lower Depop's shipping costs and subsidize delivery promotions to compete with other secondhand marketplaces.
During eBay's Q3 2026 earnings report on October 28, the same day the new Depop requirement took effect, CFO Peggy Alford confirmed the company was using existing carrier agreements to reduce parcel costs for Depop and said shipping subsidies were contributing to Depop's lower take rate compared with eBay's core marketplace because those subsidies are recorded as a reduction to revenue.
Depop's US Gross Merchandise Volume (GMV), monthly active users and sold items all more than doubled year-over-year in Q3 on a pro forma basis, according to eBay, but the company has not disclosed standalone GMV in dollars or updated profitability figures since completing the $1.4 billion acquisition July 30. Under Etsy ownership, Depop generated approximately $186.6 million in revenue in 2025 while posting a $108.9 million operating loss.
Shipping has become a particularly aggressive area of competition, with Depop and Vinted offering free or deeply discounted delivery to attract US shoppers throughout 2026, especially on inexpensive secondhand fashion purchases where delivery charges can significantly increase the final cost. Poshmark joined the holiday shipping battle November 3, cutting its standard $6.49 shipping charge to just $0.99 for eligible marketplace purchases with no minimum order value and offering free shipping on qualifying Posh LIVE transactions.
eBay has not disclosed how much it spends on Depop's shipping subsidies, the discounts it receives through its carrier agreements or whether it retains any margin on shipping charges collected from buyers. Requiring more sellers to use Depop Shipping will bring additional transactions under those arrangements, giving the marketplace greater control over which shipping rates and promotions are offered rather than relying on individual sellers to determine their own delivery charges.
eBay's push toward mandatory managed shipping began with Simple Delivery for private sellers in the UK and has since expanded to other markets. In the US, eBay recently increased eligibility for its Ship with eBay program to listings priced up to $500, while in Australia, the company is moving eligible fee-free sellers to a more fully managed shipping model beginning November 11, determining the shipping charges collected from buyers and providing prepaid Australia Post labels.
Depop has also introduced mandatory integrated shipping in Australia, requiring sellers to use prepaid Australia Post labels for new listings beginning October 6 for newly registered accounts and October 26 for existing users. The Australian rollout was already in development before eBay's acquisition closed, with Depop announcing plans for a dedicated shipping solution in July alongside the removal of seller commissions, introduction of buyer marketplace fees and mandatory use of Depop Payments.
Liz Morton
Independent shipping remains available to Depop sellers in the UK, where the company's current shipping guidance continues to allow sellers to choose between integrated shipping through Evri and arranging their own delivery.
