Depop

Depop

Depop Application Source Type Online Marketplace Launch Date 2011 Status Active Product Line Depop Platform iOS, Android Website www.depop.com

Depop is an online clothing marketplace and social shopping platform that enables users to buy new and used clothing from their internet-enabled devices. Depop was founded in 2011, and the application was brought to iOS in 2013. Depop is available for both desktop and mobile and has many other features: Users can create a virtual store or profile, buy items, and save items for later. Depop also recommends clothing items based on your style and allows you to follow and interact with other users. Several ethical issues have arisen on the platform, most surrounding how users interact with and use it.

History

Simon Beckerman founded Depop in 2011, and the corporate headquarters moved to London in 2012. In 2013 the app was later brought to iOS devices, and Simon Beckerman stepped down as CEO. The app was initially developed to sell items from Simon Bekerman’s magazine PIG, and a website was added later. Depop was designed to function as both a social media platform and online marketplace: Beckerman noted Instagram, Twitter, and Pinterest as sources of inspiration. Additionally, Depop was designed to attract “young designers, cool collectors, small shops and little brands,” however, its current user base is primarily filled with younger shoppers and women .

The Depop home page

Features

Home page

Depop features a home page. This page consists of several sub-pages, including “Explore,” “My DNA,” and “Feed.” These pages allow you to explore new items, view recommended items, see your saved items, and view the posts of shops you follow. The recommendation algorithm is largely based on previous items users have saved and favorited .

Selling on Depop

Depop requires you to have an account to buy and sell items: however, you do not need an account to browse. To sell, you have to set up your shop within the app, and then you can list items. There is an emphasis on entrepreneurship as Depop founder Simon Beckerman notes the app is like “having your store in your pocket,” and CEO Maria Raga notes users can “start a business from their bedroom”. Each listing can have four photos. Depop suggests users model their items and encourages branding and promoting individual shops on other social media platforms. They also support and verify their top sellers and often give them more exposure.

Ethical Issues

Many ethical issues have arisen concerning Depop, with some gaining more traction than others. These issues can impact both sellers and buyers.

Reselling thrifted clothing

Recently, especially among younger people, there has been growing awareness of Depop sellers and their impact on thrift stores. Named ‘thrift store gentrification,” this process is mainly critical of thrift stores raising their prices. Recently, online resellers have come under criticism for encouraging this process. This issue is widely debated, and there is not a lot of current research on this topic.

Reselling thrifted items has been around since the 1990s and was also present on eBay before Depop. In 2004 it was noted that, due to thrift stores' normalization in popular media, middle-income shoppers feel more comfortable buying from thrift stores. They also use thrift stores to save money and resist a culture of consumption and disposability. However, due to thrift stores' growing popularity, there has been an increase in competition from other second-hand stores, discount stores, and online marketplaces. More competition has caused thrift stores to expand their target demographic to more high-income neighborhoods, thus moving to premier locations, having a clean and inviting interior, and raising prices. The specific impact of Depop on this phenomenon is not known.

Feminization of work

Along with other forms of online reselling, Depop faces the issue surrounding its feminization of labor, both as a social media application and a reselling platform. While exact user statistics are not known, Similar apps like Poshmark have noted that registered users tend to be primarily female, with 97% of survey respondents with an account identifying as female. Depop founder Simon Beckerman notes they found a large customer base within “girls who want to sell their whole wardrobe” and that “girls love [Depop]."

The page in Depop's app to create a shop

How women exist within Depop's labor system creates ethical issues. With a focus on creating and maintaining customer relationships and networks, this process of reselling goods online can be incredibly burdening. With the reduced ontological friction offered by Depop, sellers often lose their right to ignore information and must be constantly available. Additionally, it is noted that reselling items “is complicated by the emotional labor women must assume in managing their business personae and maintaining flows of communication online." The combination of an information porous app and emotional labor makes this process more burdensome for women.

Moreover, Depop emphasizes the importance of a professional brand, both on the app and other social media applications. Encouraging a professional brand can be ethically complicated as creating a reselling brand is primarily based on “classed and gendered identities, experiences, networks, and bodies.” The large social media presence sellers are expected to have also results in sellers leading public lives and constantly being available for customers.

Worker's rights

Many sellers on Depop are labeled as bedroom entrepreneurs: however, Depop still takes a 10% cut of all sales. While not directly gig workers, these sellers, who labor to earn Depop profit, do not receive any benefits or job security and can make varying amounts. Some more popular shops are known to earn upwards of $150,000 a year. Meanwhile, most users earn significantly less, often equating to the minimum wage . While not a traditional gig economy, Depop shares many features and ethical concerns, despite labeling its users as entrepreneurs.

Sexual Harassment

Depop users can face sexual harassment within the internal messaging service. While Depop has a messaging feature, which is used for buyers and sellers to interact, some members use it for sexual harassment. One user even reported their boyfriend was "pretty much using Depop like tinder." With many of its users being women and under the age of 20, this can lead to many problems.

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  Messages illustrating how people use Depop like Tinder

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  Messages where someone asks someone out over Depop