Sellers on the Etsy-owned clothes resale app Depop have been dealing with delayed funds. Over the previous few months, increasingly sellers have reported that their cost dates have been being delayed time and again, with little response from Depop’s assist crew.
Depop, which Etsy purchased for $1.6 billion in 2021, is like Instagram for pawning off second-hand objects – sellers put up photographs of garments and equipment that they need to promote, which patrons can flick through hashtags and algorithmic suggestions. Consumers could make gives, and if the vendor accepts, they may receives a commission – minus Depop’s reduce – two days after supply.
A streetwear vendor, whose store is @fentoozler791, advised TechCrunch that they’d a cost of $200 for a number of packages pushed again by over every week. At first, the Depop app stated that they’d be paid on a Wednesday; every day, the app pushed again the payout date by one other day, and several other makes an attempt to contact Depop’s assist crew yielded no outcomes.
“Depop didn’t reply with an actual written out response until I sent another request threatening to not use their services anymore. It seemed like they didn’t care until they realized they’d be losing my money from all the fees they’ve charged me,” @fentoozler791 advised TechCrunch. “I’m lucky that my begging and lengthy paragraph finally persuaded them, but I never got a direct answer as to why this had happened.”
A number of different sellers have reported comparable points on the r/Depop subreddit, X, Fb and Instagram: Payout dates are repeatedly getting pushed again at some point at a time with no clarification.
“I just sold an item last night and dropped it off at the post office today and I’m concerned I will have to contact Depop again after it’s delivered,” stated @fentoozler791, who has been promoting on Depop for over a 12 months. “After this I’m not sure I’ll sell anymore on Depop.”
When TechCrunch first raised these sellers’ payout points to Depop final week, a spokesperson stated that the corporate’s assist crew has had an extended ticket queue than standard, however they didn’t know why sellers have been having bother getting paid. After additional requests for remark, Depop advised TechCrunch on Wednesday that it had uncovered a problem that brought on these delayed funds.
“We’re really sorry that some sellers have been experiencing payout delays over the last week. We identified an issue in our automated payouts system that has now been fixed, and all pending payments have been sent out to affected sellers,” Depop stated. “These should be received within the next few days, depending on bank processing times.”
Depop stated that sellers who reached out to the assist crew ought to have acquired a response by right now, and that the corporate will proactively notify its excessive quantity sellers.
Moreover, Depop has generally been instituting an unannounced additional price, billed as a “buyers service fee.”
When TechCrunch requested Depop in regards to the price, a spokesperson urged that this is perhaps a take a look at – however the take a look at is being utilized unequally throughout the app, that means that some patrons have an additional few {dollars} to pay, whereas others don’t. Depop’s Zendesk account had a page explaining the price, nevertheless it has since been made non-public.
The now-private assist web page acknowledged that the additional 5% price to “upgrade features, improve security, and optimize performance.”
“What the f— is our 10% covering then, if you need an extra 5% from the buyers as well?” stated YouTube creator Simply Previous Issues in a video. “You couldn’t speedrun blowing up your company any quicker than what Depop’s currently trying to do.”
Depop isn’t as standard as different resale websites like Poshmark, however some favor the smaller platform because it takes a ten% reduce of gross sales, versus Poshmark’s 20%. Vinted can be rising in reputation within the UK, since Poshmark is no longer available there.
Regardless of its latest sellers’ woes, information from Apptopia reveals that Depop’s each day energetic consumer (DAU) counts have been growing. Worldwide, cellular DAUs are up 30% 12 months over 12 months for this quarter. Depop advised TechCrunch that it gained 5 million registered customers final 12 months, bringing its userbase as much as 35 million.
“We know that prompt payouts are crucial for our sellers, and we’re making changes to our systems to ensure that we can process higher volumes of payouts quickly, as our community grows,” Depop stated.
