With so much free time throughout quarantine, I often found myself feeling bored and unmotivated. Since I wasn’t able to go out at the beginning of quarantine, I noticed that I had a huge amount of clothes in my closet that wasn’t be worn or used to its full potential. I decided to download the Depop app and start my shop. Selling my clothes on Depop quickly became a creative outlet for me. The app taught me how to sell and buy secondhand clothing, how to package and ship orders, and how to communicate with customers. Here are a few tips for you to make a successful Depop shop!
1. Create an account
The Depop app is free to download! After you create your account, provide a profile picture and a biography to introduce yourself and your shop to your customers. Some pieces of information you can provide for your customers in your biography include what days you can ship, where you can ship, and if you accept refunds. You are in charge of your shop so you can customize your standards as you want!
2. Set up your clothes for pictures
Sort out the items that you would like to sell and have them close to you, so the process of trying on and taking pictures is faster. Many customers will ask for a try-on of the clothing pieces so it is best to upload pictures of you wearing the items!
3. Pictures and posing
You do not need to take pictures on a professional camera, it is perfectly fine to take your pictures on your phone! Since Depop allows four picture uploads and one video upload, it is important to provide as many visuals of the item as possible and show the significant parts of an item (the front, back, designs, etc.).
Picture Tips:
- Set your camera to the square mood when taking pictures because that’s how the item is shown on the app.
- Angle the camera to be right in front of you and make sure that the whole item is in the frame.
- Try to style the item how you would wear it to give customers some inspiration.
- Have fun and model the items! Modeling the items will grab the attention of your customers.
4. Lighting and background
Lighting and background are also important to make sure that the color and quality of the item are best shown. Ring lights and backdrops are not necessary, but it can help if you are thinking about having a more serious Depop business!
- For lighting, it is best to take pictures during the day or with a ring light (if you have one) to ensure the pictures are of good quality.
- For background, a plain neutral wall or backdrop that isn’t distracting can help to make your item the center of attention.
5. Item Descriptions
This is an opportunity to market your item to catch your customers’ attention!
Basic Information to mention:
- Size
- Brand
- Condition
- Shipping price
- Item price
- Damages: stains, rips, etc. (if any)
You are also allowed to put up to five hashtags of anything related to your item!
6. Packaging
Packaging an order is my favorite part of selling! Once you sell an item, you can go to the receipt to print out the shipping label. I like using poly mailers to ship out my items and I purchase mine through an affordable site, Upaknship. Additional steps that I like to take are creating a personal thank you note for the customer and providing extra small gifts such as hair clips or stickers! Then, you can place the shipping label on your mailer and ship it out to the customer through a post office. It is up to you how creative and personal you would like to be with your packages. The more effort you put into your customer service and packaging, the better your reviews will be!