Depop vs eBay Fees in Australia — Which Platform Costs Less?

Depop and eBay are the two most popular reselling platforms for Australian sellers, but their fee structures work differently. Understanding these differences can save you hundreds — or thousands — of dollars per year, depending on what you sell and how much volume you do. Here's the complete side-by-side comparison.

Fee Structure Overview

Depop's fees: 10% selling fee on the total transaction value (item price + buyer-paid shipping) plus approximately 3.3% + $0.45 AUD payment processing via Depop Payments. Total: approximately 13-14% of every sale.

eBay's fees: Final value fee that varies by category (typically 9.5-13.5% for most categories) plus approximately 1.35% managed payments processing fee. Total: approximately 11-15% depending on category. The first 50 listings per month are free; additional listings incur a small insertion fee.

Detailed Comparison Table

Which Platform Should You Choose?

The right platform depends on what you're selling. Here's our recommendation based on category:

Clothing and Fashion — Depop Wins

For vintage clothing, streetwear, and fashion items, Depop is the better choice for most Australian sellers. The fee difference favours Depop (13.3% vs ~14.85% on eBay for clothing), and more importantly, Depop's audience is specifically looking for these items. Clothing items often sell for 20-40% more on Depop than eBay because of the platform's fashion-focused, younger demographic. The audience premium far outweighs any fee consideration.

General Goods — eBay Wins

For homewares, tools, books, kitchenware, and general secondhand goods, eBay's larger audience and lower fees in most categories make it the better platform. eBay's search traffic from Google is also significantly higher for general product searches, meaning more potential buyers find your listings organically.

Electronics — eBay Wins

For phones, laptops, gaming consoles, and audio equipment, eBay is clearly better. The fees are lower (~10.85% total vs ~13.3% on Depop), the buyer base is larger and more trust-oriented for high-value purchases, and eBay's seller protection programme is more robust for handling returns on electronics.

Vintage Items — It Depends

For vintage clothing, Depop wins hands down. But for vintage collectibles, toys, pottery, glassware, and non-clothing vintage, eBay typically delivers higher prices because its collector base is larger and more established. Vintage Pyrex, retro gaming, and vintage toys all perform better on eBay.

Worked Example: Selling a $60 Vintage Jacket

Let's compare the exact fees for selling the same vintage denim jacket on both platforms. The jacket sells for $60, and the buyer pays $10 shipping ($70 total transaction).

In this example, selling on Depop saves you $0.64 per sale compared to eBay. That might seem small, but across 200 clothing sales per year, it's $128 in savings. And that's before considering that the same jacket might sell for $70-75 on Depop (where fashion buyers expect to pay more for curated vintage) vs $60 on eBay — which would make the Depop economics even more favourable.

The Real Answer: Sell on Both

Many successful Australian resellers cross-list on both Depop and eBay. Fashion and vintage clothing go on Depop first (with cross-listing to eBay after 2-3 weeks if unsold). Electronics, toys, homewares, and general goods go straight to eBay. This approach maximises your audience exposure and lets you take advantage of each platform's strengths.

The key is tracking your fees and profits per platform so you know where each category performs best for your specific business. Over time, this data will tell you exactly which platform to prioritise for each type of item.

For detailed fee breakdowns on each platform, see our Depop seller fees guide and eBay seller fees guide. For a broader platform comparison beyond just fees, see eBay vs Depop Australia.