Poshmark vs Mercari vs Depop vs Vinted
Comparing my earnings on four fashion resale apps (December 2020 and January 2021)
Haley Marie
Instagram | Depop | Vinted | Poshmark | Mercari
Back in college, I used to resell clothes as part of my income. I would go garage saling and thrifting, and then flip those items on Poshmark. With Covid-19 making reselling locally more challenging, I decided to get back on Poshmark and also give other apps a try. In early December, I set up Mercari, Depop, and Vinted accounts. This is going to be a monthly spot where I report my income from each app and break down the numbers.
Let’s talk a bit about what I resell. All items are from my personal closet and are generally a mix of vintage and thrifted modern clothing. I buy pretty much everything second-hand. I am a bit of a shopaholic and tend to over-consume on clothing; this is a habit I am working on breaking. I live in a small apartment in Seattle with finite closet space, so reselling is a tool I use to try to give my clothing it’s best next life. Four times a year, I try to get rid of roughly 10% of my wardrobe. This means moving out about 160-200 pieces a year (not not counting jewelry and accessories). Usually I take clothes around the city, starting with locally owned vintage shops ending with Buffalo Exchange and Crossroads.
By December 2020, I had a bit of build-up from being unable to resell for most of the year. I listed about 130 items in these two months. Right now, I am just taking photos on hangers, but I plan to model the clothes once I’m moved into my new place. On Mercari and Depop, I offer free shipping on most items because it helps them move faster. At this juncture, I don’t really care what I make; I just want to find these items a new home.
Keep in mind that the numbers I’m reporting below represent two months of sales (December and January), but I saw more activity in December when my listings were fresh (particularly on Vinted and Mercari, which show listings in order of when they are uploaded).
Note that when I pay for shipping, I add this into the platform fee. The earnings below are the amounts going in my pocket after platform fees and shipping are taken out. You can see more of my strategy per platform below. But let’s get into these numbers.
Earnings Breakdown
Items sold on Poshmark, pretty big variety overall
Poshmark
Strategy: On Poshmark I spend time sharing, liking, and following people when I am zoning out and watching TV. This platform requires being active or your listings get buried. I also offer to likers twice a month, usually throwing in a discounted shipping deal.
Total earnings: $343.84
Number of items sold: 15
Average earnings per item: $22.92
Poshmark fees total: $116.16
Average Poshmark fees per item: $7.74
Items sold on Mercari, particularly seems to be basics and vintage
Mercari
Strategy: I made offers to likers twice a month and dropped prices once in these two months to bump my items back up in the listing order.
Total earnings: $83.63
Number of items sold: 8
Average earnings per item: $10.46
Mercari fees total: $54.37
Average Mercari fees per item: $6.79
Items sold on Depop, consists of a very bright maxi dress, iridescent sports bra, and a chenille sweater
Depop
Strategy: I offer free shipping on this platform, but otherwise I have no real strategy. I really dislike the lack of transparency Depop gives you on what you make after fees and paying for shipping. You have to do the math yourself, which is annoying.
Total earnings: $12.85
Number of items sold: 3
Average earnings per item: $3.21
Depop fees total: $21.15
Average depop fees per item: $7.05
Items sold on Vinted, 5 skirts and a dress
Vinted
Strategy: I offer really deep discounts on bundles on this platform. Vinted requires the buyer to pay their 10% service fee and has no way to offer free shipping. Since I’m getting paid the listing price, I don’t mind offering a lower price for an item than I would on another app.
Total earnings: $92.50
Number of items sold: 6
Average earnings per item: $15.42
Vinted fees total: $0
Average vinted fees per item: $0
Grand Totals for December and January
Total earnings: $532.82
Number of items sold: 32
Average earnings per item: $16.65
Total fees: $191.61
Average fee per item: $5.98
Conclusion
Wow, I was shocked when adding up what I made over the last two months. I pocketed over $500 which is way more than I would have made at the local resale shops. However, the time commitment was also really high. I spent about 20 hours just listing things and another 20 hours interacting with the sites. There’s also the time spent packaging things and running to the post office.
Packaging also costs money. I get compostable mailers from Amazon ($17.99 for a pack of 50 bags) and packing tape is strangely expensive (about $5 per roll and I go through it fast). I plan on doing a future post with more details about packaging and shipping.
If you take what I pocketed and divide it by the approximately 40 hours of work I put in, my selling efforts pay about $13.32 per hour. This isn’t a bad wage when I think about it, although I sold some items for less than I originally paid (so I am likely still in the red). That doesn’t hugely bother me because my main goal is to get rid of things without putting them in the trash or donating them. Reselling for profit requires a different strategy than reselling to purge.
I also want to note these earnings are higher than normal, particularly on Poshmark. I had a bunch of collectable Blackmilk pieces (sample sale one-of-a-kind), which I was able to sell for significantly more than what I paid for them. I also had some really awesome 1950’s vintage pieces and a Laura Ashley dress that I sold for pretty low prices, but still high enough to bump up my averages. My Depop and Mercari sales give a more accurate average earning per item for normal items.
I will say Poshmark was clearly the winner of these two months. I’ll be curious how things go next month when I am not actively listing anything. My hunch is I’ll always sell best on Poshmark due to my large following from when I sold on there in college. We will see if I am right. I’ll be back next month!
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