Depop for beginners

Imogen Bavinton

 

For us students who have more of an expensive taste when it comes to fashion, it can be hard to budget. Especially when you REALLY want that new dress or pair of shoes, but you can’t justify splashing out £50 simply for a new outfit to wear on Friday night.

 

Worry no more, I have the perfect solution for you. Depop is an app which is a cross between Instagram and Ebay. You can buy all sorts of second hand clothes on there that you may not find on the high street. A lot of the time people sell high end clothes for half of the price and you equally can sell anything you like to gain a little bit more extra cash. However, if you’re new to it all it can be a bit difficult to navigate and understand, so here is a basic guide on how to get the best out of Depop.

 

First things first...

Once you’ve made your account the first thing to do is follow as many people as possible. This way you’re making yourself known to the community whilst getting more bargains coming up onto your feed. You can always unfollow users later on if their style no longer interests you etc. If you have a certain thing in mind that you’d like to buy, simply use the search bar at the top to find all of those items that people are selling. For example, if you were after a dress from Lipsy you’d type in ‘Lipsy dress’ and all the Lipsy dresses for sale would appear for you to browse.

 

Optimise your search for the perfect outfit

You can also search for specific items according to your location. So if you were lucky enough to find somebody in your area selling your dream item, you could arrange to meet in person rather than paying extra for postage. Remember to be careful if you’re doing this though and maybe take a friend with you just in case.

 

In addition to this, you can also have search results come up in order of price. This way you can find the cheapest deals without having to search through hundreds of results that are too pricey for your budget.

 

Stay safe on Depop

Always private message the seller first before buying. Most sellers on Depop are 100% genuine but you do get the odd scam artist who will be dishonest. There is also a feedback option where once you buy something you can rate a seller out of 5 stars. This can be seen by everybody so it may be a good idea to have a quick check of a seller’s feedback before going ahead and buying from them. Furthermore by messaging first you can confirm the price, make an offer or ask any questions you have about the item for sale.

 

Make a statement 

My favourite thing about Depop is the fact that you can find small businesses who hand make clothes. Often these people take custom orders, so they can make your outfit dream a reality! This way you really will stand out as what you’re wearing is completely unique.

 

Finally...

The best way to get to grips with Depop is to browse and discover your own favourite sellers. This way you get to know the app yourself and develop your own style on the way. Hopefully this has helped and you're now ready to discover the wonders of Depop for yourself!