Short answer. Vinted for everyday clothing, shoes and anything under about £40, where you want it gone this week and no fee coming out of your pocket. eBay for anything a buyer searches by exact name or model number, anything over about £80, and every category Vinted does not really cover: electronics, trading cards, LEGO, tools, collectables. Depop for streetwear, Y2K and vintage fashion sold on the look to a buyer under 30. Facebook Marketplace for anything too big to post. Live selling for bulk lots and cards once you have an audience.
That covers most decisions a UK reseller makes. The rest of this post is the detail behind it: who shops on each app, how the fees work in plain words (the figures live in our Vinted fees and eBay fees posts), how long a listing takes, how postage, payouts, returns and disputes are handled, what sells best on each, and when to list one item in two places. If you are completely new, our guide to reselling in the UK and the step-by-step starter page cover the basics first.
The decision table: item type, best platform, why
This is how our members actually route stock. Price thresholds are rough and are our own working rules, not platform rules.
| Item type | Best platform | Why |
|---|---|---|
| High street clothing (Zara, Next, M&S) | Vinted | Huge buyer pool, no seller fee, a £6 top still sells and the buyer covers postage. |
| Branded trainers under about £80 | Vinted | Buyers filter by brand and size, sales are fast, condition disputes are rare at this price. |
| Trainers over about £80, limited pairs | eBay | Buyers search by model and colourway, pay more, and eBay's authentication on qualifying trainers gives them confidence. |
| Streetwear, Y2K, 90s and 00s sportswear, workwear | Depop | The audience hunts for it by aesthetic. Carhartt, Stüssy, Dickies and vintage Nike do better here than anywhere. |
| Designer and luxury | eBay | Higher ceiling, buyer-paid authentication on eligible items, serious buyers. Vinted verification exists but the price ceiling is lower. |
| Phones, consoles, games, cameras, headphones | eBay | Model-number search, sold-price history, buyers expect electronics here. Vinted's electronics section is thin. |
| Pokémon and trading cards | eBay | Graded and raw cards both have deep sold-price data and a worldwide buyer base. |
| LEGO sets, retired and sealed | eBay | Set-number search and completist buyers. Loose bulk by the kilo also does well. |
| Kids' clothing bundles | Vinted | Parents buy by age and season; Vinted's bundle discount is built for it. |
| Books, DVDs, games in bulk | eBay | Barcode and ISBN listing, job lots acceptable. Low value, so volume matters. |
| Football shirts | eBay for retro, Vinted or Depop for current | Retro buyers search by season and player on eBay; current-season shirts move fast on the fashion apps. |
| Homeware and small appliances, postable | eBay | Buyers search by brand and model. Pack well; glass and electricals break. |
| Furniture, bikes, large appliances, gym kit | Facebook Marketplace | Collection only, no postage, no fee. Expect haggling. |
| Job lots and mixed bundles | eBay, or live selling | Bundle buyers live on eBay; live selling clears lots fast once you have viewers. |
Who is buying on each app
Vinted is the biggest second-hand clothing audience in the UK by a distance. Buyers are mostly women aged 18 to 45 looking for everyday brands at a fair price, with a growing menswear and trainers crowd. They filter by brand, size and price, expect cheap postage and buy on impulse.
eBay is a search engine with a checkout. Buyers arrive knowing what they want, type a model number or set number, and sort by price. It skews older and more male than the other two, and it is where collectors and people buying for a specific purpose live. Nobody is browsing eBay for an outfit.
Depop is younger, more fashion-led and smaller. Buyers are mostly 16 to 28, scrolling for a look rather than a brand, and they will pay more for an item styled and photographed well. The same Carhartt jacket can sell for more on Depop than on Vinted, but it may take longer and need better photos.
Fees, in words
We are deliberately not putting percentages in this post, because fee schedules change and we only state figures we have checked against the official page. The current numbers, checked and dated, are in our Vinted fees UK and eBay fees UK posts. Here is the structure, which is what actually changes your decision.
Vinted. The seller pays nothing to list and nothing when the item sells. The buyer pays a buyer protection fee on top of your price, plus postage, so the price you set is the money you receive. The only seller-side costs are optional promotion tools such as bumps and wardrobe spotlight, which you can ignore. Check the official help page for the fee the buyer pays, since it affects how your price looks to them.
eBay. Private sellers in the UK do not pay a final value fee when an item sells, and get a monthly allowance of free listings, with a small per-listing charge once that is used up (checked October 2026 on eBay's selling fees page). Optional listing upgrades cost extra, and an international fee applies if the buyer is outside the UK. Business sellers are different: they pay listing fees, final value fees and a regulatory operating fee, which is why the fees post splits the two. If you are buying stock to sell on, eBay's rules on when you count as a business seller matter, so read them.
Depop. Depop also moved UK sellers onto a model where the seller pays no selling fee and a fee is added on the buyer's side at checkout. We could not load Depop's fee page while writing this, so check its help centre before you rely on that, and remember payment processing may still appear somewhere in the chain.
The practical upshot: on all three, as a private seller, most of what the buyer pays reaches you, and the buyer sees a total higher than your price. Price with that in mind.
Listing effort
Vinted is the fastest: photos, brand from a dropdown, size, condition, price, done. A practised seller lists an item in under two minutes from their phone. The description barely matters because buyers filter rather than read.
eBay takes longest. Item specifics, a title that matches what buyers type, a condition grade, a postage option, a returns policy. The payoff is that a good eBay listing keeps selling the same way for months.
Depop sits between the two, but the photos do the work. Flat lays on a plain background or worn shots, consistent lighting, hashtags in the description. A Depop shop with a coherent look sells better than a random pile, which is extra effort Vinted does not ask for.
Postage and who handles it
On Vinted the buyer chooses and pays for postage at checkout, you get a prepaid label, and you drop the parcel at a locker or shop. You never price postage yourself.
On eBay you choose the postage options when you list, the buyer pays at checkout, and you either print the label through eBay or buy your own. Larger and heavier items are fine here, which Vinted struggles with. Tracked postage is the default sensible choice because of how disputes work (below).
On Depop you can ship with Depop's labels or arrange your own, and you set the postage price or offer it free and bake it into the item price. Free postage listings tend to convert better with Depop's audience.
Payout speed
Vinted is quickest in practice. Once the buyer confirms the item is fine, or the confirmation window closes after delivery, the money lands in your Vinted balance and you transfer it to your bank.
eBay releases funds once the sale is confirmed and the item is on its way or delivered, with longer holds for new accounts and for some categories, then pays out to your bank on a daily or weekly schedule you pick. As your account ages, holds shorten.
Depop releases payment after the item is marked delivered, and pays out to your bank from there. Allow a few working days end to end on any of the three, and more when you are new.
Returns and disputes
Vinted gives the buyer a short window after delivery to report a problem. If they do nothing, the sale completes. There is no change-of-mind return unless you agree to one, so Vinted is the least painful platform for returns, as long as your photos and description were honest about flaws. Describe every mark.
eBay is the most buyer-friendly. The Money Back Guarantee means an item not as described almost always goes back at your expense, and you set your own policy on change-of-mind returns. Tracked postage, photos of the item before packing, and a sober condition grade protect you.
Depop sits in the middle, with its own buyer protection and a dispute process run through the app. Clear condition notes and measurements save most arguments before they start.
What buyers expect from you
- Vinted buyers expect a fast reply, a fair offer accepted, the parcel posted within a couple of days, and honesty about condition. They do not expect perfect photos.
- eBay buyers expect the title to match the item exactly, the condition grade to be right, tracked dispatch, and a reply to questions. They read your feedback.
- Depop buyers expect good photos, measurements and a reply to offers. They haggle more than on eBay.
What sells best on each
Vinted: everyday branded clothing, women's and kids' bundles, branded trainers at everyday prices, coats and knitwear in season, Ralph Lauren, The North Face, Levi's, Lululemon and gym wear. Our best things to resell post goes through fifteen categories in more depth.
eBay: electronics, games and consoles, trading cards, LEGO, tools, car parts, collectables, retro football shirts, designer at the top end, anything with a part number, and job lots. Also anything you want a worldwide buyer for.
Depop: Carhartt, Stüssy, Dickies, vintage Nike and adidas, band and tour tees, Y2K, vintage Levi's, workwear and anything that fits a current aesthetic. Plain high street stock dies here.
Cross-listing and when to pull a listing
Listing one item on two or three platforms is normal for stock that has sat for more than a couple of weeks. The one rule: the moment it sells anywhere, delete it everywhere, that minute. Selling the same item twice means cancelling on a buyer, which damages your account on every platform and can lead to restrictions on Vinted. Cross-list in the evening when you can react, not just before bed.
Pull a listing when it has had no views in a fortnight (the title or price is wrong), when the season has passed (relist in autumn, do not drop the price in May), or when the same item is selling for less than your cost elsewhere. Relisting fresh on Vinted puts it back at the top of the feed, which is often all it needs.
The other two: Facebook Marketplace and live selling
Facebook Marketplace is for anything that cannot be posted cheaply: furniture, bikes, large appliances, exercise kit, bulky toys. Buyer collects, pays cash or by bank transfer, no fee, no postage. The downsides are haggling, no-shows and safety basics (meet in daylight, do not accept cheques or links). For small branded items the apps get a higher price and a far bigger audience.
Live selling, on TikTok Shop and live auction apps, suits trading cards and bulk clothing lots. You clear volume fast, but you need an audience first, you spend hours on camera, and the per-item prices are usually lower than a patient eBay listing. Treat it as a channel to build once the rest is working, not a place to start.
Where we fit
The platform decision is half of it. Finding the stock is the other half, and on Vinted and eBay the best listings go within seconds of appearing. Our Vinted bot alerts members four to seven seconds before a listing appears in the Vinted app, with one-tap autobuy where the member decides, taps, and our system completes checkout in under a second. The eBay bot and Depop monitor do the same for custom searches on those platforms. The free live Vinted monitor shows the feed working. Membership is £25 a month, everything included, cancel any time, on the pricing page.
One more thing before you pick: once you are buying to sell on, it is trading, and above the £1,000 trading allowance you register for Self Assessment. The tax section of our side hustle guide and the free tax calculator cover it, and the reselling mistakes post covers the platform errors that cost beginners most.
If you only pick one, by item type
- Clothes you already own, high street brands, kids' stuff: Vinted. Nothing else comes close for speed and zero seller fees.
- Branded trainers and branded clothing you have bought to resell: Vinted for the everyday price points, eBay for the pairs over about £80 and anything limited.
- Streetwear and vintage: Depop, and accept it will be slower but higher.
- Electronics, cards, LEGO, games, tools, collectables: eBay. Do not bother listing these on Vinted first.
- Furniture and anything you would not want to post: Facebook Marketplace.
- You genuinely cannot decide: start on Vinted with ten items from your wardrobe this weekend. It is free to learn on.
Frequently asked questions
Is it better to sell on Vinted or eBay in the UK?
It depends on the item. Vinted is better for everyday clothing, shoes and anything under roughly £40, because listing takes a minute, you pay no selling fee and the buyer pool is enormous. eBay is better for anything a buyer searches by exact name or model number, anything over roughly £80, and categories Vinted does not really cover, such as electronics, trading cards, LEGO and tools. Many resellers use both and pick per item.
Who pays the fees on Vinted, eBay and Depop?
On Vinted the seller pays nothing to list or sell; the buyer pays a buyer protection fee on top of your price. On eBay UK, private sellers do not pay final value fees when an item sells, get a monthly allowance of free listings, and pay only for extra listings, optional upgrades or international sales; business sellers pay listing and final value fees. Depop has also moved UK sellers to a model where the buyer pays a fee at checkout rather than the seller. The current figures are in our Vinted fees and eBay fees posts and on each platform's official help pages.
Can I list the same item on Vinted, eBay and Depop at the same time?
Yes, and for slow-moving stock it is sensible. The rule is that the moment it sells on one platform you pull it from the others straight away. Selling the same item twice means cancelling on a buyer, which hurts your account on every platform and on Vinted can lead to restrictions. Cross-list in the evening when you can react, not before you go to bed.
Which platform pays out fastest?
Vinted is usually quickest in practice: once the buyer confirms the item is fine, or the confirmation window passes after delivery, the money appears in your Vinted balance and you can transfer it to your bank. eBay releases funds after the sale is confirmed and the item is on its way or delivered, with longer holds for new sellers, then pays out to your bank on a schedule you set. Depop releases payment after the item is marked delivered. In all three cases, allow a few working days from sale to bank account, and longer when you are new.
What sells best on Depop?
Streetwear and vintage aimed at buyers under 30: Carhartt, Stüssy, Nike and adidas from the 90s and 2000s, Y2K pieces, band tees, workwear, Dickies, vintage Levi's, and anything that photographs well on a model or a plain background. Depop buyers browse by aesthetic rather than by brand filter, so styling and photos matter more than on Vinted or eBay. Plain high street clothing does badly there.
Should I use Facebook Marketplace instead?
For anything too big or heavy to post cheaply, yes: furniture, large appliances, bikes, exercise kit, bulky toys. The buyer collects and pays in cash or by bank transfer, there is no fee, and there is no postage. For small, postable, branded items the apps will get you a higher price and a far bigger audience, and Marketplace buyers haggle and no-show more than any of the three apps.
Sources
- eBay UK, Selling fees: private sellers pay no final value fees, monthly free listing allowance, per-listing charge beyond it, international fee. Checked October 2026.
- Vinted, Help Centre, Buyer Protection fee and selling articles. Fee structure described in words; check the page for the current amount.
- Depop, Help Centre, fees articles. Structure described in words; we could not load the page at the time of writing, so check it directly.
- HMRC, Tax-free allowances on property and trading income.
- Price thresholds, audience descriptions and what sells best on each platform are our observations from members' sales, not platform data.
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