eBay’s Depop Deal Draws UK Scrutiny Over Competition Impact
Regulatory scrutiny of eBay's plan to acquire fashion marketplace Depop from Etsy continues with the UK's Competition and Markets Authority seeking public comments on how the deal will impact consumers and competitors in the region.
This first phase of the information-gathering process will be open until May 8, 2026, at which time CMA will consider the responses and decide whether to move forward with a formal review of the acquisition.
The CMA is issuing this ‘invitation to comment’ to allow interested parties to submit to the CMA any initial views on the impact that the transaction could have on competition in the UK.
The CMA has not yet launched its formal investigation into this transaction. This invitation to comment is the first part of the CMA’s information-gathering process.
To assist it with this assessment, the CMA invites comments on the transaction from any interested party. Written representations about any competition issues should be provided by the deadline set out above.
There is no specific form or questionnaire to fill out, interested parties can simply write to the CMA with any comments or concerns using the following email addresses:
- ebay.depop@cma.gov.uk
- Principal Case Officer, Judy Zhao: judy.zhao@cma.gov.uk
- Case Officer, Giulio Kowalski: giulio.kowalski@cma.gov.uk
The full notice and additional information can be found on the CMA's website:
Competition and Markets Authority
The move follows similar action being taken by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, which launched an assessment of the ~$1.2B Depop deal under their standard merger control regime earlier this month.
Liz Morton
One crucial point for both regulatory bodies may be that another eBay-owned secondhand fashion marketplace, Tise, has recently started expanded into more global markets - raising the potential antitrust and market dominance stakes even higher.
The Norwegian-based shopping app was the first investment funded by eBay Ventures back in 2022 before being acquired by the company in 2025 as part of its broader consumer to consumer, pre-loved fashion strategy.
Liz Morton
Tise quietly expanded into the Australian market in February with a soft launch promoted online by influencers, but strangely lacking any major media push.
Recent posts on eBay's career's page indicate the expansion is set to continue in Europe with Germany apparently next on the list.
eBay is also seeking a Head of Regulatory Programs based in the UK to manage global regulatory issues - including for subsidiaries like TCGPlayer and Tise.
And while Tise has not officially announced a UK launch, it does appear there are already some UK-based sellers listing items on the site.
Importantly, Tise follows a similar model as Depop, advertising a fee-free experience for sellers while charging a "service fee" to the buyer.
eBay launched a similar model for most items sold by consumer/non-professional sellers in Germany in 2023, expanded that to the UK in late 2024 and also to Australia later this month.
Liz Morton
The expansion of Tise into additional international markets as well as eBay's changing fee structure will be key considerations for regulatory bodies investigating how the Depop acquisition may affect competitors and consumers as eBay seeks to further consolidate their dominance of the online second-fashion market.
