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Micro-Fashion Designing:An Examination of Sustainable Garment Production and Fast Fashion Alternatives

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Micro-Fashion Designing:An Examination of Sustainable Garment Production and Fast Fashion Alternatives

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"The author's study reveals 3 motivations for consumers to buy from shared economy platforms, also known as reselling apps, identifying these motivations as perceived sustainability, economic motivations, and distance from the consumption system."

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Depop claims to be more sustainable and ethical in terms of reselling clothing- but is it really ethical when it causes the radical influx of prices for thrifted items and makes them less accessible to those who need it?

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Consumer Behaviour and Sustainable Fashion Consumption.” 

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Consumer Behaviour and Sustainable Fashion Consumption.” 

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book

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 “Investigating Online Second-Hand Fashion Reselling Experience: The Case of Depop.com.”

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 “Investigating Online Second-Hand Fashion Reselling Experience: The Case of Depop.com.”

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scholarly article

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“A 19-Year-Old Depop Dealer Is Accused of Being 'Greedy' over Her Vintage Haul,

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“A 19-Year-Old Depop Dealer Is Accused of Being 'Greedy' over Her Vintage Haul,

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article

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 “Understanding Value Creating Processes on Digital Social Marketplaces : The Case of Depop

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 “Understanding Value Creating Processes on Digital Social Marketplaces : The Case of Depop

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"Depots username mainly consists of members of Generation Z. Of its 21 million users, 90 percent are below the age of 26... They are as social, green, and unique as no generation before them. Constantly torn between being up-to-date and the urge to act in a sustainable, resource-friendly way."

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 “The Impact of Collaborative Collective Actions in the Transformation of Contemporary Societies.” 

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 “The Impact of Collaborative Collective Actions in the Transformation of Contemporary Societies.” 

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user report
"The approximate amount of global trade of SHF was $5 billion in 2012 (UN Comtrade, 2014). However, as SHF are usually sold at 10- 20% of the price of its original price (Fields, 2004), it should be compared by the volumes of products involved. The second-hand fashion industry is growing. In near future, it might capture a significant portion of the global fashion supply."

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“There are sure to be people and businesses within the sharing economy who truly care about our world. They often launch thought-provoking ideas which gain the sympathy of people instantly. On the other hand, there are many people and businesses that want to gain money first -as is the case in every economy- or at the very least be compensated in their efforts. They are always on the lookout for the network effects of online marketplaces, peer-to-peer networks and crowdsurfing platforms"

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Depop. “Year One: 2021-2022 Sustainability Plan.”

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Depop. “Year One: 2021-2022 Sustainability Plan.”

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In January 2021, Depop set out a two-year Sustainability Plan which was designed to promote and further develop a culture based around creativity, circularity, equity and exchange.

Built across four strategic focus areas - governance, planet, people and platform - the commitments in the two-year plan focused on improving environmental impact, embedding equity throughout the Depop experience, and helping make circular fashion the first choice for consumers.
We're proud to share our year one progress, as well as a view of what's to come for Depop and our community in year two.
How to read our progress update:

Completed: all targets underpinning the goal have been met

On track: work has started across all targets underpinning the goal, and some have been met

Some progress: work has started across some, but not all, targets underpinning the goal

Formally embedded sustainability and DEI priorities in Leadership and key business functions' quarterly objectives via the introduction of Depop's ESG board. The board consists of our Executive Team and senior leaders representing key business functions to drive and be held accountable to cross-functional ESG objectives that progress our impact agenda on a consistent, annual basis.

Furthered our ongoing DEI training efforts by conducting two mandatory inclusion training workshops for all of Depop, led and developed in collaboration with an external vendor.

Strengthened policies and procedures and conducted training to address key ESG risks such as corruption, GDPR, harrassment and discrimination, insider trading and greenwashing, as well as updated our employee performance review process to formally include both sustainability and DEI considerations.

Aligned our practices with B Corp standards, using the B Corp score as an internal KPI with an aim to achieve 80 pts (i.e. certification level), by implementing initiatives to improve our environmental, social, and governance performance. Initiatives include, but not limited to: measuring our GHG emissions and setting reduction targets, expanding our Learning & Development (L&D) training selection and introducing a personal L&D allowance, introducing a bonus and Restricted Stock Units (RSU) scheme as a result of partnership with Etsy Inc, initiating work to measure the social and environmental impact of our marketplace, and formally considering environmental criteria in the selection of our new office.

In 2022, we are working to roll out a supplier code of conduct to ensure good social and environmental standards are upheld within our supply chain.

Though we have already held sessions with Top Sellers from underrepresented communities in the US to consult on decisions that affect our community at large, in 2022, we will conduct a stakeholder engagement exercise aimed at understanding the most important ESG issues for our stakeholders related to our business, in order to inform the next iteration of our sustainability plan.

Depop launched an Employee Resource Group (ERG) programme designed to foster a culture of inclusion and belonging through attracting, supporting and engaging Depop's own talent. ERGs are voluntary, employee-led and company sponsored groups united in a common interest, issue, background or characteristic. To date, employees have formally launched Mental Health & Wellbeing and Underrepresented Gender Identities in Tech Depop ERGs.

In partnership with an external vendor, we have conducted a company wide inclusion audit using neurotechnology to measure how staff truly feel about working at Depop to inform future DEI strategy.

In 2022, we are working to realign our representation targets in line with updated benchmarks with a view to share progress following the publication of our 2021 Gender and Ethnicity Pay Gap Report

In the past 12 months, we have introduced the following benefits for our global employees, with a specific focus on mental and physical health support: 1) introduced life insurance and private healthcare for all global employees, 2) introduced mental health days as a time-off option, 3) increased access to mental health resources including free annual memberships to Headspace, therapy via Self Space and trained in-house mental health first aiders.

Provided the option for all global employees to take two Impact Days to undertake volunteering activities. In 2022, we will launch a programme to increase the uptake of Impact Days.

Continued to pay a living wage across all our territories and obtained living wage certification in the UK, including all our direct contractors and providers of outsourced services (i.e. cleaning, security).

In 2021, we conducted a Global Market Salary Review, which took gender and ethnicity into consideration, to benchmark and subsequently adjust salaries of our employees accordingly.

In 2022, we published Depop's first Gender Pay Gap Report in line with UK legislation and voluntarily reported our Ethnicity Pay Gap for transparency.

In 2020, we began by offsetting our shipping emissions, targeting the biggest driver of our carbon footprint.

In November 2021, we went one step further and became certified as a climate neutral company. through measuring and offsetting all measured sources of scope 1-3 greenhouse gas emissions produced in 2020, including shipping, offices and utilities, IT equipment and cloud services, employees' commute and work from home. See here for more details on our methodology

In 2021, we expanded the scope of our GHG inventory to include seller packaging and end user energy use. Our 2021 scope 1-3 emissions represent 19,468 tCO2e which have successfully been offset through verified carbon units (VCUs) and verified emissions reductions (VERs).

In 2022, and as part of Etsy Inc., we set a group Net Zero goal to achieve targets aligned with the science of climate change while continuing to run a carbon neutral company. See here to learn more about what this means for our impact.

Joined Tech Zero, a group of tech companies of all sizes around the world who are committed to fighting the climate crisis. Tech Zero is an official partner to the UN Race to Zero and is backed by the UK Government.

Set a new target to run "Zero Waste" operations by 2025, by achieving an average of 90% or greater overall diversion from landfill and incineration (waste-to-energy).

Made sustainability a key criteria in the selection of our new London headquarters. Our new landlord has publicly committed to run its offices with 100% renewable energy, achieve zero waste to landfill and become net zero carbon by 2030.

Worked with Reyooz during our HQ move to maximise the reuse of existing fittings, furniture, electrical equipment and carpets - saving 8,427kg of waste from ending up in landfill or incinerated.

Installed motion sensors and time-restricted lighting in our meeting rooms, and introduced a textile recycling point for items that cannot be sold via Depop or swapped in our swap shop for staff.

As part of our broader integration into Etsy Inc., we plan to leverage the group's existing processes to formally embed sustainability criteria into our procurement decisions in 2022.

In 2021, 87% of our total office energy use was powered by renewables (89% for controlled offices).

We've partnered with a renewable energy provider to offer discounted access to energy tariffs for UK-based employees.

Launched a dedicated programme to help charity shops build online businesses on Depop - providing charities with tools, resources, exclusive offers and personalised support to effectively leverage Depop as an e-commerce channel.

Launched a partnership with Ecover, to help consumers extend the life of clothing and help fight fashion waste, through a content series showing people how to wash right, wear more and waste less.

Launched a new app feature that enables sellers to specify the composition of an item (e.g cotton, wool) giving buyers greater visibility of an item's qualities.

Introduced a Top Seller Code of Conduct factoring environmental and social considerations in order to empower our Top Sellers to adopt more sustainable practices in their shops.

Continued to showcase sellers thrifting, upcycling and repairing garments via our marketing channels - making secondhand more desirable and accessible.

Created a series of educational videos on wholesale sourcing to support high potential sellers in sourcing second hand garments at scale.

Partnered with brands and sellers to bring circular collections to our community, including:

Benetton - Curated collection of Benetton pieces that expressed the brand's eclectic spirit and focus on colour, hand-selected by British and American sellers who specialise in second-hand and vintage apparel.

Levi's - Reimagining vintage 501 jeans and trucker jackets into new pieces with three of our sellers.

Ganni - Reworking its famously oversized collars, upcycling them with embroidery, embellishment, fraying and trimming via six of our sellers.

HURR Collective - Finding a forever home for pieces at the end of their rental life.

Adidas Originals - A collaboration that saw a handful of our sellers reimagine the classic Stan Smith silhouette, made with some recycled materials, through customisation and restyling.

Ace & Tate - Hosted Reframe, a resale initiative for the Dutch eyewear brand using excess materials to create new sunglasses.

Partnered with the TV and entertainment industries to bring circular fashion to large audiences, contributing to normalising second hand in pop culture:

Netflix - The cast teamed up with each of their own Depop stylists to create their Tall Girl 2 launch looks, showcasing a secondhand-first mindset in place of the usual practice of wearing current-season pieces in promotional photos.

The BRITs Awards - Dressed rising star Holly Humberstone for her performance, alongside all of her dancers who exclusively wore secondhand items; other BRITs nominees including Joy Crookes and Tom Grennan curated lists of sellers they like in app.

Gossip Girl - Costume Designer Eric Daman consulted with Depop's Top Sellers to source vintage and secondhand pieces to curate 4 x Depop shops inspired by the wardrobes of some of the most iconic characters from the show, emphasising the relevance and fashion credibility of pre-loved clothing

Conducted a survey to understand diversity characteristics of our community, and the extent to which users feel they belong to the Depop community.

Took steps to improve accessibility across our iOS, Android and Web platforms to make the Depop app and website more accessible to users using digital assistive technologies.

Published the Depop x Bain Company Report in June 2021, a piece of research investigating Gen Z's influence on business as usual, including by reimagining newness in fashion with sustainability at heart.

Collaborated with the Ellen MacArthur Foundation on its series on Circular Business Models in Fashion with a case study outlining Depop's contribution to making second hand accessible and desirable.

Partnered with the Black in Fashion Council in February 2020 to bring a series of talks and conversations to our community - celebrating Black culture's impact on fashion and empowering a new generation of creatives by showcasing the work of 7 Black Depop Sellers.

Developed and launched Now/Next, a programme focused on supporting and accelerating the sustainable efforts of our community. In 2021, we launched two editions of the programme:

Now/ Next Circularity Edition was a 6-month mentorship programme featuring 5 global creators working to scale circularity in their own businesses. Participants received a grant of £5,000 and monthly exchange sessions with Depop team members to scale their business - on topics including business skills, brand, PR and sustainability. Their journeys were shared via a monthly content series raising the profile of their work, and giving them access to media opportunities.

Now/ Next Grassroots Edition was a 3 month mentorship programme aimed at seeding smaller scale projects with a positive impact on people or the planet. We provided 4 individuals from our community with a £500 grant, alongside one-to-one coaching and showcased their project via our social channels. Projects notably included a project to give sellers access to reused mailers, an event to raise awareness around sustainability in a local community, and a campaign to upskill sellers of secondhand items on sustainability.

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In January 2021, Depop set out a two-year Sustainability Plan which was designed to promote and further develop a culture based around creativity, circularity, equity and exchange. Built across four strategic focus areas - governance, planet, people and platform - the commitments in the two-year plan focused on improving environmental impact, embedding equity throughout the Depop experience, and helping make circular fashion the first choice for consumers.

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 “How Does Depop Make Money? Dissecting Its Business Model.” 

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 “How Does Depop Make Money? Dissecting Its Business Model.” 

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Depop is an online marketplace as well as a social media platform that allows users to buy and sell clothes. Depop makes money from transaction and payment fees as well as from allowing sellers to advertise on its platform. Founded in 2011, Depop has grown to become one of the most prominent fashion marketplaces. The company was acquired by Etsy for $1.625 billion in June 2021.
What Is Depop?

Depop is an online marketplace where people can buy and sell clothes. Customers can shop on Depop using the platform's website as well as by downloading its mobile apps (available on Android and iOS devices).

Users can engage with each other within the app. Depop has developed an Instagram-like feed that allows them to like and share content or follow other users.

Furthermore, Depop also operates two physical retail locations. The stores are located in New York and Los Angeles.

Customers can either purchase new or already worn clothing. Nevertheless, the platform primarily focuses on used (or vintage) clothing to promote sustainable practices.

There are hundreds of brands available for purchase, including household names like Adidas, Dr. Martens, Urban Outfitters, and many more.

Sellers on Depop can either just sell a few items or even set up a professional store. Some even make a living selling on the platform.

Stores can process the incoming orders themselves or work together with Depop's fulfillment to have them shipped. The platform also takes care of the payment process.

Depop Company History

Depop, headquartered in London, UK, was founded in 2011 by Simon Beckerman. Beckerman, who is of English descent but was born and raised in Italy, sought to become an industrial designer after graduating high school.

In 1994, he enrolled at the Polytechnic University of Milan to study industrial design but dropped out after his first semester.

Consequently, Beckerman held a variety of different jobs to put food on his table, even going as far as trying his luck at DJ'ing.

In 1998, he started People In Groove (PIG), a lifestyle and news magazine, together with his brother. They sold about 3,000 copies every month, enough to fund their lives and eventually even pursue other ventures.

One of those ventures became a company called RETROSUPERFUTURE (RSF), an eyewear brand aimed at more affluent consumers, that he co-founded in 2006.

To get some buzz going, Beckerman handed the glasses to stylists, photographers, or friends of well-known celebrities who'd eventually wear them in public.

That pre-social-media version of influencer marketing would eventually propel RSF to more than $13 million in annual sales.

In the meantime, Beckerman was still working on PIG. Being technologically adaptable, he soon realized that a physical magazine would not be how customers will consume media in the future.

While PIG already had a website, it was still lacking a shop that allowed customers to purchase the items they saw advertised in the magazine.

He, therefore, set out to build an online shop that could be integrated into PIG. After conducting a small online experiment, he decided to pivot to an app format as more and more companies were going mobile-first.

Beckerman eventually pivoted from PIG selling the items to opening selling opportunities up to everyone. He presented that concept (the idea was only in the design phase) to H-Farm ventures, which decided to give €1 million in seed funding to develop the actual product.

Back then (in 2011), startups like Poshmark, Shpock, Stuffle, Rumgr, or Yardsale were already creating some buzz in the peer-to-peer 'flea market' space, hence it became easier for H-Farm to understand the use case that Beckerman was raving about.

Depop soft-launched in Italy back in August 2012. Eight months later, in April 2013, Depop was finally made available to the greater public.

By that time, Beckerman had already relocated to London since it promised greater access to talent as well as funding. And it didn't take him long to attract more cash. In October, Depop raised another €1 million.

The additional funding allowed the team to develop and launch a separate Android app in February 2014, which further extended its reach. By that time, more than 200,000 items had been sold via the iOS app alone, equaling around €5 million.

Around the same time, Beckerman stepped down from his role as CEO and handed the keys to Runar Reistrup who had joined the company as COO a few months prior. Under Reistrup's tenure, which lasted around three years, Depop grew from 50,000 to 5 million users and €100 in gross merchandise volume (GMV).

He also led two major funding rounds, netting the company $8 million and $12 million, respectively. The funding also allowed Depop to set up a second office in New York City (January 2015) to further its expansion into the United States.

That expansion was managed and led by Maria Raga, who became the firm's newest CEO in September 2016. Raga had joined Depop as its VP of Operations back in 2014 and spent the previous four years building up Groupon's travel business.

Over the next three years, Depop continued to grow exponentially, largely supported by word-of-mouth and its social sharing options. By mid-2019, Depop had amassed a user base of more than 13 million fashion enthusiasts.

As a result, it was able to raise its largest-ever round of funding. In September 2019, Depop raised $62 million led by General Atlantic, one of the world's most prominent venture capital firms.

Later that year, Depop announced its first major partnership with Ralph Lauren. The collection, named Re/Sourced, would be comprised of 150 items that would be specifically sourced by Depop sellers. Subsequent collaborations with the likes of Richard Quinn or Vans would follow.

Unfortunately, Depop also began to experience some growing pains. In November 2019, reports emerged that sellers on the platform would receive highly inappropriate comments and messages from anonymous users. Some even saw their accounts being hacked only to be used to sell fake products to other Depop users.

Depop responded by upping the resources on its Trust & Safety team as well as investing in technology (mainly speech recognition) that prevents these types of activities. Nevertheless, as the platform continues to grow, its problems will likely grow in complexity.

Despite some hiccups, Depop has continued to exponentially grow. 2020, in particular, has been tremendously successful. Sales have accelerated as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, which forced customers to revert to shopping from home.

The firm's tremendous growth ultimately led marketplace giant Etsy to splurge $1.625 billion (mostly in cash) to acquire 100 percent of Depop. The acquisition is expected to go through in Q3 of 2021.

Depop's exponential growth even required the company to move headquarters in London to accommodate all the new employees it was hiring. Unfortunately, not everyone was along for the ride.

CEO Raga, in July 2022, stepped down from her position after 8 years at the firm's helm. She was ultimately replaced by Etsy's Chief Product Officer Kruti Patel Goyal.

Today, more than 30 million users are registered on Depop. The company, furthermore, employs over 1,000 people across offices in London, New York, and Manchester.

How Does Depop Make Money?

Depop makes money from transaction and payment fees as well as from allowing sellers to advertise on its platform.

The first fee is what the company refers to as the Depop fee, which is equal to 10 percent. So, if an item sells for $100, Depop gets to keep $10.

According to Depop, it imposes the fee "to keep the app up and running, with general up-keep costs and to pay all of our employees, from engineers, to design, to our product team."

In comparison, Poshmark charges 20 percent on sales above $15 (and a $2.95 fixed fee on sales below) while Vinted asks its buyers to pay 5 percent.

Second, Depop charges a so-called transaction fee which covers the cost of facilitating the payment. The fee is equal to 2.9 percent plus $0.30. Customers can either pay via Apple and Google Pay, PayPal, or debit and credit card.

The fee is applied to cover the cost that is imposed by the payment providers Depop works together with, namely Mastercard, Visa, PayPal, and more.

What separates Depop from many other traditional marketplaces like Amazon or eBay is the social component. Users can build up their own following, like and share content, as well as engage with other users.

The social clout, in turn, allows them to basically become influencers - and in some cases even full-time sellers on the platform.

The most prominent example is Bella McFadden (known as Internet Girl) who had built a seven-figure business as a result of her Depop stardom.

Furthermore, the social aspect engages sellers to only offer and sell high-quality and legit products.

In the past, some sellers had copied existing Depop designs from famous sellers by dropshipping the products from China and selling them at a much lower price. As a result, Depop banned the practice to promote sustainable practices and uniqueness on its platform.

The business model strategy of Depop is thus predicated on being a space where its predominantly Gen Z userbase not only gets fashion inspiration but even become small business owners.

The greater one's perceived chances of deriving a full-time income from Depop, the likelier people are to set up shops. This, in turn, means more products listed on the platform, which then attracts even more buyers.

Power users, in particular, often become advocates for a platform and help with promotional aspects, for example by creating educational content around selling on Depop.

Depop, apart from transaction and payment fees, also makes money from advertising via a format called boosted listings.

Boosted listings, as the name suggest, enable sellers to increase the visibility of their products, which appear as a separate tile within the search results.

Sellers are charged an additional 8 percent if they use boosted listings, on top of the 10 percent in transaction fees and 2.9 percent in payment fees.

Utilizing advertising is a fairly common monetization strategy among online marketplaces, especially as demand on the platform grows. As levels of competition among sellers keeps rising, they do need to find other avenues to generate eyeballs and consequently sales.

One interesting aspect in the way Depop utilizes advertising is that boosted fees are only charged if an item is actually sold. More sophisticated marketplaces like Amazon normally charge sellers for every click.

Since Depop largely deals with smaller sellers (e.g., university students doing Depop on the side), they likely cannot afford paying hefty upfront fees.

Depop Funding, Revenue & Valuation

According to Crunchbase, Depop has raised $105.6 million across seven rounds of venture capital funding.

Notable investors include HV Capital, Creandum, Octopus Ventures, General Atlantic, Balderton Capital, Klarna founder Sebastian Siemiatkowski, and many others.

Depop is currently being valued at $1.625 billion - at least to Etsy, which paid that sum to acquire the company in June 2021.

Depop recorded annual revenues of $70 million for the fiscal year 2020. The company has grown close to 70 percent every year from 2017 to 2020.

Who Owns Depop?

Etsy is now the sole owner of Depop after spending $1.625 billion (primarily cash, some stock) to acquire the company.

The acquisition allowed Etsy to tap into a completely new user base and product category. Over 96 percent of Depop's user base is below the age of 26, thus being extremely popular among Gen Z.

Furthermore, Etsy is not particularly strong in the fashion category and derives the majority of its sales from artisan and home goods. With Depop, Etsy will expand its business into the trillion-dollar fashion industry.

According to Beauhurst, both founder Beckerman and former CEO Raga each held a 4 percent stake in the company before the acquisition. The sale will, therefore, net them around $68 million each.

Depop's largest shareholder prior to the acquisition was HV Capital (formerly Holtzbrinck Ventures) with an ownership stake of 18.75 percent. The sale yielded them close to $300 million in return.

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How Does Depop Make Money? Dissecting Its Business Model

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Depop is an online marketplace as well as a social media platform that allows users to buy and sell clothes. Depop makes money from transaction and payment fees as well as from allowing sellers to advertise on its platform. Founded in 2011, Depop has grown to become one of the most prominent fashion marketplaces.

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Pullar, Jess. “How to Shop Depop like an Elle Editor.” 

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Pullar, Jess. “How to Shop Depop like an Elle Editor.” 

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You know what the new black is? Shopping second hand, that's what.

In April, research from the University of Tasmania revealed that people who shop second hand are likely to be more stylish-it was the most self-satisfying, ego-boost for those who love to search for hidden gems in vintage stores across Australia. Really, what's a Saturday morning without wandering around Melbourne's Camberwell Markets, or doing deep dive into Sydney's Uturn Vintage stores?

Of course, the trend has quickly gone digital. In 2024, the market for online second hand shopping is predicted to hit $36 billion, that's a $29 billion increase from where it sat in 2019. The significance of this cannot be overstated-while there's undoubtedly still a place for bricks and mortar op-shops, there's an ease in using the likes of Depop, Facebook Marketplace and Vestiarie Collective as a way to buy and sell our beloved second hand goods. Not to mention that satisfying feeling of knowing your cute-as-heck Levi's denim jacket that just arrived at your doorstep was $25 from a previous owner.

This, along with the fact that circular fashion is the only way forward when it comes to reducing the industry's significant carbon footprint (more than 800,000 tonnes of textiles, leather, and rubber can be discarded in Australia over a single year, FYI), was the reason why I decided to avoid buying anything new in 2022-and boy have I learned a lot.

As someone who will reluctantly admit my penchant for retail therapy in my early 20s did no favours to the issue of fast-fashion culture, it was always going to be a challenge. But I was determined, and I decided to make Depop my virtual Westfield. At first, the platform felt a little overwhelming. It holds hundreds of thousands of items, the majority of which are nothing like what I typically wear.

But after some hefty hours spent perusing the site, I've discovered a bunch of ways to source those diamonds in the rough, and frankly speaking, my wardrobe has never been better.

Here, I've curated a list of five key tips that'll help you find the goods on Depop.

1. Don't search by a broader style

The number one rule of Depop is to be as specific as possible.

Yes, while you'd think that by typing in "crop top" you'll be presented with a bunch of cute options (à la Google's shopping search which shares the latest designer pieces), what you'll actually get is a snapshot of the thousands of styles that have your specific key words in the title-and more often than not, the pool is simply too wide to hone in on the specific styles, silhouettes and brands that you're actually seeking.

Don't fear, you're simply casting the net too wide-and that brings us to our second tip.

2. Try searching by brand

So you're disheartened by the unexpected dump of crop tops from your original broad search. But if you're after a specific style, say, the With Jean corset dress, type in "With Jean Dress" (or if you want to really narrow the search, "With Jean Corset Dress") and you'll quickly see a bunch of styles from the brand, or if you're lucky, the exact style you wanted, at a fraction of the price.

Searching through Depop in this way also brings up a bunch of similar styles (usually thanks to the seller's descriptions which include brands that are similar to the style they're selling off). So even if it's not the exact item you were after, you'll be presented with heaps of variations. Who knows, maybe you'll find an item you like even more than the original.

3. Scroll down to 'more things you might like' within listings

As the saying goes, "what you seek is seeking you... in the 'more things you might like' feature", or that's what I tell myself after hours spent down rabbit holes looking at variations of Aje mini-dresses or tees from Anine Bing.

But with that in mind, the feature, found at the bottom of every listing, is really handy if you've found an item you like, but it's just not quite right. It will present you with listings of the same style but in a different size, as well as similar styles by the same brand, or different brands. So go forth and seek out your wardrobe's destiny.

Read this next

4. If it looks too good to be true... it probably is

I've already stipulated rule number one of Depop, but a close second is definitely universal for all second hand shoppers: If the item + price looks too good to be true, it probably is.

You know the horror stories. Things like that Acne leather jacket you just spotted for $100 bucks in near new condition, but turns out to be a cheaply made knock-off carefully marketed as the real deal.

We cannot stress this enough, it always pays to take a closer look. Start by checking the seller's rating (everyone needs to start somewhere, but it's encouraging when there's a good 100 or so 4-5 star ratings to their name). If they don't have any ratings, or if they've received negative ones, it goes without saying that vigilance is key.

I would also recommend messaging the seller to ask for more pictures of the product itself (no rips straight from the designer website). Take a close look at each compared to each other.

Finally, always (and I mean always) pay within the app. Depop has a Buyer Protection mechanism where if an item doesn't arrive, isn't as described, or if you buy a bundle and some items are missing, they will get your money back. If a seller is luring you to pay outside of the app, gently remind them of this guarantee. You're completely within your rights to do so!

5. Love an item? Check out the seller's other listings, and peek their likes

Whenever I find an item I like, I always check the seller's page for more listings in case they've got any others I might like to add to my cart-if you do spot something, you'll only have to pay one shipping fee.

And another sneaky tip: If their general listings are similar to your own style aesthetic, you should have a peek at their likes by scrolling to the right tab of their profile. Yes, it may seem very Confessions of a Shopaholic where Rebecca literally wrestles for a scarf in the sample sale, but Depop really does make it easy for us.

Of course, if you don't want others to see what you're eying up, we recommend you hit 'save' instead of 'like' on items. That way, it remains visible to you on your own profile, but not to anyone else.

So there you have it-using these five tips as I scroll Depop to within an inch of its life has somehow replaced the dopamine hit I used to get by going to the mall on a Saturday morning. It's pretty simple when you think about it, and who knows, perhaps that Bec + Bridge jumpsuit from 2019 that I never stopped thinking about might just show up there. There's really nothing like the thrill of the second hand chase...

Lead image: @badkidhq on Instagram.

Jess Pullar

Jess Pullar is the Culture Editor for ELLE and marie claire Australia.

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You know what the new black is? Shopping second hand, that's what-the online second hand clothing market is projected to be worth $36 billion in 2024, and Depop is one of the biggest on-selling platforms there is. Here, our top tips to find its hidden gems.